WARNING! DRINKING HERE!

Chapter 7

Roy did not realize that the sun had risen until he saw it out the window. Sighing, he sat up in bed and looked back down at his hands, thinking about the dream he had last night.

Wolt...Father...I'm so sorry…I wish I could do something…

"Good morning, Roy."

Roy jumped, and he turned to see Marth already awake. Ike was just sitting up from his bed to stretch.

"…Good morning, Marth," Roy greeted.

Marth raised an eyebrow as he studied Roy's eyes. Clearly, they were bloodshot.

"Roy? Did you sleep well?" Marth asked, concern filling his voice.

Roy nodded vigorously. "Y-yes! I did."

"But your eyes..." Marth pointed out. "Are you sure?"

Roy sighed. "I'm fine, Marth."

Roy then got out of his bed, stretching. "Let's go get some breakfast."

Marth smiled slightly, glad that Roy was at least eating. "Good. I hate to see you starve yourself."

When Roy, Marth and Ike entered the Smasherteria, Roy realized that it really was quite noisy during breakfast. He hadn't noticed the last few times they'd been there, as he'd been lost in his thoughts. The smell of toast, biscuits, and pancakes wafted through the air, and Roy felt his stomach rumbling.

The three swordsmen sat down at their tables, waiting for their food.

"So Roy," Ike spoke up, "had any dreams last night?"

Roy stared at the mercenary, and flashbacks of the dream came into his mind. The army blaming Roy for Wolt's death, his people rioting over his role as the Marquess of Pherae.

"Here you go, sirs!"

Roy snapped out of his thoughts when the Mii chef came by with their food. Roy stared at the pancakes that the Mii placed down in front of him. Though his stomach had rumbled just a few seconds ago, now, he said and did nothing in response to the food.

"Roy?" Roy whirled around and faced Marth. "Aren't you going to eat?"

Roy sighed as he grabbed his fork, ready to force down his breakfast.

Before his fork could reach the pancakes though, spit suddenly landed on the pancakes.

"Tryin' to eat, huh?"

Roy turned to see Bowser and his son, Bowser Jr., beside him. Bowser Jr.'s mouth was dripping with saliva. Clearly, he was the one who had spat on Roy's food.

Roy groaned. "What do you want?"

Bowser chuckled. "Just wanted to say hi, is all."

Roy sighed as he pushed his plate of pancakes to the side. "Just leave me alone," he muttered as he got up from his seat.

Before he could make it out the door, Bowser grabbed him by the cape and pulled him down to the ground.

"OUCH!" Roy cried out in pain.

Marth's eyes widened when he saw Roy being harassed. Ike, however, was the one to step up.

"Hey! Back off!" the mercenary shouted.

Bowser and Bowser Jr. laughed as Bowser stomped on Roy's chest. Roy felt air pushed out of his lungs as he coughed. "We're just havin' some fun with him."

That angered Ike. The mercenary pushed Bowser off of Roy, and the Koopa King cried out as he tumbled down on Lucario and Greninja's table. The two Pokémon managed to get out of the way before they could get hurt.

"PAPA!" Bowser Jr. cried as he attempted to run to his father's aid, but Ike blocked his way.

Roy tried to get up, but Marth extended a hand for him to grab. Roy grabbed it and Marth pulled him up from the ground.

"Now listen here, brat," Ike growled as he grabbed Bowser Jr. by the throat. "If you harass Roy one more time—"

He was interrupted when Master and Crazy Hands burst into the Smasherteria. "What is going on here?!" Master Hand called out.

Bowser groaned, rubbing his head as he got up.

Ike dropped Bowser Jr. and he walked towards the two Hands. "Master Hand. Bowser and Bowser Jr. were harassing Roy."

Master Hand sighed. When he turned to see the mess Bowser made, he flew towards the Koopa King.

"Stop harassing other Smashers, or else!" Master Hand scolded.

Bowser looked right at Roy, then at Master Hand. "He started it," Bowser said, pointing at Roy.

Master Hand shook himself as a way to shake his head. "Just don't do it again," he instructed before he and Crazy Hand flew out of the Smasherteria.

Bowser grinned, glad that he was just given a warning. He turned to his son and picked him up gently, before they made their way out of the room.

Ike glared at the two Koopas when they left. Once they were out of sight, he turned his attention to Roy.

"Is he okay?" Ike asked Marth, checking to see if there were any wounds on the redhead.

"He's fine, just a small bruise on his chest," Marth spoke.

Roy, however, was not only shaken up from the experience, but inside, he felt worse. Why me? What did I do to deserve this?

Roy then turned his back on the two swordsmen.

"Roy?" Marth questioned. "Where are you going?"

Roy turned to face Marth. "Somewhere," was all he said before leaving the Smasherteria.

Near the Smash Mansion was a small house. Like the Mansion, its walls were painted black, and there were two windows on the front. A sign above it read: "Smash Bar."

Roy sighed as he walked down the stone path. Part of him was glad that the Bar he saw back in the Melee days was still open. He remembered that Master Hand demanded that it should be closed due to underaged drinking, that could have easily been prevented, but apparently he did not follow through.

When Roy approached the door, Falco opened it, stumbling down the path.

"Yo," was all the avian said before he stumbled back to the Smash Mansion.

Roy shook his head. Probably got into another fight with Link, he thought before entering the Bar.

Inside, the Bar was empty. Spread around the area were wooden tables with wooden chairs. In the back, cabinets full of alcoholic drinks, such as beer and vodka, hung on the wall. Behind the counter was a Mii, tall and large, cleaning up cups from a small sink.

Roy sat on one of the stools that were in front of the counter, and the Mii took notice.

"Ah Roy," he greeted. "What brings you here?"

Roy sighed, not wanting to think back about what happened in the Smasherteria. "Well…just needed to take my mind off of things," was his reply.

The Mii nodded as he looked over to a cabinet on the side. There, perched on the shelves, were large bottles of soda. "Want a Pepsi? Maybe a Dr. Pepper?"

Roy shook his head. "No, thank you. I'd like some vodka please."

The Mii stared at Roy, an eyebrow raised. "Vodka? Why?"

Roy sighed. "Just give me the drink."

"Then your ID, sir."

Roy placed his identification card on the counter, and the Mii looked over it. He nodded in approval, and headed over to the cabinet with the bottles of alcohol. "All right. One cup of vodka, coming right up!" With that, the Mii poured Roy a glass of vodka.

After a few seconds, he placed the drink in front of Roy. The redhead grabbed the glass and, without a second thought, guzzled the vodka down. The disgusting taste hit his mouth, but he did not care.

After he was done drinking it, he slammed the glass down on the counter.

"Another, please."

The Mii's eyebrows were raised even higher. What the hell's wrong with this kid?

Hesitantly, he took the glass and poured more vodka in it. He then placed the cup in front of Roy again.

Roy, once again, guzzled down the drink, ignoring the burn. He slammed the cup down again.

"Another."

Marth grew worried when Roy did not return to the Smasherteria. After breakfast, the Hero King checked everywhere in the Mansion, but he did not see his friend anywhere.

When he walked to the Smash Living Room, Ike, along with a couple of Smashers, waited for him there.

"Did you find him?" Ike asked.

Marth shook his head. "No. I searched everywhere. No sign of him…" Marth spoke, concern filling his voice.

Then, the door opened, and Falco entered the Smash Living Room.

"Ah! Falco," Marth greeted. Assuming that Roy was outside, Falco might know where Roy went. "Have you seen Roy?"

Falco sighed before answering, "Saw him coming into the Smash Bar. I don't know what's up with him." After his statement, the avian stumbled down the hallway until he was out of sight.

Marth raised an eyebrow. "The Smash Bar? Why is he there?"

Ike shrugged. "I'm not sure—"

Then, the door slammed open, and Roy came stumbling into the Smash Living Room.

"ROY!" Marth gasped, and his eyes widened when his friend came in. "Why were you in the Smash Bar? We were searching everywhere for you!"

Roy looked up at Marth. "M-m-me?" Roy slurred. "Wh-what about you? Wh-where did you go?"

Marth stared at his friend, realizing that Roy was acting different. "Roy…what happened at the Bar?"

Roy growled. "None of your business!" he yelled. Marth took a step back, his eyes wide.

"Roy—"

Before he knew it, Roy unsheathed his sword and swung it at Marth. The Hero King gasped and ducked in time.

"ROY!" Marth yelled. "What the hell's wrong with you?!"

"C'mon!" Roy screamed. "Anyone wanna take me on?!"

Ike stepped up. "Roy—" Before the words could come out, he was forced to dodge a slash from Roy, which in turn, ended up knocking over a vase, shattering it.

"WHOA," Ike gasped. "Roy! What the hell?!"

Roy did not listen as he continued to swing his sword around as the other Smashers avoided his attacks.

Roy clearly did not care about all the vases he'd broken, and it wasn't until Marth grabbed Roy's hands that Roy reacted.

"HEY!" Roy cried out. "Let go!"

"Roy! That's ENOUGH!" Marth yelled as he yanked the sword out of Roy's hands.

Roy stared at Marth, and tears began to form in his eyes. Before Marth knew it, Roy broke down sobbing.

"I-I'm so sorry! I-I-I-" Suddenly, Roy vomited on the carpet, and he fainted.

"Roy?! ROY!" Marth screamed.

Roy woke up, feeling incredibly nauseated and with his head pounding. The redhead groaned as he sat up. When he looked around, he realized that he was in the Smash Hospital.

"Roy!"

Roy turned to see Marth beside Roy's hospital bed.

"M-Marth—" Roy did not get the chance to continue, because Marth hugged him tightly.

"What the hell happened at the Bar?" Marth asked.

Roy gulped, racking his memory as he tried to remember what happened. However, his mind pulled a blank. He couldn't remember anything about his time at the bar.

"I…I don't know," was his response.

Marth let his friend go and stared at him. "You…you were drinking, weren't you?"

"I…" Roy sighed. "Yes…"

Marth shook his head in confusion. "I don't understand. What could possibly bring you to want to drink that much?"

"I know it was bad and…I'm sorry, Marth…I've just had a lot on my mind."

Marth raised an eyebrow. "Do you...want to talk about it?" he asked.

Roy hesitated before shaking his head 'no'.

"Okay, that's fine. I'm here if you do, though. Just…please don't do that again."

Roy nodded slowly.

"For now though," Marth continued, "you need rest."

"All right…thanks, Marth."

Marth smiled slightly. "I'll see you tomorrow."

After saying farewell, Marth walked out of the Smash Hospital. There, in the Smash Parking Lot, Ike was waiting in his white van. Marth entered the van and sat down.

Ike, however, did not start the van. Instead, he turned to Marth and whispered, "Something's wrong with Roy."

Marth nodded. "I know…but I have no idea why he's like that…"

"Marth, these are obvious signs of depression," Ike spoke.

Marth's eyes widened. "Depression?"

Ike nodded. "I don't know what's going on back in his home, but something must've affected him so much, he fell into a depression slump."

Marth stared at his mercenary friend. "But…what should we do?"

Ike stayed silent, having no idea what to say to that. "I…don't know."

Marth frowned. "What do you mean 'you don't know'?"

Ike sighed. "Marth…we just need to watch out for him. If he got himself drunk, then we need to keep an eye on him in case he tries to do something risky and stupid next."

Marth stared at Ike before nodding. "You're right…"

Ike then started the ignition and pulled out of the Parking Lot.

During the ride back to the Smash Mansion, every single thought that went through Marth's mind was about Roy. He was concerned for his friend; yes, he'd been acting differently ever since he'd returned to the Mansion, but after this, even Marth had to admit that Roy's behavior was completely different from the man he'd first met. It wasn't only concern that he felt, he was also scared for Roy's well-being.

Roy…what happened back home?

Constructive criticism is welcomed!

Beta reader: h34rt1lly