Chapter Text
Terry walked out of the Battle Door, followed by a bruised Pit. The T.V. above the door showed a landslide victory for Terry. Pit hadn’t taken even one stock.
“Dude, are you sure you’re okay?” Terry asked. “You still have bruises!”
“I’m fine!” Pit responded, trying to wave it off. “I just wasn’t on my A-game today. A good night’s rest and we can fight again tomorrow!”
“Let’s shake on it then,” Pit took Terry’s outstretched hand and they shook hands.
“Ow!” complained Pit. “Try not to shake so hard, my arm’s a little dislocated!”
Luigi was sitting in the lounge, closer to the door than he usually sat. The Smash HQ was louder than usual as a new fighter had recently been invited. And that fighter had taken a seat right near the Battle Door. He was an odd, pixelated fellow. This wasn’t inherently suspicious, but there was a different reason Luigi was so curious.
This newcomer hadn’t spoken with anyone yet. The organizers give time for the newcomers to speak and interact with the other fighters, and each one has used that time for exactly that. Yet Steve has used his time so far to eat, sleep, and sit in a corner. Some of the more extroverted fighters have tried to strike up a conversation, but Steve just ignored all their attempts. Luigi wasn’t sure if Steve could even talk. Which was quite weird as the rest of the fighters talked, even the ones who are famously untalkative in their base games like Link.
“Hey Lou,” someone said behind Luigi. Normally Luigi would jump out of his skin if someone started talking to him from behind, but Luigi knew who it was. Only Pac-Man called him ‘Lou’. “What are you doing?”
“I’m just a-worried about the new guy,” Luigi confided.
“You’re worried about everyone,” Pac-Man tried to reassure, with little success. “Sure, he’s been quiet, but maybe he’s like you.”
Pac-Man had been Luigi’s best friend in Smash for a long time, ever since late Smash 4. Pac had gone up to Luigi to bond over the shared characteristic of having ghosts as an enemy. Since then, Pac stuck around with Luigi, since Luigi had never said ‘no’ to the friendship. And why would he, Pac was so much braver than Luigi, yet he wanted to spend time with Luigi anyways. The only other person Luigi was close with was his bro, Mario.
“I’m-a not going to stop worrying,” Luigi replied. “But you’re-a right. He shouldn’t have to push-a himself onto others if he doesn’t-a want to.”
It was Byleth’s turn for kitchen duty. Kitchen duty was about keeping the kitchen clean. Cooking was a different task, and Link was handling it today. Ever since she got her invitation, Byleth had decided to do kitchen duty as much as possible. Everyone had been rowdy and messy before; she was the only one who could keep it under control.
Byleth was cleaning a particularly messy spot of garlic that Wario had left on the table when the new guy walked in. It was unusual, since Link normally had to bring meals to Steve’s room for him to eat anything. Steve walked past Byleth and up to the fridge, and he opened it.
“I know you’re new here so I’m going to be more lenient,” Byleth started. “But if you’re going to take food from the fridge you must ask if you may. It keeps things civil.”
Steve continued to rummage through the fridge. Perhaps he didn’t hear her. Byleth placed herself next to Steve and repeated herself. Steve continued to ignore her as he pulled out a steak and closed the refrigerator.
“Do you understand me?” Byleth asked. Steve nodded his head and started exiting the kitchen before Byleth stopped him with a hand barricade. “I’m going to let you off this one time, but it won’t happen again. If you have to write the question down, then so be it.” Steve nodded once more and left.
Pit yawned and stretched as he woke up. “I feel so much better now! I knew all I needed was a good night’s rest!” Then he opened his eyes.
Pit was in a very red and blocky area. The trees were red, the ground was red, even the fog was reddish. Pit looked down at his hands. They had taken a similarly blocky shape that the rest of this weird forest had.
“This is the weirdest dream,” Pit sighed. “This looks nothing like what I’ve seen before. Although, now that I think of it, the blockiness of this place is like that new guy.”
Almost as if on cue, the new guy fell from above. He didn’t look quite like how Pit remembered the new guy looking like, but Pit couldn’t quite figure out why.
“Here, take my hand,” the new guy spoke in a Swedish accent. “I can help you get out of here.”
“Sure, you seem nice,” Pit agreed. “By the way, I don’t think I got your name.”
The new guy looked Pit eye-to-eye. Now that he had a closer look, Pit could finally see the difference. The new guy’s eyes were completely white. “You can call me Hero, since I’m helping you out of this place.”
“But we already have a guy named Hero.”