Day 12: Eternal Bonds

It took me several seconds to remind myself why I wasn't in my room.

I was sleeping on the floor of Ness' room. For the remainder of the night he hadn't done anything stupid, and sat there watching some old matches. He seemed a bit egotistical that he constantly wanted to focus on his matches, and he constantly gloated about the outcome in the matches he won. I figured that he was just showing them to Lucas, so he knew what to expect when they finally got their match under way.

I looked up at the ceiling and slowly got up. I made it to the washroom and after doing my business I went to the fridge to see if there was anything I could snack on. There wasn't that much.

Lucas seemed to be tossing and turning in his sleep. I was actually rather surprised that they could sleep through all of the noise I was making.

"Mom!" I heard him cry out.

I wondered what kind of person Lucas' mother was. And then I wondered what kind of people my parents were. I glanced at my cell phone. It was useless; it had no pictures of anything that looked familiar. There were mostly just pictures of Chocolate.

I must have been a sad and lonely man...

I poured myself a glass of orange juice, and sat down at a small kitchen table meant for a single person.

"Mom! Claus!" Lucas cried out.

I began to walk over to Lucas, to wake him from his nightmare, however I slipped on a discarded sock and fell down, smashing my head against the floor. The next few moments was filled with extremely loud swearing, and nothing else.

When I had calmed down, it was no surprise that the two of them had woken up. Both of them looking at me. "Damn it, that hurt." I muttered getting back up.

"Sorry about that." Ness nervously laughed, seeing the sock that I had slipped on. "I don't exactly clean up that often due to not having guests in here, and I told Chibi Robo to not worry about my mess."

I don't know if I hit my head too hard, because Lucas and Ness were no longer super deformed. They seemed to be proportioned like a regular human beings. "Good morning." I managed to say not trying to sound shocked.

"Well, talk about a rude awakening." Ness joked. "Well come on." Ness helped me up. Lucas seemed a bit hesitant to move from his spot on the couch. A quick whiff of the air would determine why. I guess either the nightmare, the sudden waking, or my several minutes of constant swearing had scared him to the point where he had an accident. Ness glanced at Lucas. "I told you he still wet's the bed."

"He was having another nightmare." I replied. "I heard him before I fell."

"Well, regardless, I better call Chibi Robo!" Ness sighed.

Lucas was clearly embarrassed. His face was red, and he was about ready to tear up. Ness just passed Lucas some of his clean clothes. He then directed him to the washroom. Several seconds later the shower turned on. Ness just sat on his bed. "Well, I guess we have a few minutes to kill."

I sat back down at the chair at the table. "Is something bothering you?"

"Yeah." I replied, I tried to think up a quick excuse. "I'm not sure when my next match will be."

"Don't worry about it." Ness replied. "They will call you. But, since the Manager seems to hate your guts right now, I don't think she will put you in any matches. Then again, you might go into overdrive, and she might try to get you so exhausted you die."

Well, that wasn't exactly reassuring.

"I don't know why... My days are numbered anyways. She just has to put up with my very existence for the next 23 days. It can't be that hard... Although I do have to ask a question, Ness, is it okay to assume that there are some Smashers who will side with the Manager on me?"

Ness let off a heavy sigh. "There are those who will affiliate you with the same stigma as the Reaper for coming from that world." Ness replied.

I knew that all too well, the fact that Captain Falcon would blow my brains out without a moment of hesitation was enough proof. "And, whose side are you on?" I asked.

Ness sat there terrified.

"Are you with those who think I'll be just like the Reaper, or do you think I won't kill you all!"

"That's false dichotomy and you know it." Ness replied.

"Fine, what do you think about me?" I asked.

Ness just sighed.

"Do I have to answer?" Ness asked.

"For my own personal security, yes." I replied.

Ness sighed. "Well, I'm having a much harder time deciding since I was there when the Reaper called you his brother."

Ah yes, how could I forget about that...

"If you regain your memories, will you ever forget about us?"

"No, I won't." I replied.

Ness smiled. "Then in that case, I'll believe in you."

"And what about Lucas?" I asked.

"He isn't the type of person to judge people." Ness replied. "At least that's what I think. You may have to ask him yourself."

The water stopped and Ness grabbed the remote to the TV. He immediately began to search for something to watch. He decided on an old match of a team battle. Mario and Link VS Bowser and Ganondorf. Lucas eventually stepped out of the washroom wearing Ness' clothes. "Thanks for the clothes Ness." Lucas said.

"Well, I couldn't let you go out to your room in those dirty clothes." Ness replied. "If someone caught you, they would make sure that you wouldn't hear the end of it. Now if you pardon me."

Ness grabbed some clothes for himself from his dresser and quickly ran into the washroom. A few seconds later the shower began to run again. Lucas just sat down looking at the match that Ness had left on the TV.

"You look a lot like Ness in that. You just need his hat." I said.

"Really?" Lucas asked. He reached for Ness' hat which was located on the bed and put it on. Suddenly there was a jolt that went through my head. I sat there shocked. The memory of a comb going through my hair seemed to come back to me. For whatever reason, Lucas putting on that hat triggered a memory. One about head lice.

"Yeah, if your hair was black we probably would mistake you two as brothers." I joked. I was hoping for a chuckle out of Lucas, but he just sat there looking rather depressed. "What was your brother like?"

"He was strong and energetic." Lucas replied. "I'm sure that if he was still alive, he would be a Smasher and not me. I don't deserve to be here!"

"That's not true." I said. "I'm sure you have your own qualities and what makes you more than worthy to be a Smasher."

"I'm just a stand in." Lucas replied. "They surely would of wanted my brother, and not me." He adjusted Ness' hat so that it covered his eyes. It was still quite obvious that he was beginning to cry.

"Hey, a man doesn't cry." I said.

"I'm not a man yet." He replied bluntly

"Well don't cry on Ness' clothes after he was so kind to let you borrow them."

"I don't deserve to be a Smasher!" Lucas cried. "I haven't done anything heroic. Claus deserved to be the Smasher, not me!"

A jolt went through my head and I fell down towards the ground.

It was cold and dark. All I could tell was that I was in a line. I was the 6th person in line. There were some people behind me. In front of me was a parking lot. I was sitting on a fold out chair, with my back to a rather large building. On the arm rest there was a thermos holding some hot chocolate. I was wearing a jacket, a hat, and a pair of black gloves. In my hand was a DS.

"Jeeze, I still can't believe that we met up like this! What are the odds? It's been, what? 4 years with very little contact? I thought we were friends!"

"I thought about calling you." I replied. "Unfortunately, due to so many calls from telemarketers I've been scared for life, and am unable to use a telephone." I joked. "That and I've been busy working weekends. And too busy during the school year."

"And that excludes the summer months how?" He questioned. Once again this person was the Reaper.

I just laughed. "Well this past summer I've been too busy learning Japanese!" I replied tapping my DS. In the Game Boy Advance slot there was a game. Mother 3.

"And the other 3?" He asked.

"Well I've been learning Japanese for a few summers." I replied.

"So, what's it about?"

"Fighting against an evil empire. The main character is this boy named Lucas, he is rather shy and his mother was killed by a Drago."

"A what?" The reaper asked.

"A giant dinosaur. It was turned into this robotic monster and lost control. It became violent."

I came back to reality. I was on the ground shaking. My hands grabbing my head. Lucas was clearly terrified, and he had gotten Ness from out of the shower. He was still wet, he just had a towel covering his lower body. His hair was covered with foam.

I was covered in a cold sweat.

"Hey, are you going to be okay?" Ness asked.

Do I look like I'm okay to you?

"I think so." I lied.

The two of them seemed relived, despite the fact that I was having a seizure. For some reason, I made a mental note of not telling anyone about this if I ever got back to the real world.

"Well then, if you're okay, I'm going to go finish my shower." Ness returned to the washroom, and the water began once again.

I had calmed down a bit. "What did you see?" Lucas asked.

"A night a couple of years ago." I replied. "It was one of the times I had met with the Reaper in my world."

Lucas just nodded.

The water stopped. I guess Ness only went in there to wash off the shampoo. Several moments later Ness came out in new clothes. He then walked over to a dresser and picked out some more clothes. "All right, Nugai. You smell like BO. Now get in there and take a shower. Maybe that will help clear your mind."

Ness forced the clothes in my hands and pushed me towards the washroom. Eventually I got in and took a shower.

Or tried to.

"AHHHHH!" I screamed. "YOU LITTLE BRATS USED UP ALL THE HOT WATER!"

I could hear them bursting into laughter, whether it was from my predicament or something else, I may never know.

Several minutes later I came out in the clothes that Ness had given me. We were all wearing a purple and yellow stripped shirt. I looked at myself in the mirror. I didn't exactly look like me. "Ness, are you sure this is okay?" I wondered. "I mean, what if I stretch your shirt?"

"It's a larger one." Ness replied. "Don't worry about it. Now, don't we all look like brothers."

"We need some hats." Lucas laughed.

Ness just pulled out two extra hats and threw them. With stunning accuracy, they landed on our heads. I guess he just used his PSI to make sure that they landed perfectly on our heads. We all stood in front of a mirror. "We look stupid." I muttered.

"Now, Nugai, look into my eyes, when I snap my fingers you will be under my control, and you will fight Lucas for me!" Ness said.

"Fat chance." I said. "Maybe we can fight tomorrow, the three of us in a friendly match."

"Sure." Lucas said.

We all went down to the cafeteria. Ness and Lucas told me to sit down, and they would get food, to make sure that it wasn't poisoned. I sighed and just sat there. "Hello, Ness." Mewtwo said. "Oh, wait, I mean, Nugai. Very smart, disguising yourself as another Smasher."

"Hahaha very funny." I said.

"Well, at least it will fool the security camera's if you obscure your face a bit." Mewtwo laughed. "So, how was your bodyguards. They didn't snore did they."

"I think you mean to say, 'how was babysitting.'" I corrected Mewtwo.

Mewtwo let off a small chuckle.

"They were fine. They didn't seem like they wanted to kill me or anything."

"Did anything weird happen?" Mewtwo wondered.

"Well, there was one thing, I don't know how exactly to describe it though." I said. "But up until this morning I only saw Ness and Lucas a certain way."

"A certain way?" Mewtwo questioned.

"I'm sure if you just read my mind you will understand." I said.

Mewtwo however hesitated. "For the past little while, I haven't been able to read your mind." He replied.

I stared at him rather shocked. "What? Since when?"

"Since this morning."

YES! Finally! My thought's are mine again!

Mewtwo however hit me with his tail. "I thought you said you couldn't read my mind!"

"I can't, you're just that predictable." Mewtwo replied. "So can you explain it?"

"Their heads used to be as big as their bodies, but now they seemed to be proportioned like normal people!"

"Oh." Mewtwo said, as though this was nothing new. "That."

"That?"

"Don't worry about it."

"It's hard not to, they sort of just grew overnight."

"Just think of it as an optical illusion." Mewtwo replied. "It's how you perceive them. Earlier, you thought them as kids. However, as you grew closer to them, your perception of them changed, and to you they grew overnight."

I did not know how to reply to this. "That doesn't make-"

Mewtwo smacked me with his tail. "It doesn't need to. It's just how your mind percieves things."

"But Red wasn't super deformed." I pointed out. "What about that?"

Mewtwo just shrugged it off. "That's the way it is."

Lucas and Ness suddenly returned to the table with the food. Three omelets. "I hope you like what we got you." Ness said.

I looked at the omelet, cooked to perfection. "What's on it?"

"Mushrooms, bacon, onions, and cheese." Lucas answered.

"Sound's good."

"Except mushrooms are grown on-"

"I know!" I snapped. "Not at the table. Some people would like to keep their appetites!"

They looked at me rather shocked. "How is your memory?" Mewtwo asked.

"It's slowly coming back to me. I remembered a few things this morning."

"Yeah, what a rude awakening that was." Ness muttered.

"So, for the match today, who are you going to go with?" Mewtwo asked.

"I don't know, I think I'm safe, and I don't need anyone to watch over me."

"Actually I was talking about betting." Mewtwo replied. "I was curious if you were going to reclaim your entire fortune that you had to pay to Dr. Mario for those hospital bills."

I glanced at the two. "That's a loaded question Mewtwo." He let off a small chuckle.

"Okay, fine. However, the manager might take this opportunity to strike, everyone might be so attached on the match that she will attack when your guard is down." Mewtwo said. "So, you should at least still have someone watching over you. I know, how about Roy, he needs some help packing up some stuff anyways."

"I don't need a bodyguard. I'm positive that I'll be fine." I protested.

"Well, if you insist. Just watch your back." Mewtwo sighed.

I finished the omelet. It tasted so good, and was so filling. "Well, now I guess it's time for the big question." Ness said

"Big question?"

"Yep, who will you be cheering for during the match?" Ness asked.

Crap, I was hoping that I dodged that question with Mewtwo. I guess they were interested in it too.

I sighed. "I don't know." I replied. I honestly didn't. I was glad that they couldn't read my mind to try and figure out who I was cheering for. "I guess I'll be cheering for both of you, I can always hope that there is a tie!"

"In the rare event that we both are KO'd at the same time, we go into sudden death." Ness replied.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah." Ness said, "At least that's what the rulebook says. I don't know if anyone actually has entered it."

"Well, good luck, I guess I better give you guys some time to prepare." I said, quickly getting up. "Mewtwo, please make sure Ness doesn't eat his weight in ice cream again."

"Are you sure you don't want a bodyguard?"

"I'm positive, Ness' clothing will be good enough." I said walking away. "I can travel through the building with out the cameras knowing it's me, that's all that matters, right?"

"Well, they will be wondering why Ness is in two places at once." Mewtwo said. "Of course, normally there isn't someone watching over the cameras. So, you'll be fine even if you are walking around the building."

I got out of the cafeteria and began to walk through the Smash HQ. It had been about five minutes until I heard a voice. "Hey, Nugai!" I turned around to see Roy rushing towards me. "I just talked to Mewtwo, he said that you were willing to help me pack up my things."

Mewtwo...

"Sure." I said.

Roy led me to his room, and opened the door. From the hall way I could only tell one thing. It was messy. Really messy. Like, capable of hiding a corpse in there for six years with out raising any suspicion messy.

This guy is a prince? I always thought prince's were more... I don't know...

I looked around the room, I didn't even know where to begin. "Uh..."

"Yeah, sorry about this, I sort of let the room get out of control." Roy nervously laughed.

I let off a heavy sigh and walked in. "Well, we have to start somewhere. If we're lucky, we might be able to finish by next week."

I looked around. It was a lot bigger on the inside. Several walls that would separate the other rooms had actually been knocked down to make this one giant room for Roy. Every single spot was completely covered with junk. Trophies, clothing, photos, books.

"So, do you know where to begin?" Roy asked.

I think with a flamethrower.

"Not a clue." I said. "I guess a corner, and just try to work your way into the center of the room?" I looked on a nearby table and saw that Chibi Robo was trying to scrape off food remnants with a toothbrush.

Good luck Chibi Robo. You're going to need it. Okay, how do I get out of here?

I never would have guessed that Roy was such a slob. "What the hell is wrong with this room?"

"Well, back at the castle, I always had servants clean up after me." Roy nervously replied.

"You certainly don't expect me to clean all of this alone." I said, annoyed.

"Well, you're not alone, you have Chibi Robo!" Roy joked. I kicked a pile of dirty clothing towards him. Quickly he blocked it.

"Don't joke!" I snapped.

I once again looked around. I feared that the manager had several mines laying around the room, waiting to be uncovered and explode, killing me. I moved an empty chip bag and saw a motion sensor mine right there. I could only imagine that my face had gone white. I just walked away. "This room is a death trap. This room is a death trap." I repeated.

"Hey, Nugai, where are you going."

"Somewhere safer, like a war zone. Or the manager's office." I replied.

"It's not that bad!" Roy protested.

"I just uncovered a motion sensor bomb. You clearly buy more clothes rather then washing them. I'm absolutely terrified at what may be growing in this room, and I can certainly smell the mould! I'm all ready having some breathing difficulties! I swear, the only way I'm cleaning this room is through lots of kerosene and a match!" I snapped.

"I thought you were going to help me, at least that's what Mewtwo said."

"You couldn't pay me enough to clean that room." I said. "And besides, Mewtwo was just making sure that you would watch over me, so the manager wouldn't kill me!"

Roy nodded. "I knew that."

"Let's go somewhere else." I said. "I want to talk."

We walked away from Roy's room.

Good luck Chibi Robo. You'll need it. Will you ever need it.

We made our way down to the lobby and went back into the cafeteria. We got some drinks and sat down at a table. "So, what did you want to talk about?" Roy asked.

"I wanted to know about your time as a Smasher." I said.

Roy's eyes suddenly began to glow. He wanted to talk to someone about this. "Well, I guess my joining of the Smashers was a bit different than everyone else's. Everyone else was hired after they had become famous, but I was hired on a whim to try and promote..." He talked on and on, occasionally trying to stop for a quick sip of his drink. I tried to pay attention. "I can't believe that Mewtwo would make you think that you were our only hope to stay in the Smashers."

"I guess it was the high stakes to help motivate me or something." I replied. "So, you're leaving tomorrow?"

"Yeah." Roy replied. "With my father sick, I need to go back and look over the country."

"You seem too laid back to me." I said. "I don't think you're capable of ruling a country."

Roy just laughed. "I don't know if I can either. But, I know I'll have people there to help me every step of the way."

Deep down, I felt regret. I regret not getting to know Roy better. If things were different, perhaps we could have even been good friends. "Nugai,"

"That isn't my name."

"Well, I was going to suggest that one day, down the line perhaps you could come to Pheare," Roy said. "We could swap stories as our times as Smashers. I'm sure I could tell you the story of Mewtwo being drunk."

"Ness mentioned it, though he failed to explain anything beyond that the property damage being in the billions. And that Mewtwo would kill him if he ever spoke of it." I replied.

"Yeah, but when I'm the king, if he tried to kill me, it would be off with his head." Roy replied.

"And if you tell that story, I'm sure everyone in the universe will know about some of your more outrageous moments here in the Smashers!" Mewtwo said, suddenly appearing behind Roy. Roy looked absolutely terrified. "I'm sure it would be quite a scandal for the king of Pheare."

"Mewtwo, what are you doing here?" Roy nervously asked.

"Outrageous moments?" I questioned.

"Okay, that's enough." Roy shouted. "No one says anything, or there is going to be a bunch of explosions."

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk." Mewtwo said. "Blackmail is not appropriate for a king. Imagine what your people would say."

Roy just sat there gritting his teeth.

"Anyways, Roy, and Nugai, I was told to get you out of the cafeteria." Mewtwo said. "Also, Ness and Lucas' match is starting soon. So, you better go and watch it."

Roy seemed excited. "Well, I'll go and watch it, are you coming along Nugai?"

"No." I replied. "Actually, Roy, what time are you leaving tomorrow?"

"Not until the evening." Roy replied. "Why?"

"Well, tomorrow, Lucas, Ness, and I were going to have a free match. Perhaps you could join us."

"Yeah, I'll join you if I can." Roy said. He immediately ran off.

I looked up at Mewtwo. "So, what is Roy's outrageous moment?"

"Just whatever you do, don't mention the naked swordsman either in front of Roy or in this city." Mewtwo replied.

I let off a small snicker. 'The naked swordsman' that must be a good story.

I got up and walked out of the cafeteria. I decided to go up to my room. It was surprisingly still in one piece. I expected it to be torn apart by the manager in an attempt to try and find some incriminating evidence that she could use to fuel her conspiracy of an evil plan where I attempted to murder each of the Smashers. I looked at my kitchen and noticed that my knives were missing.

And I liked those knives.

I also noticed that each of the display swords that I in my room was now missing. Along with my Wii. I sighed.

I decided to change out of the clothing that Ness gave me. I folded it up neatly and made a mental note to wash it before giving it back. I looked around my room. The cat food was barely touched. Chocolate was probably out there causing terror or something.

I looked outside. All of the snow was suddenly gone, and it looked as though it was mid spring. "What the hell is wrong with this place?" I asked to no one in particular. I decided that it might be a good idea to take a small walk outside and enjoy the fresh air. I went out on the balcony and looked around at the city.

For the past 11 days, I rarely even had the chance to get out of the Smash HQ. I went back into my room and walked out into the hallways.

I suddenly heard from the P.A. system that Ness and Lucas' fight was beginning.

Sorry guys, but I want to fight against you two blind.

I made it down into the lobby; however, I couldn't avoid Ness and Lucas' fight. On the TV's that were hanging in the lobby, the fight was playing, along with some commentary from Rai, Tei, and Sui.

I watched the fight for a few minutes; it really did look like the two of them were having so much fun out there on the battlefield. Lucas certainly was making sure that Ness would never have the opportunity to actually go easy on him. Lucas' PSI gave him a bit more reach than one would think he had, I made a small mental note to watch out for that in our friendly fight tomorrow.

I stepped out of the Smash HQ and began to walk through the city. I occasionally looked around. Every single TV had the current match on; I wouldn't be able to avoid watching the fight even if I wanted to. People were stopped in front of a giant TV that was on display. All of them were cheering for the fight. None of them would even notice that a Smasher was walking right past them.

I made my way to a park. I went in. There was a green field, some ponds, and trees, not a single trace of snow anywhere. There was also an old man playing chess, all alone. Slowly I walked over.

He glanced up at me.

"I've been expecting you Nugai." He laughed.

"That isn't my name." I said.

"Then, what is?" The old person asked.

"Fine, you can call me Nugai." I sighed. "Wait, you said that you were expecting me."

"Yes." He laughed. "Please, sit down, and let's play a game." I sat down in front of him. The old man quickly began to reset all of the pieces. "Do you know how to play chess?"

I thought for several seconds. "Pawns can move two spots on their first move, one after, they can only attack diagonally. The Rook's can move in a line. Bishops diagonally. Knights can only move in L shapes. Queens can move in any direction, and Kings can only move one space."

"Correct." He laughed. "Now, let's play. I'll let you go first."

I began by moving a pawn forwards. After several rounds the person began to talk once again. "Tell me, do you believe that by playing games you can reveal your opponent's personality?"

"What do you mean?"

"Tell me, when playing chess do you want to end a game as quickly as possible? Or do you wait for your opponent to attack and stay on the defensive? There are many other ways to play the game, but the way you play can reveal your personality. Right now, I can see that you have some background in the game, but not a lot. You're making rather rash moves."

He can tell that from just a few moves? Or is this just a mind game?

"I guess you could learn about people from how they play." I nervously replied.

He smiled. "Tell me, from this game what type of person do you think I am?"

I looked over the parts that had moved. "I think you're a defensive person." I said. "You are wondering about my skill and cautiously scouting it out. But I also think there is some devious traps laid. If I go to attack and take a piece, instantly my piece will be taken."

The old person smiled. "You're rather interesting. You remind me quite a bit of the Reaper."

"Do you fear the Reaper?" I asked him.

"No." He replied, as he moved another pawn. "I've met him before, his cold eyes. His hatred. But, he was weak. He comes from the same world that you do."

I suddenly froze. I never told him about that. "How do you know about that?" I stuttered.

"I know a lot." He replied. "I plan my every move, and watch. I was thinking about getting rid of the Reaper myself, but I think it would be more interesting if you fought him."

This old man fight the Reaper and win?.

I could tell that there was more than meets the eye to this old man. "Gee, thanks." I muttered. "I'm not exactly budding in confidence right now."

"After your defeat with Marth, it is that strange vaccine that they are testing on you." He laughed.

"Just how much do you know about me?" I asked. "I mean, it's reaching creepy stalker levels."

"I can perceive everything about you." He replied. "Well, that's not true. I guess I only know what you know, except for what the Reaper knows about you."

I suddenly stopped. "The Reaper?"

"You were in his memories." the man replied. "He thought highly of you. Like a brother, even though you weren't related by blood. But, the you in his memories was an incredibly different person."

I didn't like where this was going. "What was I like in his memories?" I asked.

A twisted smile appeared on the old man's face. "I don't think you're ready for that."

"I think I am ready." I said.

"If you can beat me, in a game of chess, I'll tell you."

We continued to play. However I quickly lost. He had completely slaughtered me. "Checkmate." He smiled. There was something terrifying about his smile. "That was a good game. I'd like to face off against you once again Nugai."

"You'd probably just beat me again." I said.

"I'm sure you would get stronger and stronger." He reassured me. "If you're wondering that you were like the Reaper before losing your memory, you weren't."

I looked at him both shocked, and relieved. "I wasn't?"

"No, you weren't." He said. "But, you were a completely different person. If right now you are confident, I'd say you used to keep to yourself, and always questioned your capabilities."

"But I am questioning my capabilities right now! I'm certainly can't be the only person who can defeat the Reaper!"

"Defeat no, save yes." I looked at the old man. "You're the only one capable of saving him."

Saving him?

"How?" I questioned.

"I guess all you need to do is really find your way back home. The two are interlocked after all."

"Do you know how? You said that you could perceive everything about me, from the past to the future?" I wondered.

He just laughed. "Perhaps. Tap your heels together three times and say 'there is no place like home.' Okay?"

I looked down nervously. I closed my eyes. "Okay... There is no place like home." I knocked my heels against each other once.

This feels incredibly stupid, this better be worth it.

"There is no place like home." I did it again.

"There is no place like home." I did it for the third time. Slowly, I opened my eyes and much to my great displeasure, I was still there. "What gives?"

The man just laughed. "I wanted to see if you actually would do that. I didn't think you would!"

"I hope this was worth a laugh."

"It was." He replied. "Don't worry; I know you will be able to escape."

Boy, that really kills the suspense... then again; I guess so does writing this…

"Well, thank you." I said beginning to walk away. "I guess I should go back to the Smash HQ."

"Please come back again, I'd like to play against you once again." The old man said. "I'm here every day. And I'm sure you'll have some questions tomorrow."

I looked back at the old man confused. He however just smiled, and began to play another game of chess.

I returned to the Smash HQ. I had received a little bit of grief from the security guard. I could somehow tell that he was considering calling the manager. However Mewtwo teleported in to save me. When we were walking through the hallways he just began to berate me.

"How could you be so stupid? You know the Manager wants you dead! You need to stay in the Smash HQ!"

"I was perfectly fine." I replied.

"You could have been killed and no one would've known any better! Either by the Reaper, or the Manager! Or maybe there was an attack from the war!"

"I was perfectly fine." I repeated myself. I feared that I was beginning to transform into a broken record. Just based on this and the amount of times I've said 'that isn't my name.' so far and the slight fear of how long this conversation was going to go on for.

"Listen, if you go out of the HQ, you have to tell someone!"

What am I? A child?

"Nugai, listen, I'm being serious, I believe that you are the only chance that we have against the Reaper. If you die, the Reaper will continue his slaughter."

"I'm no hero." I said. "I was unable to even beat Marth. I won't be able to beat the Reaper."

Mewtwo responded to this with a slap from his tail. And boy, did this ever hurt. The next thing I knew was that I was on the ground. I think I even blacked out for a few seconds. Slowly I got up. "I don't like whining." Mewtwo said. "It gives me a giant headache. Now follow me!"

Mewtwo floated away to the cafeteria. Unfortunately for me, I was now forced to work on setting up decorations for a goodbye party. Eventually, everyone turned off the lights and we all hid. "Roy's coming!" Princess Peach said.

With Roy was Marth. They opened the doors to the darkened cafeteria, suddenly the lights came on. Confetti and balloons fell from the ceiling. "Surprise!" Everyone shouted.

Roy looked around, I don't know how, but I could tell he was feigning shock. "I don't know what to say!" Roy said.

I leaned towards Mewtwo, "Did he know?" I asked.

"He figured it out." Mewtwo replied. "Why do you ask?"

"I feel as though I could tell he was lying." I said.

"Interesting, this might have to do with Aura." Mewtwo said.

Everyone began to walk around and eat some food that was on the tables. Peach and Zelda also brought out a giant cake. On it was written "Goodbye Roy." Also going around was a card to sign. When it got to me I read over it.

"Hope the Naked Swordsman doesn't make a reappearance in Pheare."

"See ya bud!"

"It was fun while it lasted."

I read through every single comment, and I didn't know what to write for mine. I decided simple was probably best. "I wish I could have known you better."

I passed it on and others signed it. I went over to the table to get some food. Sitting at the table was Toon Link. "So, you're Nugai." Toon Link said.

"Yeah." I replied.

Dear merciful crap, there is something uncanny about him!

I took a plate and reached for something that looked like dumplings. I took a few and began to eat. Toon Link seemed he was waiting for something. "These dumplings." I said. "I don't think the hot sauce goes with it."

Toon Link was actually rather shocked. Link on the other hand took a dumpling and a moment later began to breath fire. Quickly he hit Toon Link over the head. "Was this your doing?" He asked. Toon Link just cringed. "I should of known. You stupid idiot."

"Nugai!" Toon Link cried. "Link hit me!"

"What do you want me to do?" I questioned.

"Tell him that yours didn't have hot sauce in it, and he hit the wrong person."

"It did have hot sauce in it." I replied. "I guess I'm just used to spicy food."

"Don't ruin this party with your stupid practical jokes!" Link snapped walking away. Toon Link just sat down and sighed.

"Geeze. Link's no fun." Toon Link sighed. "He seems to be really hard on me too."

"I wonder why?" I questioned.

"Don't know, but the first time he saw me he called me Colin. When I asked him who that was, he didn't say anything."

A small jolt of pain went through my head. "Colin was a kid back in the Ordon Village." I replied.

"Oh, so he told you then." Toon Link said. "Well, I guess that makes sense, we must look quite similar."

Actually you look nothing alike... It might have been the distance, or Colin began dressing in green to idolize Link...

Mewtwo walked over, and immediately Toon Link ran away in terror. "Did something happen between you two?" I wondered.

"You could say that." Mewtwo replied. "He made a mistake of putting some hot sauce in some of my food."

"You don't want any of the dumplings then." I replied.

Mewtwo looked at all of the food and eventually sat down. "It's sad seeing a comrade leave." He said. "But, parting is inevitable. The Smashers have bonds that can't be broken. Even if Roy is apart from us, we still are Smashers. And we are still friends. He will have plenty of challenges ahead."

I decided to walk around and talk to the other Smashers. They recounted their times with Roy. A few of them were even trying to hold back tears. Others were failing miserable. "I don't want someone to leave the Smashers." Luigi cried.

The overall atmosphere was that everybody was saddened by Roy leaving.

Eventually, I met up with Ness. Surprisingly, he was alone. I looked around, unable to see Lucas. "Ness, where's Lucas?" I asked.

"No idea." He replied. "I think he's avoiding me, I fear he thinks I was holding back during our match."

Come to think of it I never did find out who won. Well hopefully he wouldn't ask any questions.

"So, what did you think of the fight?"

Crap! I can't tell him that I just went out and played chess with an old man! Did he even give me his name?

"Well, I think you both had your heart and soul in the fight." I replied. "You could really see the passion that was behind the attacks."

Oh please make sense, and please let the small portions of their fight that I saw accurately represent the entire fight!

"Really!" Ness said excited.

"Yes, of course." I replied. "I'm sure Lucas was able to see your fighting spirit."

"Still, if that was the case, why isn't he here? Why is he avoiding me?"

"Maybe he just wanted to be alone for some time. Maybe he wanted to meditate on the results of the match. Or maybe he doesn't like parties because they remind him of his mother and brother."

Ness nodded. "I hadn't thought about that. Well, I'm sure we'll see Lucas tomorrow!"

I just enjoyed the party. The Manager wasn't there, so I didn't fear for my life, though I doubted that she would do anything when I was surrounded by the Smashers. When it was over, Mewtwo had all ready picked out the next Smasher to look over me for the night.

It was Lucario.

He led me to his room. It looked completely normal, as though a human was living there. I expected to see a cat bed or something for him to sleep in. "You can take the bed Nugai." He calmly said.

"But then, where would you get to sleep?" I wondered.

"Don't worry about that. You should just go to sleep." Lucario said.

I went in the bed and closed my eyes. However, I couldn't quite get to sleep. Lucario was constantly staring at me. "You aren't going to hang from the ceiling to try and kill me again, right?" I asked.

"No, of course not." Lucario replied.

Somehow, I managed to fall asleep with him constantly gazing over me.

Notes:

So... That's three times I've made Lucas wet himself... Once while being tortured in Shades of Smash, once in 365, and now once here... I'm screwed up...