Well, uh, it's certainly been a while, hasn't it? I guess in the end I couldn't live up to my two-chapters-a-month promise.

Anyway, this chapter makes the Hunger Games section three chapters now. The longest arc yet! Though, this chapter is pretty short.

Luigi was watching the sun rise when he heard a rustle of leaves.

"G-gah!"

He jumped out of his skin, then looked around. It was probably just Rosalina or Mario rolling over in their sleep, but... he had to make sure. So he slowly rose from his hiding spot and walked back toward the camp site.

The two were still dozing off. Maybe he was just being paranoid, he thought. No, he was always paranoid. But it was good to be paranoid sometimes! Maybe he was just being too paranoid... While debating in his mind whether or not he was being paranoid, he made his way back toward the hiding spot.

A twig snapped, and the sound was coming from not too far away.

"Ack!"

He looked down at his feet. No twigs there.

...Then, someone was here.

His legs instantly turned to jelly and he panicked. With a rapidly-dwindling amount of courage, and no items to back him up, that was all he could do. He could see a shadow on the ground, growing bigger as the man got closer...

"B-b-b-b-buh-"

KREENG!

His vision suddenly went black.

Luigi was sent careening straight into a tree, and the cannon went off. As he faded away, an orb of light floated gently to the floor.

"...Heh."

Dark Pit slung the Home-Run Bat over his shoulder and picked up the orb.

You got Luigi's Death Stare! Now, either strike fear into the hearts of your enemies... or just make them feel really uncomfortable with the Weegee Stare.

...Oh wait, you're an edgelord, not a memelord. My mistake! Just put the meme down and pretend you didn't hear voices in your head.

"What's wrong with me taking spoils from battle?" Dark Pit said, tapping his shoulder with the bat.

Put it down and get out! Hurry, Rosalina and Mario are still back there. If you don't leave now, you'll be KO'd!

"What, you think I'm gonna-"

Before he could finish, Mario sent Dark Pit flying straight into the tree with a Smash attack. Another cannon went off. As the dark angel disappeared, Mario blew the smoke off from his glove.

"That's-a what you get-a for killing my brother, b*$!#~~*!"

Rosalina floated behind Mario and delicately thwacked him over the head with her wand.

"Mario! We have a reputation to keep up!" she scolded him. "Do you want to drive Sponsors away from us?"

"No," he sighed. "Let's-a go."

And the two of them wandered deeper into the forest.

Robin was supposed to be keeping watch, but he was starting to get sleepy again. So he wandered back to his and Shulk's camping spot and watched Shulk sleep.

It's nice, being able to watch him sleep like this, thought Robin. He looks so peaceful. Actually, it's kinda... cute. Er, not that I- I mean-

He snapped out of his reverie when he heard the sound of a cannon. Not long after, he heard another cannon.

Oh no.

"Shulk, wake up. Shulk."

He started tugging on the blonde boy's jacket.

"Huh... Gimme five more minutes."

"No, you have to get up now. I heard the cannon go off twice already."

Shulk sat up and looked around, eyelids still half-closed. " 'M up," he said. "But I had some crazy dream... I was keepin' watch and you made owl noises in your sleep."

"Oh, that..." Robin gave a little nervous smile. "That was probably real."

"...Let's get goin'."

Shulk sleepily wandered back into the forest, and Robin followed.

A while passed, and no cannons had gone off yet. There was just the rustle of their footsteps in the forest and the drone of the crickets. Robin was starting to feel on edge.

"It seems quiet... almost too quiet," he said.

"Meh," Shulk replied. "I don't care, 's long as no one kills us."

"You're still talking like that? Are you still sleepy?"

"Meh. Not a morning person."

Robin sighed. "You'll have to wake up sometime, you know. Anything could happen."

"I know." Shulk yawned.

And the conversation stopped there. The silence was making both of them feel awkward, so Robin just started looking up at the canopy. Shulk let his mind slip into thought, and he remembered what happened when he was taking watch.

"Hoot hoot... hoot hoot..."

Robin's owl noises faded into silence as Shulk continued to walk through the forest. He wondered what was happening back there. Did Robin wake up? No, probably not. It hasn't been that long, right? So then...

Shulk felt a chill creep down his spine when he realized he had wandered too far from the camping spot. He looked back behind him. There was only the trees and the pitch-black darkness in between them. Another realization hit him. How am I supposed to get back now?

A glimpse of blue in the corner of his eye. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. He crept closer to the bush on his left.

A rustle of leaves.

He cut through the shrubs, Monado thrust forward.

Staring down his sword was Samus, with her blaster pointed straight back at him.

"You...!"

Blue eyes met with blue eyes. Neither of them moved to strike.

"Well?"

He could charge, but he doubted he would hit her. Samus could paralyze and KO him before he had the chance to move; he didn't need future vision to see that. So why hadn't she done it yet?

Samus lifted her chin. "Are you going to kill me or not?"

"I..."

What should I do...?

He ran off.

"Shulk!"

She shot at him once, but she didn't hit him and she knew it. He had disappeared into the woods before she could react.

"...Shulk?"

"Huh?"

"Are you coming or not?"

"Oh, yeah."

Shulk jogged a few feet ahead to catch up to Robin, and then they kept strolling through the forest.

"Were you thinking of something?" asked Robin.

"It wasn't really important."

"I see."

Awkward silence. Robin stole a sideways glance at Shulk, then looked to his other side.

"It's been an hour since the last cannon went off..." he said. "And we haven't done any fighting at all, either. I have a bad feeling about this."

"You keep saying that."

"I know, but..."

"The more you say that, the more you guarantee it's going to happen, you know."

"...So you're awake now?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"That's good." Robin paused. "I just..."

"Don't say it."

Finally, a cannon went off in the distance. Robin let out a small sigh.

Shulk could see something was bothering him, but he didn't exactly what to say about it. So the rest of the day passed with silence.

After an entire day without incident, the moon started to rise in the sky again, and they picked out a camping spot.

When Shulk woke up, he was back in the park again. The rain was falling, but he didn't feel it hit his skin. Strange.

"SKREEEEE!"

He looked behind him. A giant abomination that didn't look quite like Ridley screamed back at him.

So he ran. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He stepped through puddles and dirt and mud, but he didn't care if his clothes got dirty. He just ran.

In his chest, he got a sinking feeling. He stepped into a puddle- it was deeper than he thought- and he fell in.

It should have felt cold, but warmth was enveloping him.

"Shulk!"

-He opened his eyes, but the forest around him still felt like a dream. And the warm sensation was still there.

"...Shulk, wake up! Shulk!"

"...Huh?"

"We have to get out of here, now!"

"Five more minutes..."

"Come on! Can't you hear it?!"

Robin grabbed Shulk by his hood and started yanking him back and forth, back and forth. It was then that he heard the snapping, popping sounds.

He looked behind him. Fire. It was like a hungry beast, swallowing everything in its path. And soon, it would devour him.

Shulk leaped to his feet, but before he could take a step, the flames overtook him.

Poor Luigi. I feel guilty for eliminating him like that now... Maybe you'll win another day?