The soft "tick tock" sound of an alarm clock echoed throughout the room. Jake and Barren's roomed as the two lied down peacefully, GIR laying on a spare pillow on the floor that Barren had found before he went to bed. Jake was more than willing to get some rest after getting flattened by a meteorite earlier (much to the newcomer's surprise, no permanent damage had been done.) The first thing Jake did when he arrived was kick off his shoes and plop onto the bed. He'd take a shower in the morning. He was just way too tired.

Laying on the top bunk of the bunk bed, Jake quickly fell into a deep sleep, though it proved to be a bit difficult with the combination of Barren and GIR's snoring. Nonetheless, Jake managed to reach the land of dreams and had a goodnight's sleep...

That is, until Barren started turning in his sleep.

It started at about 4:00 AM. Barren's constant moving made quite the racket, waking Jake from his pleasant women filled and motherless dream. At first he thought he'd snap out of it quickly. It was just a nightmare after all. But after two hours of nonstop moving and slight whimpering, Jake could tell this had to be one heck of a nightmare.

When Barren finally did calm down, Jake had time to contemplate things. Barren was... awkward. He seemed somewhat oblivious to certain things in life, yet he seemed so knowledgeable in others. He could read aura, he proved himself to be a decent fighter, and he tried so hard to start a friendship with him...

...Was he Barren's friend? The two had hung out all the yesterday with his family... But "friend" wouldn't exactly be the word to describe him.

An acquaintance? No. He was more than that. But he was certainly less than a brother. No, Barren was... a comrade. Someone who'd never leave your side no matter what. Someone who'd dive head first to rescue you from whatever it is that tormented you... The way he was so open about meeting new people, even after knowing who or what they are...

No. Barren deserved his own category. He was Barren. Nothing more, nothing less. A great person to be around, albeit he has more than an occasional hiccup every now and then.

Jake never had many friends when he was a kid. Most of his "friends" were only around him because of his wealth. But even he could deduce what category Barren would fall into.

A true friend.

Jake smiled at the thought. People like him were hard to find, nor did he ever imagine to meet one like Barren. At first he thought that Barren would be some random guy in this tournament for the kicks who had no idea what he was doing. He guessed he could blame GIR for that first impression. He still had to get the bot's saliva off his shoe...

Eh... Maybe he wasn't Barren's friend yet...

But maybe he could be...

Turning his head towards the clock, he saw that it was still 6:20 AM. Way too early to get up. Sighing, he covered himself up to get some more sleep, but not before one thing crossed his mind...

Mario and Luigi, the Mario Bros.

Popo and Nana, the Ice Climbers.

Barren and Jake... the unlikely friends.

...He liked the sound of that.

Ruby colored eyes shot open in a cold sweat. Barren panted heavily as he stared wide eyed at his feet. Another nightmare. The same one as always...

God, this was getting annoying!

Every night for three years! Ever since that... white haired kid left. Darn it, what was his name?! Barren remembered he spent years with him, training together, laughing together. Their misadventures were still fresh in his mind! Like the time they put itching powder in Cain's underwear or when they hung Cain's clothes on the flagpole. Then there was the time they spiked Cain's coffee with hot sauce and the time they gave him a haircut in his sleep...

Gee, did they really torture Cain that much? They were bigger troublemakers than he thought...

Argh! Getting off topic!

The point is, Barren had great times with that kid...

"So why the heck can't I remember his name?" Barren muttered as he got off of the bed. His legs wobbled when he stood up, but he held his balance well. Looking at the top bunk, Jake was still sleeping. GIR was absentmindedly chewing on his pillow mumbling something about waffles and something called a "Zim". What ever it was, Barren could ignore it.

Sighing, the red eyed boy slumped put of his bed and marched off towards the bathroom. He eyed his reflection. His hair was messy, his body covered in sweat and in all honesty, he look like he just got out of a bar fight. He smirked at his reflection.

"A new day in my life," He started, fishing through the cabinets for his toothbrush. "and a typical day in the mansion..."

Opening Theme 1: Sonic DRIVE ~ Kageyama Hironobu

S-O-N-I-C GO! S-O-N- I-C GO! GO! GO! GO! GO!
LET'S GO!

[Barren and al the ther Smasher run onto the screen as the title screen apears.]

Super Smash Bros. Unlimited
Chapter 12
Typical Day? A Smasher's Modern Strife!

Kinou made no ruuru
kyou wa tada no ruuzu
Kowashite dantotsu gooru

[The scene shows Barren, Cain, Jake, Alexis, Haruhi and several other characters talking with each other in the living room, laughing at a joke someone made.]

Hashirituduketenai to
hoka ni imi wa nai to
Panku na tetsugaku nanda

[The scene shows Orvus, playing solitaire with his cards as Litnor and Nicky argue in the background.]

Baiorizumu wa
Tsuubai rizumu de

[Link and Zelda sweatdrop as Sheik observes everything in the mansion rather... closely, frighteing some of the younger smashers.]

Fuukei wa
shunkan ni
musuu no sen Ore
wo torimaku kaze

[Barren and Meta Knight trade blows as the two are standing in the stadium, a large crowd cheering both of them.]

Inside Outside semete
Issaigassai nuite

[Orvus's eye glows as a drak power envelopes his hand and he releases it all in a powerful attack.]

Dare hitori mo
nani hitotsu mo
Mae wo ikasetaku wa nai

[Mario and Sonic are back to back as Bowser and Wario try to gang up on them. The two trade nods befre jumping towards their enemies.]

Inside Outside GO! SONIC!
Issaigassai Yes! SONIC!

[Barren concentrates a magical blast in his hand as Orvus conjures up several cards in front of him. The both fire their blasts at eachother.]

Abunai yo to
Have A Nice wa niteru
Sou dochira mo
kamihitoe na no sa
Taikutsu nugisutete
ima sugu kakedase

[Everyone readies their most powerful attack as the heroes and villains charge at each other. Master Hand, who was beaten and bruised, watching from afar.]

S-O-N-I-C GO! S-O-N- I-C GO!

[After a quick mantage of Dracicle and Nicky arguing, Barren blushing due to the attention he was getting from Haruhi and Alexis and the NOSTRIL Platoon's misadventures, the intro closes to a scene of all the smashers, standing together.]

GO! GO! GO! GO! LET'S GO!

...

...

...

Well that was... different.

Oh well! No point in talking about it now! On with the story!

Barren, now fully dressed and ready for the day ahead of him dashed down the stairs before turning towards the kitchen area. He tried his hardest not to make any noise, seeing that it was still only 8:24 AM and the grand majority of the Smashers were still asleep.

Sliding on the slippery tile, Barren gracefully stopped in front of the kitchen's door.

"Made it!" The red eyed wonder exclaimed. The moment he opened the door, something sweet filled the air. Something with sweet cinnamon drenched with thick maple syrup... Oh, Barren recognized that smell anywhere.

"Pancakes..." He moaned, a line of drool forming on his face along with a goofy smile. Man, that smelled good! He heard a soft humming coming from inside and slowly started to open the door. Standing there with her back turned to him was a young blonde woman wearing a pink apron and a regal crown on her head, mixing a bowl of what looked like pancake batter. There were lots of dirty bowls around and dozens of stacks of pancakes. The very sight made Barren's mouth water.

"Mama mia..." He mumbled, eyeing the delicious looking breakfast. Barren saw the woman's shoulders droop. He couldn't see the girl's face, but he was pretty sure she started pouting.

"Mario!" She scolded before turning around. "I thought I told you yesterday not to-" She stopped herself. In front of her wasn't the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom. It was Barren, staring at her with a confused look.

"Mario?" He asked, tilting his head. "Isn't he that guy in red the tourney's named after?" Peach let out a little giggle.

"Yes. That's him." She said, placing the bowl she was holding on the table. "Sorry about that. I thought you were him. He's been dying to taste my pancakes since we've arrived!" Barren took a whiff of the pleasant smell in the kitchen and smiled.

"I don't blame him! That smells goo~d!" He said, licking his lips in anticipation. The princess giggled a bit at that. "Hey, I don't think I've introduced myself! I'm Barren!" He held out a hand to the princess, who smiled in return.

"Hello Barren! It's nice to meet you!" She took his hand. "I am Princess Peach Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom, but you can call me-"

"Woahwoahwoah! PRINCESS?!" Barren yelled, recoiling in shock. Peach jumped in surprised... and then sweatdropped when Barren started bowing repeatedly on the floor mumbling: "I am not worthy! I am not worthy! I am not worthy!"

"T-there's no need for that..." She admitted, making Barren freeze mid-bow.

"Really?" He asked, earning a nod from the princess. He quickly got up, a small blush on his face. "S-sorry... I just... never met anyone who's royalty before!" Peach gave him a motherly smile.

"It's fine Barren. You're not the first person to do it. You should've seen Popo when he first found out!" She giggled as she recalled the blue Ice Climber's cute and flustered expression. Barren's eyes trailed to her crown. It probably should've been a dead giveaway...

"So~ Uh..." He trailed, scratching his cheek. "Why are you making pancakes so early?" Peach smiled again, and Barren couldn't help but crack a smile himself. There was something about her cheerful attitude that seemed contagious.

"Oh, I always make breakfast for the Smashers!" She happily replied. "Ever since my first tournament I've been preparing breakfast every morning!"

"Every morning?" Barren asked, somewhat incredulously. "I'm not trying to sound rude but... there are over a hundred guys in this tourney... How long have you been awake?"

"Since about 4:30 AM." Barren fall down in shock. Who the heck wakes up at four thirty to make pancakes for a crowd that big?! "You know what they say: The early bird catches the early worm!"

"And the late one houses them..." Barren muttered. Thankfully, Peach didn't hear him. "So~... I'm already up. You mind if I get a few flapjacks already?" Peach smiled.

"Help yourself!" She answered, handing him a plate. One with a rather large stack of flapjacks. The very sight made Barren start drooling again. "Just try not to make much of a mess. This place is already messy as it is..."

Barren wasn't listening and had already began to scarf down as many pancakes as he could. They were nice and soft, they literally felt as if he was biting a nice fluffy cloud coated in syrup. Man, these pancakes tasted good!

"Do you like them?" Peach asked as Barren swallowed.

"Like 'em? I love 'em!" Barren yelled before biting into another flapjack. "Vi hafndhav-"

"Not with your mouth full." The blonde interrupted him. Barren swallowed.

"Sorry. But these pancakes are great! I haven't eaten pancakes this good since-"

Barren dropped his fork. The clattering sound of it hitting the table echoed through the kitchen.

"Barren?" Peach asked, tilting her head. "What's wrong?"

"Hey Barren!" A young boy behind the ten year old Barren said. Before the red eyed boy could say anything, a plate of hot flapjacks were put right in from if him. "Happy birthday!"

Barren looked between the pancakes and his white haired friend. "You made these?" He asked, earning a nod from the energetic seven year old.

"Yep! Himawari showed me how to make them yesterday! So I thought I'd make you some as my way of saying happy birthday!" He finished with an exaggerated hand gesture, making Barren chuckle.

"Hey, thanks buddy!" Barren replied, giving the white haired boy a quick brofist. He looked at the pancakes and suddenly got an uneasy feeling. "Uh~... Quick question... Is this stuff... edible?"

"I don't know, I didn't try it. Mainly because the ones Hima made were disgusting." He said, ignoring Barren's now incredulous expression.

"Um...Look, I can tell you tried hard to make this, but telling me that kind of stuff is really making me lose my ape-..." One look at the boy's crestfallen expression made him sigh. "Fine. I'll try some."

"Yay!" He yelled as Barren quickly brought a piece to his mouth. He hesitated when it got near its destination, but he had to be strong! He ate the piece in one go. "Well, what do you think? Is it any good Barren? Barren? Barren?!"

"Barren?! What's wrong?!" Barren snapped back to reality. Peach was shaking him and it was making him feel dizzy.

"P-Princess! C-Can you p-p-please stop sh-sh-sha-shaking me-e-e-e?!"He yelled. The princess obliged only for him to drop onto the floor like a rag doll. "Ow..."

"Sorry!" Peach squealed before before helping him up. "You had zoned out there for a moment. Is everything fine?" Barren nodded.

"Yeah, I'm good." He said. He glanced back at the pancakes. "Those pancakes just brought back some old memories..." Peach tilted her head. "Just forget it. It's nothing that important."

"...'Kay." She said, still a bit concerned. "Does that happen often?" Barren nodded before going back to eating.

"You'd be surprised." Barren muttered as he took another bite. "I've been having these weird memory gaps for years now." He explained nonchalantly, much to Peach's disbelief. "Sometimes everyday things trigger memories, or just leaves me brooding." They were silent for a while until Barren snickered. "Hehe... Brooding... I sound like Batman from one of those LEGO games..."

Barren took one last bite and pushed the plate forward. "Well, thanks for the meal Princess!" Peach giggled.

"Just Peach is fine Barren. It was nice meeting you!" Barren nodded and took his leave. "You know... he kind of reminds me of a certain plumber I know..."

Orvus glared at the sleeping body sprawled out on the sofa in the living room of the mansion. His eye twitched in disbelief as the oblivious chained demon snored loudly with an idiotic grin on his face. He growled before snapping his fingers, making Nicky's shackles glow.

The younger demon shot right up, clutching his stomach as an intense burning sensation coursed through him. He let out an inhuman shriek as his eyes flashed from one color to another. Nicky gripped the sofa cushion as more jolts of burning pain ran through him. And then it stopped, just as quickly as it started.

Nicky let out a sigh of relief as beads of sweat trickled down his forehead. He glared at Orvus, who was still watching him with his hateful expression.

"What was that for?! You know I hate it when you do that!" Nicky yelled. He grimaced when he heard Orvus let out beastly growl.

"Be quiet you twit!" Orvus whispered, his canines barred. "The majority of the Smashers are still asleep."

"Then why'd you use the shackles?..." Nicky muttered. Orvus heard him, but was too irritated to berate him.

"Nicky, why are you still here?" The card dealer spat. You could feel the venom dripping from his voice. "You were supposed to meet up with Litnor an hour ago! So may inquire why you're still sleeping on this infernal thing you call a bed?!"

"The couch is surprisingly comfy..." Orvus growled again, making Nicky lean back. "Okay okay! Calm down! Look, I know it looks bad, but I had something important to do!"

Orvus raised an eyebrow. "Which was?" An awkward chewing sound was heard before something small burst out of the floor. Orvus took a step back as a red imp creature with two small horns stood there, violently twitching. It's tail flicked from side to side as it examined its surroundings with its pitch black eyes. Despite the strange sound from earlier, there was no mouth visible on his face.

Orvus blinked twice as he stared at the imp. "A Fallen? Really?" Nicky smirked.

"Aren't you forgetting who's in charge of the Fallen Brigade?"

"I always thought that was your brother Beelzebub." Nicky fell over anime style. "Nevertheless, how is this going to be helpful to our cause?"

Nicky, who recovered from his shock, stood up to stretch his limbs. "Fallens are pretty crafty little guys on their own, but they're good to have around because the can be used as excellent spy cameras." He pointed to his head. "All you need is a psychic link and you can hear and see everything they do."

"Eyes and ears all around the mansion..." Orvus mused. "Hmm...While I am still angry for you blindly ignoring your mission to retrieve another staff, I must admit, I am impressed. I didn't expect someone with your level of intelligence would be able to think of a plan like this."

Nicky glared at him. "Gee! Thanks!" The demon spawn spat, making the card dealer roll his eyes. "So what now? Did you guys get the staff?" Orvus nodded.

"Two actually." He answered, reaching for his cards. "I managed to locate the staffs of ice and magic. It's a good thing too." He started shuffling. "The attack I used during my match drained me of much more magic than I expected. At least now my magic power is close to what it once was."

"So that leaves time, space, metal, earth and air." Nicky concluded. "And then there's still that orb..."

"That's right." Orvus said, stopping at a card. He realized something. "Nicky, don't you have a roommate?" Nicky nodded.

"Yeah~... He was more pissed off about our living conditions than I was." Nicky admitted, scratching his cheek.

"Where is he?"

Nicky pointed to a closet. One that had a little sign on the door that read "Dracicle".

"You have got to be kidding me..." Orvus muttered.

"Nope." Nicky noticed the Fallen still bouncing in place, so he whistled and it jumped down through the hole it made, only for it to close itself back up. "He said he wouldn't stand sleeping on a couch so he took the utility closet... I think I heard construction tools in there while I was getting the Fallens rounded up."

"Hmm..." Orvus pondered for a moment. "Dracicle is a very intelligent man. One we shouldn't let go to waste... Nicky, I have a job for you." Nicky blinked, his eyes turning blue in confusion. "I want you to assist Dracicle in any way possible." Nicky stayed silent until his eyes turned green. He snickered before letting out a hearty laugh.

"Hahaha! Oh~! Man Orvus! You're such a kidder..." He stopped. His eyes turned red again. "Wait a minute, you never kid. You're serious?!" Orvus nodded. "You want me to be an errand boy?!"

"I've done my homework on him." Orvus responded. "He's a revolutionary. A very powerful one at that. Having someone like him on our side is essential if we want to achieve victory."

"Again, an errand boy?!"

"He's also a very intelligent man. Somewhat of an inventor. Who knows? Maybe some of his intelligence will rub off on you."

"...Okay, forget errand boy. You want me to be a lab assistant?!"

"Nicky, stop complaining." Orvus berated. "As soon as he wakes up, I want you to properly introduce yourself. I want you to at least try to get on his good side and see if we can benefit out of it."

"Alright already!" Nicky exclaimed. "Geez, don't get your undies in a knot..." Orvus ignored him and started walking away.

"Good luck Nicky." The demon spawn snorted.

"I don't need luck. This will be easy!" He said before walking towards Dracicle's closet. "I'll just knock on his door and ask if I can come in! I'll be 'friends' with this guy in no time!" Nicky knocked three times...

And then a metal orb came out of a secret compartment in the door. A red light came out and scanned Nicky from head to toe. It made a very unpleasant beep before a flamethrower, one about three times Nicky's size, came out of a another compartment and pointed itself at Nicky.

"Oh snap."

FWOOSH!

A loud scream echoed the mansion that day.

Ike sighed for what felt like the thousandth time that morning. He was in the hospital wing, sitting next to the unconscious hyrulian princess who laid on the bed.

When Zelda fell unconscious yesterday, the first thing Ike did was pick her up run to the medical ward. Dr. Mario, Mario and Luigi's cousin and previous Smash Bros. competitor was already there, sorting out a few medical supplies. Thankfully the Italian doctor made no hesitation in helping the poor girl.

Dr. Mario couldn't find anything wrong with her, which did help ease both of their nerves, but still left questions lingering in the air. Ike saw how terrified Zelda looked once she saw Orvus's dark flame...

Geez! That Orvus guy gave Ike the willies!There was something so... dark about him. It reminded him of when Ganondorf would activate his final smash and turn into Ganon.

Imagine if Orvus activated his final smash...

"How is she?" Ike lifted his head. Tsuchi stood at the doorway, along with Link and Toon.

"She's still unconscious, but she should wake up pretty soon." He answered. The Hylians let out a sigh in relief. The four stood around the bed, watching the princess in her peaceful slumber.

"So," Toon started, seeing that no one else was willing to speak. "what happened to her?" Ike shrugged.

"I'll be honest with you Toon, I don't know." The mercenary answered. Link put a hand on Zelda's forehead. Thankfully, she didn't have a fever or anything like that. "She just fainted after she saw that attack Orvus let out."

The Hylians cocked an eyebrow while Tsuchi crossed his arms. "She said it felt just like... something. She didn't say what though."

"I'd say" Tsuchi started, drawing the attention to him. "it had something to do with that dream she had." Link's eyes widened before turning back to the sleeping princess. Only Toon looked confused.

"Dream? What dream?" He asked, cutely tilting his head to the side. Despite his recent growth spurt, he still looked adorable.

"Oh?" Tsuchi raised any eyebrow at this. "I thought she had told you, seeing as you technically are Fairy Boy over here." Link glared at the gunslinger before turning back to Zelda.

"No, she didn't." Ike said. He motioned to the two Links. "The two are from two different periods of time. In fact, Toon's from a different timeline all together. She didn't have any way to tell him." Tsuchi shrugged and turned to the young Hylian.

"Basically the princess dreamed that two guys radiated with both light and darkness respectively and had their own little armies." He said, motioning with his hands. "They charge at each other and the dream ends." Ike blinked.

"That's a rather summed up version of it but... Yeah, that works too." Tsuchi rolled his eyes before he started pacing around the room. He stopped in front of the window, gazing at the nearly endless city outside.

"Okay... so what can we gather from Zelda's dream?" He asked. The three pondered for a moment.

"Well," Ike started. "obviously the dream represents a battle between two different groups... But here? At the Smash Bros. tournament?"

"Well, it's not that illogical." Tsuchi countered. "We're living in house filled with some of the most dangerous and stupidly insane villains of all time. If someone could find a way to manipulate them and band together..."

"It still seems a bit farfetched." Ike said. The mercenary put a hand on his chin. "Even if they did join up, the heroes would still have a bigger group. Not to mention they'd still have to deal with Master Hand..." Toon raised his hand.

"But even if that's true, who would be able to bring them all together?" He said.

"And don't forget about the one leading the army of light either." Ike said. Link looked between the two and back at Tsuchi, who shrugged.

"Can't say anything about the light guy, but I'm having a hunch about the other one..."

"Orvus..." Link said, startling the others.

"He can talk?" Tsuchi asked. "I thought he was mute."

"No, he just likes to stay quiet." Ike answered. "Toon's always been more of a chatterbox than him." He turned back to the Hero of Twilight. "You were saying?"

"Orvus." He repeated, still looking at Zelda. "He reminds me of Zant." Ike and Toon recoiled in shock.

"Who?" Tsuchi asked, though he was ignored.

"Zant? As in, the one from the Twilight Realm?" Toon asked. He remembered Zelda and Link telling him of Link's adventure against him. The older Hylian nodded.

"But you killed Zant!" Ike protested. "Plus, every connection to the Twilight Realm got cut off when your friend Midna broke the Mirror of Twilight."

"I didn't say it was Zant himself..." Link said. Not making eye contact. "He just reminded me of him..." He glanced back at Zelda and back to the group. "More specifically, he reminded me just how insane he was..."

"There was a strange feeling in the air..." Tsuchi muttered. "To be honest, I was surprised his sanity didn't snap when Falco hit him." Ike sighed. This conversation was getting them nowhere.

"Look everyone," The Greil Mercenary said as he got up. "I'm going to go speak with Master Hand about this. Call for me if she wakes up, okay?" The three nodded and Ike took his leave. Tsuchi glanced at Link.

"You really think this Zant guy has something to do with this?" He asked. The Hylian shook his head.

"It's highly unlikely, but..." Link took one last look at Zelda. "you never know." Tsuchi nodded before following Ike, leaving the three Hylians alone. "Though I'm pretty sure I do. It wasn't the same thing, but Orvus's magic felt almost like Twili Magic." He looked out the window, his cartoony self doing the same. "Makes me wonder where he learned something like that."

Alexis sighed as she walked down the halls of the mansion. In case her crestfallen expression didn't give it away, the petite beauty was depressed.

Why? Well a little conversation she had with Master Hand yesterday... did not go how she hoped.

Master Hand looked down at his papers and then back at Alexis. The girl fidgeted in her seat. The hand's silence was killing her! After telling him her little er... story, Master was silent.

"..." Master sighed, making Alexis jump. "Look, Alexis was it?" She nodded. "I'm very sorry, but I have no memory of anyone named "Sam" ever coming here." Alexis's expression dropped. "I take it he was a close friend of yours?"

"My brother actually..." Alexis said quietly. She didn't even look at the hand as she got up from her seat. "He left me a note a few years ago telling me too..."

"Meet you here?" Another nod and another sigh. "Alexis, as much as I'd like to help you, I'm afraid that I'm as lost as you are." Alexis sighed and started walking away. "But if I do find anything out, I'll call you, okay?" Alexis gave a small smile.

"Thank you Master Hand." She said before taking her leave.

Alexis shook her head trying her best to repress the memory. "Great... I'm back to square one..." She sighed as she stepped down the stairs. Her room was on the second floor after all, while the kitchen was on the first floor. "I finally find a lead and only for it to get disproved the after! Man, this bites... Where are you Sam? I thought I finally found you..."

Her stomach growled and she groaned. "Man I'm hungry..." She muttered, passing the entrance to the trophy room. "Might as well head on down to the kitchen and... Huh?" She said after hearing a thumping sound coming from inside the trophy room. The girl stared at the door. It had an "Out of Order" sign hanging from the doorknob. "What the-"

"Ow!" Came a voice from inside, making Alexis jump. "Dangnabbit! Where the heck is the exit? Heck, I can't even find a light switch in here!" Alexis sweatdropped before walking towards the door.

"Uh... Hello?" She said, knocking on the door. The voice inside shrieked and a series of loud crashes was heard. Alexis winced before opening the door. Inside, she noticed one thing. It was dark. Really dark. Scanning around quickly she find a light switch and quickly flipped it on.

What.

A.

Mess!

The trophy room looked like a hurricane came running through it! Trophies were scattered across the floor, stands turned over some of the lights were out and there was a corner of the room that was oddly colored black and white.

Weird...

But what got Alexis's attention was the mountain of trophies a few meters in front of her. There was a hand sticking out from underneath the pile. Noticing this, she quickly made her way over and started scooping the miniatures in her hands.

"Funny, I always thought the trophies were bigger than this..." She thought she tossed the trophies aside. Truth be told, from what she had heard, she imagined the trophies to be life sized. Meh. Guess she was wrong.

The pile shook and Alexis stopped picking up figures. She blinked before something popped out from the top of the pile.

To be more precise, Barren's head, holding a trophy of Ike in his mouth.

His eyes were spiral for a moment before he shook his head. The first thing he noticed was Alexis, staring at him with a perplexed expression. He blinked before spitting the trophy out of his mouth.

"Are you an angel?" Barren asked, tilting his head to the side. Alexis blushed but it quickly died down as she shook her head.

"Sorry, you haven't kicked the bucket yet." She said, offering him a hand. He gladly accepted. "What are you doing in here? The sign says this place isn't finished yet." Barren scratched his cheek, looking away.

"Y-yeah... You see what happened was..."

"Ah~! That was nice!" Barren said as he patted his stomach. He walked up to the second floor. Meta-Knight and Kirby had told him the Training Room was there yesterday, so he thought he'd check it out. "Peach is a really good cook! If all the meals here are going to be like that, I don't mind at all!" As Barren took two steps down the hall, a large figure ran up an pushed him to the ground. "Oof!"

The figure stopped and turned around. Seeing Barren, he let out a gasp and picked him up by the back of his collar. Barren screamed once the figure took off down the hall along with him.

"H-hey! Let me go!" He yelled as he tried to kick whoever was carrying him... That is, until he noticed that the figure didn't have any legs for him to kick. Or body or even a head for that matter.

All he saw was a large white left hand holding his collar between its thumb and index finger.

"Crazy Hand?!" He exclaimed. The hand abruptly came to stop before dropping him onto the floor.

"Barren!" He shouted in the fighter's ear. "I need your help!"

"You could have said something before you dragged me away..." Barren muttered, which was ignored by the hand of destruction. "Ugh~... What do you need? And how come your speech is written normally now and not in that uppercase/lower-case thing you had going on?"

"Blame the author! He thought it would be easier to write and for people to understand! But that's beside the point! I left a letter inside the trophy room and now I can't find it!" He cried.

"...What?"

Crazy shook himself. "It was an important note to one of the Smashers! And now I can't find it!" He began to flail around wildly, throwing himself onto the ground and the walls. "Master is going to kill me if he finds out I lost it! Or worse, he'll take away my 3DS! Do you have any idea how noobish I am?! I still haven't beaten Thanatos in Kid Icarus: Uprising!"

"How does a giant glove play a 3DS? And hasn't that game been out for like two years? And-" He paused. "Wow, you're still that early in the game? You are a noob."

"ASKLHGGWUEJHXJKWWLAIFUDKEJSJEBBJEKHXJSJJDIDJDHOSVWVWSJWIODESCVNMLLKJHYTUHDEDDGGFYGYJYHGGYVYJGHGFBCJNGVJ!"

"C-calm down Crazy!" Barren said, trying to calm the hyperactive hand down. "I'll help you look for it." Crazy froze in midair.

"Really?!" Crazy shouted earning a reluctant nod from Barren. "Hooray!" Crazy grabbed his hand and gave him a very fast handshake. "Oh thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!"

"N-n-no~ prob-b-blem!" Barren managed to say. Even when Crazy let go, he was still a bit jittery. "S-so... What am I looking for?"

"It's a red envelope with a golden smash symbol on it." Crazy snapped his fingers before disappearing into a puff of smoke. "Good luck!"

"After that I went in. I eventually found the envelope but then the lights went out and I couldn't find the exit." Barren explained letting out a nervous laugh.

"All this just because of a letter?" Alexis asked, finding the whole thing fishy. "Let me see it." Barren quickly obliged. Alexis scanned it. It was just a plain red envelope with a gold colored emblem on the back. Nothing too out of normal. That is, until she noticed something. "Hey, is your name Barren?" Barren blinked before nodding. "This letter is addressed to you." He blinked again before snatching the envelope from her hands.

She was right. His name was written on the back.

"Man, I really need to work in my observational skills..." He muttered before tearing the envelope open. He opened the letter and quickly scanned through it...

Two seconds later, said letter was thrown across the room, crumpled into a ball as Barren seethed.

"That no good nearly omnipotent conniving left hand! He set me up!" Barren yelled, flailing his arms. "That letter was just asking me to clean this place up for him! I've been conned!"

Alexis walked over to the letter and skimmed over it. She sweatdropped.

"It is kind of pointless..." She commented. "He could've just asked you to clean this place up when he found you at the stairs."

"Well his name is Crazy Hand... Makes sense that he'd come up with something like this..." Barren sighed before looking around.

The Trophy Room was a complete mess! It would take hours to finish organizing this place! Alexis seemed to notice it too.

"Hey, umm... Barren?" She started, catching his attention. "Do you... want some help?"

Huh?

"Why the heck did I just say that?" She thought, berating herself. Not that she didn't want to help him, but she had more important things to do, like ponder her brother's connection to this tournament...

Albeit, possibly a lost cause, but still important nevertheless!

"Really?!" Barren exclaimed in her face, making her jump back and blush at his sudden proximity. Jesus, hasn't this guy ever hear of personal space? "Oh thank you very much! I really need all the help I can get here!" Alexis nodded before faking a cough.

"A-anyway..." She glanced to the side, not making eye contact. Her cheeks were still a bit flared up, which Barren thankfully didn't notice. "How are we going to do this?" Barren's expression dropped. He put a hand on his chin before scanning around.

There were a few trophy cases standing up, each one with a different icon, representing its home world. Barren picked up the Ike Trophy he had earlier and looked underneath it. On the bottom was the Fire Emblem symbol.

"Looks like these things are separated by where they came from." He said, showing her the symbol. "I guess we just finish setting up the trophy cases and then we just put everything where it belongs." Alexis nodded before walking towards the cases that still had to be built. There were still quite a few... but it had to be done.

"I'll start building these things, okay?" She asked. A nod from the ruby eyed warrior was all the confirmation she needed.

"Oh! By the way," He said, making her turn around. "I'm Barren. Barren Rein. What's your name?"

She smiled. "I'm Alexis. It's very nice to meet you." Barren chuckled. Alexis raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing." Barren shook his head. "It's just that you look so nice and you act so polite. It's cute!" Alexis flushed and looked away.

"No no no! Stop it Alexis! You're not here to meet boys!" She berated herself, lightly smacking her skull. "You're on an important mission! You can't let one cute boy get in the way of finding your-"

Wait a minute...

"Did I just admit he's cute?!" Her face turned even more scarlet, rivaling the crimson carpets in the mansion. This was not happening to her... was it?

"Well" The sound of Barren's voice made her jump. "I'm gonna organize these trophies so it will be easier to put them away later." He said, picking up a box of assorted trophies. "If you need anything, just yell, okay?" She nodded before watching him rummage through the pile, taking out trophies and stacking them up.

She sighed as she went back to the trophy cases. It seemed fairly simple to build, all she really had to do was stand it up and get the legs to stay firm. Easy.

So easy that she finished three stands in a little less than five minutes.

As for Barren... Well, let's just say he had a lot of work to do.

God, just how many trophies were there?

As Alexis worked on her next case, she pondered one thing. What was she doing? Sure, she obviously got the easy part if the job, but still! Why was she even working in the first place? She had important things to attend! Like wonder where the heck her brother might be!

Again, possibly a lost cause, but a girl can dream, can't she?

But here she was, wasting her time with some guy she just met! Man, today was just not her day! But that's fine! All she had to do is finish her part and then she'd let Barren finish up on his own. It was as easy as that.

"Hey, are you an archer?" Barren asked suddenly. She turned around to see him staring at her quiver.

"Uh..." She trailed off. "Yes... Why do you ask?"

Barren blushed before scratching his cheek. "Well, there aren't many guys who can use a bow where come from, so I guess I'm just curious." He shrugged. "Plus you look like the kind of girl who'd use magic rather than conventional fighting methods, but that's just my opinion." Alexis blinked. "Anyway, where'd you learn how to use a bow?"

"O-oh!" She stammered, glancing at her quiver and then back at him. "Well you see... My brother taught me how to fight a long time ago..." Barren had stopped what he was doing. He sat on the floor, watching her intently as she continued. "Mainly because he wanted me to know how to defend myself in case I ended up on my own. I tried out a few weapons my brother had and in the end" She motioned to her gun holster and her quiver. "these ended up being my best choice."

Barren laughed at that. "Kind of reminds me of how I picked staves as a weapon." Alexis raised an eyebrow. "My family is known for having weird choices of weaponry... Heck, my grandpa fights with a freakin' scarf for God's sake!" He chuckled before standing up. "Your brother sound like a nice guy!" A melancholic smile appeared on Alexis's face.

"He sure was..." She went back to fixing up the cases... but then something bugged her. This guy was... pretty fun to talk too... "Hey Barren?" The ruby eyed warrior turned to her, a confused expression on his face. One that made him look very... "Cute..." "What was living at the School of Master Asia like?". Barren looked confused. He opened his mouth- "I remembering seeing you when Master Hand announced the Undefeated of the East's grandsons being in the tourney." and he shut it closed again.

"I'm still a bit peeved he didn't say anything..." He muttered before shaking his head. "Well, I'll gladly tell you! But it's kind of a long story..." He admitted, scratching his cheek. Alexis looked st the cases, biting her lip.

"Barren..." She started before turning to him with a smile. "I don't mind! Go on, tell me! I'm all ears!"

"Look, I'm really sorry I-"

"Don't want to hear it."

"But I-"

"Don't. Want. To hear it."

"But seriously, I-"

"Will you leave me alone?!" Ray shouted at Amy as the two sat in front of a large television in the living room. It was already about 2:00 PM, and the Smashers were already up on their feet. This of course included Ray and Amy. Ray, given his nature, was looking forward to a nice quiet session of watching TV. Of course Amy just had to come canonballing in and ruin his good mood.

"No!" She pouted, crossing her arms. "I'm not leaving until you accept my apology!" Ray rolled his eyes.

"Then you're going to stay there for a long time..." He muttered, flipping through the channels. Amy whined and started lightly hitting his head with small punches.

"Come on! Do you forgive me or not?!"

"If I say yes will you leave me alone?"

"Will you mean it?"

"No."

"Then no!"

"You really are an irritating little brat, aren't y- Ow! Knock it off!" He exclaimed, trying to push Amy off of him. While the two were apparently wrestling, Nicky walked past them. He had several band-aids on his cheeks and was carrying a large box.

"It's a good thing Litnor brought those do-it-yourself battering rams Orvus jeeps collecting for no good reason!" He exclaimed, dropping the box at his feet. "Now all I got to do is build this baby up and knock Dracicle's door down!"

"Wouldn't "blow" his door down be a bit more appropriate, ?" Nicky blinked before jumping back in shock at the sudden appearance of the man next to him. To be more precise, the man who fought the white dragon, ZohanIshbal.

"Wha~?" Nicky took a step back. "Who the Hell are y-"

"My name is Zohan!" Zohan shouted in his ear. "I am here for the same reason as you!" Nicky blinked.

"Did Orvus send you here?" Zohan raised an eyebrow.

"Who is this man you call Orvus?' Nicky rolled his eyes. Obviously not."No I am here for the same reason !"

"Why are you calling me tha-"

"For the three little piggies that lie behind that door!" He yelled, pointing dramatically at Dracicle's door. The demon spawn looked at the door and then back at Zohan. He quickly counted on his fingers before speaking.

"Please tell me that that's not some kind of sick innuendo I haven't heard of..." He groaned. "Mainly because I'm usually the one who starts those kind of things and I want to see my competition. Though if they're all gonna be like that, I don't have much to worry about ."

"And by piggies" He continued, ignoring Nicky altogether. "I obviously mean the glorious sweets that the dark man must hide!" Nicky blinked.

"Huh?"

"Why else would he spend all day locked in his room?" He exclaimed, pointing at the door. "He must obviously have something valuable in there, and what could possibly be more valuable than candy?!"

"...I take it you're a sugar addict..." He said, noticing how dilated his eyes were. "And judging by that look in your eyes, you're obviously way to sugar high to think straight."

"Fear not !" Nicky held back the urge to punch him. Seriously, what part of him resembled a wolf? Was it just because he was gonna knock someone's door down? Someone's been reading too many children's storybooks. "I shall assist you in constructing this bombardment device!"

"Wouldn't call a battering ram a "bombardment device", but whatever floats your boat." Nicky muttered, seeing no way to argue with him. "How did I get stuck with this clown? What's next? Alien cabbages trying to take over the world?"

At that point, three cabbages who happened to be hiding behind a bust started sweating.

"Ah Theodore! He's onto us!" Koruru exclaimed, making wild gestures.

"Quick Sergeant!" Goruru yelled back. "We have to make a retreat!"

"Nonsense Corporal! The answer is simple! All we need to do is retreat until the heat dies down." Goruru slapped his forehead.

"Aye! Good idea Sergeant!" Tomumu yelled ecstatically before Koruru darted of in another direction.

"Quick! To our high tech temporary headquarters!" A large question mark appeared over his friends heads.

"You mean the attic?" Tomumu asked. A vein appeared on the green cabbage.

"Shut the Theodore up Tomumu! It's a high tech temporary headquarters!" He argued, angrily stomping the floor. Goruru muttered something under his breath before smacking the Sergeant on the head.

"Shouldn't we be a little more focused on escaping, Sir?" The red cabbage asked.

"Quiet Goruru! We need to be more focused on escaping!" If there was a table nearby, Goruru would've flipped it. "Gentlemen! Let's move out!" And like that, the three bolted down the hall. Nicky, while he didn't understand a word of what they were saying, did see them take off. And it left him wondering if this place was just as bizarre as most people made it to be or if he was just losing his sanity.

Ironically, it felt like a little bit if both.

Deep within Orvus's ruined fortress, the card dealer calmly sat in front of his throne as his cards were all ordered in front of him. Litnor was by his side, watching his master as he picked up card after card, placing them in their desired location. The masked demon sweated as he felt his master's concentration increase.

Just what was he doing? Why were those cards ordered in such a fashion? What kind of diabolical witchcraft was this?!

Litnor tapped Orvus's shoulder, earning his attention.

"Red eight on the black nine." He whispered. Orvus looked back at the cards and saw where he was referring too.

"Ah! Thank you Litnor!" Orvus said as he placed his the cards down. "I've had these cards for thousands of years and I still need your help to play solitaire!"

...Really?

"I live to please you my Lord." Litnor bowed as Orvus moved a black seven and a red six onto the pile. "Anything you request, I shall follow it until my last breath!"

"Let's hope that doesn't happen soon." Orvus whispered. He was about to continue his game when a pair of footsteps came into earshot. Vergil came walking towards the two, his hand rested at the hilt of his Yamato. "Yes Vergil?"

"Orvus..." He started, his grip tightened around his blade. "I thought I had recognized that name earlier..." Orvus raised an eyebrow. "I once heard many tales about you in the demon world... A deity, living amongst man, serving as a beacon of hope for all humanity." Orvus remained silent as he continued playing his game. "One who suddenly fell into madness and became one of the most vile beings on the face of the Earth."

"Oh, don't flatter me Vergil." He said, paying full attention to his cards. "I'm not surprised someone knows about my history... Especially you, son of Sparda." He placed another red eight on a black nine. "The question is, why does this interest you?"

"No one simply becomes as powerful as you do over night." The demon spawn explained, glaring at him. "You were a deity of light who suddenly appeared one day harnessing darkness in its purest form. How?"

"How?" Orvus chuckled. This entire conversation was somewhat amusing to him. "Oh you poor blind fool..." Orvus stood up. He looked down at his finished game and all of the cards returned into his hand. "Do you truly believe by telling you how I became this way, you will become any stronger?" Vergil said nothing as Orvus walked closer to him. "Oh how pathetic! I truly expected more from the son of Sparda..."

It took Vergil every ounce of will power he had not to skewer Orvus on the spot... But still, if what the stories said were true, he wouldn't stand a chance... As much as he hated to admit it, Vergil was indeed weaker than him...

"I need to gain more power..." Vergil said, making the card dealer sigh in frustration.

"Demonic youths... All they care about is power..." An idea lit up Orvus's expression. "Very well than Vergil, how about a little wager?"

Vergil loosened his grip on his blade, but was still cautious. "What kind of wager?"

"If you win the Smash Bros. Tournament, I will tell you everything I did in order to reach this so called "madness" of mine." Vergil blinked.

"And if I lose?" Orvus put on a rather terrifying smirk.

"You swear to me, by the blood of Sparda himself, your obedience and loyalty only to me."

"Hey Jake, have you seen Barren?" Cain asked as he Jake and GIR were all sitting on a bench in the training room, watching a sparring match between Kirby and Meta Knight.

"No, I haven't." He said as GIR nibbled on his knee. Honestly, what was with this robot's obsession with chewing? Was he teething or something? "I thought he had left to go see Himawari?" Cain shook his head.

"Nah. She called earlier. I asked her if she saw Barren today and she said no." Cain scratched the back of his neck. "It's weird... Barren was never one to wake up early, especially after..." Cain trailed off. Though Jake had a pretty good idea of what he was talking about.

"The bad dreams?" GIR asked, making both of the boys stare at him in shock.

"You know about his nightmares?" Cain asked. GIR nodded rapidly.

"Yep! Barren explained it to me last night after I finished making way for the cabbage revolution!" The two sweatdropped. This was probably the only "normal" conversation they'd get out if him. "You see..."

"Alright GIR, time to hit the hay." Barren said as he jumped onto his bed. GIR happily made his way to his pillow. "I just hope I don't have another nightmare..." GIR turned around on his heel, his large eyes shaking signs of confusion.

"Nightmare?" He asked, tilting his head. Barren blinked.

"You don't know what a nightmare is?" He asked, earning a nod from the robot. "Well it's... a really bad dream."

"Why do you keep having them?" GIR asked. His only response was a shrug.

"It just happens GIR." Barren said as he tucked himself in. "I don't have any control over it... You just have to live with it." GIR nodded. He still didn't get the entire concept, but he didn't min- Ooo! A spider!

"And then the spider flew climbed up onto the desk and started making its web!" GIR explained, making a little spider with his hands. "It was all pew pewpew! Firing it's web everywhere! It was so cool!"

"...O~kay..." Jake started. He looked back at Cain. "So Barren has nightmares every night?" Cain nodded.

"Yep. Ever since that kid left..." Jake raised an eyebrow. "The new King of Hearts." Jake leaned back in shock.

"The King of Hearts?!" He exclaimed, making Cain wince. "I thought it was still the Undefeated of the East!" The older boy shook his head.

"Nope. Grandpa gave up the title a few years back." Cain explained. "He gave it to this one kid... He used to be Barren's best friend."

"A child?..." Jake asked, still confused.

"Little guys rule!" GIR yelled.

"Yep. No one understood why he did it. It just... sorta happened." Cain ran a hand through his hair. "After that though... Barren just... forgot about him."

"Huh?"

"Not just him actually, everyone." He started. "Everyone just woke up one day and forgot stuff about him. We could still remember he existed, but the details are vague..."

"All you can remember..." Jake started, realizing what he was trying to say.

"Is that is that he and Barren were pretty darn close..." Cain finished. "Master Asia says that Barren's been having nightmares because his mind is trying to make him remember the new king." Jake put a hand on his chin. That was a pretty solid theory. But there was just one thing that was bugging him.

"Hasn't anyone tried to find out why you can't remember this guy?" Jake asked making Cain laugh.

"Oh, we panicked for weeks!" He said between laughs. "It was pretty intense! But it was almost as if Clockwork himself was trying to hide him from us!" Jake leaned back. How is this guy taking this so lightly? "Though, believe it or not, it's not the first time something like this happened."

"Eh?" Jake couldn't believe it. This had happened before?

"Master Asia explained to me that these kind of things just fix themselves..." Cain glanced up, Jake following line of sight. "Knowing my family though, this has Clockwork written all over it."

"Who is Clockwork anyway?" Jake asked, snapping Cain out of his train of thought. The elder boy smiled.

"The guardian of time itself." He explained. "Without a doubt the most powerful being in the universe. Only he has the power to do something like this..." Cain's smile twisted into a frown. "And when he does do something like this, there's usually a good reason., but it only shows itself at the right-"

"Time?" Jake finished, with a smile in his face. The two laughed as GIR hopped of Jake's leg. "It's still something pretty hard to believe..." He shrugged. "But then again, I'm participating in a tournament with a bunch of anthropomorphic creatures and super humans being run by a giant right glove. My catch on reality is pretty messed up at the moment."

Cain laughed at that. "True dat my friend!" The two sighed as their laughter died down. "Well that's enough back story for now. We need something to liven up the mood a bit."

"Yeah. All we need is a cute girl to show up and today would be perfect!" Jake finished before the two laughed again. GIR dusted himself off before noticing someone come in.

"You mean like her?" He asked, pointing at the door. The two boys looked over to se Haruhi coming in, looking around and admiring the interior of the building. She blinked when she recognized the two boys on the bench.

"Hey guys!" She yelled before walking towards them. The two exchanged looks.

"..."

"..."

"...Dibs on flirting with her first!"

"Wha- Hey! No fair!"

Haruhi sweatdropped as the two started wrestling. She leaned over to GIR. "What's up with them?" She whispered. The robot shrugged before ejecting a paddle ball from his stomach.

"Bouncy!" He exclaimed as he played with his toy. Haruhi sighed. She looked at the camera and shrugged.

"Boys."

"And then Cain ended up landing in the poison ivy by the falls! He kept itching for weeks!" Barren finished, earning a hearty laugh from Alexis. The sound of their laughter filled the trophy room.

It was already 5:45 PM and the trophy room was finally completely organized! Every stand put up and every trophy put in it's proper place!

Admittedly, things went a lot different than Alexis imagined.

During the whole organization process, Barren told Alexis about, well, everything! His life at his school, a few of his misadventures and his grandpa's teachings. After that the two started talking about things they like, things they don't like, pet peeves, hobbies and the list goes on! Even after they finished, they spent a good hour and a half talking to each other.

Alexis had to admit, she was never the most talkative of people, but Barren just made her want to talk more. There was just such a fun atmosphere around him, even if he was a bit clueless at times. But he was clueless in a very... cute way.

So, the two just sat there. Alexis leaned on one of the trophy stands and Barren just sat on the floor.

"Wow!" She managed to say between laughs. "You sure tortured him, huh?" Barren wiped a tear from his eye before nodding in agreement.

"Yeah! Me and that kid were quite the little devils! Haha!" He laughed again. Alexis giggled... but there was something about that sentence that bugged her.

"Hey..." She started, gaining Barren's attention. "I've noticed that you only call that friend of yours "kid" and not his name." Barren blinked. "Why?"

The ruby eyed warrior stayed quiet for a moment before he sighed. "It's... complicated." He said, looking away. He definitely did not want to have to explain this.

"How can something like that be complicated?" She asked, sincerely curious as to why he wouldn't say the boy's name. Were the two on bad terms with each other? If so, why would he spend so much time talking about the good things about him?

"It just... is!" He pouted, turning away. "And I don't like talking about it..." Alexis sighed. As much as she wanted to press forward, Barren didn't seem like he was in the mood to talk. Barren jumped back onto his feet. "Well, we're all done here..." He stretched his arms over his head. "Might as well look for Cain and Jake. I think they said they were going to check out the training room today..." Alexis nodded and stood up too.

"Yeah. I think I'm gonna head over to the kitchen and get a bite to eat. I'm getting kinda hungry." She said. As if on cue, her stomach let out a loud and unladylike growl. She blushed as Barren started chuckling. "Don't laugh!"

"S-sorry." He said between chuckles. "Just wasn't expecting it!" Barren snickered and started laughing again, making Alexis even redder.

"Now look here you!" She said before stomping towards him. "I'm not just gonna- Kya!"

Barren instantly reacted when Alexis tripped. Before she could hit the ground, the boy quickly grabbed her arm and waist to keep her from falling.

"H-hey! Careful!" Barren said. His legs wobbled a bit but he managed to hold his ground. Alexis looked up at Barren and her breathe stopped.

They're faces were close. Very close. Both of them stared into each other's eyes, blushing madly. Alexis quickly scrambled off of him, her face even more scarlet than before. Barren scratched his cheek nervously, his face also red.

There was a rather awkward silence as the two looked at everything but each other.

"Uh..." Barren was at a loss for words. As was Alexis. "W-we should... get going..."

"Y-yeah..." Alexis agreed before both of them walked towards the door. The two stayed silent until they got to the hall.

"So~..." Barren started. "I'm heading off to the training room. The guys are probably wondering where I am..." He looked at Alexis. "You wanna come with?"

Alexis's stomach growled again.

"I'll take that as a "no"." He said, ignoring Alexis's red face.

"S-sorry..." She said, looking away.

"Nah, don't be." Barren waved it off. "I was the one who dragged you into cleaning with me... If anyone's to blame, it's me."

"N-no it's not! I am!" Alexis shouted, startling Barren. "I was the one who offered to help. You have nothing to blame yourself for..." She smiled. "I had a wonderful time."

Barren scratched the back of his head. "Y-yeah, me too. We should do this again sometime!" He said before turning around. "Well, I'm out. Bye Alexis!"

"B-bye Barren..." She muttered as she watched him dart down the hall... Admittedly, part of her felt sad as she watched him take off, but it was okay. She was still hungry so she started to make her way to the kitchen.

"We should do this again sometime!"

Alexis stopped and her eyes widened. Did he... just ask her out on a date? Nah! He probably just meant he wanted to hang out again. And seeing how insanely clueless he was, he probably meant with his friends too.

Though she wouldn't mind if it was just the two if them...

She sighed. Today definitely did not go how she imagined it. She was not here to meet boys... But there was something about Barren that was... different. In a good way.

"I'm probably just over thinking things." She said to herself. "I just met the guy. Can't say I'm in love with him yet." She froze. Yet. "Dear God this is not happening..." Okay, so maybe she felt a little bit attracted by him, but that was it. Nothing too serious.

Maybe her roommate Nana could give her some advice...

She shook away all the thoughts. Priorities. First up, eat. Second try to find out what her brother meant to say in that letter. Third... find Barren and hang out with him and his friends...

After all, that's what you normally do when you make a new friend, right?

"O~W!"

"Forgive me already!"

"Do you really think attacking me will make me want to forgive you?!"

"..."

"Ha! Gotcha ther- Ow! Stop biting me! Ah!"

And like that, Ray fell off the sofa as Amy climbed onto him, constantly hitting him and biting his shoulder. She let go of him and stood up.

"Well, how about now?" She asked, ignoring the death glare the chimera boy was giving her. "Come o~n Ray! I didn't mean to take so long... I just ended up getting lost!"

"More than enough reason for me to hold a grudge." He spat underneath her. "I spent six hours stuck under that meteor! Six hours! Under a meteor!"

"The other guys were more forgiving..." She whined, ignoring the growl coming out of Ray's mouth. "Look, I'm sorry! I really did go as fast as I can, but I didn't recognize anything here..." She trailed off as she glances to the side. Her expression had become notably... depressive.

Ray stared for a moment before sighing. "Could you please get off me?" She complied and both of them got back on to their feet. "...Alright fine, I forgive you." Amy immediately perked up. "But-"

"Oh thank you!" She yelled before scooping him up into a deadly bear hug. The chimera wheezed as all traces of oxygen left his lungs. "From this day forward, I promise to be the best friend of all time!"

Wait, what?

"Woahoho!" Ray managed to say, trying to pry himself from her grip. "We are not friends!"

"Don't worry Rayray!" She said, hugging him even tighter. "From now on, I'll stay by your side twenty four seven! I'll never let you down again!"

"I-I can't... breathe woman..." Ray wheezed as Amy squeezed every breath he still had. "And... why the heck did you call me Rayray?"

Amy let go of him and grabbed his hand. "Let's go check out the training room! I bet there's something really good about to happen there!" Without a second thought, Amy dragged a screaming Ray out of the living room and dashed full speed towards the training room.

"Here we go~!"

"Let go of me woman! And was that supposed to be an imitation of Mario?!"

Nicky and Zohan, who were only a few meters away from the duo, had just finished setting up Nicky's do-it-yourself battering ram and had "safely" positioned it in front of Dracicle's door. Admittedly, both of them were trying to wrap their heads around the fact that such a large contraption was put inside such a small box, but they let it slide.

"Well, she's ready to knock some walls down!" Nicky boasted, admiring his handy work. Zohan nodded.

"Indeed !" He said. He also admired the wooden contraption placed right in front of him. However, he glanced at the intricate red door of the closet and back at the device. "But will this contraption truly be enough for us to get in?" Nicky scoffed.

"Dude, it's a wooden door." He stayed, pointing at the obstruction. "Albeit, one installed with a few defenses, yes, but still just a door." Nicky positioned himself on the opposite side and grabbed the stump connected to the large ram horns in the front. "Now help me out with this thing, will ya?"

Zohan nodded and grabbed the other side. The two ready themselves as they swung the stump back and forth, positioning it in front of the door.

"On the count of three!" Nicky ordered. "One... Two... Three!" The two slammed the battering ram with all their might into the door...

Only for the battering ram to turn into a large pile of dust the moment it hit its target.

The duo's mouths fell agape as they stared at the remains.

"...What the heck?!" Nicky exclaimed as the remains of the battering ram slipped through his fingers. "What kind of sick joke is this?!"

"Uh... ?"

"What?!" The demon spat, turning towards him. A familiar sound made Nicky's eyes turn green. "Huh?" He turned around.

The flamethrower from earlier had its barrel pointed directly at Nicky face.

"Oh, come on!"

FWOOSH!

In another area of the mansion, a young girl dressed in a pirate garb ran down the hall as fast as her legs could carry her. The sound of her steps echoed the halls. Or was it just the sound of the footsteps running behind her, belonging to a cartoon version of Hyrule's hero?

"Tetra!" He shouted as he tried to keep up with her. "Wait up! I don't know if she's up yet!"

"Do I look like I care?!" She shouted over her shoulder. Like Toon, Tetra too had grown, in all aspects. From her height, reaching about Toon's height (Which is about Zelda's shoulder height), all the way to her... assets. "Why didn't you tell me she was in the infirmary?!"

"I didn't want you to worry!" He shouted. Curse his running speed! He may be faster than some, but that still wasn't enough to catch up to Tetra. "W-wait up!"

Tetra skid to a halt. She stopped right in front of the room Zelda was in. Toon caught up to his pirate friend, panting heavily as he Tetra tapped her foot impatiently.

"Can't you slow down for once?" He wheezed. After an eye roll from Tetra, he sighed and opened the door.

Tetra quickly dashed in when she noticed the unconscious Hylian princess laying down on the bed, knocking Toon to the floor in the process.

"Zelda!" She shouted, rushing to her other self. Link was there as well, watching Tetra barge in with a mildly surprised expression. "Is she all right?" Link nodded, much to the pirate girl's relief. Toon soon came in, rubbing the side of his head.

"You didn't need to push..." He muttered, earning a glare from his friend.

"Stop whining already!" She snapped, shutting him up. She turned to her other self. Zelda was still out cold.

After Ike and Tsuchi left, Link and Toon spent a few hours watching over Zelda, hoping she'd wake up soon. Unfortunately, this didn't happen, and the younger Hylian hero ended up getting bored. So he had left for a while to meet up with his friends and Tetra.

After a quick conversation, Toon had told Tetra about Zelda's condition. After getting hit upside the the head, the cartoonish hero ended up having to follow his ill-tempered friend before she did anything too rash.

Tetra glanced at her other self. "How long has she been like this?"

"About a whole day actually..." Toon admitted, earning a death glare from the pirate.

"And why didn't you tell me about this earlier?!" She spat. Her glare made Toon shrink. "Do you have any idea how worried I was once you told me?!" She turned to the older Link. "How did this happen?!"

The hero shrugged. "It happened during the tournament. She fell unconscious during the last match..." Tetra blinked.

"...The one with the guy wearing a top hat?" She asked. Both Links blinked before nodding.

"That's the one." Toon answered.

"Figures..." Tetra muttered, kicking the floor. "That guy had evil written all over him." She shuddered. He was worse than Ganon for crying out loud!

"How come you weren't affected by it?" Toon asked, regaining her attention. "I figured you'd be in some kind of coma too, but you've been acting just fine."

"Well" Link started. "while Tetra technically is Zelda, she did spend most of her life being a pirate." He glanced back at Zelda. "Maybe Zelda is just more connected to these kind of things than Tetra is?"

Toon scratched his chin. "Meh. Makes sense..."

"I don't know if I should feel insulted by that or not..." Tetra muttered. "But I guess it's probably the most reasonable explanation fo-"

At that moment, Zelda started letting out painful whimpers, getting their attention. She grasped onto the covers as her whimpers started getting louder and they became more like anguished cries.

"Woah! What's happening?!" Tetra yelled. Link tried to grab Zelda's hand in hopes of calming her down, but he drew himself away the moment he touched her. Her skin was practically on fire! He could even feel it through his gloves! "Link! What's going on?!"

The princess let out one last cry before a bright began to envelope her body. The three backed up in shock with their eyes wide.

The light grew brighter and brighter, almost as if it was about to- "Oh no... Hit the deck!" Toon yelled as the light burst throughout the room. The three were all pushed back by blast, though nothing in the room seemed that affected.

The three slowly stood up, looking at the princess.

"...What was that?" Tetra asked, stills but shaky from the experience.

Before Link could respond, they heard someone groan. They immediately turned to Zelda, but she was still unconscious. The sound was heard again, behind them.

"Okay, whoever's doing that better stop right now or I'll-" The three turned around and Tetra immediately stopped.

All three of them stared at the figure lying on the floor. He groaned as he stood up. He scanned his surroundings before looking at the flabbergasted expressions of the three Hyrulians.

"I-is that..."

"That's impossible..."

"...Sheik?!"

Sheik blinked and tilted his head. "Um… Hi?"

"EH~?!"

It didn't take long for our ruby eyed protagonist to find the training room. Just a few turns here and there and there it was! Barren smiled happily as he walked through the door.

"Hey guys! I-" Barren immediately stopped as Cain and Jake came tumbling towards him. He quickly sidestepped around them, and he watched as they tumbled out of the room. Barren sweatdropped. "-made it..."

Barren turned around and saw Kirby and Meta Knight, handshaking after their spar and Haruhi playing with GIR on her lap.

The red eyed warrior laughed before making his way there. Haruhi noticed someone coming and saw him. She smiled before waving.

"Hi Barren." She said as Barren sat down next to her.

"Hey Haruhi." He answered back. "Hey, what happened to you yesterday? You didn't sit with us at the match." Haruhi shrugged.

"I couldn't find you guys." She said simply. "The crowd was so massive, I couldn't find anyone I recognized, so I just sat down and watched." Barren nodded. "That was a really great first match by the way." Haruhi said with a sweet smile. Barren blushed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"T-thanks..." He said. "But I didn't really do much."

"I disagree." Meta Knight said next to him, making him jump. "You fought one of the veteran Smashers and still managed to win."

"Plus you beat him in less than half a minute!" Kirby chimed in. "That was really cool!" Barren laughed.

"Well, grandpa always told me to be swift and take out my opponents quickly, so I try hard to be fast!" Barren rubbed his nose in a Knuckle Joe style, Kirby imitating him. "You were pretty good too Meta Knight! No wonder you won the last tourney." Meta Knight said nothing. He only closed his eyes and pondered.

"I wouldn't say that…" He muttered. "The last match was very hectic, even for a one-on-one smash battle."

"Really?" GIR asked, jumping from Haruhi's lap onto the floor. Now that the two were standing next to each other, Barren and Haruhi noticed that they were pretty much the same size, GIR was only taller by about an inch.

"Indeed." Meta Knight stared off into space. "The final match between me and Prince Marth was truly one of the best matches in the tournament, or so they say." Barren blinked.

"Prince Marth?" He asked. "Who's that?"

"The blue haired guy who just walked through the door with those two girls." Kirby stated, pointing at the door. Everyone turned their heads. Sure enough, Marth, Caeda and Kaze were walking coming in. Jake followed them soon after.

One interesting thing is that Jake was dragging an unconscious Cain on the floor. He had a noticeable bump on his head and his eyes were swirls. That and Kaze looked rather… annoyed. Her face was red and her hands were clenched into fists.

"Hi Marth!" Kirby yelled. Marth searched around for the voice until he spotted Meta Knight. He smiled and walked towards him.

"Hello there Meta Knight!" He greeted. Meta Knight took his hand in a friendly handshake.

"Your majesty." Meta Knight greeted back. "It's a pleasure seeing you again after so much time."

"The feeling is mutual." Marth let go of his hand and gestured to the masked warrior. "Caeda, Kaze, this is Meta Knight. A good friend of mine I met in the last tournament,."Caeda came up and greeted him, as did Kaze, though she still looked somewhat peeved.

"It's nice to meet all of you." Meta Knight said. Barren noticed Jake come up to him. Jake took a seat next to Barren and slumped Cain into the seat next to him.

"What happened to him?" Barren whispered to his roommate, motioning to his cousin. Kaze also managed to hear it however.

"Oh, I'll tell you what happened!" Kaze said, marching up to Barren. She pointed an accusing finger at Cain. "That pervert groped me!" Barren blinked.

"Really?" He asked, earning a glare from the lavender haired woman.

"It's a bit more complicated than that actually." Jake said. "While we were wrestling we ended up running into Marth and his friends. We ended up making them fall down and Cain ended up landing with his hands in her bosom." Barren winced. He glanced back at the woman. There was something about her that scared Barren, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what that was.

"I can already imagine what her reaction was…" Barren whispered. He shook his head. "Look, Cain's a perv, that much I can guarantee, but even he's not crazy enough to grope someone out of the blue like that." He paused before glancing back at him. "At least I don't think he is…"

"Moving on!" Meta Knight interrupted. "Marth, I'd like you to meet some of my comrades. I take it you've already met Jake and Cain." Jake waved and Cain let out an incoherent moan. "This is GIR, Haruhi and Barren."

"Hi!"

"It's nice to meet you!"

"Howdy!"

"The pleasure's all mine!" Marth laughed as he waved to them. "I'm Marth, prince of Altea."

"So you're the guy Meta Knight fought in the final round of the last tourney?" Barren asked. Marth blinked before laughing.

"You really do enjoy talking about that match, don't you?" He asked. Meta Knight let out an amused chuckle.

"You could say that…" He said.

"Hey…" Caeda started once she got a better look at Barren and Jake. "Didn't you two compete in the tournament yesterday?" Marth and Kaze looked at the two and realized that they did look familiar.

"That's us!" Barren said, pointing to himself.

"I was pretty glad I got to have my match so early." Jake said. "It lets me relax for a bit longer and I still have more time to prepare for my next match." Barren rolled his eyes and stretched his arms.

"Either way, I'm just glad it's over for now." Barren said. "It just sucks that we have to wait three days until the next set of matches." Marth hesitantly nodded.

The prince blinked before noticing something. "Aren't you-"

"The Undefeated of the East's grandson?" Barren finished for him. He pointed to his unconscious cousin "Me and Cain are." Kaze raised an eyebrow.

"Him?" She asked, poniting at Barren's unconscious cousin. "That's pretty hard to believe."

Barren smirked. "I'd watch out if I were you." He said, confusing her. "Cain's a master at hand to hand combat. You'd be wise not to underestimate him."

"He's got you there Kaze." Marth whispered, earning a glare from Kaze.

"What about you guys?" Jake asked. "How do you guys battle?"

"Well, Kaze and I are swordsmen." Kaze coughed, making Marth sigh. "Fine, swordsman and swordswoman."

"Aside from, my sword, I use a little bit if magic too." Kaze finished, earning a nod from Jake.

"I'm a Pegasus Knight." Caeda explained. "Though I do have experience fighting without my Pegasus. I use a lance to fight, seeing it is the best option to use while riding." Barren nodded.

"I guess that makes sense..." Barren turned to Haruhi, who had stayed silent the entire conversation. "What about you Haruhi?"

No answer.

Barren blinked before waving his hand in front of her face. "Haruhi? You there?"

Haruhi blinked once she saw his hand and shook her head. "Huh?" She turned to look at Barren.

"You okay?" He asked. "You kind of spaced out there." Haruhi blushed.

"S-sorry... What were you saying?" Barren rolled his eyes.

"I was asking what's your fighting style." The girl raised an eyebrow. "You know, what do you do to fight?" Haruhi's eyes widened in realization and she nodded.

"O-oh! Well" She started. "I don't really have a fighting style… I just… improvise." Everyone around her blinked. "What?"

"That's… kind of vague." Caeda admitted.

"You managed to beat a dragon by just improvising?" Barren asked incredulously. Haruhi shrank in her seat and nodded. "Wow."

"C-can we move on please?" She asked, secretly hoping something would drive all the attention away from her.

To her surprise, her wish came true.

"We're here!" A loud voice sang at the door. Everyone turned their heads to see Amy dragging a furious half chimera into the room. Cain, recognizing the voice to be female, instantly came back to life.

"Who's the chick with the dragon kid?" He asked. Ray, thanks to his improved hearing, overheard this and glared.

"I'm a chimera smart one!" He shouted. "How does one confuse a chimera with a dragon?!"

"Aw~ Don't be like that Rayray!" Amy chimed in, patting his head. Ignoring the growl coming out of his throat, Amy dragged him over to the group. She smiled once she saw a face she recognized. "Hi Jake!" The blonde fencer smiled.

"Hello Amy!" He greeted. The boy got down on one knee took her hand. "It's a pleasure to see you again." Amy giggled while the others rolled their eyes. Ray on the other hand facepalmed.

He turned to Amy. "Seems like you're pretty occupied with lover boy here," He said, gesturing to Jake. "so do you mind letting me go?" Amy shook her head.

"Nope! Not until we check out all the great things in here!" Jake looked around the white room. There was the door, the benches and…

He blinked. The entire room seemed like an infinite white space.

"Am I the only one seeing this?" He asked. The others tilted their heads, not understanding what he meant. "The whole endless white universe here?!" Still nothing. "We're in a room that's completely endless and none of you are even freaked out about it?!"

"Reality's changed dude." Barren said simply.

"Yeah, nothing in this mansion makes sense." Haruhi continued. "Why even bother trying to wrap your head around these things when the answer is probably just going to be "magic" or something?"

Ray opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it again.

"...Touché..." He growled. He shook his head. "Well, I've seen everything here, goodbye!" He yelled before Amy grabbed him by the collar.

"No way!" Amy protested, pulling harder on Ray's collar. "Not until you see what we can do here!"

"Like what exactly?!" Ray shouted, still irritated at her.

"Hey!" Everyone cocked their heads to see Marc standing in the white space...

"Well that's a bit random." Barren said, surprised.

"How long has he been there?" Kaze asked.

"Since we came in." Jake answered. "We invited him to join us, but he was too busy making plans to meet the Marvel characters here."

"Yeah... Unfortunately, none of them went how I hoped..." Marc admitted, scratching his cheek. "But that's beside the point. Can anyone explain to me what this is?" He held up am item that made Kirby, Marth and Meta Knight's blood run cold.

It was a Smart Bomb.

"Oh no..." Meta Knight muttered as Kirby hid himself behind him.

"L-look" Marth started. "I'd be very careful with that if I were you..."

"Why?" Marc asked tossing the disk from one hand to the other, much to the veterans' horror. "Looks pretty harmless if you ask me."

"Oh you poor ignorant fool..." Meta Knight wanted to say, but he couldn't stop worrying about the bomb. Marc held the item up and noticed something.

"Hey, what does this button do?" Marc pressed a small button, only for a small beeping sound to start.

In a flash, Meta Knight grabbed Kirby and Marth grabbed his two friends and rushed out of the kitchen leaving behind a trail of dust.

The one's who stayed behind blinked.

"What was that about?" Haruhi asked.

"...I have no idea." Ray muttered. This day was starting to get pretty weird. It couldn't possible get any more random, could it?

BOOM!

An explosion was heard, along with a pained scream. Everyone turned to Marc, who was stuck in the middle of a large ball of fire. Soon after, the fire died down, leaving behind a charred Marc with swirls for eyes, lying down on the floor.

Everyone sweatdropped.

"It was a bomb?!" Jake yelled incredulously. "Why didn't the others say anything?"

"I guess they thought we already knew what it was or something." Barren said, but even he didn't believe that. "Geez, I guess any normal day in the mansion is going to be like this."

"With someone blowing up?" Cain asked. His only response was a shrug

"...Okay, that's enough crazy for one day." Ray said, breaking free out if Amy's grip and storming towards the door. "I'm leaving and there's nothing you can do to stop me!" He took off as fast as he could.

Amy gasped. "Rayray!" She yelled before running after him. "Come back!"

"Leave me alone already!"

"Never!"

That left Barren, Cain, Jake, Haruhi, GIR and Marc in the room. The only female in the group looked puzzled.

"I wonder how that bomb got here in the first place..." She muttered. The boys froze. That was a good point. And what if there were more?!

Marc groaned as he sat up. "Your guess is as good as mine..." He muttered. "In one of my plans I had intended on putting a kind of bomb and the next thing I know, that thing spawned next to-" Another Smart Bomb popped up next to him. He quickly scrambled up to his feet and screamed. "It's another one!" He brought his leg back.

Jake's eyes went wide. "No! Don't kick i-"

BOOM!

Marc was now lying flat on his stomach, even more charred than before.

Everyone sweatdropped again.

"He kind of deserved it this time." Jake muttered. "What kind of idiot kicks a bomb?"

"Hmm..." Barren noticed something as he stood up. He walked a few steps before stopping. He glanced up.

"Barren, what's wrong?" Haruhi asked. The ruby eyed boy held out his hand

"Bomb." He said. A Smart Bomb instantly fell into his hand.

Cain slapped his forehead. "Oh I get it! This place works with voice command!"

"That would explain it…" Jake said, somewhat surprised Barren of all people managed to figure it out. "But did you have to summon up another bomb?" Barren blinked. He opened his mouth and then closed it again. Oddly enough, he dared to open it again.

"Good point…" He said before tossing the bomb behind him.

Which landed on top of Marc.

"Eh?" The comic fanatic said groggily before the bomb set itself off again. Barren winced as he heard the loud shriek that bomb let out as it incinerated Marc.

"Oops…" He muttered. He shrugged. It's not like he was conscious to begin with. He probably would've done something to blow himself up later anyway.

"Green Shell." He heard Cain say. Sure enough, the famous item from the Mario series dropped in his hand. "So we just say it, and it shows up, right?" He asked, earning a nod from his cousin. "Perfect!" Without warning, Cain picked up the shell and threw it at Jake, knocking him off the bench.

Jake growled before jumping back to his feet. "Hey!" He yelled. A tick mark appeared on his head. "What was that for?!"

"I was just testing it out!" Cain defended, though it went ignored by the blonde.

"Oh, so that's the thanks I get for dragging you in here!" He held out his hand. "Red Shell." The shell appeared in his hand and he threw it at Cain. The older boy quickly ran as fast as he could, but the shell seemed to magically jump and hit him in the back of his head, knocking him on the floor. "Ha!" Cain growled as he got up.

"Blue Shell!" He said. Jake blinked once a shadow appeared over him. He looked up and saw the shell hovering over him.

"When did he even throw i-"

BOOM!

"Haha!" Cain mocked as Jake went flying back. The blonde caught his footing and glared.

"Beam Sword." Jake muttered. Cain smirked.

"Oh, so that's how you want to play?" He asked. "Fine. Beam Sword." The swords fell into their respective owners hands and they charged at each other.

Barren and Haruhi sweatdropped.

"I think they're overdoing it…" Haruhi said. Barren nodded in agreement. She was going to say something else when she noticed something. "Hey, where's GIR?" Before Barren could even answer, the sound of two Beam Swords colliding rang through the air.

Jake grunted as he blocked one of Cain's slashes. "Give it up Jake! This thing isn't like one of those fencing swords you use! This is a real sword!" Jake growled and parried as strike. He would've hit him if Cain hadn't jumped out of the way.

"First, the proper term is either foil,épée, or sabre. Either one can be used, depending on what kind of fencing you practice." He started, his eyebrow twitching as a second and third tick mark appeared on his head. "Second, I wouldn't call these light saber rejects real swords." He jumped back, avoiding one of Cain's swings. Cain predicted this so he jumped towardshim. Jake had no time to react and had to block, trapping the two into a blade lock.

They glared into each other's eyes as sparks flew. Their blades grinded together making a rather unpleasant buzzing noise. It felt like it would go on forever!

"Bob-omb!"

The two paused. Sweat trickled down their faces as an eerie cloud appeared over their heads. They recognized that voice all too well…

Turning, their heads, they saw GIR, holding the Bob-omb in his hands with a large smile on his face.

"Happy birthday!" He yelled before throwing the bomb at the two.

"Oh crap!"

BOOM!

Barren blinked as the two were sent flying and landed next to Marc, completely charred.

He looked at the reader and shrugged. "I guess people getting burnt is the running gag in the chapter." Now we might now he's talking to us, but to Haruhi, he was talking to nothing but thin air. He turned back to her, getting her attention. "Man, today's been kind of crazy." Haruhi nodded.

"I know." She said looking up. "And there are still so many people to meet and so many things to do here!" She smiled, but it soon faded.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Haruhi sighed.

"It's just… What happens when this is all over?" Barren blinked.

That… was a good point. What would happen when all this was over? Would they all just go their separate ways? He noticed Haruhi tensed up a bit. She brought her knees to her chest and gripped them tightly.

"I don't want to go back…" She whispered, surprising him. "I know it's only been two days since we arrived here… and I don't know anyone that well…" She bit her lip. "But I've already had so much fun here." Barren nodded. "I loved watching yesterday's fights, my roommate Peach is really nice," Oh, so Peach was her roommate! Man, she was lucky. He got stuck with someone as crabby as Jake. "and everyone else here is really nice! Especially you guys!" Barren blushed a little at that.

He had to admit, Haruhi was really cute. No, cute wasn't a good enough word for her, she was beautiful! Sure, she was a little taller than him, which admittedly did hurt his pride a little, but that didn't mean much to Barren.

"If I end up having to go back…" She whimpered. Barren blinked. Was she… crying?

"Come on…" He said. "Don't be like that." She sniffed. Geez, just what kind of life was she living before she came here? "Look, I don't know how you used to live before you came here, but don't cry. I'm sure we won't get separated so easily." Haruhi looked up, confused. Barren noticed a few tears in her eyes and sighed. "Even if we do end up going our separate ways after this whole tourney, our friendship won't die." Barren put a hand on his heart. "No matter how far apart two friends may be, the Multiverse itself will always bring those two together again, much faster than you'd expect." He walked up to her and tapped her forehead. "So even if you do have to go back to wherever it is you came from, you'll always meet up with your friends again. So make as many as you can here."

Haruhi looked up and smiled, making Barren blush. Without warning, she got up and hugged him.

"Meep!" Barren froze as Haruhi held him in a light embrace. "H-Haruhi?" He squeaked. His body was trembling and he could feel his face getting hotter by the minute.

"You're such a nice guy Barren." She said, making him blush even more. She let go, which made his face cool down, but it was still red. She laughed at his flustered expression, which only flustered him even more. "Thank you… I'm sorry about what I said. I was being silly."

Barren shook his head. Thankfully, it also calmed his blush down. "Nah, don't be. We all say stuff like that sometimes." He replied. "My grandpa told me that a long time ago, back when I was still training to use my staff." Haruhi nodded.

Away from them, Marc groaned as he sat up. He looked to his sides and saw Jake and Cain unconscious next to them. He blinked. "What happened to them?"

Barren, noticing him awake, pointed to the left.

"He happened." He said simply. Marc turned to see GIR, surrounded by a multitude of Smash Bros. items. But it was the item he had in hand that made Marc go pale.

"W-what is that?!" He yelled as GIR held the weapon. The robot laughed mischievously and pointed it at him.

"Say hello to my little friend!" He shouted before a massive beam was fired from the rifle like weapon. One that hit Marc, Cain and Jake head on. Barren and Haruhi watched as the blast disappeared into the endless white landscape and as they're friends were sent flying in all directions.

"We're blasting off again!"

"A Pokémon reference Cain?! Really?! Now of all times?!"

"Weren't you two unconscious earlie~r?!"

Barren and Haruhi sweatdropped as GIR celebrated.

"Victory!" The robot yelled, preforming a victory dance. "Daybreak has won the battle! All hail the Cabbage King!"

The two blinked and look at each other. "Do you think every day is going to be like this?" Haruhi asked. Barren shrugged.

"I guess…" He watched as the three who were blasted away walked back. Well, walk wasn't the right word. More like limp back while shouting insults at GIR and having to defend against the bolts he threw at them. Where he got them, who in the heck knows? "I guess you can call it a Smasher's modern strife!"

Master Hand sighed for what felt like the billionth time that day. He sat in his office, Ike sitting in a chair in front of him. The two were silent for quite sometime.

After Ike told Master of Zelda's dream and her current condition, the hand fell silent. Ike had also mentioned his suspicion of Orvus, which only shook Master Hand's nerves even more.

So here they were, waiting for the hand to answer.

"Ike..." He started, making the mercenary. "I realize that this may be difficult to believe, but this is beyond my control."

Ike blinked. "What?"

"Ike, I understand your concern very well." He continued. "But I'm afraid even I can't do anything about this..."

"But you're Master Hand!" Ike shouted. "The creator of the Smash Bros. Tournaments! The nearly omnipotent governor of Smash City!" Master Hand sighed. There was no need to state the obvious, even though one of those staments wasn't entirely true. "How can you not look into this?!"

"Ike, this is a very serious matter." Master Hand spoke. He didn't sound angry, but the way he said it made Ike gulp. "And as much as I want to help, I can't do anything."

Ike nodded, not wanting to receive the hand's wrath, nodded. But he still dared to ask one thing.

"Why?"

All rage disappeared from Master Hand. His fingers dropped in a sad way.

"...Have you ever heard the term "skeletons in the closet"?" Ike nodded, though he still couldn't comprehend what that had to with anything. "This is an old issue that I thought I had taken care of years ago."

Ike stared at him. What did he mean by that? "What are you-"

"Orvus is beyond my power."

Orvus...

Was he talking about him?

"You two have a history together?" Ike asked. Master sighed.

"Unfortunately..." Master looked up at Ike. Ike was a good man. There was no doubt about that. He could know a little more than the others... "There's something big going on this year Ike." Ike stayed silent. "Just promise me you won't mess with Orvus. Please...

You don't know what he's capable of."

"U-uh, ?" Zohan asked as he stared at Nicky worriedly. He had a few bandages on his face, much like Nicky did earlier. "Are you sure about this?" Nicky turned around and glared.

Much unlike earlier, Nicky's face was covered in even more bandages. That and there were several burn marks all over his body. And in his hands was a large missile launcher.

Wait, what?!

"You're darn right I'm sure!" He yelled, making Zohan flinch. "I am getting into that room and no force, whether it be holy or not, is gonna stop me from getting in!" He lifted the weapon and pointed it at that accursed door. "Fire!"

BOOM!

Nicky and Zohan shielded their eyes shielded their eyes from the smoke the blast had produced. As it died down, Nicky looked up with a insane smile.

And when it finally went away, his smile dropped.

The door was still intact.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" He shrieked, ready to punch the closest living thing next to him, which happened to be Zohan. Before he even prepared the strike however, he heard someone fake a cough behind him.

"Excuse me," The two turned around, only to see Dracicle tapping his foot with his arms crossed. "might I ask what you two are doing?" Nicky blinked.

"But but but, you're supposed to be- when did you- huh?" He couldn't even formulate a proper response.

"Nicky, was it?" Dracicle asked. "Orvus told me about you. He also told me that you're going to be my assistant for the tournament." Nicky snapped out of his gaze and nodded. Dracicle glanced at Zohan. "Who is this?"

"Someone you will only see when the time is right…" Zohan said mysteriously, making everyone raise an eyebrow. "Nah, I'm just screwing with you. Well, I'm hungry. I'm out. Tallyho!" He yelled before throwing a smoke bomb onto the floor. When it died down, he was nowhere in sight.

Nicky blinked. "Well that was random. He seemed pretty serious about busting into your room with me..."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Nothing!" Dracicle sighed before walking to his door. "Wait! What about the-" Dracicle walked up and opened the door normally. "-defenses…"

"You just have to open the door fast enough and the flame throwers won't go off." Nicky's eye twitched.

"Gee... Nice to know..." He growled. He shook his head. "Look, Orvus wants us to work together, so we need to start interacting a bit more." Speaking of which, where were you all day?" If he wasn't in his room, where was he.

"In the garden." He said simply. "I wanted to get on that hand's good side, so I volunteered to help garden from time to time."

"...Really?" Dracicle glared. "Geez, calm down! It was an innocent question."

"Either way..." The man trailed off. "If we are going to be working together, you'll need to understand how I do things around here." Nicky cocked his head to the side. "You'll understand what I mean tomorrow. Meet me here at 2:00 PM."

"In the middle of the day?"

"Don't question it. Like I said, you'll understand later." He said. "I'll see you tomorrow. Don't be late."

And with that, Dracicle slammed the door shut. Nicky stared at the door for a few seconds.

"…What the heck just happened?!" He yelled. Unfortunately, his yelling triggered something within the door.

Three flamethrowers, just like the one from earlier, busted out of the door and pointed themselves at Nicky.

"…Life, why do you hate me?"

FWOOSH!