I'M BACK!

Silver Lion's alive and kicking. An this time, it's gonna stay that way. I'll be honest with all of you. The past year I went through was rough. I had practically lost my interest in writing. It wasn't until a...special friend of mine came through and helped me through my slump. But that's another story. The point is I'M BACK! For real this time.

Chapter 8:

Watch and Learn

GAME SET!

And with a graceful landing, Meta Knight was received by a roar of applause by the audience. The armor-clad star warrior's match with Baby DK was the sixth match of the first round and while the match seemed a bit one-sided, Meta Knight had to admit that the baby monkey was quite a skilled fighter. But not skilled enough to beat him.

"What an exciting day it's been here folks!" Master Hand's booming voice yelled. "Six fighters have already managed to take their first step to becoming the ultimate smash brothers champion!" Master Asia sat calmly in his seat, but you could tell by the smile on his face that he was enjoying these fights as much as anyone.

Back at where Barren, Cain, GIR and Himawari were sitting, Barren and Himawari were catching up on a few things while GIR and Cain were watching the roulette start to spin again.

"So you really managed to master SEVEN different elemental attacks?!" The brunette asked her cousin, who could only smirk at her shocked expression.

"Come on Hima...it's not that big of a deal..."

"Not that big a deal?!" She yelled, grabbing her cousin's shoulders and shaking him violently. "It took me four YEARS to master ONE of those moves! How the hell did you manage to master SEVEN of them in NINE MONTHS?!" GIR giggled as he watched the older cousin practically strangle his new owner. Cain let out a chuckle before seeing Jake take a seat next to him.

"Sorry! Had to go to the bathroom. What did I miss?" He asked, prompting the perverted teen to shrug.

"Not much really...Meta Knight just won his fight and the roulette still hasn't stopped." He said as he watched the character select spin impatiently. He motioned to his cousins." And these two won't shut up." Jake stared at Himawari with interest.

"I didn't you had another cousin Cain."

"Technically, she's Barren's cousin, not mine. You see, Hima's actually a sorceress. When Grandpa found out about her innate magical abilities, he sent her to an old friend of his in Japan. But she still visits often." A sly grin made it's way onto Jake's face.

"And she's freakin' hot too! I wouldn't mind having her as my cousin!" Cain stared at him before letting out a chuckle.

"Sorry dude," He whispered in his ear. "but believe it or not, I hear she actually has a thing for Barre-OW!" The psychic yelped as Hima pulled his ear forcibly.

"Will you stop telling everyone about that disgusting rumor?!" She yelled in his ear. "Barren's my cousin AND one of my best friends, but I don't like him like that!" Even though he was in pain, Cain had a large grin on his face.

"Su~re you don't..." The brunette 'tsked' before letting the fighter's ear go.

"Calm down Hima." Barren said. "It's not the first time somebody's made that joke." The girl puffed out her cheeks in a cute pout.

"Yeah, but it still pisses me off..." Barren sweat dropped while the others laughed at the girls misfortune.

"So tell me Litnor," Orvus said as he stood alongside his steward on a small floating platform above the bleachers, shuffling his cards while occasionally looking at the roulette. "Who do you suppose I'll have to fight in this tournament?" The masked demon said nothing as he stared at the roulette.

"The hand is not stupid." He said, turning to his master. "He knows that you're too much of a threat, so he'll obviously get the roulette to pair you pair you up with one of the original fighter, such as Mario or Link." The card wielder smirked as he glanced at his companion.

"I taught you well Litnor...However, I don't think that will be the case..." Litnor shot him a perplexed look.

"Why not?" The fallen god looked up from his cards.

"I'm not berating you Litnor...In fact you made a marvelous observation..." He said, glancing at the now stopped roulette once more. "However, you're overlooking the possibility that he may be aware of our alliance with the villains." He pulled out a Red Joker from his deck. "He even called in the undefeated of the east...I believe he's going to try and thin my numbers in this tournament by putting the villains against themselves, thinning my chance of getting the shuffle key." Litnor looked at the card in his master's hand. Whenever he played that card, he was usually right.

"But couldn't you simply steal the key now?" Orvus let out a growl, one of the few things that actually frightened the masked demon. The card dealer took a deep breath before letting out a heavy sigh.

"I THOUGHT I could...Unfortunately, this corporal body doesn't even have one percent of the power may old one did." He said, gesturing to his body. "Being in that hell weakened me...permanently...unless..."

"Unless what, my lord?" The card dealer sighed.

"Nothing Litnor...it's a complicated and migraine inducing process." Two flashes of a dark purple light caught their attention. The demons turned to see Vergil and Dracicle, each carrying a small staff. "I suppose your mission was success?" The half-demon scoffed, tossing his staff to the fallen god.

"Not entirely." He said as Orvus gave his staff. "We managed to retrieve two staffs. However, the other seven and the orb were recently transferred to an unknown location." The card dealer's expression fell.

"Not only that, the staffs we retrieved were the water and fire staffs." The red haired tyrant added. "While effective on their own, they possess a very bad synergy if not used wisely." Orvus put a hand on his chin.

"Hmm...that does complicate things...I suppose they'll have to do for now." Orvus held both staffs in his right hand and engulfed them both in a dark purple flame. After a few seconds, the flames completely burned the staffs and entered his body, causing the god to belch. "Energy absorbed."

"I never enjoyed watching you do that..." The masked warrior said, slightly disturbed.

"So what happens when you get all of these staffs anyway?" Dracicle asked as he watched Vergil silently teleport away.

"These staffs are considered the greatest elemental conduits of all time-"

"I know THAT. I've done my own research before."

"Good. Than it should be obvious why I want them all. While I may not be weak enough to fight, I need to guarantee my spot in the finals. The more power, the better."

GAME SET!

Orvus watched as Nicky sent Specter's Pipo Monkey flying out of the stadium, which at some point had turned into the Punch-Out boxing ring. The crowd cheered as the son of the devil himself commemorated his victory.

"Seven matches down, three to go."

"Now that was fun!" Nicky said as he stepped off the metal platform and onto the bleachers. "Beating the heck out of some weakling really makes my day." He said as he took out his teleportation card. "Time to meet up with the head honcho." Before he could tap it however...

"Hey dude! That was a pretty good match!" The demon turned his head to see Barren, staring at him with a smile.

"Um...thanks?" Barren gave a chuckle before tapping the empty seat next to him.

"Sit down. Don't be a loner." Nicky just looked at him as if he had gone crazy.

"Uh...no thank you."

"Trust me dude," A new voice called the demon's attention. Cain and the others were looking at him with the same smile as Barren. "once he starts, he won't stop."

"Look, I really don't have time. I gotta-"

"Just sit down already. We're all here for the same reason: To watch the tournament right." Nicky chuckled.

"Y-yeah, we are." Nicky said, while he thought something more like 'LIKE HELL WE AREN'T!'. "Alright, just for the next match." Barren's small crowd gave a cheer while Nicky took his seat next to Barren.

"What's your name?" Hima asked him.

"Nicky Lucifel." Hima and Cain felt their hearts stop for a second. The both turned to him slowly, completely pale and sweating heavily.

"L-lucifel..." Caind started.

"As in..." Hime gulped "Satin... Lucifel..." Nicky rolled his.

"Yep."

"The devil..."

"That...Satin Lucifel..."

"Yep."

3.

2.

1.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The two screamed as they jumped in each other' s arms. Jake fell back in shock of the scream and the revelation. Barren just sat there with his smile still present.

"So you're really the devil's son." Nicky nodded. Only making his smile grow wider. "That's so cool!"

"WHAT?!" His cousins shouts fell to deaf ears. Nicky and Jake stared at the boy surprised. The demon never met anyone who thought that being the son of the devil himself was 'cool'.

"It's really nice to meet you. I'm Barren. Barren Rein." He said extended his hand. Nicky was reluctant to accept.

"Nice to meet you to..." Barren...Where had he heard that name before.

"So Nicky, who do you think will compete next?" Jake asked him while the sixteen year olds still cowered in fear. Nicky put a hand on his chin while his eyes turned blue, startling his 'friends'.

"Wow! How'd you do that?" Barren asked, his eyes sparkling in amazement.

"Huh." The demon asked. "Oh, my eyes change depending on my mood or what I'm doing."

"COOL!" Rolling his eyes, the demon put his hand on his chin and thought a bit.

"Well it's kind of hard to guess right now. Fourteen guys have already fought, leaving a hundred and sixteen left. Plus that roulette been making some weird randomization..." The grouped raised a collective eyebrow. Even Cain and Hima stopped shaking and GIR looked at him confused.

"What do you mean?" The bickering cousins asked.

"Think about. Until now: Who fought?"

...

That was a good point. It seemed that weak character were going up against strong ones and the villains were fighting each other. Barren v.s Diddy. Pretty even fight, no injustice there. Globox v.s. King Dedede. The blue dolt was terrified the moment he saw the hammer. Wolf v.s. Kritter. Seemed more like a death match, as if they needed to be in the tourney. Enerjak v.s. Spike. The kid managed to hold his ground pretty well against a demi-god, so the match was pretty even. Akuma v.s. Sentinel...that was just bloody massacre. Akuma kept beating up the bot even after he won. May it rest in the scrap heap forever...I don't even need to mention the last two.

"Weird eyes has a good point..." GIR said. The demon was about to open his mouth when his shackles started glowing. He fell off the seat and doubled over in pain.

"Whoa! Nicky you okay?" Barren said as he knelled down to Nicky's height. "What's going on?" The demon grunted as the light died down. Pretty soon, the red light engulfing his shackles were gone. "What happened?" Nicky ignored him as he got up and walked...scratch that, limped past the others.

"Sorry folks...gotta go."

"B-but the match didn't even start yet..." Barren pleas were ignored as the demon spawn left his sight. "What happened?" Hima had a hand on her chin.

"I think that was a spellbinding..." The group turned their attention to her. "Someone must have Nicky indebted to them, so they'll have the ability to inflict pain through something the wearer can't take off..." Jake grimaced.

"Yikes..." He muttered. He was never a fan of the supernatural. (In fact, he was still trying to find out why he was still hanging out with these wackos...eh, it was probably Hima's boobs.)

"Oh well..." Barren sat back down, a bit disappointed. That is until he looked up. "Uh...Jake?"

"What?"

"Look up." Obeying, the group turned to the roulette.

"THE NEXT MATCH:" Master announced. "Jake Jackson v.s. The Ice Climbers!"

Hope you enjoyed!

P.S. While I am back on SSBU, I'm afraid Jotkoh is still going to have a slight hiatus. Just until I can reorganize thing better. See you next time on:

SUPER SMASH BROS. UNLIMITED!