Electricity coursed through his whole body, scorching, overstimulating, and frying his nerves as a drawn out scream of sheer agony tore through his vocals, stripping his throat raw and filling his ears with sharp ringing. Tears streaked from the corners of his eyes, and blurred his sight whenever he could manage to open them. He thrashed violently against his restraints, the spelled iron and steel groaning at his efforts. The pain was excruciating, the epitome of pure suffering. The world around him seemed to fade in and out of blackness and dim, blurred colors.

Marx had spent the better part of the last few hours experimenting. Meta Knight, unfortunately, was his latest test subject. Kirby had passed out in the corner of the room within the first few minutes of torment, too exhausted and shattered to scream. After giving Meta Knight a thorough once-over, Marx had found it amusing to force the younger puff into a humanoid form as well, much to Meta Knight's enragement as he had sat nearby, bound and helpless. The child's screams echoed in his ears as much as his own, only adding to the infuriating ringing.

The surging electricity stopped and the knight's entire form went slack.

Meta Knight would have cried if he didn't know the torment wasn't nearly over.

"So! Still holding on are ya?" Marx's jubilant voice barely filtered through. The knight did not answer. He was not sure he could anyway. Instead, he opted to merely stare blankly towards the ceiling. The jester tutted disappointedly.

"What's the matter? Murderer stopped your heart?" The creature bounded onto his chest, eliciting a pained grunt of surprise from the knight. Meta Knight glared at him, causing the maniac to bellow out bales of shrieking laughter.

"Aw, is the big bad jester hurting your wittle knightwy feewings?" The knight's fury roiled hot behind his eyes, a sick twisting setting his blood on fire, something beyond the most fiery of anger gripping him, shattering all sense of restraint the knight had forced upon himself. His finely honed sensibility, his delicate self-control, fell away into the depths of his mind to be suddenly overtaken by the purest of beast-like instinct. But the raging inferno within him cooled quickly, and black ice began to form in its absence.

"I'm afraid not." Marx looked at him, surprised by his frigid response. Meta Knight's red gaze had transitioned into a near black, a chilling cobalt color washing over his navy locks as surges of power began to radiate from him. The jester leaped away, a maniacal smile stretched tightly across his features. Slowly, the knight rose from the floor, what spelled bonds that had held him melting as metal came into contact with his own brand of power that shuddered and simmered at his anger. Marx felt the faintest sense of unease prodding at the back of his jumbled mind. How..odd.

"It's nice to see you go back to your roots Meta! Isn't it a relief to return to the monster Nightmare intended you to become?" Marx's eyes twitched around the room, no doubt looking for a way to escape. Meta Knight stood, a cruel smile twisting his lips as he bared sharp canines.

Um..those weren't there before.

The air by the knight's fingertips rippled and quivered as two crystalline blades of corrupted purple light formed in his hand. The knight's leathery wings unfurled from his cape and spread, casting half the room in shadow.

Shit, time to bail. He'll murder the old man later. For now, getting out of this situation alive would bring back his good mood. But first, how do I actually do that? This would be so much simpler if he didn't have to rely on the sane portion of his mind. Damn, those human creators for making me have split personalities! The lights flickered ominously and Marx gave a startled hiss, his golden wings twitching anxiously.

"Indeed." Several things happened at once as soon as the word left the knight's lips.

The room rumbled.

Crimson eyes flashed.

And Meta Knight lunged.

A loud boom shook the building, making the lights flicker as soft gasps rang out around the room. Silence soon lapsed within, only disturbed by the creaking and crumbling of the Mansion, until the structure stilled. Hushed conversation began to fill the room almost nervously. Nearly every Smasher was on edge, wondering what emergency could possibly be so dangerous that powerful heroes and villains alike had to be huddled out of harm's way. The answer, of course, they knew, but still they wondered.

Should their mutual oppressor be as scheming and powerful, or more so, than Tabuu, chances of survival would diminish to a very low number. All who had been present during the final battle knew, that it was chance that Kirby had been revived. Pure chance Tabuu had even been defeated. Rumbling made the lights flicker again and everyone simultaneously held their breath.

Ike, who had just finished chastising Marth for bringing a goddamn toaster of all things, grabbed the prince's shoulder for balance, ignoring the complaints at the action. A collection of exhales sounded when the movement again halted. King Dedede pushed by them, his eyes flitting around the room frantically. Ike glanced around too, despite already knowing the penguin's fellow Dreamlanders were nowhere to be found.

"Where are they?" The king muttered beneath his breath worriedly as he continued to wander around, Ike following him curiously. He tore his hat from his head and viciously scrubbing away the sweat that had accumulated on his forehead, making his short blue feathers stick up in strange places. The poor penguin looked positively frazzled, sweat-drenched in anxiety and worry. Suddenly, he groaned and buried his face in his hat, moaning, "Dammit, this is all my fault! I should've kept a better eye on them!" Ike frowned.

"Dedede, I'm sure they're fine. I saw Kirby with Master Hand earlier today, and Meta's very much able to take care of himself, human or not," Ike placated, snatching the hat out of the king's mittens and plopping it onto his feathery head. King Dedede glared at him half-heartedly before turning away, begrudgingly grunting in disbelief. Ike couldn't blame him. He scarcely believed his reason himself.

The mercenary sighed, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly as he looked around the room again. Marth had started entertaining the children with his toaster; Falco, Wolf, and Fox were arguing with Bayonetta about their guns; and the princesses and Rosalina were suspiciously giggling over something. The first made Ike raise a brow in slight concern, and the other two made him roll his eyes. So far, they were the most interesting groups. Ike chuckled and continued to look around, his eyes catching onto...

Wait…

What is he doing!?

A little blue...robot..thing had just given Samus, who was still in her massive orange power suit, a flower.

A flower.

And…

The little bastard was blushing!

Jealousy roiled sickly in his stomach, tingling his fingertips as he started forward. Ike's fists were clenched, a growl rising in his throat, his face beginning to contort into a-

The mercenary stopped abruptly, his expression melting into surprise as he watched Samus bend to take the small plant, lifted her visor, and slipped it into her hair with a small smile at the boy. Ike bit his lip, his head bowing slightly in shame. There was nothing he could do. He'd thrown away their relationship days ago, and he doubted Samus would appreciate him butting into her life after he screwed everything over. She could be with whomever she pleased, whenever she pleased, and he could not do anything about it. Not anymore. He sighed again and turned away, wandering over to Marth and plopping onto the ground next to him with a quiet huff.

The prince made no move to acknowledge his presence, so Ike went ahead and proceeded to swipe the freshly made piece of toast from the other boy's hands. Ness, Lucas, and the Ice Climbers giggled as Marth gasped in faux horror, clutching at his heart.

Marx whizzed through the never ending expanse of corridors within the mansion walls, his sharp teeth gnashed together in effort as he dodged yet another powerful sword beam. Meta Knight was a rippling black shadow behind him, darkness trailing at his feet as he continued to pursue the little purple jester. Marx choked back a scream as a mirror-like mirage of a sword impaled itself into the wall beside him. Desperation shut down parts of his mind he didn't even know he used, let alone had, pouring every nuance of his being into powering his movements into getting away from his most-likely-imminent death.

"H-hey! I'll help you get the guy who turned you human in you let me live!" Marx shouted between breaths. C'mon, buy it you stupid- Meta Knight snarled and picked up his pace, sending more sword beams his way. Shit.

Marx gave a sharp turn, barrelling through a wall and tumbling to the ground as his wings suddenly gave out. Gasps and shrieks of surprise, along with some hissed curses and muttered exclamations of pain, sounded around him as he skidded on the ground, coming to a sudden halt against a pair of thick, menacing dragon legs. Groaning, he raised his scratched face to come eye to eye with a really..big..turtle? The beast grunted at him in question, leaning down to scrutinize the little disturbance at its feet.

"Who are you?" The lizard growled, brow furrowing deeper into its face. Marx stared at the thing in bafflement before a deeper, more feral rumbling rolled into the room, effectively silencing the outbreak of frantic conversation throughout its occupants. The dark figure of his pursuer stepped out of the shadows, snarling quietly at the light. His dark eyes surveyed the area, his nose twitching every so often in search of the scent of his prey. His muscles visibly tensed for a heartbeat before he zeroed in on the disoriented jester struggling off the floor.

"What is that?!" A blonde boy with a sword nearly as large as he was exclaimed. Several of the creatures around him quickly settled into fighting stances. Meta Knight snarled at them, the majority of his attention still fixated on Marx, despite the threat of the others crowding around his target. Marx shook his head and rolled to his feet, breaking off in a mad dash to the door. The demon knight growled, a low rumble from deep within his chest as he tensed in wait.

"Marx?!" A familiar, yet ignored, voice cried out in surprise. Marx kept running.

The exit was so close. So damn close.

Ah, but no cigar.

Marx suddenly gave a strangled screech as the ground in front and around him cracked, inciting a wave of dust to shroud the rippling dark form rising from the rubble. Two vivid red orbs gleamed at the jester, making him idly wonder if the knight was mocking the shade of his own scarlet eyes. He then deemed the thought unnecessary for his survival as an inhuman chuckle cut into the air, making Marx's unstable mind momentarily blank with an animalistic fear.

Meta Knight began to quietly approach, a gleaming fanged smile visible even through the clouds of dust. Or perhaps that was just Marx's fear induced hallucination. Either way, it was terrifying.

"Hold it right there!" Marx watched as Meta Knight froze at the voice, ruby gaze darkening as they flicked upwards. The jester twisted around to gaze at a tall, orange, robot thing, a glowing, green arm gun fixed on the knight. Thank Nova. Marx scrambled towards the orange creature, cowering behind its shiny metal legs. Meta Knight's expression was void of emotion, a smooth, pale, unblemished statue-esque look that was distinctly inhuman, and menacing. Angry tendrils of energy rippled around him, twitching and jumping along with the jester's erratic breathing. And Marx thought he was scary in his Soul form. The functioning, and sane, part of his mind had different opinions, unfortunately.

"Drop your weapons and put your hands up!" The knight made no movement to obey her order, so she continued, "There are over 40 powerful fighters in this room, so unless you have a death wish, you'd cooperate!" Meta Knight stared for a few moments longer, before the corner of his mouth lifted in a cruel smirk.

"A pathetic band of misfits protecting a ruthless murderer," his distorted voice rumbled as he shook his head, "Disgusting."

"How can I be a murderer when you're the one trying to kill me!?" Marx squawked, faking bafflement. He fixated a wide-eyed, fear-filled gaze onto the knight, shivering visibly against the orange thing's leg. Murmurs sounded behind him and Marx inwardly celebrated when more stepped forward, shielding him against Meta Knight's stark red gaze. Meta Knight snarled at the movement.

"This conflict is between you and I, Marx," he growled, "Put aside your cowardice and FACE ME!"

"No thanks." The orange robot shuffled a bit, messing with the controls on her arm gun. The gun shifted, transitioning from a glowing green to a bright blue light.

"You have five seconds to put your weapon down and surrender before I blow you to bits!" She shouted, stabbing her gun towards the knight threateningly. "One! Two! Thre-"

Meta Knight lunged once more, sweeping his sword in a large arc, sending a large wave towards the line of Smashers. As expected, many were knocked back, but Samus remained at the front line, determined to protect the monster cowering behind her. Meta Knight's stomach twisted sickly and his eyes darkened once more. Stupid girl. Their weapons collided with a reverberating ring and the bounty hunter's sturdy defensive stance gave way slightly, digging into the floor, leaving an imprint of her feet in the solid ceramic tile. The knight could see her gritting her teeth through the tinted green of her visor, her eyes squinted in effort to hold him back. He gave a soft snort, flaring out his wings and giving one strong wingbeat to distance himself from her.

She immediately reacted, dashing forward, missiles shooting on rapid fire from her gun. Mid-flight, Meta Knight morphed his wings into cape-form and threw up its hem, spreading the material in the air as he willed a dimensional portal to appear within the dark fabric. The missiles disappeared into the knight's cape and he twisted in midair before landing in a crouch. His wings spread upwards before curling forward, flaunting their menacing size as he stood, making the smirk the appeared on the knight's face all the more infuriating and cocky. Explosions shook the building, raining dust upon the two fighters as Samus leapt forward again, hurling her electrical grapple towards the knight. He ducked around the bright, crackly beam and stabbed his sword into her pauldron, barely missing her bicep. He proceeded to throw her through the tough exit doors, shattering the magical barriers and splintering the dark wood.

"Let's go!" Fox barked somewhere behind him. "Samus needs our help!" Meta Knight turned his head towards the voice, brow furrowed and eyes narrowed fiercely. His energy swords glowed brightly before he sent two wide arced sword beams into the ceiling and the ground. As he expected, the ceiling collapsed as much of the floor partially crumbled into the basement below. Dust exploded into the air, reducing the warriors' vivid outlines to indistinguishable masses of shadow. Convinced the other Smashers were successfully hindered, the knight gave a satisfied "humph" before ghosting towards Samus's fallen form.

Oh damn it's been a hella long ass time. But that's to be expected from moi 'cause I'm inconsistent AF. Unless consistent inconsistency is considered consistent.

...

say that five times fast.

Responses!

EveningEmerald: YASSS MARX! Thank you! And I'll try to keep writing daily.

Abymoosh911: If leaving cliffhangers for every chapter were a crime, I'd be guilty as charged. *snort, snort* bad jokes are bad. Don't actually call 911 on me. And thank you!

Anyway, R&R and feel free to tell me how I did!

Bye~