"Another incredible match!" boomed the Master Hand, as Samus and Fox were returned to their seats, Fox a good deal grumpier than before. "And I'm sure that the final match will be just as exciting!"

  Mario turned to his brother. "Are you ready, bro?"

  "Yes..." Luigi sighed, "...but why do I have to be fighting a child?"

  He looked over at Ness, who was showing Kirby a yo-yo trick. The pink creature appeared fascinated by the display.

  "It's okay," Mario assured him. "I'm sure no one will have a problem with it."

  Before Luigi could reply, Master Hand snapped his fingers and he was dragged out of the stands. He was surrounded for a few moments by flashing lights, and was sure he saw something moving beyond his face, before he was slammed face first into the battlefield. It appeared to be the same one that Mario had fought on before, the vague echo of Peach's castle at home. Across from him, Ness landed on his feet and looked around.

  "This will be fun," he said. "I've been watching everyone else, and I want to fight as hard as they all do."

  Luigi got to his feet. "Right," he said. He raised his open hands, considering what the right move was here. It wasn't like he wanted to hurt Ness, but would it be rude to go easy on him? But he was just a kid.

  "Is your brother as strong as you?" Link asked Mario.

  Mario considered the question. "I don't know," he admitted. "It's not like we've fought directly before. And he's certainly saved our home plenty of times. Why do you ask? Are you worried about Ness?"

  "No," Link said. "I'm worried about Luigi."

  "Go!"

  Luigi hesitated for a moment. Was this the right thing to do? Well, at the very least he should test what Ness could do. He summoned green flames in one hand, and hurled them towards Ness as hard as he could. They streaked across the castle roof, picking up speed as they went.

  "Worried about Luigi?" Mario asked. "Why?"

  "Well for starters," Link said. "The Master Hand obviously brought Ness to this world for a reason. He has to have some level of strength. But besides that, have you been watching him during the previous matches?"

  Mario frowned. "No. What about it?"

  "When we watched everyone fight, everyone knew to watch out because they would be fighting one another at some point," Link pointed out. "So when someone showed off their power, it would be natural to be worried about facing it."

  Ness extended one finger. "PSI Magnet!" he yelled. A purple bubble of energy appeared around Ness. The green flames struck the outside, and simply vanished, the purple energy swallowing them up.

  "Ness never stopped smiling once," Link said.

  Mario, Fox, and Captain Falcon all stared at him in shock. "Does that mean he was never scared once?" Fox asked. "But, a kid his age..."

  On the palace roof, Ness smiled. "My turn. PK Fire!" He thrust his hand forwards, sending a small ball of fire towards Luigi. It struck him in the chest and suddenly grew into a huge column of fire that completely surrounded the plumber. It raged for a few seconds, before a second explosion sent Luigi flying in the direction of Ness.

  "Just how powerful is he?" Mario asked.

  As if in answer, Ness pulled out his yo-yo. He spun its end around his hand once, then let it go in a wide arc. It struck Luigi on the top of his head and slammed him hard into the ground hard enough to crack the roof tiles.

  "Luigi!" Mario yelled.

  "What strength," Captain Falcon muttered.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Luigi struggled to his feet. "Okay then, I won't go easy. How about this!" He ran at Ness and jumped into the air. While in the air he twisted his body and begin to spin, becoming like a drill as his feet descended towards Ness for a powerful series of kicks. Ness swung with his yo-yo, but Luigi knocked it aside and kicked him backwards towards the edge of the roof.

  "Woah!" he said, teetering on the edge. "That was a close one."

  Luigi looked at the boy. "Are you okay?" he asked. "I didn't want to hurt you."

  "Nah!" Ness grinned. "I've been hit way harder than you could ever hit me, Mister! Don't be afraid to come at me as hard as you can! This is fun!"

  "Okay," Luigi said. "But please don't hit me too hard." He ran at the boy again, aiming to go for the same move as before. This time though, Ness was ready for it. He passed his hand through the air, and a long and heavy looking baseball bat appeared in his palm. He swung it, and it connected with Luigi's lower body and sent him flying. The kid was so much stronger than he had any right to be!

  Fortunately, Luigi managed to catch himself on the edge of the platform by one hand. Panting for breath, he pulled himself up onto the roof and looked across at Ness.

  "How did you... get so strong?" he asked between breaths.

  Ness shrugged. "A lot happened. I kind of had to stop an evil alien from destroying the universe once."

  Kirby hiccupped.

  "Wow... you're incredible," Luigi said. So here he was, fighting a child who had overcome a universal threat. And he had been thinking of taking it easy.

  "Well," he said. "Against that, what can I do?" He looked up at Master Hand. "Am I allowed to surrender?"

  Master Hand began to shake violently. "Why would you want to do that?"

  "There's no way I can win this fight," Luigi said. "I'd rather let Ness have the win."

  "No!" Master Hand bellowed. "There is no surrender. You must fight until the end!"

  Luigi shook his head. "This ends if I go off the edge of this roof. You can't stop me, if that's what I want."

  "No!"

  Luigi was shocked to see Ness staring at him, looking angry. "I said I want to fight! But more than that, I want to see everything you can do!"

  "Everything I can do?"

  "Yes!" Ness took a step forwards. "I don't know why Master Hand brought us here, but I do know that everyone he chose is strong! That means you must be strong as well! I want to see everything you can do!"

  Mario stood up. "Luigi!" he shouted. "I know you don't always believe in how strong you are, but you really are! Fight back!"

  Luigi looked between his brother and his opponent. He closed his eyes, and thought about what he had seen in the moment when he had been drawn through space. It had been worlds. More than those that just the people here had come from.

  He looked at Master Hand again, and finally understood. If he didn't continue to entertain, then more people would be brought here, from dozens of different worlds. Which meant those people were depending on him, even if they didn't know it.

  "Okay!" he said. "Let's do it, Ness!" He charged, igniting his hands with green fire. He went on the attack, swiping at Ness with his burning hands and forcing the boy to retreat. Ness took a few steps back and swung his yo-yo so that it wrapped around Luigi's middle, and yanked him close to deliver a kick. Luigi gritted his teeth and spun on the spot. Ness was pulled along by his yo-yo and pulled off balance, allowing Luigi to hit him with two kicks. Luigi then threw flames again, and this time Ness wasn't ready. He flew off the edge of the palace roof.

  "Is that it?" Samus asked.

  Ness shook his head in mid-air. "PK Thunder!" he yelled, throwing his hands above his head and stretching out his body. An orb of crackling electricity appeared from his hands, spiralling through the air while Ness hung, suspended. The lightning slammed into him from beneath, and he was thrown upwards back onto the roof. He hit the ground running. "PK Fire!" he yelled, hurling the same fireball as before at Luigi. Luigi reacted quickly, throwing his own flames.

  The orbs of fire passed one another and both hit at the same time. Ness was knocked to the ground, while the explosion that Ness's fire created sent Luigi flying. He landed on his back, staring up at the sky. Funny. Had it always been starry like that?

  These weren't stars that he recognised. He thought for a second that they were fake, like everything else in this world. But no... there was a depth to them, a reality that suggested that Master Hand hadn't made them. His eyes drifted across them, until he noticed something. A gap in the stars, like an interruption in their pattern. It was a line. With his eyes, he traced the line and saw that it met another,

  Ness was on his feet. He looked at Luigi, who was still on the ground.

  "Did I win?" he asked.

  Master Hand drifted closer to Luigi. "You can't just lie there," it insisted. "You have to -"

  Everyone felt it at once. A sudden shift in the air, as though the wind had changed direction. Except that the only way it seemed to be moving was away from Luigi. Luigi stood. Ness saw it first, that there was something different about him. An aura that lined his body, casting small shadows onto the roof around him. His eyes were clouded over, but he could see something in them: a burning circle, which was split into four uneven pieces by a cross.

  "What is this?" Master Hand cried. "You shouldn't be able to access this power!"

  Luigi simply raised his hand, and summoned green flames. He threw them towards Ness, and they moved three times faster than they had before. Ness was thrown in an instant from the stage, winning Luigi the match. Then the glowing aura faded, and Luigi collapsed to the ground.

  "What was that?" Fox asked. He turned to look at Mario. "Mario, what Luigi just did! What was that?"

  "I..." Mario swallowed hard. "I don't know."