-Boxer In Love-

Little Mac was practicing with Kirby as usual for the tournament. Her boxing skills have significantly improved. He remembered when she didn't know a single thing about boxing, and yet, here she is almost as good as him! This woman never ceases to impress him. He watched her practice with lovey dovey eyes. The way she punched, the way she sweated everything off like it was nothing. Damn, she was incredibly hot.

Kirby took a break. She sat down on a seat and grabbed a wet towel to wipe the sweat off her forehead. He sat down next to her. He was curious as to what was on her mind. She seemed distant today. Something was bothering her for sure.

"Hey, Kirby, I uh, is everything ok?"

"Yeah, just tired."

"You seem a little off today. The way you punched the sandbag was aggressive. Are you mad? Did I do something wrong?"

"No no no! Little Mac you have nothing to worry about. It's not you."

"Not me? Did something happen last night?"

"Well… Yeah, something disappointing happened last night."

"Hey, I'm all ears if ya wanna talk."

"Not really."

"No worries, hey uh, did you wanna come over to my place tonight? I'll cook."

"You cook?"

"I do. I make a mean carbonara."

"Haha, how can I say no to that."

After their usual night time training was done, Little Mac introduced Kirby to his room. It had a punching bag in the corner, basic coffee table, mini kitchen, a nice balcony with a bench seat, and a bed with green sheets on it. She stared in awe taking the atmosphere in.

"So, how do you like my abode?" Little Mac grinned.

"I love it! It's so you."

"It's not as cute as your room."

"Haha, you think my room is cute?"

"Absolutely. All those stars everywhere. How can I not?"

"Aww gee, thanks Little Mac."

"Anyway, make yourself at home. Want anything to drink?"

"Sure, I'd love some water."

"Water coming up for my lady."

Little Mac filled up a glass with filtered water. He handed it to the pinkette. He began going through his fridge and taking out ingredients to make carbonara. Kirby examined his room. It's different from Link's for sure. Link's room was more like a tree house. Little Mac's was modern. Two very different men for sure.

Little Mac had finished making dinner. He served a plate to his lady, and one for him of course. They ate and watched tv together. Kirby loved the food! It was rich in flavor. Little Mac is a good cook. She happily munched while the two talked about their day and how training went, until Little Mac remembered what Link said. Now is the time to ask her the big question.

"Kirby I need to ask you a question."

"Sure."

"What do you think of me?"

"Well, you're an awesome trainer, and a good cook."

"Thank you, but I mean relationship wise."

"Oh..."

"I think I may have jumped the gun here, but I haven't made myself clear. I might've assumed."

"Assumed about what?"

"Are we just friends or are we a couple?"

Kirby was not expecting this question. She didn't know what to say. Did he think they were dating this entire time? They did go out together often. They did hang out a lot like Link and Zelda. Did this mean they were a thing? She didn't even realize that they were dating. Were they? He never asked her out, besides going out to places. Wait, is that the same thing? Too many questions. It was all too confusing. What were they?

"Kirby?" Little Mac raised a brow.

"Oh, right! Sorry I spaced out."

"It's ok, I just.. Listen, I really like you. I'm sorry I wasn't more direct. I think about you all the time. I haven't been this happy for a long time. Before you, I gave up on romance. Ever since Samus… She… She made me think badly about relationships. That is, until you came along. You really changed my heart. All I want is to spend time and care for you. I just hope you feel the same."

Wow, she was not expecting all this. She felt stuck. She started to feel weird things when Link was around, maybe because Link was so direct about it. No guy has ever shown interest in her. Unfortunately, she has to give up on him. Nothing was going to happen between the two. Zelda won't let him go. Oh Link… She remembered the event last night. The fact that they almost kissed, until Zelda showed up. Did she have feelings for Link? It didn't matter. They can't be a thing. Never. However, Little Mac on the other hand...

Kirby started to feel giddy. Little Mac liked her! It sounds crazy that anyone would like her more than just a friend. The problem is that Little Mac had no clue that she's the puffball. What if he changes his mind when he finds out? She shouldn't get her hopes up. Actually, if Little Mac truly liked her, then this shouldn't stop him. She needed to test his true feelings. Tonight she's going to make sure he knows that's she's the one and only Kirby.

"Little Mac…" She trailed off.

"It's ok, I understand if you don't feel the same. I just wanted to let you know how I felt."

"I like you too."

"Really?"

"Yes, but I need to be more direct with you. Before we do this dating thing, I seriously need you to listen to me."

"Anything!"

"I'm Kirby."

"I know, you said it before."

"I'm Kirby. I'm the pink puffball."

"I-I'm not quite understanding."

"Little Mac, look at me. I'm Kirby."

"Y-you mean-

"Yes. I'm THAT Kirby. The star warrior. The pink ball."

"W-what! Why do you look like this?!"

"Paluntena did this to me."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I'm waiting for her return so she can turn me back."

"Is this for real?"

"I'm not lying. I need you to believe me."

"I… I.. I need a moment."

Little Mac walked to his balcony. He took out a cigarette and lit it. This was absolutely insane! Is this what she was trying to tell him from the beginning? He definitely looked like a fool. This is mega embarrassing. She kept trying to tell him, but he was too dumb to realize. She looked nothing like her ball version. In fact, wasn't she a he before? Oh wait, Kirby went by male pronouns. He probably didn't even have a gender. Wow, this is too much. Too many questions. It's fucking Kirby. Holy shit, it's Kirby.

…

-Mario's Plan-

Mario's plan was going great. He had told half the original 12 about the pink haired imposter. They were all on the lookout for the woman. His credibility was so high, that none of them had any reason to deny his claims. He made sure that Kirby looked bad. He needs to keep spreading the rumor and eventually everyone will try to kill her. With her gone, his secret will forever be safe and as a bonus, Kirby will no longer be in the roster. One less fighter to deal with in the tournament.

Mario knew that Peach knew that Kirby turned into a beautiful chick. That was his only problem. It was her, Captain Falcon, and maybe Pit. Luckily Pit is a dumb fuck who forgets things easily. Everyone saw that chicken as a joke anyway. Even if he did tell the truth, no one would believe him. The same goes for Captain Falcon. If everyone was on his side, Captain Falcon's claim would look ridiculous. Kirby turning into a beautiful girl. Ha! That's gotta be the dumbest thing anyone has ever heard. Yes, the puffball is the strongest fighter if he tried even a little, but his weakest point was the fact that he was gullible. Everyone knew he was gullible, so saying that this woman did something to Kirby was definitely a possibility.

With Ness and Sonic out of the way, no one could possibly stop him! Ness… That fucking bitch. He was close. Mario was glad that Ness made that stupid mistake in trusting Luigi.

Mario sent Luigi to chain Ness up in the mountain. In the meantime, Mario snooped around. He went to Ness's room and looked for any clues. He checked his desk. Luckily Ness is a clean freak, so everything was organized. It wasn't hard for Mario to find Ness's notebook. He read it. Honestly, this was pretty smart of Ness. He could've won this war, but he gave Luigi the benefit of the doubt. Ha! What an idiot. So… Pit and Villager, huh? Those were going to be his allies. Good choices. The only normal ones at the party. Hmm, actually… Villager.

Mario recalled Villager's actions during the party. Yes, this will do. Villager is the perfect candidate to seal the deal if his original plan ever backfires. Mario took the notebook.

….

-The Cave-

Ness woke up with a bad headache. His eyes took a while to adjust to the lighting around him. He saw a campfire in the middle of this cave-like room. He slowly stood up and rubbed the back of his neck. He fell asleep on the cold hard floor, so no wonder why everything hurt. Geez, where the hell is he?

"Holy shit, Ness is that you? I'm so glad to see you, buddy!" A voice rang in his head.

Ness shook his head, and focused on his surroundings again. He's in a cave. Why is he in a cave?

"Ness, buddy! Look over here!" The voice called again.

His eyes followed where the voice was located at. It was Sonic? What is the hedgehog doing here? Why does his right leg feel heavy? He looked down to see that his leg had a shackle on. His eyes followed the chains to the wall. He was chained up! Oh no, what happened? The last thing he remembered was… "Bellosum."

"Ness, buddy you alive?" Sonic panicked.

"Y-yeah, w-what's going on?"

"Oh dude, I'm so glad I'm not alone anymore."

"Sonic? What're you doing here?"

"Same as you, pal. I got kidnapped by Mario himself."

"M-Mario? How long have you been here?"

"What day is it?"

"Saturday the 20th."

"Like a month ago."

"A MONTH AGO?!"

"Hey, so uh, I forgot how the sun looked. Is it still bright?"

"T-that's impossible. I saw you two days ago!"

"Two days ago?! So he did find a replacement."

"A replacement? What're you talking about!"

"He like fucking cloned me. That Sonic you saw, wasn't the real me."

"Oh god, wait does this mean that he cloned me too?"

"Most likely."

"I gotta get outta here!"

Ness started messing with the chains. He punched it, bit it, pulled on it, but nothing happened. He reached for his backpack, but it was gone. He even reached to see if he had his hat. That was gone too.

"W-where's my backpack?" Ness panicked.

"He took it genius."

"Why did he take my hat!"

"Beats me. That guy is a psychopath."

"At least I still have my shoes…"

"Wait, he let you keep your shoes?!"

Ness stared at Sonic's uncanny human feet. It was disturbing. He couldn't stop staring, it was so ugly.

"Eww, oh god that's disgusting. It's human feet."

"Oh shut up! You have those too."

"Y-yeah but I'm a human. You're a hedgehog, it looks hideous on you."

"Oh whatever!"

"Cover that up!"

"Ya know, I would if I HAD SHOES!"

"Oh gross, it smells terrible here."

"Welcome to paradise!"

The two went silent when they heard footsteps. It was Mario and Luigi. Mario eyed the two prisoners and gave them a sinister grin.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Ness the boy genius himself," Mario spat.

Ness turned to Luigi. "Luigi! How could you?! I can't believe you betrayed me!"

"Waaaah! I'm-a sorry Ness. Y-you know I can't go against my brotha," Luigi cowered behind Mario.

"My plan would've worked! All you had to do was act normal! I can't believe you told him."

"I'm-a sorry."

"Shut up! Both of you. Ness, you should have never went against me. I'm-a Mario you see. I always get what I want!" Mario interrupted.

"Mario you-

Mario threw a can of wet cat food at the boy's face. He turned to Sonic and did the exact same. However, at this point the hedgehog was unfazed. He opened the can and began digging into the food. Ness couldn't believe that Sonic the fucking Hedgehog was eating cat food. He lost all his dignity. All his pride and respect was gone. What the fuck happened?!

Mario turned around to leave but Ness screamed his name.

"Mario! D-did you clone me too?"

"..."

"People will look for me."

"I'm sure they will."

"..." Ness gave Mario a mean glare.

With that, Mario left laughing. Luigi stayed behind and watched them eat. He's the janitor. He had to stay to collect their cans of cat food and scoop up any waste.

"Hey are you gonna eat that?" Sonic threw his empty cat food can to the side. Luigi went over and picked it up.

"N-no, here you can have it," Ness chucked the cat food over to Sonic.

"Thanks, mate."

Luigi collected the last can of cat food after Sonic was done eating it. He then left to go catch up with his brother. Now that they're gone, Ness wanted to pry.

"Sonic, you're fast. Have you tried running so that the chains would break?"

"Do you seriously think I just sat here and accepted this the first week I got here?"

"Fair."

Ness tried using his PK powers, but they weren't working. These shackles… They're not normal shackles. They're durable enough to withstand Sonic's speed. They're blocking his PSI powers. Oh god, how is he going to get out of here?

"Hey so, how exactly did you get caught?" Sonic interrupted Ness's deep thoughts.

"What?"

"So you talked to Luigi about your plan?"

"Y-yeah, he ended up telling Mario. The way Mario got me was so unfair."

"How'd he get you?"

"How'd he get you?"

"Hey I asked first!"

"He gave me a secret santa gift. I opened it obviously, and there was a Bellosum."

"Holy shit! He got you with that too?!"

"Wait, seriously?"

"Uh, I mean, yeah Mario and I had an epic fight, but he totally used Samus as a shield. I had no choice but to forfeit."

"Samus has no idea that you're gone."

"Fucking fine you got me. Yes, he used a Bellosum on me too."

"You ran in there without thinking, didn't you?"

"At least I didn't tell his brother my entire plan of whatever it was!"

"He was convincing! You weren't there!"

"Ness, Luigi is Mario's bitch boy, how could you not see this coming?!"

"You weren't there! He seemed so fed up with Mario. Deep inside I know he wanted to break free, or so I thought."

"He's literally Mario's pet!"

"I know! It was a big error. I get it. I fucked up. I was desperate ok! There was no one else in the party that I could trust."

"So you trusted Luigi of all people."

"It was an emotional conversation. He was hurting, and I thought maybe if I included him in my plan that he would gain confidence and fight back for once."

"Ness that's cute, but I gotta say, for a kid that's supposed to be a genius, you're an idiot."

"Thanks, Sonic. I'm glad that you're here with me to tell me how dumb I am."

"You're welcome."