How the world fares
Super Smash Bros. Brawl fanfiction by Shade-Duelist
disclaimer: I own no one in this story save the OC's Stella and Player Shii. I do not own SSBB or any of the games that feature in it. I do own this story, so be wary of my wrath when using it in the wrong way. And I determine what is wrong.
Chapter 2: Chaos in the Mansion
Over the days that followed Pit's arrival in the Mansion, several others also came and joined the brawlers. Two swordsmen, Ike and Marth; the Star Fox team Falco Lombardi and Fox McCloud – the latter was a veteran that had already participated in the previous two seasons – and their solo opponent, Wolf O'Donnell; a robot aptly named ROB; a tall and imposing Hyrulean called Ganondorf, who made the feathers on Pit's wings stand on end; a younger and cartoony version of Link; a mysterious figure that preferred to be called Meta Knight; and those were only a few of the ones that approached the Mansion. Not all were accepted, of course, since only the best could brawl. Still, when he looked at the timid Captain Olimar or slightly cowardly Lucas, a friend of veteran brawler Ness, he wasn't sure how they got in. 'Maybe they have hidden skills... never underestimate an opponent!', Pit thought as he walked back to his room from dinner.
On the other hand, he'd discovered several hidden sides to the brawlers. Bowser, who appeared as tough and evil as the stories made him out to be, turned out to be mainly misunderstood. He explained that it was his duty to be the evil one, since 'a big lumbering hero with horns and a spiked shield would be an outrage'. Sheik, the tougher side to princess Zelda of Hyrule, was another surprise: he'd read about the two, but thought they were two different persons. But the biggest surprise of all had been princess Peach, Pit mused as he walked on, ascending the next flight of stairs.
Princess Peach looked ever so much like the frail damsel-in-distress, but she was actually quite tough and definitely able to stand up for herself. Even Bowser admitted it – Pit hadn't been surprised to see the King of all Koopas' eyes light up whenever the princess was mentioned. She appeared to be well-versed in sports, managing to beat most of the brawlers on the tennis courts or slyly bypassing them on the soccer field to score a goal for her team, which mainly consisted of herself, Samus Aran (outside of her Power Suit), princess Zelda, Nana, Jigglypuff, and for some odd reason Mr. Game and Watch would always be on their side as well.
"Ah well... best head back up and get some rest, I need to be in top shape tomorrow!", Pit mused as he arrived on the third floor hall, taking his key from inside his tunic and opening his door. Inside, the dusky quiet of his room made him feel at ease. He swiftly closed the door behind him and went to his bed, where he sat down and, looking up, gave praise to Palutena as he was used to doing:
"Palutena, my goddess, you who shine in the heavens and light my heart, thanks be to you as you keep and cherish me. I pray, oh wisest of all, keep and cherish my friends in this Mansion as well, as they all have good souls. My goddess of light and good, until the hour that we stand together in the Skyworld again, all my devotion goes to you undivided."
"And as the sun shines on the lands from the sky, so shall Palutena shine on you, dear Pit. May your heart be unburdened and your soul untainted.", came Palutena's now distant answer. Pit felt the familiar feeling of relaxation wash over him as his eyes fluttered to a close.
Peach cooked up a meal in the kitchen for her, Yoshi and Kirby, since all the others had eaten their dinner early in order to get an early night. She, the pink Dreamlander and the green dinosaur were the only ones that had not battled that day. Yoshi and Peach had instead played a game of tennis to relax, while Kirby had relaxed along with them in the role of their tennis ball. The prize for the winner was that he and Kirby got a meal prepared for them by the losing one – which was the reason why Peach was now slaving away over a hot stove. 'I'll never play tennis with Yoshi again when he wagers something involving food...', Peach thought. She'd made a fruit salad and some melon cakes on the side – since neither Kirby nor Yoshi ate meat, she'd decided on fruit since she herself fancied a light meal as well.
When she at last came out of the kitchen, bearing the tray which was laden to the brim, she noticed Yoshi and Kirby patting the seat in between them, where they'd put a drawing they'd made together. It depicted a childishly drawn Kirby, a remarkably accurate picture of Yoshi (who was smiling) and between them a picture of herself. There were no words on it – neither Yoshi nor Kirby could speak English and they could not write either – but there were flowers around everyone's head, which Peach knew meant that they were friends.
"Oh, thank you!", she said cheerily as she gave everyone a bowl of fruit salad and a few melon cakes. The three dug in and ate in silence, occasionally interrupted by Yoshi's 'waaw!' of appreciation or Kirby's small sounds of approval as he patted his stomach in between bites. Finally, as the three were finished, they spent the remainder of the evening in the dining room looking at the drawings Yoshi and Kirby had made of themselves and the other brawlers. There was a childish rendition of Kirby and Meta Knight fighting, a realistic drawing of Samus without the Power Suit, a drawing of her and Mario playing Tennis and...
Between a drawing of Bowser flattening Wario and a sketch of King Dedede, Peach found a drawing of Yoshi and Pit playing in the sky – both the green dragon and the angels had wings, though Pit's seemed to be exaggerated slightly since they appeared larger than she'd seen them on that first day, stretching out high above his head. Both Yoshi and Pit had an expression of joy on their face.
"Yoshi, do you like Pit? Is he fun to play with?"
"Wie-ea!", Yoshi said, nodding before grabbing another stray melon cake from the other side of the table with his tongue. "Hop hop!", the little green dinosaur added, signifying that they flew around together.
"You're his friend now?"
"Wie-wie-ea!", Yoshi answered again, now grinning. "Hm?", he then voiced, pointing to Peach and then to the picture.
"Yes, he's my friend as well if you wish, Yoshi...", she said with a smile before having her two guests clean up the table so they could go to sleep. After all, tomorrow was one of the first big brawls and everyone was nervous...
Pit stumbled out of the arena, a sense of pride and belonging nestled deep in his heart. He'd participated in a thirty-stock brawl against Ness, the Pokémon trainer and Ike, and if it weren't for the Final Smash of the Pokémon trainer causing him to lose his last life, he would have won – but his second place in his first ever brawl was enough to boost his spirits enough so he didn't feel the dull thudding of blood in his wings. They'd taken a few hits, but never hard enough to disable his flight.
He'd also had a chance to study the others' fighting techniques up close. Ness' PSI powers were dangerous to say the least, and the Pokémon trainer's ability to switch Pokémon in this heated battle was also a big factor in the young man winning his first brawl, though Ike's skill with his sword had awed and stunned Pit. The man used his sword with such ease and such finesse at the same time, that Pit wondered where and how he'd learnt it all.
He wandered through the building, trying to remember Yoshi's explanation on the first day on where the other dormitory areas were located. Finally, he realised he was hopelessly lost and wound his way back downstairs, only to stop and listen when he heard an argument going on below.
"...It's all you've talked about for weeks before you came here, Mario... Now that you're enrolled, there's no turning back, surely you understand..." Peach sounded tired to him, and yet it was not evening yet.
"But I don't understand, a-princess Peach. ..." Pit strained to listen to the whispered conversation that followed, but could not understand anything they said until Peach burst out in sobs.
"M-mario, that is so... SO very heartless! I n-n-never thought yo-you 'd say that..."
"But-a-princess..." Mario, however, never got a chance to explain himself, as the princess ran outside. "Peach, a-wait!", Mario called after her, but she didn't hear him judging by the creaking of the gate and then the dull thud as it slammed shut. The plumber with the italian accent then turned to the stairs and noticed Pit standing on the landing, looking baffled and slightly shocked. "Do you understand-a women, Pit?", he asked. "All I did was ask-a her if she really thinks that a-Bowser is evil..." Pit suddenly understood and his shoulders slumped. Peach actually had a somewhat friendly interaction with the King of Koopas, unlike Mario who still carried around the rivalry.
"Maybe you just caught her at a bad time?", Pit tried. But Mario shrugged.
"I don't a-know, but I'm-a not waiting for her to get-a back... I'm tired..." The plumber climbed the stairs, leaving Pit behind. The young angel hesitated for a second, doubting between asking Mario where his room was and staying out of the two's quarrel and going outside to find Peach and ask what was going on. He finally opted for the latter, walking outside.
He didn't have to look for long to find Princess Peach: she sat on one of the now-deserted chairs near the tennis court, shivering with cold and tears held back. Pit walked over to her slowly, careful about his every move.
"I-is everything allright, princess?", Pit asked. Peach looked up and he saw tears staining her cheeks and brimming in the corners of her eyes. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to wipe them away. Instead, he sat down opposite her, awaiting her answer, which was finally voiced with a shaky tone.
"It's nothing, Pit... Don't trouble yourself..."
"Princess Toadstool... Peach...", the young angel started firmly, wishing to tell her that he would worry nonetheless, when he suddenly found that being addressed by her first name was enough to cause the tears to spill again, accompanied by loud sobs. He didn't think for a second and rose, embracing her in order to comfort her. "Shh... I didn't mean to..." The sobs quieted down and Peach looked up again. Pit boldened again and asked: "D-don't be upset by this, but was it Mario?"
"Y-yes...", Peach said, nodding. "Uh, you can l-let go now, Pit, I'm all cried out..." Pit blushed and obliged, not having been aware of the position they had been in. Her head had been rather firmly pressed against his chest, which now felt oddly warm.
"Would you feel better talking about it?", he asked, and Peach nodded.
"Y-yes... I just came back from the kitchen, after having cooked dinner for Kirby, Yoshi and myself, when I noticed Mario was brawling together with Sonic against Bowser. Sonic didn't go easy on Bowser, but Mario got in some cheap hits. Bowser was in pretty bad shape when the brawl ended – he only managed to win due to getting a Smash Ball, and there was nothing to it to beat both Mario and Sonic in a few seconds as Giga Bowser. I went to the medical wing to see if Bowser was allright – which he only was thanks to the Doctor and two nurses Joy. Mario found me walking back from my visit and asked me again why I'm on friendly terms with Bowser here. I told him that Bowser is not out to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom here – the rules state that the only enmity here is within the arena, but Mario... Well, you know... He told me he didn't understand, that Bowser is e-evil and that he'd ra-rather..." Peach shivered again, a few tears rolling down her cheek again, and meanwhile Pit guessed the remainder of her sentence.
"That is low, even for Mario..." The two sat in silence for a while, each contemplating their own thoughts. Pit leaned back and winced as his still-tender wings hit the cold iron back of the garden furniture – his wings bristled, making Peach look up.
"Your wings... Are they hurt?", she asked, noticing the look of pain on his face. Pit sighed.
"I overdid myself, took a few hits... My wings are a bit tender right now...", he said. Peach sat up a bit straighter after this, and he saw a vague smile on her features, even though it was a watery one.
"Oh! Could I..." She slowly rose from her chair and walked towards him, hand slightly outstretched. "May I feel?", she asked, and Pit nodded, deciding that he'd do whatever it took to make the Princess' smile a lasting one. As she gently lay a hand on his wing, soon joined by the other, he grinned lazily – he closed his eyes and relished in the feeling of her fingertip running along the line of one of the pens. Judging by her small giggle, the feel of feathers under her hands was somewhat odd.
The hands then withdrew, and Pit suddenly felt sad. He opened his eyes again to see Peach step back tentatively, her smile now broader and more secure.
"They don't look severely hurt or bruised. You should be okay after a night's rest... Anyway, thanks for listening to me. You're a great guy, Pit."
"I just wanted to make you feel better.", Pit admitted, rising from the chair. He suppressed a yawn and motioned for the mansion in front of them. "Perhaps we'd better both go to sleep. Will you be allright, Princess, or do you want me to accompany you to your room?", he asked as they started walking towards their temporary home. She smiled again while shaking her head.
"Oh, no, it'll be allright, Pit. And please, call me Peach... we're friends after all..."
"Peach... Goodnight then. I hope your dreams are more pleasant than your evening...", he added, and Peach sighed.
"I hope so, too. Mario will have to put serious effort in patching things up now!", she said with a tone of resolve, and Pit smiled again.
"If he truly loves you, no effort should be too much for him. ...Goodnight, Peach...", he said as they arrived at the gate. Peach nodded and returned his words before turning to the door. As she pulled it open, she turned to see where Pit was, and noticed he was nowhere to be found anymore. 'Maybe he can indeed fly with those small wings of his...', she thought with a soft smile as she entered.
Pit landed on his balcony and walked straight to his bed, where he took off the tunic before laying down. He closed his eyes and said his words of praise to Palutena.
"Palutena, light of the Heavens and benevolent Goddess, praise be to you who guards and guides me. Your light is a beacon in even the darkest of times, and your blessing strengthens me always. Today, I have battled for you, and each victory is dedicated to Your honour. I pray to you, let your love and wisdom guide me on the path to become a better servant to you. Also, I would ask of you, generous Palutena, keep and protect my friends... most of all princess Peach, who is in turmoil right now...", he added as an afterthought. Palutena's answer came, and it surprised Pit.
"As the light shines down on the fields to set them ablaze in glorious beauty, so I shine down on you, Pit. And as I keep you, and you keep the princess, so will I keep her through you. Protect and support her, for your love will strengthen you even more than I could ever hope to..."
"But my goddess, I don't-", he started, but then stopped. The face of the Mushroom Kingdom princess came to his mind again in vivid detail – her golden hair, her sapphire eyes, the beautiful smile on her face – and Pit realised that Palutena had indeed perceived his emotions correctly. "As you wish, my goddess...", he merely said before falling asleep.