It was the dawn of the day. The sun barely had itself rose beyond the horizon. Most smashers were still counting sheeps, yet some seem to be eager enough at the time to start the day.
Rosalina put down her comb as she finished combing her hair. She then placed her crown as she looked to the clock.
'It's almost 4.30…'
She looked around, Luigi was still snoring.
Rosalina then quietly unlocked her door, and popped her head out. There was no one out there yet. She closed her door and made her way upstairs.
She saw no one again was at the hallways. She made a quick check on every room, and she found out something: No room was seen with a sign.
'It should be ready now…'
She slowly walked downstairs, being careful not to produce too much noise, and headed to her own room.
Luigi was still dozing. Not showing any signs of waking up soon.
"Luigi! Hey!"
Rosalina shook the plumber back and forth lightly. But he's still sleeping.
"Wake up!"
Even with harder shaking, the plumber's still sleeping.
"Luigi!"
Still not waking up.
Rosalina felt shouting and strong shakings would be inappropriate, so she decided on a… sneakier approach.
She slowly opened the blanket, revealing Luigi's bare feet. She lifted them up, without any notice from the plumber.
All she need to do was to ran her fingers on the feet to get some "Mmph!" coming out.
"Whah!"
Rosalina quickly dropped the feet. However, it still earned her an unamused look from Luigi anyway.
"What was that for?"
She was quite amazed on how a simple line drawing on his feet manage to wake him up in less than 3 seconds, but she digressed.
"I'm sorry for waking you up this early. But I thought this is the perfect time for you to get back to your own room".
Luigi looked at the clock lazily. "…It's still 4.30…"
He then fell asleep immediately afterwards.
The blue-dressed female simply rolled her eyes.
"I would like to remind you that the halls are absolutely empty right now. I'm afraid if you don't act now, some smashers may see you coming out of my room".
The next thing she knew, Luigi already vanished from his bed. In a flash, he grabbed his toothbrush and towel, going straight to the bathroom as he locked it behind, leaving the dumbfounded Rosalina on his bed.
She simply giggled, shrugging the entire event.
"…What a strange man".
"So, uh, thanks for the stay", Luigi said, as he grabbed his gloves and hat.
"I'm happy to help".
"I guess Master Hand did used his head (Wait. He has one?). I guess staying with you made me feel a lot more better".
"I appreciate the compliment. I just did what I can".
"'Just' is a huge understatement. You lessened my burdens significantly yesterday. I can only thank you a thousand times for that", Luigi smiled, as he adjusted his hat.
"To be frank, I never had a person pouring their problems in me like that. I was a bit nervous yesterday that I might not able to help you, but it looks like I succeeded".
"Really? Then this 'Mother of The Cosmos' wasn't just for show then", Luigi chuckled.
But Rosalina herself raised an eyebrow.
"Um, who told you that?"
"Oh, I have been hearing you being called so. And it makes sense, you're basically a mother figure to all of Lumas", Luigi replied.
"Yes, I owe it to them I can find happiness once again… In some ways, I found us to be quite similar. They've lost their mother when they found me. I know how that feels. I just don't want them to experience the pain I felt. I want them to be happy. That is all", she explained.
Luigi smiled, "Then you have succeeded on becoming a great mother. Can assure you that".
"Thank you", Rosalina returned the smile.
Luigi then glanced at the clock again, "Well, it's 4.45. I better get going".
He then picked up his bags and wore his shoes.
"Alright then. See ya until morning!"
Rosalina watched as Luigi made his way upstairs, and until he disappeared to the upper floor.
She smiled as she went back in to her room.
"I was a little bit nervous when he came here", she said to herself.
"…But perhaps I shouldn't have after all…"
*Later*
*Knock knock*
"Come on in", a voice called.
The door opened to reveal a green plumber, backpack on his spine.
"Can I go now?"
Master Hand looked at him in curiosity.
"It's only 9.30. You just had breakfast. Didn't I told you you would be leaving at 11?"
Luigi simply stretched his body as he replied, "Nah. I feel it's way too late. Besides, there's still battles for you to watch. Don't wanna to interrupt you".
Master Hand looked out to the window and then to Luigi again.
"…Very well".
Luigi smirked in response. However, before he can grab the knob, Master Hand warned.
"Be careful. Remember, if you find anything suspicious, but you think you can take it, then go ahead. But if the force seemingly too strong for your own good, back away and report. This will be a test of your wisdom. Do not let up".
Luigi looked back, a brief silence occurred before he nodded and went out of the room.
'…He should be fine… But… But what is this uneasy feeling I'm getting?'
Master Hand stared out to the window.
'I'm starting to feel like this is a mistake… What had I miss?'
Slash!
"To your left!"
Clang!
"Protect your hips!"
Clash!
Sword clashes can be heard just outside of Smash Mansion, along with constant shouts of a male voice, speaking orders on what the opposition should do next.
"Lower your head!"
Suddenly, the clashings stopped, replaced by the friction sound of swords. After a brief moment, the swords separated themselves.
"Stay sharp!"
The clashes returned, but they have became much faster and more intense. After what it looked like a million clashes, the sound abruptly stopped.
One sword had its tip right in front of the opposition's nose. There was silence before the sword was sheathed back.
"I suppose that's enough", a male voice said.
"You did much better than you did back then. You certainly had put those training grounds into good use".
The opposition had shock when her nose was almost torn apart. However, she quickly recovered as she broke a bow.
"It is my honor to have you as my mentor, my Hero-King", the female spoke.
"Please, 'Marth' is just fine, Lucina".
"I would feel disrespectful of calling my own ancestor something inappropriate".
"'Marth' is not anything out of proportion. You need to worry nothing about it".
"If you insist then", she giggled.
*Tooooooot*
"ARF!"
"Wah!"
A fat man with yellow shirt then ran wildly around the mansion.
"GAH! GETOFF GETOFF GETOFF!"
A sigh then could be heard over a nearby table.
"The dog biting his butt again?"
"That man can't hold his fart for crap it seems".
"Now now Falco", another voice kicked in. "He is just currently 'practicing' his move".
Surprisingly, the voice wasn't mixed with sarcasm. One can even translate it as energetic, perhaps.
"Fox", Falco lazily said. "Back me up here".
"Y'know Falcon…", the fox spoke up. "You're not wrong, it's just kind of disgusting to see him letting out gas for like 10 times in twenty seconds in a row".
"Well, you cannot blame him", the muscular man said as he waved his pointer finger in a 'no-no' motion. He then smirked. "After all, he's just pr-".
The two animals abruptly slammed their hands on the table.
"WHO IN THEIR RIGHT CONSCIOUS MIND WOULD USE THEIR BACKSIDE'S GAS TO FIGHT FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!?"
"So dude. I see you're two-dimensional. Got any ideas why?"
"Beep!"
"Uh… again?"
"Beep!"
"A…gain?"
Mr. Game and Watch then pulled a sign out of nowhere.
'Are you mocking me!?", it said.
"What!?"
"Little Mac, he can't speak", a man with a red sword said as he approached the duo. "Besides, it's been two months since we got here. How come you still don't know he can't talk?"
"First conversation ever", the boxer said as he rested his head on his palm, with unamused look.
"Besides, you know I usually spend my time grinding that 'Training Room' or whatever it's called, Shulk".
The Monado boy simply chuckled.
"And for what reason you manage to find yourself here?"
"Wii Fit Trainer said to me that excessive workout is not pretty, so she told me to just give it a rest for a while".
"That's all?"
"No. She also said something along the lines of 'Too many workouts can backfire on your small height'".
A laugh erupted.
Little Mac glared at Shulk, "Dude. I swear if you put my height on your 'laughable things' list, we're gonna have a boxing match".
"Chill, buddy. Chill…"
"Beep!"
The boxer turned around, "What?"
Game and Watch put up another sign again.
'You are as tall as Mario. And no one mocks him for it. Why are you so sensitive about it?'
The little boxer sighed.
"You don't know how it feels being a midget in boxing. My opponents are giants compared to me. I win over them? Sure. But that doesn't mean people still kept on underestimating me because of my appearance".
"But still, you don't really need to go with blazing hands everytime people mentions your height. After all, there still are people who are as short or even shorter than you. Even Game and Watch's shorter!".
…
"And there he goes", Little Mac said in amusement as Game and Watch just pulled a '9' sign and sent Shulk flying a few hundred metres away with an electrouced hammer.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…Why are you here?", a man finally said after a long silence between him and another person.
"I am here by my own reasons", a voice replied.
"Meta Knight, was it? I suggest you scram before my fists create a hole on your ball body".
"If that's a fight you want, I will gladly accept it", Meta Knight said simply.
And then he quickly side-stepped to the side to avoid a hand from crushing him from above. The force was so strong, it created cracks around the ground.
"Your speed do not match mine".
Another punch was narrowly dodged.
"You have a lot of nerve bat ball", Ganondorf spat, fists radiating with dark energy. "Words do not faze me".
"…A battle it is then"
Pit sat on his chair in his room as he continously tapped his fingers onto his table tirelessly. His face was blank as he stared off the window, while having chin supported by his right hand. The Palutena Bow leaned towards the wall, as if it has not been touched since yesterday.
Pit's voice then broke the silence.
"Lady Palutena, can you hear me?"
The sounds went still until another voice spoke.
"Yes? What is it?"
"Do you see Pittoo anywhere?"
"No… I afraid not".
The angel sighed, "It's been 3 days since the last I saw him. His door is locked, no sign, no notice, just nothing".
"Have you asked the others?"
"Of course I have. And no, nothing. Nobody has seen him".
Palutena went silent.
"No one saw him for three days. That's kind of impossible for a smasher. If you're in a mansion with fifty plus people and you went missing for three days straight, something must've happened to you…", Pit stated.
"…Did he miss any battles?"
"Thankfully not. But he got a battle for tommorow, and I'll be damned if I don't find him today".
"I'm sure he's okay. After all, he was created from you, Pit. You don't fall easily, and he doesn't and won't either".
"I'm worried about him", Pit said. "Ever since getting here, he's not his usual self. He would usually try to walk away from the others, and he didn't speak much to anyone… I wonder what has gotten into him".
"Perhaps he needs a little bit more time to adapt. Just give him a little time for himself. He will be fine", Palutena reassured.
Pit had his mouth shut for a bit, before weakly smiling, "Thanks, Lady Palutena".
"Anytime, Pit. Now if you'll excuse me…".
Pit then sensed Palutena was no longer connected to him. He continued to stare off the window, but couldn't help to think.
'Pittoo… Where are you?'
Luigi closed the door entrance. He was greeted by numerous noises, but he shrugged it off and walked to the metallic fence gate.
Before he can open it, however, a hand was placed on his back.
"Where are you going?"
Luigi turned back.
"Mario. Did you got A rank on every subjects on Boo's Sneaking Academy? Seriously now".
"I'm serious Luigi. Where have you been last night?", inquired Mario.
Luigi fell dead silent.
"I read that sign in front of your door. I tried to search everywhere in the mansion, but you're of nowhere to see… Where were you?"
"I, uh…".
"What?"
" I was just out for a little breathing room… Y'know, night is usually peaceful… and you know how I like things…".
Mario then eyeballed Luigi with squinted eyes.
"Your OWN room isn't peaceful enough?"
"Nah. Sometimes we just gotta blend in with the nature bro", Luigi replied with a grin.
Mario rolled his eyes, even though he's not entirely convinced, he decided to drop the subject and asked another important point.
"Speaking of which, where are you going right now? And no, 'blending with nature' doesn't count because what's with the backpack".
"Out for a mission. I need to go to Smash Forest to find out whatever is causing the energy readings and-".
"Wait wait. Slow down", Mario held up his hands, interjecting his brother. "First off. What are you talking about?"
"Master Hand recently got readings of unknown force from the forest. He then tasked me to find out what it is and… yeah. We're here".
"Why you though? Couldn't he have picked someone else?"
Luigi rubbed his head.
"Don't ask me".
However, the red plumber wasn't done.
"…Why am I sensing some secrets behind this?"
"Uh, no. Why should I lie to you?"
"I mean, there should be a reason why he picked you. He couldn't have just ran over the entire cast and randomly picked you. Master Hand isn't idiotic like that. He actually plans things ahead. So there MUST be cause on why he called you".
If it was possible, Luigi would've looked at the screen with an unamused face at the moment.
"Mario. Master Hand must've had his reasons", a voice suddenly came in.
The both bros spun their heads to the voice.
"Wait. Rosalina? What are you doing here?"
"I'm sorry, but I accidentically overheard your conversation", she replied.
"It's fine. But what were you saying?".
Luigi looked to Rosalina in an appreciating manner, even though she didn't notice.
"Like you said, Master Hand thinks things through. He must have had his reasons, even though it's confidential to public, maybe even Luigi doesn't know. My point is, why oppose the brains when they have think it through?"
Mario put a finger horizontally below his chin. What she said makes sense. Luigi secretly let out a sigh of relief. He had fears this would gone long.
He then sighed. "…Fine… Just come out alive on this one, not the near-dead state like you did when Crazy's antics malfunctioned…".
Luigi chuckled at the remark. Master Hand had made an excuse for him looking like a corpse by 'Crazy did something stupid and blew the crap outta him'. It was an effective lie, even though there are questionable points and holes. Robin had his brain versed with Master Hand's, but the latter managed to convince him… barely.
Luigi looked to both of them, before saying, "Alright then. I guess I'll be leaving now".
As he opened the fence door, he looked back as he put up a hand over his shoulder and exited out of the mansion's area.
Mario and Rosalina stared until he vanished from sight.
"By the way, I didn't expect you to be so knowledged on this matter…", Mario suddenly said, alerting the female.
"…Did Luigi informed you this before me?"
"Well, yes. I asked why he is carrying a backpack, and he told me he was on mission", she replied.
"As simple as that? You didn't try to pull something else out?"
"Um, yes?"
Mario covered his mouth and squinted his eyes as he eyed Rosalina.
"…You two aren't hiding something… right?"
Oh God. Can he stop being right.
"No…", Rosalina said lazily. "We have no reason to hide anything from you".
"Maybe…", Mario closed his eyes as his head hung low.
But then he bursted out in a laughter, with Rosalina backing away a bit due to her fearing the plumber has gone mad.
"Ha!", Mario said between laughs. "Oh man. Why am I even thinking this. That's kinda impossible!"
Rosalina tilted her head slightly, "Um… okay?"
"Alright then. See you later then Rosalina", Mario said as he walked away.
But when the space female was about to breathe a sigh of relief, she overheard Mario say:
"Like, why am I even thinking that Luigi could've had a night in her room yesterday?"
Her face turned the same color as tomato that instant.
Can he stop being right indeed.
*Later…*
"Oh. Gee. Here we go…".
Luigi walked slowly as he looked around the forest. He had entered it seconds ago, and he didn't expect it to be so dark. The sun was shining very brightly, but the dense forest seem to not allow much light sneaking in through the thick layers of leaves it seems.
"…Good thing I didn't go to here at night then…", Luigi said as he gulped.
"But the place is still dark…".
The green plumber was never fond of dark places. He had enough experience of it already.
"Let's search for something…", he whispered.
Unknown to him however, a bush shook with low enough sound to not be noticed.
"So first off, clues".
Luigi began to search for bushes, observed the trees, and inspect everything his eyes can see. As he examined his surroundings, he noticed something that made his courage dissolved into nothing.
"B-blood?", he whispered.
There were small dribbles of blood on the ground. They continued as such they made a trail.
"What… What is this…?", he asked in disbelief.
"Should I… should I follow it?"
Luigi then was split between two choices: Ignore the blood and keep searching, or follow the trail.
"Calm down… calm down…", Luigi continuously whispered to himself.
'These blood aren't guaranteed to be a human's… right? I mean, they can be some animals… And maybe this will lead me to the energy source…'.
Luigi stared at the trail, and then moved his head up to look on what direction the blood went.
'But it might be dangerous…'.
Luigi closed his eyes with head hung low. He silenced for a while, before looking up with determined face.
'Come on Luigi! Don't falter now!'
He then raised his leg, and stepped to the side as he followed the trace.
Again, not known to him, a bush shook again.
Luigi kept on walking. The blood took him fairly deep into the forest, to the moment where he think it was a mistake following the trail.
But just when he wanted to turn back, he met the end of the trace.
And his jaw dropped.
"What the…", Luigi spoke.
"What's with all of this blood!?"
The trace led Luigi into something even bigger. He saw a pool of blood right before his eyes.
Gulping, Luigi tried to walk closer to it. Slowly but surely, he was making progress. With his body shaking, he approached the pool of blood.
But then, he heard a loud shake in the bush nearby.
"Who's there!?", Luigi exclaimed, with uncertainty painted on his face.
A shake then could be heard in yet another bush.
"Who!?", he yelled again.
As he looked around however, a shadowed entity made its way out of a bush, charging at Luigi from his back.
When Luigi looked behind, it was too late.
All he knew was he screamed before his vision went black.
The scene changed into a view of a cliff. At the edge of it, a black angel could be seen staring off to the distance. A weapon similar to Pit's Palutena Bow was sheathed onto the ground beside of him, the difference being the weapon's colors were silver instead of gold. Otherwise, they looked the same.
The figure continued to contemplate the scenery of the cliff, occasionally sighing, either due to the beautiful sight or his own problems. But it was silent and serene for the person, and he chose to enjoy it for the time being.
…That is. Until his thoughts were interrupted by a certain loud scream, coming from the forest behind him.
He turned his head in shock.
"What was that?", he said, picking up his bow.
"I better get there, fast!"
Dark Pit then ran towards the nearby forest as quickly as he can.
When Dark Pit arrived at the forest, he saw the same thing Luigi see.
"Blood…", he whispered as he examined the drops of blood.
He looked forward, and sure enough, there were yet again dribbles of blood making a trail.
"Don't tell me…", he said with gritted teeth, standing up with fists clenched.
"Damn it!"
Dark Pit ran, following the blood trail. He then arrived at somewhere else in the forest. Where he is was the last thing he could concern, however.
"…Pool of blood?"
Dark Pit looked around, and there was no more blood except for the pool of it right before his eyes.
A sudden shake in the bush alerted him.
"Who's there!?"
Yet another shake.
"Show yourself!"
When Dark Pit was distracted, however, a figure jumped out of the bushes, running to Dark Pit from behind.
All the black angel know was turning, putting his blades in front of him, before he felt one half of his bow was snatched away. He then felt massive pain all over his body, all in just an instant. He tried to scream, but his voice couldn't come out.
Not being able to put up a fight, he blacked out.
*Later…*
The day went very hot in the afternoon. Most smashers were in the mansion due to the heat discouraging them from wandering outside. They went off doing their own affairs, as usual.
However, none of them could notice swarms of black particles floating over the fence, carrying a person with them. The person looked very beat up, as blood trailed from various locations on his body, and he was knocked unconscious. Keeping a low profile, the swarms slowly hovered and made their way to the entrance door.
When they are a few metres away, they winded themselves up, and threw the person to the mansion's door, producing a loud 'BRAGH!' as they quickly vanished from sight.
The sound alerted the people inside. When everyone's attentions are focused on the door, Pit quickly approached the door and opened it.
He saw nothing in his line of sight. When he looked below, however, he instantly snapped.
"PITTOO!"
"Urgh…"
Luigi slowly opened his eyes. His vision blurred for a second as he struggled to disclose his eyes. He was experiencing one of the most throbbing headaches he has ever caught. He placed a hand on his head as he spoke out.
"…Where… am I?"
With half-closed eyes, he could briefly make a campfire in front of him. And he could feel his head was supported by a hard surface, log perhaps. His thoughts went short, however, as he heard another voice.
"And finally, for a thousand years, the plumber woke up…", a deep voice said in musical voice.
Luigi turned to the person. What he saw made his eyes shoot open and if possible, they would be zooming in to the figure in shock.
The figure simply smirked.
Luigi however, quickly backed off in sitting poition, as what in front of him was too unbelieveable to be true he didn't bother to stand.
"Surprised?", the figure asked, still smirking.
Luigi pointed a finger to him.
"You… You…", he struggled to get his words out.
"Why… Why…?", yet another stammering.
"What is it?", the person asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Why… WHY DO YOU LOOK LIKE ME!?"
Hey! A new chappy is up!
I decided to write something about the smashers first before I get on to the mission... Speaking of which, I'm sorry if some characters are a bit OOC due to my lack of experience seeing them with personality *coughcough Captain Falcon coughcough maybe Fox and Falco too coughcough a bit of Meta Knight and Ganondorf perhaps coughcough*. And Luigi? Don't worry. He looked brave, but that's only when he's not in a dark place alone people :P.
And ooh! Luigi was attacked! And ooh! Pittoo was assaulted! Who is this attacker? Find out soon... (Although. I'm sure some of you, if not ALL of you know who is it...) and speaking of find out soon, THE VOICE FINALLY APPEARED!
Whoisit whoisit whoisit? Find out in the next chapter folks! Maybe this can be a bit unpredicted, but I do hope he can come out as a decent surprise... if you can already guess who is it then wow lol.
Anyhoo. That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and R&R!
See ya!