Being surrounded by a number of talking mushrooms was really beginning to make Snake question his sanity.
But then again, so far during this tournament he had already met elves, talking foxes, and what could only be described as a pink gumball. It seemed rather ironic that sentient mushrooms were where Snake's tolerance for weird seemed to draw the line.
He paced along the corridors, looking at the crudely marked doors, comparing the room plan with each one as he passed.
It was a little interesting to think how each of the residents might spend time in their rooms when not in combat. Although it did seem ludicrous that Pikachu would need an entire room to himself. What use would a rat have for an entire, fully furnished room? Could a Pikachu even open a door by itself? If it took a bath, would it shock itself?
That was a train of thought Snake really didn't wish to follow.
He shook out of his daydream just quickly enough to notice a cart stationed infront of one of the doors. Checking the room plan, Snake shook his head in disbelief. It was indeed Falcon's room.
"This is way more cliche than anything I've ever done."
The bellhop, another of those weird, mushroomy people, was collecting something from another room. This was his chance.
He quickly dashed across the corridor, dropping to his knees beside the cart. He quickly looked over to make sure the bellhop was still occupied before crawling beneath the covering.
Underneath the tablecloth was a small gap, where he had a slight view of the outside world. He could see the small feet of the mushroom fellow approaching the cart, hearing a knock at the door a moment later. He heard footsteps approaching from within the room and saw the bottom of the door swing open, a pair of bare, damp feet stepping forwards.
"Oh, sorry to interrupt Captain..." A nasal voice addressed the figure in the doorway. "You, uh... You shower in your helmet?"
Falcon gave no verbal response, simply an indignant 'hmph' as he pulled the cart inside. Snake quickly grabbed onto the side of the cart to avoid falling out.
"The food's quite hot." The bellhop went on. "So, it wont go cold if you're showering."
"Is that all?" Falcon replied, pushing the cart against the wall, again forcing Snake to hold onto the inside as his back hit the wall. He lowered himself down to look under the tablecloth, catching sight of Falcon closing the door as the bellhop left. The Captain, wrapped in a towel, removed his helmet, which Snake presumed he'd quickly donned to hide his identity.
Falcon moved through the door at the back of the room, returning to his shower. The water would have been enough to cover the sound of his footsteps. It was the perfect opportunity for Snake to take a look around and gather information.
Snake slowly crawled out from beneath the cart, standing back to full height and looking around the room. It was suprisingly bare, almost entirely empty.
He'd seen some of the other rooms, how they'd been decorated to match the tastes of the occupants. Red had his room decorated with some 'artsy' pokemon posters, Lucas' room was covered with old, worn photographs of his loved ones, which wasn't at all surprising given his history. Hell, even Pikachu had a stash of accessories, including his own bandana. Snake had to admire the rat's sense of style.
But Falcon's room was empty of such trinkets. No photos, no decorations... Not even any racing trophies he seemed so fond of talking about.
Snake looked down at the cart, thinking how he'd never seen Falcon join the rest of the residents during meal time. He'd always had a meal brought to his room. In fact, it was likely no-one had actually seen him outside of combat.
It was quite clear that outside of his racer persona, Falcon was a private person. This would make gathering information on him rather difficult.
Snake had no idea what he was hoping to find. Most people don't usually keep word for word notes on their strategies and their flaws in convenient places.
Sure, a few drawers had flyers for the tournament, a roster of fighters and a list of stages. Each with some interesting personal notes written by Falcon himself, but they was nothing to reveal any definate weaknesses.
Snake folded his arms across his chest, sighing in defeat. There was nothing here.
Well, nothing besides the Captain's outfit, set out and hung on the wardrobe door. "Hmm..." Snake mused curiously. Walking across the room, scooching between the wardrobe and the end of the bed, accidentally brushing Falcon's scarf off the hanger which held his clothes.
Beside the wardrobe, the Captain's helmet rested atop a chest of drawers. Snake reached out, taking the helmet into his hand and examining it carefully. "I wonder if there's anything to this thing..." Turning it around in his hands, he held it up to the light and looked into the visor. As the light came through, it was possible to see some kind of display on the visor. Almost like some sort of scanner readout. He stared for a while, squinting his eyes to try and make it out, but the writing was in some strange, symbol alphabet that he wasn't familiar with.
Snake froze.
He suddenly realised that the sound of running water had stopped. A long, loud sqeak sounded as the shower door opened and Snake reacted straight away.
He placed the helmet back down and dashed away. The door was too far, he wouldn't make it. He heard the shower door slam as he dropped to the floor.
Moving quickly, Snake was able to roll under the bed just as he saw Falcon's feet move across the room.
'He didn't see me, right?' He thought to himself. 'No, he couldn't have.'
He dropped his head, forehead meeting the ground. Looks like he'd be stuck here for tonight.