CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The sun was dipping below the horizon when the last match finished, which had been between Samus and Captain Falcon. The match had been furious, with someone getting KO'd every few seconds. Each had 15 KO's, so it ended in a sudden death. Samus took the win and waved triumphantly to the invisible crowds, who went ecstatic and began chanting her name, over and over. As Captain Falcon reappeared on the stage, she went over to him and shook his hand, talking with a smile on her face. They went to the elevators and the announcer stated the stats and said good night. The sounds of the dispersing crowd filled the air.

A few minutes later, Samus and Captain Falcon arrived in the Booth, quickly getting through security. Samus had changed out of her suit, and was back in her old blue outfit. They stood at the doorway, surveying the scene of lounging Smashers.

Peach and Mario were sitting next to each other. Peach head was on Mario's shoulder and she appeared to be dozing. Mario was quietly stroking her hair, staring out the window with a serious look on his face. Wario kept stealing wistful glances at them. Zelda was sitting on Link, and their quiet voices erupted with laughter every once in a while. Sonic, Pit, Toon Link, Lucas, Olimar, Ness, and Nana and Popo were sitting on the floor, playing a very intense game of poker. Wolf, Fox, and Falco were talking, their backs to the windows. Kirby and Meta Knight had found the chocolate fountain, and were mischievously putting drops of it on the sleeping Jigglypuff's head. Ganondorf, Snake, Marth and Ike sat at a table, not speaking to anyone, including each other. R.O.B, Luigi, Red, and the Pokemon were looking at the Leader Board, figuring out who they would be fighting tomorrow.

Samus laughed quietly to herself, and leaped over the back of the seats, plopping down in the seat next to Link and Zelda, who jumped.

"What's going on here, lovebirds?"

Zelda shooed Link to the next seat, taking his place but holding his hands in compensation. She smoothed her skirts. "You're in a good mood."

"No duh. I just won a match!" Samus pumped her fist in the air for emphasis.

Zelda patted her friend's shoulders, saying, "Good for you, but it apparently doesn't count in the Final Tournament."

Samus's fist fell. "Damn. Zelda, you just popped my bubble."

Zelda laughed, covering her mouth. "Terribly sorry."

"Humph."

Samus peered down the aisle at the sleeping Peach. "How is she?" she asked in a low voice.

Zelda bit her lip, and shook her head. "Fine, I guess, but exhausted. She slept fight through your match. Which I don't get. There was a lot of explosions going on," she said, raising her eyebrows at Samus.

Samus laughed. "I can't help it if all of my attacks deal with guns!"

"Yeah, sure. Keep telling yourself that."

The elevator doors slid open, revealing April and Cadmon. He was wearing a suit, which looked extremely odd on his muscular body. April was wearing her uniform, and her pink hair was braided.

"Well, we are finished. Good job to all who brawled today. Usually, there will not be this many matches a day. At most, three." April said, looking around the room.

"If you have any weapons in your lockers, please retrieve them and put them in the slots above your lockers. Go now." Cadmon said, gesturing out the door. The Smashers who fought stood and filed out the door, talking with each other happily. April looked strained, and Cadmon was very jumpy. He had been out again when the assassins struck, and he believed it was his fault. So he had canceled every appointment he had to stay at the Mansion. Cadmon bowed and walked out behind them.

April said, "You all can leave when you want. See you at dinner." She turned briskly and followed Cadmon to the elevators.

Mario looked down at Peach. She was sleeping contentedly, her breathing calm and peaceful. He moved to wake her up gently. She rose up halfway, eyes still closed. "Peach, darling, time to wake-a now." She nodded and sat up. She stretched, yawning widely. "What time is it?"

He looked at his watch, "Almost nine thirty." He stood and took Peach's hands, lifting her up. Her eyes fluttered sleepily. They walked out of the room, Peach barely awake. Link, Zelda, and Samus followed.

Snake sighed and stood, stretching until his back popped. "I guess that means get out."

Ike nodded and stood. Marth had his legs up on the table, blocking Ike's way. Snake and Ganondorf, amused, as Ike asked Marth to move his legs from his path. Marth nodded and let his feet fall. Only to trip Ike as soon as he stepped over them.

Ganondorf laughed and Snake raised his eyebrows. Ike picked himself up and dusted himself off. He turned to Marth. "Do you want me to break your face again?" he calmly.

Marth laughed menacingly, standing. Drawing himself to full height, he faced Ike and said, "You could, but then you would get kicked out of this competition, and when I return, I would have all your lands and possessions. Your father would be disgraced…"

Ike looked like he really wanted to let Marth have it, but instead he looked at the charts. "Well than, Marth, it seems tomorrow will be your lucky day. We are fighting against each other. First match." He turned and went to the elevator. The doors slid shut, leaving Marth, Ganondorf, and Snake in the Booth.

Snake looked at the brash young prince. Ganondorf laughed again. "Well, that was certainly the best entertainment I have seen all day! A death match," he said good humouredly. He clapped Marth on the back. "Good luck, prince. He looks tough."

The look on Marth's face was priceless. It was a cross between disgust that Ganondorf touched him and apprehension of the coming match. They crossed over to the elevator and went down to the Mansion in silence.

A teen was walking past with Captain Falcon when the door opened. Marth almost ran into her. She gave him a nasty look and rolled her heavily made up eyes before turning back to Captain Falcon. They were walking to the Garage.

Ganondorf looked at Snake, who shrugged. He didn't really care what was going on, as long as they stayed out of their room. Snake went to interrogate the man they had captured last night, and Ganondorf and Marth went to the Lounge before dinner.

Medina looked back at the men walking out of the elevator. As soon as they were all out, it shimmered and vanished into the tapestry. She faced forward again and asked, "Who are those guys?"

"Well, who do you think? Other Smashers."

"No dip. I mean their names."

"The one with the bandana is Snake, the red-haired one is Ganondorf, and the blue haired one is Marth. The first two are my roommates." He sighed.

"Don't like 'em, huh?"

"No- I mean, I guess not." An awkward silence filled the air in between them, until Captain Falcon asked Medina, "I know this sounds rude, but who are you?"

Medina sighed. She didn't really want to spill all to this dude, but she needed a good ranting session. She would just tell him the basics, she told herself as she pulled a purple strand of hair behind her ear. "My name is Medina Cassanovitch, I'm April's daughter. So that makes Chiarina my aunt." Sadness filled her face for the slightest moment before the usual don't-mess-with-me-I-won't-mess-with-you face returned. "And Mom thinks it would be… best if I stayed here for the year instead of going to my junior year of college."

"What major would you do?" Captain Falcon asked, curious about the hesitation but not pressing. He could see she didn't like to talk about what had happened.

"Music production." Medina said instantly.

"Let me guess. Rock music?"

She smiled, April's features coming through again. "Yeah. I wanna produce the next big thing. Not a one hit wonder, mind you. A real, classic, will-be-remembered-for-all-time group."

"Good luck with that."

"Um, thanks?"

He grinned and opened the door to the Garage. He turned to Medina. "Ok, we have one hour before dinner is served. So we won't go far. How long have you had your license?"

"One year a week from now."

He opened the roof, revealing a darkening sky, lit with the last light of the dying sun. He walked her over to the Blue Falcon and climbed in the co-pilot's seat. "Alright, go for it."

She exhaled, calming herself before she pressed buttons, sealed the doors, pulled her hair back and tightened a cap over her eyes. Medina smiled at Captain Falcon, made sure the exit window was open, and pressed the accelerator.

The Blue Falcon rose gracefully up, up, and up, exiting through the window and hovering a few feet above the roof of the garage. "Okay!" Captain Falcon was speaking through a headset through his helmet so the engine noise wouldn't interfere with the conversation. "That was perfect! I want you to fly her over to that lake right there. Gently!" he roared as the nose suddenly dipped dangerously low.

"Okay, sorry!" Medina was concentrating very hard on the Blue Falcon's horizontal position, and the lake where Captain Falcon was directing her.

And, in a flash, the Blue Falcon was sinking into the lake, water leaking in the cockpit.

"WHOA! Medina! Get us out of here!" Captain Falcon shouted, scrambling to seal the door before anymore water could enter. Unfortunately, he and Medina both were already soaked to the bone.

Medina blocked out the sound of water, Captain Falcon, and the hissing of the ship as water sparked an attraction that was sparking. Her forehead creased in concentration, she focused on the spot in the Garage where the Blue Falcon resided. With a bang that lurched both of them forward, the Blue Falcon, although considerably wetter than before, was, unfortunately, wedged in between the Halberd and an Arwing. The machines groaned as the Blue Falcon suddenly appeared between them. Sparks flew, and paint was scratched. With a hiss, the cockpit door slid open. Water poured out, followed by a laughing Captain Falcon and blushing Medina.

"Oh, my God. That was… entertaining!" Captain Falcon laughed. "How did you manage that?!"

Medina sighed, a faint smile playing on her lips as she replied calmly, "I don't know. I just do stuff like that."

Captain Falcon laughed harder. "Just do stuff like that," he said approvingly, clapping her on the back.

"Wait, you aren't mad? I just crashed your ship into a lake, for crying out loud!"

"Yeah, and it was entertaining! I approve. Grade A," Captain Falcon chortled. He then looked over himself and Medina. "Wow, we should probably go change before dinner…"

"That might be smart." Medina backed up and checked the landing. "Oh, crap, whose ships are those?"

"Urm, Meta Knight's and either Fox or Falco, can't remember. Why?" He moved to where Medina was standing, and crossed his arms when saw the Blue Falcon scraping against the two other ships. "Hm. I guess this means a B instead of an A."

Medina started laughing then, and couldn't stop until they were in the hall outside the bedrooms.

"Thank you for such a great lesson, Captain." She hesitated, then stood on her toes and pecked him on the cheek. He flushed, and stammered, "Uh, yeah, sure! Anytime…" She smiled and waved to him as he entered his room.

He shivered, and it wasn't from the fact he was still soaking. He straightened himself up and entered his room.

Snake was reading reports from his base when Captain Falcon walked in, dripping water over the rug. He looked up, bored. The only thing he did in response was to raise his eyebrows and ask in a monotone, "Should I even ask…?"

Captain Falcon looked himself over, then pondered. "Nah," he said, scanning the room for his other roommate. "Where's Ganondorf?"

Snake returned to his papers. "Don't know. Don't really care." At that moment, Ganondorf appeared from the hallway. He was looking at something on the floor, and asked, "Why is there water all over the…-?"

Ganondorf stopped when he saw Captain Falcon standing soaking wet and crossed his arms, asking, a smile on his lips, "What have you been doing, Captain? I hope it wasn't with that girl from the hallway?" He raised his eyebrows as Captain Falcon shrugged, taking off his helmet and goggles.

"Well, well, well. Just don't bring it in here."

Captain Falcon laughed, grabbing a change of clothes and darting into the bathroom. "Don't worry."

Ganondorf looked at Snake, who was still reading his reports. He sighed, and sat down, wondering what he had ever done in previous lives to deserve such roommates.