Link yawned as he sat up from his bed, stretching out his arms. He sheltered his eyes from the harming sunlight that came through his window and slowly got up from his bed, walking towards the bathroom to get ready.

After minutes of tidying up for the day, Link hurriedly put on his green hat and rushed down the stairs, noticing how quiet the halls were. Was he up early or something? Usually, there would be someone doing something out of the ordinary-it was a daily part of the life.

Link looked downstairs, finding nothing but the TV on the news channel. He raised an eyebrow at the odd scene when he noticed a familiar tail out of the corner of his eye. Whatever the thing was, it noticed Link staring and scampered off into the kitchen, the Hylian trailing after it. When he had reached the kitchen, he stopped and found himself in awe.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LINK!"

A chorus of numerous voices cheered as confetti fell from above. Link couldn't help but smile at the sight of friends and smashers all together in one small kitchen. He sighed and shook his head, laughing a little.

"You guys," the Hylian started as he walked closer to the birthday cake that was placed kindly on the kitchen desk, "you really shouldn't have done something like this for me."

"Are you kidding me?" a brown-haired boy chirped up. He smiled brightly at the blond, giving him a light punch on his arm. "It's your birthday! How could we not do this?!"

"Yeah, Link," a deep voice said from behind. The said Hylian turned around to see Ike smirking at him in a teasing manner. "I thought we were friends, man..." he mumbled, fake pain in his voice.

Link laughed. "No, no. You guys are my friends!" He looked at the people who was in the kitchen, noticing how crowded it was. Almost everyone was here–even his enemy, Ganondorf! Probably forced, the blond thought in amusement, finding the Gerudo's uncomfortable expression to be entertaining.

"Ugh, can we get over this?" a blond woman asked as she rolled her eyes, a smile written over her lips. "Whatever we are to you, we'll still consider you as our friend."

"Maybe not me," Sonic whispered awkwardly, receiving a glare from the red plumber that stood next to him.

"Anyway," Mario coughed, returning back to his smile, "Happy birthday, Link. We're very happy to spend this moment with you!"

Everyone cheered once again, smashers launching their confetti cannons in the air. Link only smiled as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, honored to be the "birthday boy".

"And here you go, Link!" Princess Peach beamed towards him, handing him a plate on cake. Everyone else had received the same, the only difference with Link's cake being slightly bigger than the others. He nodded his gratitude to her and walked into the living room, finding most of the smashers talking happily to each other.

As he walked past some of the smashers, he noticed how every now and then, they would give him a warming smile. Admittedly, it brought the Hylian joy and happiness.

"You look awfully cheery," a gentle voice said from behind.

Link whipped his head back to find it was the princess of Hyrule, looking quite amused by her hero's behavior. He blushed at how improper he looked, mumbling a small apology to her.

"I'm sorry, Princess. I didn't think you would be here," he awkwardly explained as he looked at the ground shyly.

"Please, Link," the princess laughed softly, "no need for titles here. I'm just Zelda to you and everyone else, correct?"

Link blinked a few times before laughing along with her. "I guess you have a point. Sorry Zelda." His eyes lingered over to an empty table, seated for two. He motioned over to her if she wanted to sit down, and she nodded, the two Hylians walking silently to their destination.

"So," the blond started as he leaned back into his chair a bit, "the place seems livelier than usual, huh?"

Zelda smiled. "I can see why, though. Everyone was pretty happy when you finally showed up, eager to finally get the 'party' started."

"I'm guessing you're taking that from Fox's words?" Link asked as he searched for the light-brown fox. He found the space animal, happily chatting with a blue bird and a wolf.

The brunette laughed once more, nodding her head. "Indeed I am."

The two Hylians sat in silence, Link taking a piece from his cake and Zelda calmly looking at everyone's happy faces. The hero would often glance over to the princess, his mind trying to find a topic to talk about. Then, much to his rescue, Ike appeared.

"Sup, lovebirds," the mercenary greeted nonchalantly. Link blushed and glared at his friend who just chuckled; Zelda, however, acted like nothing happen. "Having some privacy-talking, huh? Sorry to intrude."

"Ike," the blond Hylian sighed with a frown, "what do you want?"

"I'm bored," the blue-haired mercenary replied with a shrug. "And I wanted to congrats you on turning twenty-one." He sighed, chuckling. "Man, look at you. When I first met you, you were eighteen years old! Now you're twenty-one! Are you time traveling or something?"

"Ike!" Link scowled as he was reminded of his age. "What the heck!"

"What? I'm just stating the truth," he shrugged.

Zelda, who was listening on in the two's conversation, looked at Link in surprise. "You're twenty-one?"

By this time, Link was wishing for Ike to never come over here in the first place. Instead of growling curses at his blue-haired friend, he put on a convincing smile. "Yeah, I am," he explained rather awkwardly. "Pretty old, huh?"

Zelda couldn't help but laugh a little. "Old? Why, Ganondorf is older than that."

Ike snickered along the princess, the two offering Link to join in. And he did, laughing more than he should with the duo. The blond regained himself and took a small breath. He wasn't laughing, but he was still chuckling, much to the amusement of his friends.

Nighttime had arrived and all the smashers were reported to go to their dorms and sleep. Of course, the younger smashers were forced to do so first, many of them complaining at how unfair they had to go to sleep earlier than the adults. Next were the Pokemon, then the other species, and finally, the humans. Everyone wished each other a goodnight and soon, the mansion was at peace, all the smashers asleep. There was only a remaining few smashers up, but most of them were getting ready to sleep.

"I can't believe we just spent our whole day celebrating Link's birthday!" the Monado wielder exclaimed in amazement. He sat on his bed, polishing the sword as he looked at in admiration. "We should have birthdays more often!"

A pair of brown eyes, belonging to a silver-haired tactician, looked at his friend in amusement. "I don't think Master Hand would allow that, Shulk," he shook his head.

"What do you mean? A birthday is a birthday, right?! BIRTHDAYS SHALL HAPPEN EVERYDAY!" The British blond laughed maniacally, earning a weird look from his roommate. He just smiled and stood up, walking towards his room. "Come on, Robin! You know you want it too!" he accused, ruffling the tactician's hair.

The silver-haired man glared at his rooommate in a light-hearted manner and punched him on the shoulder. "Maybe I do, maybe I don't." He smirked. "You don't know if you're not me."

"Guess you have a point," the blond sighed as he stretched out his limbs. He yawned. "Anyway, I'm going to sleep. Night, Rob!" Shulk said as he gave his friend a small smile and entered his room, closing the door behind him.

"Night," Robin simply said as he went back to his studies. He looked at the desk covered with scattered papers and groaned in frustration, tapping his pencil on his chin. "Maybe... No, that won't work it. Especially on Sonic, considering how fast he is."

The tactician crumbled another paper covered in drawings and threw it on the ground, scratching his head with a frown. He peeked outside his window and found nothing suspicious outside, causing him to wonder how long he'll stay up for tonight. It was infuriating, trying to find techniques of winning against some of the smashers. He wanted to impress them due to the fact that he was a newcomer. Everyone had high hopes for him, and he didn't want to disappoint.

"Maybe something to drink will clear my mind a bit..."

Robin nodded firmly to himself and got up from his chair, grabbing his precious coat. He smiled sadly at it, reminding himself the adventures and difficulties he, Chrom, and the others had to go through. He pulled his arms in his sleeves and grabbed a tome, putting it safely in his pocket before walking towards the door. Careful to not make a noise, he made sure to close the door quietly.

When he finally arrived downstairs with no one noticing, the tactician found himself in the kitchen, grabbing a carton of milk. He poured himself a glass, drinking down the white liquid. He let out a satisfied sigh, rubbing his tummy. He laughed childishly to himself and placed the carton back in the fridge before returning back to his room.

As he walked in the halls of the second floor (it was where his room laid after all), Robin found himself comfortable in the silence that took over. Everything looked more scenic that it usually would, the moon shining its ray through the windows.

So far, so normal.

The silver-haired male walked further down the halls, taking a turn. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a shadow creeping up to him, something in their hands. He stopped suddenly and reached for his thunder tome, sweating nervously. Did someone break into the smash mansion? No, that couldn't be, as Master Hand and Crazy Hand made sure the whole place was covered in security-it would absolutely impossible!

Unless, it was one of the smashers?

Fearing the thought of getting killed by another smasher, Robin quickly gathered himself, pulled out his tome, and stood back defensively, glaring at the figure that stood in front of him. Despite the source of light from the windows, he found it strangely hard to see who stood before him. All he saw was a sword, shining its blade at him.

"Who are you?" he asked in a mumble, charging up the tome. The figure relaxed a little when he spoke, but the tactician stood guard, his eyes not wavering. Was this a trick?

Suddenly, the figure put away their sword, letting out a sigh of relief. "Thank Naga it's just you, Robin," a familiar voice said, snapping him out of his position. They took a step forward, the moonlight revealing who it belonged to.

He blinked. "Lucina?"

Standing in front of was the future Princess of Ylisse, a nervous smile on her face. She waved at him and looked at the charging tome he still had in his hand. The tactician took the hint and put away the tome, smiling sheepishly at her.

"Sorry about that–I didn't think anyone would still be awake," he stated as he fixed his coat. He then gave her a warm smile, grinning. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

Lucina shook her head, a small smile on her face. "I could ask you the same thing." She stopped for a moment, thinking whether or not she should tell him her reason being. "If you must know, however, I heard a noise downstairs. Didn't you?"

Noise? The tactician put on a thoughtful look, trying to recall if he heard anything while he was in his room. In vain, he frowned and shook his head.

"No, I'm afraid. I didn't." He looked over to the blunette, a curious look in his eyes. "What did you hear?" he asked suddenly, a keen tone of interest in his voice.

Lucina frowned, thinking. "I think...I heard a crash. It definitely came from downstairs, so I was actually on my way to investigate."

Robin arched an eyebrow. Downstairs, huh? That means that the crash happened when he was in the kitchen. But the problem lied where it happened. And that was the major downfall.

"Can I come with you? I'm actually quite curious as to what caused that noise."

The Ylissean princess looked like she was going to object to the idea but gave it some thought afterwards. Somebody to watch her back was rather tempting... Nevertheless, she agreed and the two set off to their investigation downstairs.

They looked all over the first floor, looking for any signs of damage or a crash of some sorts. Much to their hard efforts, they found nothing but complete silence when they finally decided to take a break from their searching. It was starting to worry the silver-haired tactician, and he was beginning to lose hope. The blue-haired princess, however, was starting to get frustrated with their meaningless effort.

"Lucina, are you positive you heard it downstairs?" Robin asked his friend, his doubt increasingly getting bigger by each second. "What if you just imagined it?"

"Yes, Robin, I'm positive," the princess snapped, her words harsher than she intended. The male looked at her with wide eyes, causing her to realize her mistake. She sighed and frowned to herself. "I'm sorry–I didn't mean it to come out like that."

"No, no, it's my own fault," the tactician quickly reassure her, giving her a gentle smile. "I shouldn't be doubting my friend right now." He laughed lightly. "In reality, I should be giving you my full trust."

Lucina returned a smile back at him, her nerves relaxing little by little. "I appreciate your words," she said quietly, earning another smile. She gave him a determined expression as she clenched her fists. "I will find the source of that crash, Robin!" she declared as her eyes shined. "So...you don't have to help me anymore if it's too much of a bother."

The silver-haired male smirked to this as he stood up from the couch, ruffling his hair. "Who said I didn't want to stop helping?" He chuckled at the princess' confused gaze on him and (unknowingly) patted her head. "I want to find the source of that crash too!"

The Ylisean princess nodded, encouraged by her friend's sudden change of attitude. The two then proceeded to search the first floor again when something caught the tactician's attention. He stopped his analyzing of the living room and stared at a door.

"Hey, Lucina?"

The said princess poked her head from the kitchen. "Yes?"

Robin bit his lip before turning towards her. "Did you check this closet yet?" he asked, pointing to the door that hid next to the staircase. Slowly, the princess made her way over to him, eyeing the closet with concern.

"I don't believe I have..." she stated quietly, as she gave a knowing look to the male. "Do you think...?"

"Maybe. This is the only place we haven't checked, correct?" he shrugged, his hand on the doorknob. "Well, there's only one way to find out!"

Carefully, Robin twisted the knob, opening the door with a creak. It opened fully and he turned on the lightswitch, looking inside. He froze, his blood running cold. Lucina, confused at her comrade's shock, peeked over his shoulder, her eyes widening in horror and realization.

"Robin–"

"Get Master Hand, Lucina. Quickly."

The princess, having no objections, quickly ran off, her face pale as if she saw a ghost. The tactician shakily stood away from the door, leaning on the wall beside it. He swallowed down his upcoming appetite and let out an agitated sigh, his mind painted with the image of the closet.

A pool of blood. Belonging to a famous smasher. Who was just lying there on the ground. With glass shards hanging outside of his back. His eyes lifeless as he gazed at the wall, the last thing he saw before perishing. A friend to all the smashers who was loved by many and hated by few fans across the world. And broken bottle of wine that laid shattered next to him.

Fox McCloud, dead.

A/N: How many of you actually thought I was talking Link towards the end? I mean, you would think so, considering he was in the first part of the chapter. In reality, I just wanted to set the story in a nice and peaceful mood... But then I ruined it so, yaayyy.

Anyway, this is a actually a "test" to improve my writing skills and to see if I can write other genres besides friendship. Of course, this story will include character deaths! Lots of them. Prepare for the guilt and betrayal from what you thought were your "friends"... And yes, I will be killing some of my favorite smashers, seeing that it wouldn't be fair.

As far as my plan goes, there will be no romance-type of moments. Maybe. I'm still debating over it... I'll probably include some, just to light up the mood, but overall, it won't play an important part of the story. Just imagine "friendship" written across this fic. Of course, my opinion changes over time, so you might see some pairings or hinted ones.

This is going to be my second fic on this website, so please: any tips or reviews are greatly appreciated. I should also warn you that if you're going to read this, it's not going to be your typical "[line of dialogue] said [character]" and just that. I will literally be giving details, details, and details to describe the characters or the scenario. Remember that this is made to improve my writing. It's also something I've had in mind for a long time, so I want to put all my enjoyment into this. So, if you hate reading a lot of words, then...I guess this isn't made for you? Please give it a try, nevertheless!

I think that's all I've wanted to include here. I'll try not to have such long "A/N", seeing that not a lot of people read them? I don't really know, hahah. If you see any mistakes or anything that doesn't make any sense, please tell me and I'll try to fix it in the best way possible! I hope you're all prepared for some surprises I have in mind! :)