And another one! This time, in the next two chapters, the two would begin bonding!

ENJOY!

Chapter 10.: Teamwork

Shulk placed his boots on as he placed his Monado on his back. Stretching a bit, he was about to open the door when there was a knock.

"Who is it?" Shulk called.

"It's me, Lucina." Shulk smiled upon hearing the young woman's voice.

Opening the door, Lucina walked in, smiling at Shulk. She was wearing blue armor, and her sword was in her sheath.

"Hey." Shulk greeted, "Are you going to fight as well?"

Lucina nodded. "Yes. You?"

"Mhm." Shulk nodded. "It's been a while since I fought in a match after being captured by Master Hand, so I'm a bit rusty …"

Lucina smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure you'll do great, Shulk! Since we practiced, I'm sure you'll be just fine."

Shulk just smiled at Lucina's encouragement. "Thanks, Lucina. Good luck on your match."

"You too, Shulk."

Before Lucina was about to walk out, Shulk piped up. "Wait! Um …"

Lucina turned to face him. "Is something wrong?"

"Well … want to go together?"

Lucina smiled. "Of course."

The two walked down the halls together, conversing about trivial things. When they both arrived at the Smash Room, Shulk opened the door. "Ladies first." He smirked. Lucina giggled at his politeness.

The two entered, and there were crowds cheering all around them. A few of them they recognized: the Hero King and his friends, her parents …

Lucina was a bit nervous, but with Shulk beside her, she calmed down.

They both heard an announcer. "HELLO EVERYBODY! WELCOME TO THE BRAWL!"

There were cheers and chanting all around.

"Now … for this match, there will be one stock, and it will be a team battle!"

More cheering and chanting.

"First up … the most famous video game icon of all … MMMMMAAAARRRRIIIIOOOOOOO!"

The crowd cheered like crazy when Mario entered, waving and smiling.

"Up next, the pretty princess of the Mushroom Kingdom … PEEEEEEEEEAAAACCCCH!"

Peach entered, waving gracefully as the crowd chanted her name.

"Welp," Shulk smiled, "looks like it's my match. Later Luc-" Before he could say another word, he heard Lucina's name called.

"And now for the princess of Ylisse of a doomed future … LUUUUCIIIINNAAAAA! And the future seer … SHUUUUUUUUUULK!"

Shulk blushed madly. He never knew that Lucina was his partner in this fight.

"Well," Lucina smiled, "let's do our best. And if we win, we'll celebrate!"

Shulk blushed, his face redder than his clothing. Lucina seemed to notice, and she blushed as well, realizing the implications that comment made.

"N-NOT LIKE THAT!" Lucina cried, trying to catch herself.

Shulk sighed, not from relief, but … from something else.

"Now this fight will start off in Final Destination!" The announcer continued, "Are you ready to RUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMBLLLLLLLLLLLLE?!"

Everyone cheered, chanting and screaming.

Lucina, Shulk, Mario, and Peach were all teleported to Final Destination. When they all appeared in the stage, the announcer began the countdown.

"3 … 2 … 1 … GO!" The crowd cheered, ready to watch what will unfold.

"Take care of Peach, Lucina," Shulk called out, "I'll take care of Mario!"

"Right!" Lucina called.

Shulk started off with choosing his Monado Power, and he chose a red symbol, which had made his sword glow. He then lunged towards Mario with a powerful Back Slash, and Mario was sent flying. He quickly got back up on the stage, and threw a Fireball at the boy. Shulk quickly shielded, and he sidestepped behind Mario, sending another powerful Back Slash before Mario could turn around. Mario was sent flying once again over Peach and Lucina this time.

Lucina started off with a Shield Breaker, but was countered by Toad, who spat out spores at the blue-haired princess. Knocked back, she quickly got up, ready to strike again. However, Peach pulled out turnips, each with a strange face, and threw them at her.

Shulk sent Mario flying again with an Air Slash, and before Mario could recover, Shulk went above him and stabbed him on the head, and Mario was shot down, defeated.

Lucina was being edged towards the ledge by Peach's turnips, and no matter what, she can't seem to avoid them. When Peach got closer to finish her off, Lucina quickly stabbed her with a lunging move, but she lost balance, and she flailed her arms to get back on her feet.

"Lucina!" Shulk cried, running to the rescue. Before Lucina could fall off the edge, Shulk grabbed her hand, and pulled her back to the fray.

"Thanks … though I would've just jumped back up." Lucina smiled.

Shulk blushed, realizing that this wasn't a life-or-death match; it was just a friendly match.

Peach was about to send her Hip attack at Shulk, but Shulk saw it via vision, and he quickly retaliated with a slash.

Peach was defeated, and Shulk and Lucina won.

"GAAAAAAAAME!" The announcer shouted. Cheering and screaming were heard, and the two were brought to the center.

"And the winners are … SHULK AND LUCINA!"

The crowd began to get wild, and Lucina and Shulk posed. When they were brought back, they congratulated each other while also congratulating Mario and Peach.

"You did good out there, you two." Shulk smiled at the two.

"It was a good match." Peach giggled.

"We'll win next time!" Mario laughed, and the four shook hands.

With that, they left the stadium, talking and laughing.

"So uh ...:" Shulk asked, "What will we do to celebrate?"

Lucina smiled. "Maybe we can go out to dinner. The prize money gave us enough to pay the bill."

Shulk smiled. "Sounds good to me!"

With that, the two went out to dinner together.