Chapter 22: Sleepover and Karaoke
"Are you sure this is a good idea?"
Peach was currently sitting on a very large bed, Bowser's bed to be specific, and the Koopa had a certain narcissistic tendency to put his face on his furniture, not to mention his interior design in general. The miniature heads that was put on each side of the bedfoot sneered at Princess Peach who was more concerned with the real thing, who was busy holding on to his bed.
Why hold on to a bed? Well, Bowser had been informed that the Smashers were to spend the night in the living room and, being the mighty king that he was, he was set on sleeping in his own bed. He was currently trying to get his enormous bed down the stairs and had asked Peach to contribute with her weight to make things easier. The bed was balancing on the top of the stairs, half of it tilting into the air with the steep stairs below.
"Ha! Good idea? All my ideas are great," Bowser said. "And this is probably the best idea I've ever had."
"I wonder," Peach thought aloud and crawled nearer the end of the bed to glance down the ominous fall that awaited if Bowser did not keep her safe.
"Don't," Bowser gasped. He had been trying to stop his panting for a while, because despite his great strength it had proved to be more of a challenge to deal with the heavy bed than he had expected and he needed Peach's weight on his end. He fought against gravity, unwilling to ruin the fine wood of the bed with his claws and even more unwilling to have the bed drop down the stairs with Peach on it.
Ganondorf was leaning against the railing on the second floor and snickered at the circus being played out before him.
"You find this amusing?"
He knew that voice.
"Princess Zelda."
She placed herself next to him, frowning at the tilting bed and Peach's dangerous position. Her friend did not seem to realize the danger at all and eagerly discussed the best strategy to get the bed down with her kidnapper who was sweating terribly.
"You choose to show yourself only when there is misery to humor you?" Zelda said, eyes not straying from Peach and Bowser.
"You managed to slink away from you suitors?"
"Link and Marth might not always be on the same page but you cannot insinuate that it would have anything to do with me. I asked you first though."
Ganondorf had to say that Zelda was the stupidest woman he had ever come across. Of course Link and Marth's fighting had nothing at all to do with her.
"I have not yet been able to think of a reason why you would even find any interest in this competition to begin with," Zelda added. "The chance of seeing somebody fall down the stairs is something far too petty and fleeting to attract you. I have been meaning to ask you for quite some time now; why are you here?"
She was the most brilliant woman he had ever met too.
Ganondorf reached for her hand, both him and Zelda looking away from Peach and Bowser's little project in the background. The Gerudo's dark-skinned hand had to be twice as big as Link's and Zelda felt that he could break her wrist like a twig. His amber eyes welcomed her piercing look.
"I thought that we had already been though this," he said. "That there are things here to attract me." The touch made the faint glow of a golden triangle shine through the fabric of Zelda's glove. One appeared on the back of his hand as well, contrasting against his black gauntlet. "It is not like you to forget."
Zelda pulled away. Ganondorf formed a smirk, when suddenly a shriek that could only belong to Peach pierced their ears and the Hyruleans turned around to find an empty-handed Bowser where there previously had been a bed with him. The hacking sounds of the bed bumping down the stairs were stressing the seconds and, in the oddness that was shock erasing time, the ones who had been startled by the scream became aware of their own inability to react.
Fortunately, the bed made no somersault and Peach landed on the bottom floor with widened eyes and her hair messed up, but other than that unharmed. Bowser ran, and stumbled every other step, down the stairs with unconcealed worry of the Princess's wellbeing.
"You're all right?" he asked in his gruff voice, tentatively trying to fix her hair. Peach's first reaction after her little ride was however not to bother about her sunny blonde curls, but to see if there was any sight of Mario rushing to the rescue. It could have ended badly and that was when her hero usually made his entrance.
The first thing that crossed the Princess's vision was sadly not the plumber she was looking for but Mewtwo standing nearby and he could probably have been run over by a certain bed if it had just glided a bit further. The Pokémon's violet irises expressed nothing but indifference to the possibility of being flattened by a bed with Bowser's face on it, but Peach mistook it for shock.
"Oh, my, are you okay, Mewtwo?" she asked worriedly and unfortunately made him a disservice, because Bowser also noticed Mewtwo standing right before them. The scapegoat he had been searching, because it was troublesome blaming yourself when you were in the process of putting a wondrous idea into effect.
"Aren't you s'posed to have ESP, PSI or whatever it's called?" Bowser yelled and approached Mewtwo with a finger pointing accusingly at the Pokémon. "Why didn't you use your powers to make sure she got a safe landing?"
"But I did have a safe landing," Peach pointed out.
Bowser ignored her and held a lengthy monologue about Mewtwo's bad attitude that would be the end of the Super Smash Brothers and once he lost his inspiration for insults he turned on Ganondorf and Zelda who were watching from above.
"And you with your magical square powers just stood there watchin' instead of making the bed fly like you should've," Bowser accused.
Zelda still held her hand raised from her attempt at helping Peach, but it had all happened too quickly for her to do anything and Bowser's accusation made her clench her open palm into a fist. Ganondorf looked nothing but amused at Bowser's flaring anger. Not the smallest sign of guilt was shown from him. He crossed his arms on the railing and a deep chuckle left his mouth.
"First off, they are triangles enhanced with the power of our goddesses, and let me add the word psychokinetic to your dictionary. Second, I do not think that it is worth lifting a finger for that woman's sake."
Peach gave up her persistent search for Mario and gaped at the man who just said that he could not care less if she broke her neck and died right in front of him. Bowser shrunk away, never really having heard anybody say that they were fine with somebody dying before their eyes and not doing anything about it when they could.
Ganondorf appeared satisfied with the blank stares he was receiving and decided to leave them to take in this new reality. He could feel Zelda's gaze boring into his back when he walked away.
"I assume that you will not join us this evening?" the princess said with a venomous tone.
Mewtwo had begun to glide away when Bowser noticed him trying to escape and in desperate need to get his mind off the Gerudo's words he started yelling at the Pokémon again. Mewtwo stopped and let him have his speech while looking at the Koopa King like he was a toothbrush or something of equal interest.
Donkey Kong who had just finished his banana close by, and was thus aware of the world around him again, noticed the oral abuse and rushed over on all four to assist his best buddy. The well-meant support was, as Mewtwo would put it, pointless in every aspect. The two giants started a heated argument that to outsiders sounded most like "ooh he hi he hoo" blended with a bit of "groarrr wrao wrrrr".
Peach slanted down from the bed, more than disappointed over Mario's absence. She watched Mewtwo finally make his escape and looked around for somebody to hug.
Roy, who was taking a look at the not too impressive range of titles in the bookcase, reached for his sword when Peach suddenly wrapped her arms around him from behind. Upon recognizing her sobs he relaxed, letting his fingers uncurl from the hilt.
"Did you see what just happened?" Peach sniffed.
"Y-yes, you are not hurt, are you?"
Roy cringed and stared at the books in front of him, setting his gaze on "Construction of Castles – A Journey Through Time by Uther Bogus" with the charming subheading "The Princess Will Follow to the Very Last One". It was just a little bit awkward to have a woman, no matter how lovely, throw her arms around you without warning.
"That's not the point here," Peach said and he could imagine the way her glossy bottom lip quivered. "Mario didn't come. He always comes, Roy. I'm worried." She sighed. "He's probably just busy but what if something happened or what if he does not care about me?"
Roy forgot about the position he was in and whirled around with a strict look, which he had adapted from his father, on his face. "Now, why would he hate you?" he said sternly. Peach considered telling him that "hate" was perhaps not how she had phrased it but it was nice to have someone take a little bit of consideration in you, although she could put on a brave face if she had to. Since Roy offered it she could get some of her doubts off her chest.
"But he must think I'm awful because I didn't come to see his fight. The first fight. That he was chosen for." Tears were forming. "He must think that I don't care and then why should he care?"
Roy did not go as far as to embrace her but he patted her on the back and put his other hand consolingly on her shoulder before she could break into more sobs. "You have been crying too much today, Peach. Mario's not here. If he were I am sure that Bowser would not be up walking and tonight you'll make up with him, right?"
"Am I interrupting something?"
Peach brushed away a few tears and Roy let go of her when Fox and Falco showed up. The blue falcon lingered behind his leader who stood with his arms crossed.
"Just wanted to check that you're all right," Fox clarified with a nod at Peach. Zelda chose that moment to show up as well and exhaled with a hand on her chest and plaintive eyes that almost made Peach cry again.
"I am fine, thank you," Peach said and smiled at all of them. The rest of the people in the living room turned back to what they were doing with relieved smiles and Zelda let out a grateful sigh.
"I am sorry that I could not do anything," the Hylian Princess apologized.
"Shush, I said I'm fine," Peach ensured and giggled. It was very hard to keep on being sad when so many people were relying on you to be happy. Peach allowed herself to depend on Roy's word that everything would turn out for the better and could therefore tend to less wearying things. Like her hair that was in dire need of some loving care from a hairbrush. She tried to fluff it up a bit, choosing not to notice Fox ogling her pose.
"Has everybody been informed about tonight's activities?" Peach asked. The Noki had disappeared to his office and not done a thing to prepare for the slumber party in the living room the same evening. Peach was not one to leave matters to take care of themselves and had tried her best to organize the party herself, while relying on Roy to spread the information around.
"You, Zelda and Samus know," Fox said and grinned at her.
"I think that everyone has heard of it," Zelda elaborated after giving Fox a side-glance. "Roy is very effective when it comes to these things." Roy smiled politely at her. "Everybody seems very enthusiastic about the idea as well."
"Oh-ho-ho, yeah! I got the best spot," Bowser cheered, having just positioned his bed behind the couch in the living room and happily bounced onto it. "I own the slumber party."
"Well, I am glad that people are looking forward to it," Peach replied to Zelda and looked away from Bowser with a small headshake. "Unless there are things I have not been informed of this looks like it'll be a success. I have already promised that Jigglypuff can borrow my beanbag to sleep on and Popo and Nana have been promised the couch. I found some extra mattresses too, because I really do not think that a sleeping bag alone will do, like some people seem to believe."
The children, watching TV as usual, all ran past them, suddenly inspired by Bowser to get themselves a good spot to put their sleeping bags. With the exception of the Ice Climbers who had everything settled and changed the channel to a romantic film, because that was what Nana liked to watch.
Young Link figured that his second room, belonging to his older version, was closer to the stairs and in order to beat his friends to the best spot he decided that he could just as well get his things from there. He rushed inside while Ness, the most dangerous foe, kept running as fast as his short legs would carry him to his own room.
Young Link ripped the pillow and blanket off the bed, completely ignoring his older self's inquiries and protests. He slid past the older Link and stopped outside the door to take a look around and immediately regretted it. Ness came running back, must faster than Link had expected and the young Hylian set off in a hurry. Luckily, he did not need any motivation to gain speed quickly because the older Link did not plan on letting him get away.
"You get back here now, you little brat," his own deeper voice called out from behind him.
Ness could impossibly run faster than Link, young Link thought to himself. So if he just could escape himself, who sadly was gaining on him, he would win this friendly competition. On an impulse he decided to jump over the railing to the ground floor. Link who had just reached out to grab his younger self was suddenly grasping at thin air and ended up at the top of the stairs before he could realize what had just happened. Ness, who was further back, saw the stunt and decided to do the same thing himself. With a soft landing, he was psychic after all, he could speed up faster than young Link and perhaps get the better spot.
"I'll sleep here," young Link cried, throwing himself at a big area of empty floor. Being a bit too caught up in the moment, like he always was, he did not really consider the small detail that he could not soften his fall since he was hugging the pillow and blanket to his body. With aching elbows he sat up cross-legged and grinned.
"Then I'll sleep here," Ness shouted and bounced down beside Link. "This spot is better anyway," he added and grinned back at his friend.
"N-"
Young Link yelped when his older self grabbed his tunic by the back of his neck and lifted his feet off the ground. He helplessly struggled to free himself, his feet paddling through the air.
"May I ask what you're doing?" Link asked with a voice smooth as honey.
"Oh, this won't do," Peach said when she popped up in front of Link and picked the boy up in her arms. Young Link gratefully wrapped arms and legs around her, until he noticed Zelda standing behind Peach. With a sheepish smile he loosened his grip somewhat and waved at his princess, eager to show her how very noticed she was.
"Don't defend him." Link scowled and took a step closer to Peach. He barely managed to conceal how much it irritated him to see himself in Peach's arms when Zelda was watching. "He has some explaining to do."
Peach cocked her head to the side. "Explaining? That will have to wait because he needs a mattress or he'll hurt his back."
"I can sleep on the floor. I'm used to it," young Link cut in. The older Lin felt his eyes against his will move to Zelda who, as expected, was frowning at him. They had been through it far too many times. She would pester him about how he did not take care of himself while he would, gently, argue that she was worrying about nothing. She had gotten things her way in the end. No self-destructive behavior from him any longer. Of course, it would be different with his past self.
"Link," Zelda said with the reproachful tone that Link would describe as the "no use to argue" tone. "Peach and I can fetch a mattress for you. Everybody else will have one so, please, don't be difficult."
"Okay, Zelda, but you shouldn't do work like that. I'll go get one myself," young Link said cheerfully and Peach even looked at the boy appreciatively. Link had to wonder if it was possible that there somewhere could live a person who looked exactly like you but was not related to you in any way. He was nothing like how he remembered himself. Then again, things had always been different whenever Zelda was concerned.
"Why would he need a mattress? Why sleep here at all?" Link asked.
"Because we're having a slumber party here of course," Peach said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"You did not hear?" Zelda said.
"No."
"That's too bad," Peach said and put young Link down. "Anyway, Zelda, let's go pick out nightgowns."
Peach grabbed Zelda hand and pulled her away before even Link who was always keeping a close eye on the princess could protest.
"Don't forget the mattress, Link," Zelda called out as she was dragged up the stairs.
A few hours later the floor was hidden underneath the many beds, mattresses, sleeping bags and everything else you, with a little bit of inspiration, could use to sleep in. Peach had suggested that they would eat their dinner, this evening done by the Mario Bros, in the living room, which was why the Smashers were crowding around the television with plates on their laps.
Mario, whose greatest strength and weakness was his inability to recognize obstacles, had let all the Smashers order their dinner if they wanted to. Luigi had ended up taking care of most of the cooking though since Mario, after generously receiving the orders, had been busy making a delicious Spaghetti Carbonara for Peach as a loving gesture.
The Princess should not have worried about Mario being upset that she had not seen his match. He did not know about it and even if he had he could understand that sometimes circumstances got in the way of the most important of things. When Peach told him about the blunder, with exaggerated regret, he was happy to give her his own résumé. Peach was overjoyed that she had misunderstood why he had not been around when she had wanted him to and happily twirled spaghetti on her fork as she sat on Mario's lap in one of the armchairs. She had to keep both her spaghetti and his pizza Hawaii on her own lap, her body taking up all of his, but it was more than worth it.
"Chi mangia bene, mangia Italiano, right, Peachie?" Mario said and she nodded with the fork in her mouth.
Young Link, Ness, Popo and Nana were sitting in the loveseat, with Pikachu, Pichu, Jigglypuff and Kirby divided among them. They had some trouble keeping their pizzas in order, except for Kirby who had already finished his but instead had to suffer the gnawing hunger of longing for more. His eyes shone of gratefulness when Jigglypuff shared some of her Vesuvio.
Zelda was cuddling up to Link who was trying his best not to choke on his Capricciosa. She was eating an Italian salad, like Marth who was sulking on a mattress with an awfully quiet Roy next to him nibbling on a Panini.
Squeezed together on the couch with Link and Zelda were also Samus and Captain Falcon. Samus, who was still in her suit when everyone else had switched to pajamas, stared down at her tasty risotto. Usually she would sit together with everybody at the dinner table and then sneak off to eat inside her room but she could hardly do that now. Falcon had during the previous tournament, when they had lived in a shabby building downtown and lived on fast food, stupidly commented that she should get a hatch or something for the food. His helmet did not cover the bottom half of his face and he was way too happily eating his Spaghetti Bolognese.
"Stop slurping," she muttered bitterly as he sucked a long spaghetti straw into his mouth.
"Why are we watching this movie again?" Falcon asked and changed the topic. Peach had decided that they should watch a cartoon, for the children's sake but they had, under the influence of Ness, wildly argued that they wanted to see a "real" film. Peach had given in and chosen a romantic comedy, much to Falcon and Samus's dismay.
"Come on, what man drives a car like that?" Falcon said and was hushed at by Peach who did not want her snuggling with Mario to be interrupted.
"Yeah, what man?" Ness agreed, focusing on the wrong thing in the sentence. Young Link and Popo nodded in agreement while Nana shook her head and concentrated on the movie.
In the middle of the film an empty bag of potato chips was thrown on Mario's head and the plumber was not too pleased to have his sweet-talk with Peach interrupted. He scanned the room, scrutinizing the many dark silhouettes lit up by the television screen.
"For the love of- Bowser, quit whistling," Fox yelled, engrossed with the attractive heroine of the film who was currently crying crocodile tears and hanging around the waist of the male lead while sobbing uncontrollably.
"No, don't leave me. I-I…" the female cried, tossing with her hair and dramatically dropping lower to wrap herself around the man's legs. "…Don't want you to go!"
"Shit, and I really thought that she had built up the courage to confess her love," Fox muttered, not noticing his untouched food being eaten by Falco.
"I know, even after she practiced on confessing with that Spanish bartender," Nana squeaked, biting on the pink sleeve of her pajamas that matched Popo's blue one perfectly.
"But he's misunderstood their relationship," Popo added breathlessly and then noticed the look Ness and young Link gave him. "I think… I have not really been paying attention."
Bowser munched at some crumbs of potato chips he found left on the ground around him.
"That was so beautiful," Peach sniffled, dabbing her eyes with a laced handkerchief when the credits rolled after the scene where the happy couple sailed off into the sunset with the wind blowing in their shampooed hair.
"Now what?" Ness asked.
"Karaoke," Peach exclaimed and jumped up from Mario's lap. The handkerchief flew off to the side. "Switch the light on, please."
The Smashers groaned and covered their eyes when the light suddenly came back on. Peach blinked, her smile locked in place.
"You can't have missed the stage I put up?" Peach said once her eyes had adjusted to the light and pointed at the large stage that had been placed in the living room. She scurried over to it with the Smashers exchanging glances and hesitantly following. Peach's eyes glistened at them and everybody obediently sat down on the many mattresses on the floor. The exception was Captain Falcon who thought that this was a good time to go to the bathroom, with a thick book.
"Now, the ones singing can look at this little TV here," Peach explained, putting her hands on the top of an old-fashioned television facing the stage. "And the rest of us can watch the lyrics on the big screen behind the singers. Now, the theme is musicals-"
"Musicals?" Bowser interrupted her. "I'm not singing."
"The alternative is the 80's. We're drawing lots to decide who's singing," Peach said and then smiled at the people sitting in a half circle around her. Bowser groaned loudly at the sight of the hat the Noki had used to pick the teams for the three-legged race. "First up is…Samus and… Marth."
Fox whistled when Samus clamped onto the stage and grabbed the microphone Peach handed her. She did not like singing and because of that it was not all too tempting doing it in front of a huge audience that you were supposed to live with for a year. If she was to sing while wearing her suit her voice would come out raspy and even more awful than it already was too.
What the bounty hunter was soon to realize was that her dislike was nothing in comparison to that of Marth's. He stiffly walked onstage in his blue striped pajamas and glared at her.
"You're singing You're the One That I Want from Grease," Peach said in the second microphone before she handed it to Marth and clapped her hands. The beat began to play when the princess sat down between Mario and Yoshi and a rather disappointed Luigi sighed on Mario's other side.
"I got chills, they're multiplying, and I'm looosing contro-ol, because the power you're supplying, is electrifying," Marth sang with no feeling whatsoever and too proper pronunciation. He had a velvety voice and to be able to sing that monotonously, one could tell that he had an impressive control over it. But it mattered little when he barely changed the tone and faced somewhere to the side.
"You better shape up, 'cause I need a man," Samus sang, just a little bit uncertain about the melody. Considering how seldom she sang she did well. It was hardly false at all and she had a strong voice. Marth whirled around and gave her a dark look, his blue bangs casting a shadow over his face. She smirked, thinking that it was not she who had written the lyrics. If he took it as an offense to his manliness, that was his problem.
With some difficulty she unwillingly sang on: "And my heart is set on you."
Their performance did hardly make the audience rise in their seats. The duo had potential but ruined it by not having enough experience in Samus's case, not making the shadow of an effort in Marth's case and neither trying to hide their strong dislike for one another.
"Well… Peach said hesitantly. "Marth sure has a nice voice. Next up is… me…" She smiled. "And Popo, and we're singing Under Attack from Mamma Mia."
"Don't do it, Popo," Ness said with a look that Popo interpreted to say that otherwise he would not be allowed to play with them. But before he could object, Peach pulled him onto the stage and a traditional pop beat began to play. Peach was happy since this was a song with high tones and her voice would not allow her to take many low notes. She sang the first verse splendidly while Popo stood trembling beside her, pondering if he should make a run for it. Nana, ever the fan of pop music sparkled at her friend from the audience, shining like a star among a blurry mass of dark clouds. Against better knowing the boy joined in when it was time for the chorus with the steady banging on a synth in the background.
"Under attack, I'm being taken, about to crack, defences breaking. Won't somebody, please, have a heart? Come and rescue me now 'cause I'm falling apart. Under attack, I'm taking cover. He's on my track, my chasing lover, thinking nothing can stop him now…"
"She's singing about me," Bowser said, nudging Yoshi who was sitting to his left with his elbow.
Popo and Peach received wild applause once the song was done, they boy being quite the singer for his age and Peach having escaped the tones she could not sing.
"Okay, next up is…" Peach said, fanning herself from the heat the warm applause had given. "Link and Zelda singing All I Ask of You from The Phantom of the Opera."
Link, who had repeatedly during the evening expressed his worry that the Princess of Hyrule was seen in her nightgown, stood up with mixed emotions. Zelda wore a long white silk robe over her equally long nightgown, but Link still kept a watching eye on exactly where Marth was looking. He himself wore one of his tunics over a pair of pajama pants. It was hard not to be affected by the fact that he was singing a love song, with Zelda. She did not look quite as ecstatic as he would have hoped.
"Is it okay with you?" she whispered. He somehow managed to smile and nod just before the long intro started playing. "I am not sure about this," she quietly admitted, glancing at the audience.
"Just look at me. We've sung before, right?" he mumbled. The music made her reassured smile come across as the most loving of smiles to ever have graced her lips. The classical tune played on, slow and soothing in an enchanting way that made the hero want to reach out. Perhaps when she looked like she would never run away he could at least touch her hand. But when he moved he found the microphone in his hand and realized that it was time to start singing. He barely had time to take a breath. "No more talk of darkness, forget these wide-eyed fears. I'm here, nothing can harm you. My words will warm and calm you."
People were in awe, whether they liked it or not. A few mouths fell open. Even those who had expected a boring and slow song, spending the intro yawning, was struck by the sincerity in Link's voice once he had gotten past the first few staggering notes. He was gentle, but never had that side of him been this clear, and none could have suspected such pure singing to come out of him.
Zelda smiled warmly at Link who almost forgot to look at the lyrics. His throat felt thick, and in truth he had trouble singing. In a very odd way this felt like it was the feelings he could not put into words. How he wished that he possessed the ability to convey everything that she made him feel. It was a glimpse of that wish to stand here; borrowing these words and having Zelda look back at him like it was music to her ears.
"Let me be your freedom, let daylight dry your tears. I'm here, with you, beside you, to guard you and to guide you…" he sang on.
With a drawn out note she answered him.
"Say you love me every waking moment-"
"I DO!"
People stared at him. Zelda stared at him. Marth glared at him. Link snapped out of his sweet fantasy, finding himself holding on to Zelda's shoulders, awkwardly holding a microphone squeezed between one palm and her shoulder at the same time. He hesitantly let go, feeling her body brush against his chest before she took a step back.
"I-I…" he stuttered helplessly, still with his arms awkwardly raised. He could feel the blush on his cheeks like fire. No matter where he looked there was no escape or any help. The song kept on playing in the background, embarrassingly clear when everything else was silent.
Bowser mumbled "pay up" to Ganondorf while people waited for whatever was to follow.
Link felt his heart sink when he saw how Zelda refused to look at him. It bothered her that he had said it and it was like a thousand knives had stabbed him. Of course she would never feel the same way about him and now he was not even able to keep his position as her dearest. Dearest friend.
He could not bear to wait any longer for her to say anything. If she was to answer he would be forever crushed and she would answer, because she always did no matter how painful.
"Z-Zelda, I was just too caught up in the moment. You know how I can be, right?" he blurted out. He did not know how he had succeeded to keep his voice stable. Only a few trembles.
Samus groaned and shook her head. "Don't back down now you fool."
"Right," Zelda said softly, closing her eyes tightly and then gazing at him when she reopened them.
"Sorry, I ruined the song," Link said hesitantly, since he could think of nothing else to say. He scratched the back of his head, just wanting to get off the stage.
"Okay then," Peach said, giving Link a disapproving look when he and Zelda sat down in the audience. "Next we have Ness and Nana singing Do-Re-Mi from Sound of Music."
"Only the two of them?" Young Link asked.
"We only got two microphones," Peach said while the two children entered the stage.
There were a few things about Popo that rubbed Ness the wrong way and he could bet that every single one of those things was the cause of the girl in front of him. It was not so that he had anything against girls, no, he was even very good friends with a few, but this particular one was a bad influence on what could be considered a friendly acquaintance.
The boy did not want to sing a duet with her and Popo's jealous stares annoyed him greatly. Nana pretended not to notice his dark looks, which was also very irritating. Then she gave him a confident smile that alone turned his every opinion of her upside-down. How things could happen that quickly, he could not answer.
The Ice Climbers could fool anyone that they were twins but that was definitely not the case when the hoods of their parkas were gone. Nana's soft waves of light brown hair looked very different from Popo's darker and spikier hair, but they were too young to have developed any distinguishable characteristics where their facial features were concerned. What most differentiated them however was their conviction.
Nana's smile easily fended off Ness's reluctance, mostly because he had expected the same uncertainty from her as could be found in Popo. He stared dumbly at the girl when she began to sing and she was just as good as Popo to Ness's dismay.
"Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. When you sing you begin with…"
"ABC," Ness sang, unwilling to be bested by her and at the same time angry that he had to take on the role of the student.
"When you sing you begin with do re mi," Nana sang. Her sweet voice, and her stage presence, was the kind that made the whole audience feel warm and giddy.
"Do re mi," Ness repeated, putting his all to the three syllables.
Once they were finished, people gladly applauded them and Nana waved happily to Popo who shyly waved back, putting on a smile for her sake. Ness frowned when he sat back down.
Next Bowser completely ruined The Circle of Life from The Lion King. His singing partner, Mewtwo, did not sing a tone and the Koopa took it upon himself to sing the whole song. The lack of applause did not bother Bowser in the least. He happily praised himself for his wondrous performance and sat down with a big grin.
"Next one up is Jigglypuff and Dr. Mario who will be singing-"
"Jigglypuff," Jigglypuff chimed and jumped up on the stage. Being an idol was her dream. Maybe it was a childish and naïve dream but even knowing that she could never let go of it. She did not need a song to be given to her, she had her very own.
It was near to impossible for her to be patient while Peach got the microphone for her. She eagerly snatched it from Peach's hand and obediently tried to wait for the princess to sit down before she began. It was impossible like she had thought and her voice broke the silence before Peach had returned to her seat.
"Jigg-ehlee-ee-puff, Jigg-ehlee-ee-ee-puff," Jigglypuff sang in her angelic voice to the melody of a lullaby. She closed her big azure eyes and dreamt away into the song, pouring her heart into every note.
The sight that greeted her when the last tone had rung was a pile of sleeping Smashers. If the wind had blown indoors you would most likely have heard it. Jigglypuff, hurt and disappointed, blew up her round cheeks with an angry "puff". She was so angry that it would serve them right if she punished them, until she saw Kirby sleeping soundly. She felt a bit sleepy herself and it had been a pretty nice evening. And she had gotten to sing.
Jigglypuff wobbled over to the pink beanbag and fell asleep. No sooner had she closed her eyes than Captain Falcon came back into the room, closing the book he had brought with him, to find the sleeping Smashers in front of the karaoke stage. With a shrug the racer walked over to Bowser's bed and lay down, keeping his helmet on even as he fell asleep.
I kind of promised someone that I would make Marth a bit nicer… instead he has been moody throughout the chapter. I also kinda said that I would switch the focus to the other Smashers because I needed a break from the standstill with Link, Zelda and Marth but instead I did the opposite. I'll work on it. One day or the other it shall be done!
Feel free to interpret what's going on between Roy and Peach as you like. I can mention that I am an avid MarioPeach fan and a supporter of RoyLilina.
I guess that I will have to throw in an apology for my grammar (awkward smile). It was a while ago that I warned people about it (if I even have done that) but by now I guess that everyone has grown more or less used to it? I do try my best.
While on the subject of slaughtering the English language it might be suitable to move on to discussing the nonexistent plot. I feel so original after writing this chapter. But who am I kidding? I love these overused ideas (throws longing glances at the Truth or Dare fics). I could not resist including some karaoke. It is a shame that I have no taste in music whatsoever (nor do I know what people around the world listen to these days) so I settled for musicals. Once I had decided for that I could not resist taking advantage of the (somewhat) recent release of "Mamma Mia". I think that it is part of being a Swede to live in the past (clinging to old glories and all that) and in my case I walk around thinking that ABBA is still the greatest pop band in history and that everybody knows about them.
I wanted to make Peach sing Waterloo and replace "Waterloo" with "Mario" and the oldie "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" would have suited her perfectly! Meh, it ended up being "Under Attack".
There was so much more that could have been included in this chapter. Roy and Marth are both kind of reluctant to recruiting women (although they let the girls have it their way in the end) so I thought that they must have some quite old-fashioned views on the whole "sleep in the same room as a woman" situation. And Luigi's fear of ghost. How would he deal with it? I really do not want the chapters to get too long and I am kind of sick of things always having to be split into several chapters. Looking at the things that did not make it into this chapter I do feel rather unsatisfied finding what a big part of it consists of where people are sitting and what they are eating (btw, my favorite pizza has always been Capricciosa).
Thank you for the reviews. I really needed the encouragement and I am ever grateful! Thank you. It makes me so, so, so happy when people leave a word.
Thank you for reading.