Well, under the pressure of midterms, I got this chapter done.

Rehearsals for Hansel and Gretel are well underway in my school, so you know what that means.

Also, for some of you that remember, I went to Japan a couple of weeks ago. That was a very fun trip. I got exactly four things that I won't exactly forget: the happi coat I bought in Tokyo, the two Chinese girls I met in the festival, the issues of Naruto that I got (in English, unfortunately: when I tried to get it in Japanese, my dad had a fit. (H.W. glares)), and the Japanese culture! I really recommend stopping by. You won't regret it.

Anyways, that's all I have to say.

Here's the next chapter. enjoy!

Chapter 6

The pit-pat of footsteps resounded in the halls as a quartet of people ran through the dorm hall.

Bowser and Fox had tried to get everybody, but according to Falco, Ganondorf had found Mewtwo. It was a relief that he had found Mewtwo, but why was it that Ganondorf arrived without him?

This sent a chill running up Mario's spine. There was so much going on… the tournament… Mewtwo and Luigi's mysterious disappearances… the murder of Dr. Mario… and now something that had happened to Mr. Game and Watch.

All this was a little too complex for Mario to handle. He kept on asking himself what was going on in the minds of the smashers.

Mario had enough sense to know that asking himself was not going to help him much, however, since he had almost no leads on anything.

He kept running to know the answers. He kept running to try to find out what was happening to everybody. He needed to know. He needed--.

A splash was heard underneath. Mario froze in his tracks.

"Here he is," said Fox, motioning a black mass inside the open dorm of Mr. Game and Watch.

Mario gagged at the horrible sight. He wondered why anybody would impale a man like Mr. Game and Watch the way he did.

"My goodness…" said Falco.

"What a horrible way to die…" said Mario.

Right then, footsteps occurred, and then, Zelda appeared to the small group.

"Why aren't you with us?" asked Zelda as soon as she approached.

The group said nothing, but rather, inched away so that the body of Mr. Game and Watch was visible to her.

Zelda said nothing for a while.

"My goodness…" said Zelda. "He was killed too? That makes three victims…"

"Three victims?" asked Fox in a somewhat confused tone of voice. "What do you mean?"

"Mewtwo was the first victim," said Zelda. "He was found buried alive."

Bowser stared at Zelda in shock.

"Are… are you serious?" asked Bowser.

"Yes," said Zelda.

All was silent for a few seconds.

"Well, that explains a lot," said Falco.

"Falco!" said Fox angrily. "Somebody has died, and that's the response you give?"

"But it's true," said Falco. "First, he doesn't show up anywhere, and then Ness misses the telepathic conversations. Makes sense, doesn't it?"

"Falco!" said Bowser. "That's highly insensitive. Now shut up before you are blamed for murdering Mew—!"

Bowser was interrupted by a scream.

"Holy hell," said Fox.

"What happened this time?" asked Mario.

"We need to check it out," said Zelda. "It came from the battle room."

The five smashers stood there, and after a while they ran down the hall and three flights of stairs to get to a passageway that led to the battle room.

When they arrived, they were greeted by a ghastly sight.

Nana lay to one side crying uncontrollably, being comforted by Young Link and Popo. Pichu stared at what was in front of him in shock.

Before the kids was a crimson lake with little white (one could jokingly say volcanic) mountains rising from the waters.

In the midst of this lake of blood lay a pink mass with red feet.

"Kirby!" said Mario in a distressed tone of voice.

The group stood there for a few seconds, staring at the corpse in horror.

"Damn it!" came Bowser's roaring voice after the silence. "I can't stand this anymore!"

"What can't you stand?" asked Zelda.

"I cannot stand the thought of being in the crosshairs of somebody intent on killing us all!" was Bowser's reply. "Damn it, I have a child to return to! I'm not going to let myself die as long as he's alive!"

"Then what do you suggest we do?" asked Fox.

"Open our own investigation, that's what!" replied Bowser.

This caught the attention of the kids.

"Are you crazy?" asked Young Link. "If you tell Master Hand about it, we're all being locked up!"

"We won't tell him," said Fox, who had apparently caught up to Bowser's suggestion. "That's what we'll do."

"But why open our own investigation?" asked Zelda.

"Yeah," said Falco. "After all, Master Hand is trying to keep us alive by finding the murderer, and—"

"He wants credit for solving the case and nothing more!" shouted Bowser. "Otherwise, he wouldn't have locked Peach and Ness in the jails the way he did! If we need to know things about the murders and disappearances, then we need to find them out on our own!"

"I couldn't agree more," said Mario.

"I think we need to know more as well!" shouted Popo.

"Okay," said Fox. "Now, since this was Bowser's idea, we'll put him at the head of the investigation. I will be a part of it as well."

"As will I," said Mario.

"I'll come along too!" shouted Popo. "Do you want to come, Nana?"

Nana had not paid attention to what was going on, but her bond to her sibling got the better of her.

"I'll go where you go," said Nana.

"I'll go too," said Zelda.

It was Falco and Young Link's turn to say something.

"I… I'm not so sure I should do this…" the two of them said somewhat sheepishly.

"Well, nobody's forcing you into this," said Zelda. "However, you must not give a word out to anybody else. I'm sure Pichu will have no problem with that since he's only outgoing in front of the other kids."

"So, when should we start?" asked Fox.

"What about the match tomorrow?" asked Mario.

"Sure," said Bowser.

Zelda said nothing.

"What's up?" asked Fox.

"I… I'm afraid I won't be able to join you tomorrow," said Zelda.

"Why not?" asked Bowser.

"That's my match, remember?" asked Zelda. "I'm going up against Yoshi tomorrow."

"Ah," said Bowser. "We'll have to inform you about what we find then."

"Indeed," said Fox. "So, is everybody else okay with this?"

The remainder who had not agreed to it nodded their heads.

"Alright, it's settled then," said Bowser. "We'll start tomorrow during the match. And not a word of this to anybody else until we get leads on what is going on."

The heads nodded again.

"Okay, good," said Bowser. "Now, what we should do is to tell everybody else about Kirby's fate."

"Agreed," said everybody else.

They slowly walked out of the battle room in a solemn manner.

The next day, their work would start.

"Well, I suspect that you would be doing something to stop the murders," said a voice with a heavy German accent.

"I am," said a different voice.

The heavy German accent belonged to Albrecht; the very same Albrecht who had started the tournament. He was a staunch man of forty with aged hair and vigilant emerald eyes. He wore a brown business suit and a black tie with little musical instruments embroidered on it.

The second voice belonged to Master Hand.

"What exactly are you doing?" asked Albrecht.

"I'm locking up whoever seems to be a murderer around here," said Master Hand.

"Based on something, yes?" asked Albrecht.

"Based on a suspicion," said Master Hand.

"A suspicion?" asked Albrecht somewhat disbelievingly.

"Indeed," replied Master Hand.

"Master Hand!" said Albrecht in a somewhat stupefied tone. "Do you know what you are doing to them?"

"What exactly?" asked Master Hand.

"You are locking them up on a personal preference to others!" was Albrecht's angry reply.

"I wouldn't say that," said Master Hand. "After all, it is for—"

"Do not give me anything more!" said Albrecht. "You are getting people in trouble on something you aren't even sure of! Who do you have locked up?"

"Peach and Ness," said Master Hand.

"Release them immediately!" shouted Albrecht.

"But Albrecht, I—"

"Do not give me anything about it being for the greater good!" said Albrecht. "Release them! That is an order."

"Okay, okay," said Master Hand. "Relax."

"Oh, and one more thing," said Albrecht.

"Yes?" asked Master Hand.

"If I find out that you have unjustly locked up another of your fighters on a suspicion, I will operate the tournament on my own!" said Albrecht threateningly.

"Okay," said Master Hand indifferently. One would get the feeling that Master Hand had not listened to Albrecht's threat.

He walked out of Albrecht's office somewhat glumly.

Falco woke up the next morning with a start.

He knew the time the investigation was to start, and he knew he was not a part of it. However, he at least wanted to wish the group good luck before they began their search.

With this in mind, he jumped off the bed and changed quickly. Falco was very adept at changing clothes fast, as he had to do so often back in the Lyatt System where a mission could occur any time.

When he was dressed, he left the room, ran down the hall, and ran down a stairway to the appointed meeting spot.

When he arrived at the meeting spot, Bowser, Mario, Popo, Nana, and Fox were all present. As Falco arrived, Fox lifted his head and noticed him.

"Falco?" asked Fox. "What are you doing here? You didn't volunteer for the investigation."

"Unless he changed his mind?" asked Mario.

"Actually, no," said Falco. "I thought I would stop by to wish you luck in the investigation."

"Oh," said Bowser. "That's very kind of you."

"Yeah," said Falco. "Anyways, I'll see you guys later."

"Okay," said Fox.

Falco went back to the stairs and descended a second flight and walking down a hall to get to the match lounge.

Upon entry, Falco was surprised to find Peach lounging on the couch with Ness hungrily gobbling a makeshift breakfast on the card table.

"What are you two doing here?" asked Falco. "I thought you were locked up in the cells."

"Oh," said Peach. "Master Hand let us out of there."

"Yeah," said Ness, some milk forming around his mouth. "According to him, it was an order from Albrecht."

"Ah," said Falco. "I see."

"So, I take it that Kirby, Mewtwo, and Mr. Game and Watch were found yesterday," said Peach.

"How did you find out?" asked Falco.

"Zelda," the two former cellmates said simultaneously.

"Because we really did find them," said Falco. "At least, I found Kirby. Bowser, Fox, and Ganondorf found the other two."

"I see," said Ness.

"So, when does this match start?" asked Peach.

"Ten minutes," said Ness.

"I honestly don't get why they pick such early times to do matches," said Falco. "I honestly don't."

"It's because he feels it's the best time to do it," said a female voice outside.

The trio in the match lounge turned their heads to see a beautiful woman at the doorway. She wore a white dress with roses embroidered on the dress. Her blonde hair was tied back with a blue satin sash. Her brilliant hazelnut eyes glittered in the morning light with the intensity of the most polished pearls in the universe.

"Who are you?" asked Falco somewhat dumbstruck.

"Oh, me?" asked the woman. "I'm Isolde. My father is running this tournament."

"You must be Albrecht's daughter!" said Peach.

"How did you guess?" asked Isolde with a slight laugh.

"You said he ran the tournament," said Falco.

"Ah," said Isolde.

"Anyways, what are you doing here?" asked Ness.

"I'm on holiday," said Isolde. "While on holiday, I thought I might see father and get to know some of you as well."

"Oh," said Falco. He held his hand out. "The name's Falco Lombardi."

Bowser walked down a hallway with his investigative group following him.

"Okay, so where should we check first?" asked Fox.

"We should inspect Dr. Mario's office," said Mario. "After all, I'm curious to see how anybody could have gotten inside the office with a butcher knife and angle him the way they did without touching him."

"They didn't find fingerprints?" asked Popo.

"The forensics didn't see them," said Mario.

"Okay," said Bowser. "So, we start with Dr. Mario's office."

Bowser led the group up a flight of stairs and down another hall to the location of the late Dr. Mario's medical office.

When they approached the door, Mario noticed something.

"Wasn't there blood here?" asked Mario.

"Not after they removed it, that's for sure," said Nana.

"They removed it?" asked Mario.

"Yes," said Fox. "Why wouldn't they?"

"Oh yeah," said Mario. "I forgot about that. Sorry!"

"Are we gonna enter or not?" asked Bowser.

Nobody said anything. Bowser eventually opened the door and stepped in the office.

"Okay," said Bowser. "Here we are."

"Does anybody remember the angle Dr. Mario was facing?" asked Fox.

Popo walked in and laid down face-up on the floor with his left side facing the door.

"I believe it was like this," said Popo.

"So, he had to be stabbed from the wall," said Bowser.

"How the hell is that possible?" asked Mario suddenly.

Nobody said anything for a long time. The TV in the office buzzed to life, revealing Zelda's fight with Yoshi.

"Wasn't there a broken frame off to one side?" asked Nana suddenly.

"Of course there was," said Popo.

"Then doesn't that mean he had to take something off of the wall?" asked Nana.

Nobody said anything.

Then, Mario spoke up.

"There was a framed set of doctor's rules over here," said Mario, pointing to a spot to the right of the doorway.

Bowser walked up to the said spot and felt it.

"That's strange…" said Bowser.

"What's up?" asked Nana.

"I don't feel a wall," said Bowser. "Rather, I feel air shooting upwards."

Bowser then pressed his hand into the spot on the wall.

Everybody in the office was shocked when his hand disappeared under a screen of white.

Zelda was very busy jumping between floats. These floats looked very eerily like Pokemon. Yoshi kept following her, trying to land a hit on her or wrest the little bomb-like object in her hands.

Of course, Zelda was not intent on letting it happen. She was going to survive to help the investigation she was a part of, and she would win against Yoshi.

Zelda held a bob-omb in her hands. She was waiting for the perfect moment to throw the bomb at Yoshi. They both had one stock remaining; however, Zelda was in a far worse state than Yoshi, possibly because of the Entei Pokeball that Yoshi had thrown at her.

However, Zelda was using Farore's Wind as often as she could. This entitled her to a fast getaway, and she could get very far from Yoshi. This kept the green dinosaur running around. Every so often he would try a projectile, but by the time it got to where she was she had teleported away.

This cat and mouse game went on for seven minutes.

Then, Zelda had had enough. She found the float of the faux tree Pokemon and rested on its 'branches'. Yoshi jumped down, intending to kick her in the face with the back of the foot to send her flying. However, Zelda picked this time to throw her bob-omb.

The bomb connected, and Yoshi was sent flying vertically. He eventually disappeared as a dot in the distance.

"Game!" shouted a voice.

Yoshi felt himself float in midair for several seconds. He knew what came next; the warp should have picked him up by then.

But he felt like he was suspended in the air.

Yoshi began to call for help, but a croak was all he heard whenever he did.

He also thought he saw some bubbles arise as well.

Then, a brilliant light shone somewhere in the absolute darkness.

Yoshi found himself in an aquarium with metal probes finding their way into the glass that contained him.

"Hello, my friend," said a hooded figure outside of this glass.

Yoshi tried to communicate, but bubbles kept rising.

"You have no idea how comical that looks," said the figure.

Yoshi's communications attempt stopped when he saw that the figure was standing in front of what looked like a control panel.

"You are in an aquarium tank," said the figure. "No matter what you do, you cannot escape since you are surrounded on all sides by a glass barrier. To make matters worse, I have installed electric probes inside the glass. You know that water can conduct electricity very well, yes?"

Yoshi's eyes widened as he began to frantically swim around.

Unfortunately, Yoshi could not swim, so he went nowhere.

"There is no escape, my friend," said the figure, bringing his hand on the lever.

"Say goodbye to your life!" he shouted.

He pulled down on the switch.

Yoshi found himself submersed in a sea of pain. Sure, he had been zapped by others before, but what he felt then was nothing compared to what he felt in his watery grave.

Yoshi blacked out as the shocks dug into his flesh. Eventually, he saw a screen of white, and all the pain ended as he floated in a black atmosphere.