~Chapter Two: Fell From Heaven, No it Didn't Hurt~

Mario had felt nauseated since the moment he woke up, and the reason for that came from the simple fact that Sonic was set to arrive at the mansion late in the afternoon. He was the last fighter scheduled to arrive and Mario wanted nothing more than to ignore him when he showed up but Master Hand had made it very clear that Mario had a role to play as leader and he was going to make Sonic feel welcome.

He sighed into his coffee, he hated feeling this negative towards someone he'd never met. He shuffled a few papers around on his desk in the doctors ward before deciding that talking to someone might help him feel better.

Locking the office behind him Mario took a sip of coffee and continued down the hallway of the medical wing on the mansion, a fairly recent addition thanks to the growing number of fighters and the ever-growing amount of cuts and scrapes they'd accumulate over the course of the tournament. No one could get hurt within the battle stages, Master Hand and Crazy Hand had made sure of that, but that didn't stop injuries from happening outside the fray.

Speaking of Master Hand and Crazy Hand, they'd been oddly silent the entire day and both their offices were locked. Mario figured they were busy finalizing the paperwork regarding Sonic but he couldn't shake the unease he felt twisting in his gut at how quiet it was. Shaking off the anxiety he turned into the main hall and continued to the training room where he figured he would find the person he was looking for.

He was correct, as the moment he opened the door to the training room he was greeted by a Sandbag flying across the room and Samus, clad in her Zero Suit, cracking her whip before noticing her visitor.

"Good morning Samus," Mario greeted. "You started training early huh?"

Samus raised an eyebrow. "Is there a problem with that?"

"N-No!" Mario replied a little too quickly. "It's good to train and start as early as possible! Chi dorme non piglia pesci!"

Even though they'd known each other since the first tournament, Samus still intimidated Mario. She towered above most of the other Smashers and was known as a ruthless bounty hunter who left nothing but destruction in her wake. With her stoic demeaner, she even struck fear into the likes of Captain Falcon who had made the mistake of trying to make a move on her back during the first tournament. A harsh slap to his face put a stop to that behaviour and cemented her as someone you really did not want to piss off.

And yet, as fearsome as she was, there was a softer side of Samus that Mario had seen brief glimpses of in a mandatory mental health check after the incident with Young Link had occurred. She'd admitted to having post-traumatic stress disorder dealing with the murder of her parents at the hands of her foe Ridley. Over the course of two hours they'd made a plan together on how Samus could calm down if she ever felt she was in a situation where a panic attack may occur. It's why he'd felt going to her about this situation was the best. She was level-headed and understood what being forced to interact with someone unpleasant was like.

Samus crossed her arms as she curiously gazed at Mario. "So why are you here? Last I checked you never train without Luigi."

"I, uh, was wondering if you had time to talk actually. If you're too busy we don't have to, I just felt you were the best person to talk to about the situation and-"

Mario was cut off by Samus putting her hand up. "Cut to the short version," she gestured to a crate off in the corner. "Sit. Speak."

Mario sunk down onto the lid of the crate and sighed heavily. "This is going to sound so stupid but I'm really nervous about Sonic arriving here this afternoon. He's done nothing but make cheap jabs at me and Master Hand wants me to make him feel welcome," he dropped his head into his hands. "How am I supposed to do that when I already know he clearly dislikes me?"

Samus was quiet, staring at Mario so long that he was afraid she was going to punch him into a wall before she simply shrugged. "You're both adults. Act like it."

It was blunt but honest. Mario sighed and nodded his head. "I-I know. I know..."

Samus' face softened. She approached Mario and placed a supportive hand on his shoulder. "You'll figure it out," she said in a much softer tone. "You always do. And if he can't communicate like an adult, then he's a dick and has already let his true colours show."

Mario smiled and looked up at Samus. "Grazie."

"Don't mention it," Samus murmured. Her head snapped up as the door to the training room opened but relaxed upon noticing it was just Kirby. "Yes?"

Kirby bounded over to Mario and tugged on his pant leg, clearly wanting him to follow. Mario sheepishly shrugged at Samus and allowed Kirby to lead him away, his anxieties pushed down for the moment.

/~/

Sonic's leg involuntarily bounced as he stared out the window of the bus taking him from the meeting point in Smash Plaza up the winding road to the mansion where he'd be staying for an indeterminate amount of time. He'd been told the pocket dimension was like stasis, he or any of the other Smashers wouldn't age while they were there while time would continue to flow for each of their dimensions. It meant that some of his friends who were younger than him would probably be older than him when he got back. He tried to ignore how disturbed that made him.

The bus driver - Kapp'n, Sonic had been told - up to that point had been whistling what sounded like a sea shanty but stopped and glanced at Sonic in the rearview mirror. "Aye, ye be the last one to show up. Sad that me services won't be needed as much, I 'aven't driven this much since bringin' those small fry to the Town Hall!"

Sonic blinked, not knowing how to respond. Kapp'n continued, "Ye know, it's a real honor to be chosen to fight 'ere alongside the likes of Mario. Ye know, he's real famous 'round my parts. The little ones often wear replicas of his and Luigi's hats."

Sonic rolled his eyes, of course Mario was brought up. Why wouldn't he, being perfect and a goody two-shoes and such a good role model...

'We'll see about that.' Sonic bitterly thought. Kapp'n was still talking, something about a city being built and how Mayor Tortimer had asked him to be the official bus driver but Sonic's thoughts kept drifting to his rival. There was no way that someone could be that wholesome and nice without something going on behind the scenes. Sonic didn't care what it was - tax fraud, coin embezzlement, ignoring innocent kittens on the street - he was going to see the mask slip and expose him as a pasta-loving liar.

"What in the name of Lord Jabu-Jabu's belly is that?"

Sonic snapped out of this thoughts at Kapp'n's outburst and scanned the surroundings outside the bus, finally seeing what had Kapp'n so worried. His breath hitched and his heart hammered with a mix of nervousness and adrenaline.

A purple vortex swirled high in the sky above the mansion, with several smaller voids dotting the sky around it. Sonic got up from his seat to go stand next to Kapp'n who shook his head. "Aye, I've 'eard stories like this from me fellow mateys. Never thought I'd live to see an old wives tale in front of me eyes."

Sonic kept his eyes on the largest vortex, feeling an indescribable pull towards it. One of his hands clenched into a fist. "I'm goin' in."

"Yar laddie! Have ye gone mad? It'd be safer to stay 'ere and let the storm pass!"

"I'm just gonna go check it out," Sonic explained, briefly heading back to his seat to grab his suitcase. "I'll be fine, I've dealt with far worse."

"If ye say so laddie," Kapp'n reluctantly opened the doors to the bus. "May the goddess Serena watch over ye. Just leave yer briefcase by the door, I'm sure most of yer effects will still be here when you get back."

Kapp'n heartily chuckled as Sonic stepped off the bus, immediately tensing from the air around him feeling cold and dead. His quills bristled as he approached the beautiful mansion which would have been a memorable first impression had there not been imminent danger. Behind him he could hear the bus start making it's way back to the Smash Plaza.

Sonic made his way up the path leading to the mansion, hesitating at the doors before trying to open them. To his surprise the door creaked open and Sonic poked his head in before fully entering the foyer.

It was gorgeous with plush red carpets and an expensive looking chandelier hanging from the ceiling, but it was too quiet for a mansion with close to forty people living in it. Sonic dropped his suitcase near the main doors and cupped his hands over his mouth. "Hello? Is anyone here?"

Silence was his only response which fully confirmed what he knew - something was seriously wrong here. Wasting no time Sonic zipped up the stairs to the second floor and then the third, looking for a way to access the roof. He found the roof access at the end of a small hallway and yanked it open, following the last flight of stairs to the very top of the mansion.

The roof of the mansion was flat with a small fence enclosing the space. A few crates were stacked in the corner with labels such as 'banana peels' and 'Poke Balls'. Sonic gave the items a curious glance before focusing his attention towards the largest vortex, contemplating how he was going to get up there. If he had the Tornado II he would have no problem but that wasn't an option. Sonic flicked an ear in annoyance and folded his arms, thinking. Could he make the jump? He wasn't sure and didn't feel like breaking his legs today.

His attention fell to the item crates wondering if there was something he could use. He scanned over the labels on the crates before opening up a few out of curiosity. Baseball bats, various explosives, what looked like a plasma gun? What had he gotten himself into? Nothing that seemed like a viable way to get to the vortex.

"Who's there?"

Sonic jumped, not expecting a voice. He turned and gaped at the large left hand floating in the doorway, not knowing how to react. "Uhhh..."

The hand floated silently for a moment before snapping it's fingers. "Ah! You're Sonic the Hedgehog, aren't you? Yeah, you were the last one set to show up here. Well, welcome to the Smash Mansion! I'm Crazy Hand, second in command of this tournament. It's a shame the others aren't around, I'm sure they would have loved to meet you!"

Sonic blinked a few more times before finally shaking the shock off. "Uh, yeah, I'm Sonic, what exactly do you mean by the others not bein' around?"

"The vortex sucked 'em all up a while back along with my brother, but I'm sure they'll be back soon! After all, what's the worst that could happen?"

Sonic narrowed his eyes, all of his suspicions being confirmed. He glanced Crazy Hand up and down. "Think you could throw me up there?"

"Why would you wanna go up there? You can just chill with me until they all get back, I got snacks and tunes and all sorts of fun stuff. And between you and me, I've got a serious case of the munchies right now."

"Well that explains things," Sonic mumbled under his breath before trying a different tactic. "So, I can't help but notice all these items up here. Are there any that could, I dunno, maybe launch someone into the sky?"

"Oh, we got a few like that!" Crazy Hand confirmed. "So there's a Warp Star that shoots you up and then you crash down into the stage, don't worry, it won't break your spine or anything like that, and then there's the Dragoon which is in three pieces to assemble but when you do... BOOM! Your opponent won't know what hit 'em! Like a lightning bolt!"

Sonic quirked an eyebrow at that. He eyed the vortex again, an idea forming in his head; a crazy idea. Crazy Hand seemed lax on the rules of the tournament, and if he could use that to his advantage... "Y'know, that Dragoon thing sounds really neat. I wouldn't mind tryin' one out. Need to know if it's as fast as me, y'know?"

"Oh it's fast ... like really fast," Crazy Hand floated over to the item crates. "Here, lemme show ya."

'That was almost too easy.' Sonic thought to himself as he watched Crazy Hand dig around in the boxes before finally producing the three parts of the Dragoon. He offered them up to Sonic in the palm of his hand.

"Here, you gotta be the one to put it together."

Sonic blinked before gingerly picking up one of the pieces, confused. "And I do that how exactly?"

"Just pick them up and see what happens my dude!"

Skeptical and having second thoughts about trusting Crazy Hand in the first place, Sonic picked up the remaining two pieces and waited. For a single disappointing moment nothing happened and Sonic rolled his eyes in exasperation. Then suddenly with no warning Sonic found himself rocketing into the sky, desperately clinging to the Dragoon for dear life. "How do I steer this thing?" he yelled down to Crazy Hand.

"Oh it's easy! You just think about where you wanna go and-" before Crazy Hand could finish his thought Sonic was already shooting towards the vortex "Good luck my dude! What a silly kid."

As Sonic sped towards the vortex he steeled himself. He wasn't exactly sure what he would find but if someone needed his help he wouldn't hesitate to step in, even if that someone happened to be a certain stupid red plumber. After all, he couldn't miss an opportunity to prove he was better than him.