Disclaimer: I don't own Super Smash Brothers or any of the characters in the series.

Author's Note: I just want to say that this story is a dedication to a friend of mine. As a tribute to the years of friendship we'd had, I'd tried to mimic his writing style in this fanfic. Without him, I wouldn't have had the motivation to pursue my desire to write or draw. Rest in Peace, my friend.

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Everyone has a mask.

…No, not a physical mask; everyone has a mask that they wear when they want to hide things. When something is bothering someone, they cover up their sadness with a fake emotion; false happiness, false anger, and sometimes they put on an emotionless expression.

Sometimes they do it for small reasons; maybe a friend had gotten sick and could not play with them. Or perhaps someone realized that a theory that they had was incorrect by a small margin…

Sometimes it is done for something major; perhaps someone tried to ask out their crush, only for their crush to say that they could not return these feelings. Or, it could be even worse; proposing to someone because the couple seemed so perfect…only for the ring bearer to receive rejection.

…But the most devastating blows are terrible losses.

Trauma…the witness of a murder of someone close, the victims of physical or sexual abuse, the loss of family members and friends, the agony of knowing that those loved ones will never come back, the torment of physical scars and mental scars that will never heal, the burning memories that cling furiously and refuse to be forgotten…

…

…There is an old saying…"Time heals all wounds,"…however, for some people, those wounds can never heal. Deep wounds that continue to bleed start to sap away at a person's health, and some people lose their humanity. They do not wish to feel any more pain, so some place a barrier around their hearts. They harden their defenses, their hearts eventually becoming as hard as diamond and as cold as ice.

…Alas, for others, they cannot create defenses; instead, they end their lives – succumbing to the path that eliminates their pain…as well as their future – because they have lost all hope. Not a trace of faith is left within them…

…But that fate can be prevented. All it takes is for someone to reach out and save them…