It was heartbreaking to see. His mighty heroes, wailing and scrabbling at the bars and fearing for their lives. Mario's talk hadn't eased their tensions much, to his dismay. Everyone was wondering why their powers didn't work, why they couldn't see straight, but he didn't tell them. Maybe if they just thought it was a phase they'd calm down, stop making noise.

He did a head count–all but five of them were there. Well, that discounted Lucario's theory of it being one of the shadier smashers. He was grateful his brother didn't see them like this. He probably wouldn't have lasted the night.

Snake was going insane in his cage. He paced nonstop, muttering to himself and occasionally pulling out a grenade only to put it away again. Mario was afraid he'd blow the place up, and everyone with him. There was no way to reassure him.

Peach would call out to him every couple minutes, asking questions or just talking. She seemed cool and collected about the whole thing, but of course, she was used to being captured. He was glad that she could stay so calm–it helped him keep his head, too.

The rest of them were scared, hungry, and most of all, bored. It had been a day, maybe two, and nobody had come to talk to them. everyone was getting anxious. Besides not knowing who their captors were, they didn't know what they wanted or why they'd taken them. It was unnerving, to think that there might not even be a purpose for this, that someone was just toying with them for no reason at all. It made Mario eager to meet with these jerks, so he could give them a piece of his mind.

He looked over at Lucario, who was still struggling to keep his aura alive. He said that if he let it go out, he'd lose all his power. He must've been exhausted by then, but it was the only shred of hope he had left. Mario stayed up and attempted to entertain him with stories, but it seemed for every one he told, Lucario had one that was three times better.

He sighed in defeat, slumping against the bars of his cage.

"I don't-a know why I try."

Lucario chuckled weakly. "I assure you, human, I find your experiences quite...amusing."

Mario smiled a little bit, relieved he was able to help someone.

Suddenly, a door on the other side of the room swung open, making the brawlers shrink away from the harsh light. Had that always been there? A figure dressed in black entered the room, and when his eyes finally adjusted, he noticed he had a small envelope in his hands. He opened it and pulled out a tiny piece of paper, bringing it up to his face–which was shadowed by its hood–and spoke in a voice that was clearly edited.

"Olimar."

Olimar was in the cell across from Mario's. Since last night, his Pikmin had been wandering from cage to cage, slipping between the bars and offering comfort to the smashers. Unfortunately, they couldn't seem to pick the locks–many broke their stems trying.

Olimar wedged himself into the corner of his cell, as if somehow he could phase through it. The figure swept to his cage and pulled out a ring of keys, searching through them until he found the correct one. He reminded Mario of the grim reaper, sealing the fate of those for whom the bell tolls. What would he do to him? Interrogate him? Kill him? Torture him? All three of those things were terrifying, and Olimar..because of his size...

Mario shuddered. He had to do something about this.

"Wait..you can't-a take him!"

The stranger retracted the hand that was about to grab Olimar and turned to him.

"Why not?"

"He's..I..take-a me instead!"

The stranger looked down at the piece of paper.

"I can't do that. This asks specifically for–"

Olimar, seeing his chance, dashed out between his legs and made for the door. He swooped down and caught Olimar by the leg, and he screamed and writhed, trying desperately to free himself.

The stranger snickered.

"For that, I think I'll take the Pikmin too."

His eyes widened, and he tried to kick at the stranger as he moved around the room, scooping up Pikmin that were scrambling to flee. Once he had a good handful of them by their stems, the stranger motioned towards the door, and another person stepped inside, dragging a chair behind him and holding a video camera. Olimar froze, going completely limp as he realized what was coming next. While the other set up, the first person spoke again.

"You see, here at FU, we like to keep our customers happy. They like to watch," he explained.

FU? This is a joke, right?

Apparently not. Soon Olimar was strapped to the chair, still motionless.

"Let's start with santa's little helpers, hm?"

The stranger took a thin, white Pikmin and held it in front of Olimar's face. Olimar just stared at every action, not blinking, emotionless. He didn't scream as the Pikmin was ripped limb from limb, right before his eyes. Several smashers turned away, a couple vomited, and some screamed. Mario couldn't avert his eyes–he was paralyzed at the horrific sight.

There were disgusting noises, bones cracking, flesh ripping, Pikmin screeching in agony. Ghosts filled the space around them, mingling with each other before fading off into the beyond. Some he killed selectively, choosing a certain part to tear off, and then watching as the blood flowed from each one. Some he simply pulled the heads off, some he ripped in half. Blood spattered all over Olimar's glass helmet, and he still didn't move. His eyes had gone dead, showing nothing but emptiness. It was terrifying, to see someone stop being part of their own body.

When all the Pikmin had finally died and their ghosts dissipated, the stranger turned towards Mario and laughed.

"I think I have something special your littleboyfriend tomorrow. But first–"

The stranger lifted his boot and kicked Olimar's shin. He didn't use a lot of force, but Olimar was so tiny, it actually did some damage. There was a dull crack, and he snapped out of his trance long enough to scream. As tears welled up in his eyes, the stranger dropped to his level and tsked.

"I'd shut up if I were you. You wouldn't wanna make me mad."

Olimar closed his mouth tight, sniffed, and glared up at him.

"Do your worst, you monster."

The stranger hissed.

"Olimar! Shut up!" Falcon called. "Don't be stupid!"

The stranger chuckled darkly.

"What's this? Another boyfriend?"

Olimar looked away.

"Falcon, this isn't your business."

"It became my business as soon as he messed with you. What, you can't pick on someone your own size?"

"Shut up, Falcon!"

The stranger growled.

"No, this is even better. I'm sure my client won't mind if you joined in the fun."

"Yeah? And what's that supposed to mean?"

The door to his cage swung open, and the stranger grabbed him violently. The drugs made him weak, and he was punched in the head until he stopped squirming. His whole body slumped over. It was terrifying to see the big, strong man go limp like that. The stranger tossed him onto the ground.

"You will learn respect," he huffed.

Falcon slowly pulled himself off the floor, shooting him a glare.

"I'll never respect a pig like you."

He toppled over as he was kicked in the ribs. Olimar cried out.

"Stop it! Don't hurt him!"

"Aw, look how cute. Is this love I see?" the stranger snickered, pushing Falcon onto his back with his boot.

"Get up, you're not hurt."

Falcon breathed hard, his muscled arms struggling to push himself up off the ground. Once he finally stood on two shaky legs, he wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Okay, what do you want with me?"

Olimar squirmed against his restraints, screaming bloody murder.

"Leave him alone! Come on, you can't handle me?!"

Mario strained to listen as the stranger leaned over and whispered something in Falcon's ear. Falcon shot him one last glare and approached Olimar, but not in an I'm-trying-to-free-you way.

"What did you tell him?! What did you say, sicko?!"

Falcon stared at Olimar, who stared back. They shared a look that nobody else could possibly understand. Olimar lowered his head, suddenly falling dead silent. He seemed to understand exactly what was happening, though nobody else in the room did.

"Close your eyes," Falcon said.

Olimar obeyed.

Mario wished he had done the same.

The next thing he knew, Olimar was screaming. Screaming so loud even those who covered their ears could hear it. Screaming loud enough to drive Snake into hysterics, to send chills down everyone's spine and make them flinch at every cry.

The stranger had taken out a hot metal rod and handed it to Falcon, forcing him to press it to Olimar's body repeatedly. It melted his suit onto his skin and left glowing red marks and he shrieked and struggled and spat cuss words that the little ones probably shouldn't have heard.

After a while, the stranger whispered something else in his ear, and Falcon growled low in his throat.

"No."

Mario heard Peach gasp from a nearby cage, and he realized that he could see her now. She looked terrible, as if she hasn't slept in days. Her face was twisted as if she were in pain, obviously overhearing what the man said.

He signaled to her with his hand, trying to get her attention, but she was frozen in shock.

Falcon was giving the man a look that could kill.

"You'll just have to beat me. I won't do that."

Olimar looked between the two a couple times, still breathing hard, looking terrified.

"What?"

"Do it!"

"No, Falcon, don't listen to him!" Peach cried, thrusting her hand through the bars of her cell to latch onto his leg. He looked down at her.

"Don't worry, miss."

The stranger let out an unearthly screech, snatching the rod from Falcon and pushing it against his cheek. Falcon cried out and fell to the floor.

"I guess that part would be important to you, wouldn't it?"

He snatched up Falcon by his collar and untied Olimar, throwing them both in Mario's cell.

"There, , why don't you take care of your men?" he sneered, slamming the door shut. Mario watched him until he left.

He glanced over at Lucario, who had somehow managed to maintain his concentration through all of it. He looked up at Mario, then at the other two, then closed his eyes again.

"He's right. It would be wise to heal them."

Mario nodded, turning back to Olimar and Falcon. Olimar lay still, pain coming in waves all over his body, and Falcon was trying to comfort him. Suddenly Mario wondered if there really wassomething between them.

He quickly pulled out some medical supplies from his pocket–luckily he always carried some–and began figuring out what to give who. There was a high possibility he might need some of it for later.

He had about half a tube of ointment, two rolls of gauze, a pack of bandaids, part of a maximum tomato, and a couple of surgical tools he surely hoped he wouldn't have to use.

Really, he wished he could save all of it, but the little guy was in so much pain he couldn't see straight. Even if he used everything he had, it still wouldn't help enough to justify wasting all his supplies. Then something occurred to him.

"Link!" he called.

"Yeah?" Link answered. His voice was shaky.

"Do you have any heart containers?"

Link reached into a satchel on his hip and pulled one out, staring at it.

"One."

"I need it."

Link continued to stare at it. What if he or Zelda got hurt? He'd need it then. He looked over at her. She was in the cell next to his, playing with her hair nervously. She was used to being captured constantly, but it was never like this. Ganondorf was more annoying than violent towards her, ranting on about world domination and such. This person...he could do some serious damage to both of them.

"What if someone else needs it?"

"Mama mia, Link! Didn't you see what just-a happened to him?"

Link turned away, clutching the heart container to his chest protectively. It was horrible what happened, that much was true, but he didn't wanna risk it. He barely knew the guy, and even though it didn't feel right to leave him like that, he had to, for Zelda's sake.

Speaking of Zelda, she was staring at him like he was crazy. He could barely see her, but he made out the words she mouthed to him.

'What are you doing?'

Link gave her a meaningful look, trying to convey his intentions with his eyes. Then Olimar cried out as Falcon tried to pull off his suit, which had fused to his skin. As Falcon began murmuring words of comfort, several brawlers in nearby cages glared Link's direction. Zelda was furious, and Link could see her face start turning red, even in the darkness.

"He has a wife and kids. I swear by the goddess if you don't give it to him, I'll never speak to you again," Zelda hissed.

Well, that changed a few things in a couple different ways. Link relented, setting the heart piece on the floor to slide it under the bars and towards Mario's cage.

But the concrete was rough, and it stopped halfway there, just out of reach for anyone near it. Everyone groaned, except Olimar, who chuckled weakly.

"Well I'm just getting the best of luck today."