BabyGurl here once again with another chapter. I'm terribly sorry for the delay. Blame most of it on me, because I have been busy. Hopefully this chapter makes up for it.

Enjoy!

La Belle

Chapter 5

A murderer was in the mansion?

The thought frightened Fox. A murderer was among them, blending in with the terrified group of smashers. The murderer was a clever one, and hid his or her true emotions acting like everything was new to them. Deep down, hidden underneath the phony fear laid a wicked smile. They're smiling watching the rest of the smashers running around like cowards and getting locked up for things they weren't responsible for.

It was all a game.

That's what Fox McCloud believed as he and the large Bowser wandered the halls of the mansion. They were both silent as if waiting for something terrible or frightening to happen. Fox never had a chance to shake off his nervousness ever since Mewtwo had mysteriously vanished from the mansion. Once Doctor Mario's life ended shortly, the chaos and panic had grown.

It was surprising that the tournament was still being held even at the presence of a murderer. The smashers were getting killed one by one, yet that didn't stop the matches from occurring. Fox found it strange how a smasher ended up being murdered right after a match. The pattern had continued, but Fox was still puzzled.

"You hear?" Bowser's deep harsh voice suddenly snapped Fox back to reality. "Luigi's missing."

Fox's eyes widened. "Luigi now?" He took a deep breath as they both turned a corner. "Who's going to be next?"

Bowser chuckled deeply. "That's question no one can answer."

Fox ignored Bowser's laugh and looked ahead at the long hallway. So many doors were lined up, stretching down what looked like the never-ending path. There were so many opportunities for the murderer to jump out and strike at either one of them. So many doors…so many windows. Just them being alone made it terrifying.

The brown haired fox suddenly stopped in the middle of the hallway. He blinked a couple of times watching as Bowser continued as if nothing out of the ordinary stuck out at him. It took the large lizard a couple of steps before finally realizing his companion wasn't following. Bowser eventually stopped as he turned his attention back to the young kitsune.

Fox's eyes averted down to the carpet. The blue carpet had a large black stain, pouring out from the door next to him. Fox's heart pounded violently against his chest as his mind raced at whatever possibilities the stain could have been from. Bowser's blue eyes followed Fox's gaze down to the carpet. He too noticed something was wrong.

With shaky hands, Fox reached over and grabbed the doorknob. He hesitated at first, thinking the worst, but finally managed to pull himself together. Without much final thought he turned the knob and pushed the door open revealing the inside of the dark room. Fox didn't need the light, to know that something horrible had happened. His mind sensed it, and once the light was on, Fox knew he was right.

The sight in front of him caused him to step back in shock. An unpleasant feeling suddenly took over in his stomach as the urge to vomit increased. Bowser noticed Fox's expression and stepped forward to get a glance in the room. The discovery they found left them both speechless; it was hard to believe the big bad Bowser had nothing to say.

It was something they both should have expected, especially in the situation they are in, but it was something both Fox and Bowser weren't ready to face.

"Bowser…" Fox managed to say. "Is that…"

Bowser nodded in response. His eyes were glued to the room; no matter how hard he tried he couldn't look away. A fellow 2-D smasher was lying on the ground in his dorm. His body laid lifeless on the ground, for he was impaled numerous times in places that would make a person cringe at the thought of being impaled in those spots. A large puddle of black blood was seen around his body, as it soaked the floor pouring out into the hallway.

"We must tell the others…" Bowser explained. He finally tore himself away from the un-forgetful sight. Fox nodded silently. "…About Mr. Game and Watch's death."

"How much longer are we going to sit in here?"

Peach shrugged at the question. She was afraid to answer it herself. They could be in here for months, or maybe just a few hours longer. It all depended on Master Hand. If they were proven innocent then they were able to leave. So far nothing had turned up, and it left Peach and Ness locked up longer to sit and contemplate.

The Mushroom Princess leaned her back firmly against the wall, as she brushed out the winkles of her dress. She sat in the only bed silently staring out at the small room. She felt as if she was in prison. The gray walls seemed to corner her in and the lack of entertainment left her in complete boredom. Only a bed, couch, sink and toilet were in the room. The metal door on the wall near Peach never seemed to open for the longest time. It was bothering her. She was locked in from the outside.

Ever since Ness was locked up, Peach was able to communicate with someone. Of course, Ness had his own duplicate room, but Master Hand was generous enough to let them talk for a bit. Even with the young smasher there, conversations were lacking. It was hard to keep one going, especially during the situation they were in. Everything left Peach too traumatized to even speak.

"I bet Ganon did it…" Ness exclaimed. He accompanied Peach at the time, sitting over on the couch continuously playing with his yo-yo. " He seems to be the type to murder people…" Peach's dull azure eyes averted to the black haired smasher. She listened to him ramble on, about who the murder was. "Then again…maybe Bowser was responsible." Ness paused bringing his hand to his chin. "But why am I targeting the bad guys? It could be someone we least expect it…like Captain Falcon!"

Peach sighed deeply lowering her head. Her eyes burned for being so exhausted. She found it hard to sleep at night. "I just want this to end. This is horrible." Peach explained, finally speaking ever since Ness came into her room. "Why would someone want to kill us?"

"That's a good question." Ness pondered the thought. "Maybe it was something we did."

"Did we really offend anyone?" Peach stammered. She slammed her hand on the bed. "All we are doing is competing in a tournament."

Ness's eyes widened. "I can see this is really troubling you…"

"I got blamed for something I didn't do!" Peach shouted. She took a deep breath, calming herself down. "I'm surprised you're being cool about it."

Ness shrugged. "I didn't do anything…I know that for a fact."

Peach turned her attention to the door, listening carefully as it unlocked. She felt her heart jump with excitement as the door opened and Zelda and Marth walked into the room. Peach leaped off the bed ran over toward her friends, embracing them with a hug. Zelda laughed as Marth smiled. Peach felt relieved seeing them, as if they were her ticket out of the prison.

Ness raised an eyebrow as he tilted his head to the side. He held a puzzled expression upon his face, wondering why Princess Zelda and Prince Marth were here.

"Is time for me to head back to my room?"

Marth faced the black haired child and shook his head. "We came to get Peach."

Peach suddenly became anxious. "Why?"

Zelda smiled. "It's your turn in the tournament. You're going against Kirby."

"Kirby?" Peach repeated perplexed.

Marth nodded in response. "Master Hand sent us to get you."

"Any news on what's happening so far?" Ness questioned from the couch on the other side of the room.

Zelda and Marth both shook their heads. Zelda cupped her hair behind her ear before crossing her arms. "Nothing so far…"

Marth frowned, as his blue eyes averted to the smasher. "But everyone fears the murderer will strike again…"

Ganondorf stared for a long time at the body he had uncovered. The shovel was still gripped within his hands, the casket wide open in front of him. He never believed that it would be him who discovered Mewtwo's disappearance. It was obvious the murderer was responsible for this. Mewtwo was the first to die.

Mewtwo still seemed in a state of shock. His body laid still with his arms at his side. His purple eyes were open, which caused Ganondorf to refuse eye contact. His mouth was sealed with what looked like masking tape. The Pokemon didn't deserve to die. No one did.

Footsteps were heard behind Ganondorf, which caused him to drop the shovel and spin around holding his hands up about to attack. A startled scream was heard as Ganondorf lowered his head to the blue Ice Climber. Popo's frightened blue eyes looked up at the Gerudo, before averting to the open casket.

"What…" He stopped short and stepped around Ganondorf, noticing Mewtwo's body.

Popo's face suddenly went pale. Ganondorf dropped his arms to his side as he studied Popo's expression. His bottom lip trembled as he looked up at Ganondorf, his eyes terrified. He looked as if he had seen a murderer. Ganondorf knew what Popo was thinking.

"I didn't do it…"

"You…you killed Mewtwo." Popo exclaimed softly. He shook his head, this time shouting. "You killed him and put him in this casket you—"

Popo couldn't even finish his sentence, before Ganondorf swooped down and grabbed the front of his coat. Being light compared to the tall Gerudo, Popo was easily lifted off the ground, his feet dangled as he stared at Ganondorf into his heated crimson eyes.

"I said I didn't kill him." Ganondorf repeated sternly. "I found him in the casket."

Popo managed to turn his head and look down at Mewtwo's body. He cringed and immediately looked away. "What were you doing digging?"

Ganondorf loosened up and lowered the Ice Climber back to the ground. He took a deep breath, crossing his arms. "I had a dream…"

Popo's brown eyebrows arched in bewilderment. "What?"

"Look. We need to let everyone know about this." Ganondorf faced Popo. "Where are they?"

"Getting ready to watch the next match."

"Ready? GO!"

Falco's heart pounded with anticipation as he watched the battle on the screens in front of him. Peach and Kirby were fiercely battling each other on the Stadium. They had a lot of space to move freely, but kept their distances close to pound some heavy surprise attacks on each other.

For a moment, Falco's attention turned to the other smashers crowded in the room. Most of them were chattering about Luigi's sudden disappearance. Mario started the popular conversation. Only a couple of smashers paid close attention to the match, those who were actually interested and the friends of Peach and Kirby.

The blue bird stood to his feet and moved his seat toward Roy and Young Link at the back of the room. The two swordsmen's had their eyes glued to the TV screen. Falco decided to join them, since they weren't the ones talking about the missing plumber. Falco felt sorry for Mario, but he believed the murderer had gotten Luigi. Just like Mewtwo.

"Pretty awesome fight, right?" Falco questioned.

Young Link lowered his eyes to the gunman and smiled nodding. "Peach is ahead."

"Do you think she is going to win?" Falco asked, as he briefly looked over at the battle.

Peach had just picked up the wooden bat and started to swing it around as Kirby puffed into the air, floating above her head.

Young Link nodded in response to Falco's question. "Peach is determined to win this fight. She's letting out her anger, because she has been locked up."

Falco agreed with the young elf. "You're right." He turned to the silent redheaded prince and nudged him on his arm. "What do you think, Roy? You think Peach will win?"

Roy blinked as he looked over at Falco, shrugging. "It's a close match. It could be anyone's game."

By the time the match was over, the door leading into the room had violently swung open. Ganondorf and Popo stepped inside. Determination was held upon Ganondorf's face, while Popo's was pale with fear.

"What's going on?" Yoshi's voice was heard within the crowd.

"We found Mewtwo." Ganondorf explained. "Come follow us."

Only half of the smashers had left the room following the Gerudo and Ice Climber. A couple stayed behind, not wanting to witness another deceased body, while the others waited for the end of the match. Falco, Roy, Mario, and Pichu were those remained.

"Game!"

Falco felt himself smile, at the sight of the winner. He frowned watching as Pichu and Roy finally left the room.

"Falco!"

Falco turned his attention to Fox who ran up to him. "What?"

"Where's everyone?"

"Ganondorf took them to see Mewtwo's body. He's been found." Falco replied.

Mario noticed the exhausted Fox and walked over to the two gunmen. " What's wrong Fox?"

"You have to see Mr. Game and Watch. Bowser and I found him in his dorm."

Kirby sat in the battle room alone, sulking because of his loss against Peach. Peach had left to return to her special room locked up, while everyone had split up to see Mewtwo and Mr. Game and Watch's bodies. He had almost won the match, if it wasn't for Peach's tennis racket that knocked him off the stage.

The room was dark, with only a couple of lights in the ceiling on. The TV screens in front of him were black, for the match today was over. Kirby still couldn't believe that he was part of the losing team, who all turned up dead.

The sudden thought caused Kirby to shiver. Those who had died all lost their battles. Kirby noticed this. He lost too. What if it was his turn to die? Kirby didn't want to be alone and take the chances of encountering the murderer.

The pink ball stood to his feet and hurried over toward the door about to leave. Before he had reached the exit, the portal leading to the stages had turned on. Kirby jumped startled as he turned his attention to the glowing machine. There was no other match today. Why was the machine turned on?

Investigating, Kirby made his way over toward the portal. Once close enough, the portal suddenly lit transporting Kirby to one of the stages. Kirby screamed as he felt himself getting sucked into darkness, before safely landing on the Final Destination stage.

Darkness surrounded Kirby, as he anxiously looked around the empty stage. How was he supposed to get out?

"Help! Somebody help me out! I'm stuck on the stage!"

"No one is going to help you…"

Kirby froze in his spot at the eerie voice the appeared within the air. "Hello?"

"This is your final moment…"

Kirby shook his head. "No…" He whispered. "Get me out of here! Leave me alone!"

The murderer was near him. Kirby feared it was his time to go. The murderer came to take his life. It was his price he had to pay for losing the match.

Kirby stepped back, near the end of the stage. The voice was heard laughing, causing Kirby shiver in fright. A great gust of wind blew at his face, causing him to fly off the stage. Kirby screamed and panted as he puffed over and over again to get back onto the stage.

One. Two. Three. Four.

He was almost there, when another gust of wind blew him farther away. His puffing had stopped and Kirby found himself falling into the endless abyss. His scream grew louder as the falling continued. He lowered his head looking down in the direction of where he was heading.

The endless abyss suddenly vanished, replaced by the battle room and solid concrete.

Before Kirby could comprehend what was happening, he felt impact.

And his world went black.

Author's Notes:

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. It was a bit long, but I guess interesting too.

Happy Holidays!

Until Next Time!