Swordplay- Chapter 1

Swordplay

bijoukaiba: After playing a lot more SSBM, I'm finally going to write my premiere SSBM fanfiction, Swordplay. You can already tell which character(s) this will revolve around, can't you? However, a few more of my favorite fighters will have their own "cameo" appearances, lol.

Some characters might be OOC, forgive me, because I've never owned any video game created before/at the same time as the N64. Pssh, parents...

Disclaimer:

Ness: What's my line again? Oh, right. Don't own, don't sue! OKAY!!!

Chapter 1: This Strange New World We're In

Mario hummed as he approached the doorway to Princess Peach's castle. He had a bouquet of flowers in his hand and smiled as he knocked upon the door. Gee, I never saw that coming, did you?

"Oh Peach! It's-a me, Mario! May I-a come in?"

There was no reply. Thinking he was in error, Mario knocked again. "Peach? Are-a you in?"

Still, there was silence. Worriedly, Mario put an ear to the door to listen for her. "Peach?"

A scream caught his attention, causing him to drop his flowers.
"PEACH!!!!!!" He shot a fireball through the door (figuring Toad might be able to fix it later anyway) and dashed up the steps to the princess's quarters.

Sure enough, the pretty-in-pink princess was backed up against the wall as a giant turtle with a spiked shell stalked closer to her.

"Mario!!!" She gasped in relief.

The spiked turtle turned around, facing the arch nemesis he had faced for several years. "Mario?! Great, not you again. It doesn't matter. This time, I have a plan that will give me the throne to the Mushroom Kingdom!"

"Bowser! Let-a Peach go!! She will never give-a you the power you desire!" Mario said, charging up a fireball in his hand. Bowser cracked his knuckles, eager for a fight.

Frightened, Peach grabbed the frying pan left behind from her breakfast-in-bed that morning and socked Bowser in the noggin with it.

"Don't you dare hurt Mario!!!" she cried. Bowser fell with a thump to the floor.

"I don't-a think he heard you. Wow-a, woman, what a shot!" Mario gasped. Bowser rubbed gingerly at his head, standing up again. His eyes were blood-red in fury.

"Why you little....." He muttered. "I oughta-" Before he could finish his statement, a bright light engulfed their bodies, along with a painful, tingling sensation. Mario grabbed onto Peach's hand before he blacked out.

Outside, a shadow passed over the dropped bouquet of flowers for foreshadowing effects from the author.

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On vacation, Yoshi had finally gotten to go golfing with his close friend Birdo. It was the last hole, and he needed to sink the shot for an eagle to win it. He gripped the handle of club nervously, and shuffled his feet around until he was certain he had the perfect trajectory. Even Birdo was nervous, she realized this shot would win it. Yoshi raised his club into the air for the shot, when a wave of light engulfed him and he vanished. The club fell to the ground without its golfer.

"Birdo?" (Does this mean I win?) She asked, confused.

((A/N: See those parenthesis? Those will act like subtitles for characters that don't necessarily speak English. Haha! Look at me! I sound like those annoying characters in video games that explain how to do everything! Review, review! You saw nothing.))

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Ash glared angrily up at the Meowth-shaped balloon in the sky. "Gimme back my Pikachu!"

Team Rocket laughed, James holding the adorable electric mouse in his arms. "I don't think so, boy."

Jessie smirked. "Judgement day has come, twerp, and Team Rocket has finally won!"

A white wave of light flashed over Pikachu and he disappeared from James's arms. Ash, Misty, and Brock gazed up in surprise.

The blue-haired man looked down at 'the twerps'. "Hey!" he called. "Do you know what the heck just happened?"

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It was so hard to believe...

The fact that just a week ago, he had saved the world.

Now Ness was lying on his bed in his room, still amazed at the fact that his life had returned to 'normal'. Would he ever come across a challenge as great as Giygas ever again?

Apparently so, as his body began to disappear in a flash of white light.

"What the - ?" He questioned, holding up his arm as it was consumed by the brilliance.

"Big brother, are you - ?" Tracy stepped into Ness's room just as the boy completely vanished from sight.

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Space. It is a virtually empty void of darkness. The occasional planetary system, shimmering stars, space ships, and floating monkey heads. This is the Lylat system.

"Fox!" Peppy called through his communicator. "Pull back, Fox, it's too dangerous!"

"I can't!" Fox replied, slamming the steering handle backward as far as he could. "Andross is sucking me in!"

Slippy flew in overhead and blasted at the gems on the hands of their nemesis.

"Shoot me all you want!" Andross laughed. "As long as I bring McCloud to hell, I can finally be in peace."

A glimmering beam of light flashed before their eyes.

"What the-?" Slippy asked.

"Fox, Fox, come in!" Peppy shouted into the communicator as Andross sucked in the Arwing. Static was his reply. "Fox, do you read me? Fox! FOX!!!!!"

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Amidst the snowy air, two adorable eskimos made their way to the top of the mountain. One was clad in a blue parka, the other one wore a pink parka.

"Nana!" cheered the one in the blue parka. "We did it! We'll be in the record books! We're the youngest people to ever scale this mountain! How do you feel?"

The pink-clad eskimo smiled back, holding up a little box. "It feels great! I brought some stuffed eggplant with me for lunch! Do you wanna have a picnic to celebrate, Popo?"

Popo grinned and clutched his stomach. "You betcha! I'm starved!!"

As Nana pulled out a plastic plate from the box, she froze. A tingling sensation rushed through her body and she blacked out, her best friend beside her.

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When Mario awakened, he had his hand still wrapped around Peach's.

"What just-a happened?" Mario murmured, putting a hand to his head, then noticing Peach laying beside him. He gently shook the princess beside him awake, then helped her sit up.

"Mario..." she whispered. "How did we... get here?"

They appeared to be in a solid gray room, which echoed whenever they spoke. Nothing adorned the walls and there wasn't much light.

"I don't-a know.... but I don't-a think we're alone." The plumber pointed over at several others who were starting to stir.

Among them were a giant ape, someone fully dressed in armor, a pink puffball, and several others.

"Argh...." grumbled a man who was dressed in a body suit and wore a helmet. "Hey!! I was just about to win that race!!!"

"Race?" Asked a younger boy dressed in a red and black striped shirt, denim shorts, and a baseball cap. "You're a racecar driver?! Cool!!"

"Thanks, kid. The name's Captain Falcon. Famous racer, famous bounty hunter. All-around champion!!"

"I'm Ness!" the boy chirped. "And I have the powers of ESP!!! Hey, you guys!!" Ness called, beckoning the others over. "Tell us stuff about you too!!"

They sat in a circle, and shared a piece of information with each other.

"I'm Samus Aran," said the armored figure, removing their helmet. "And like Captain Falcon, I am a bounty hunter. Or perhaps I should say huntress."

Captain Falcon watched as ravishing golden blonde hair flowed to her shoulders and her shining blue eyes cast several glances around the room. I don't think I've ever seen a woman more beautiful than her...

"I'm Popo, and this is my best friend Nana! We like to climb icy mountains for fun!! You can also call us the Ice Climbers!"

They clapped their hands together in a high-five.

"Pi Pikachu. Pikachu Pika Pi Pika Pikachu Pika." (I'm Pikachu. I'm a creature known as a Poke'mon.)

"It's-a crazy, but somehow I understood-a all of that. Oh, I'm-a Mario, and I'm-a plumber that-a rescues princesses!"

"Rescues?" another blonde in a pink dress smiled. "I'm Princess Zelda, from the kingdom of Hyrule."

The exchange of introductions (even Bowser was willing enough to tell a bit about himself) continued until Kirby (the pink puffball) pointed out a door they had failed to notice.

"Look guys! There's a door!!"

"Huh," Fox commented, "I guess we were so worried about ourselves we failed to notice it."

"Well, let's open it!" Bowser growled, annoyed. "We couldn't be any worse off than we are now!"

There were some murmurs of agreement and some of disagreement, but when a vote was taken, the urge to explore overuled. Donkey Kong(the gargantuan ape), Bowser, and Yoshi swung the door open...

When the whole room around them dissolved completely, and they were standing amidst a green field with small hills that sloped neatly. Not too far away was a sandy coastline that bordered the turquoise ocean, which seemed to stretch on endlessly.

"Wow!! You can see a beach from here!! Ooh, look at the water! I wanna swim now!!!" Kirby laughed.

"There's a building," Mario pointed out. "Let's-a go inside and-a see if-a we can figure out where-a we are."

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Entering the building, they were greeted by a young lady with pink hair and a white dress. Behind her was a rack of keys arranged in five rows of five keys.

"Hiya! What's up?" she asked cheerfully.

"Hey," Link greeted. "We wanted to know where we are."

"Oh! You're our guests! This is the Battle Royale Suites, reserved for only the best warriors in the world!" she said. "Shall I assign you your rooms?"

"Rooms?!" Bowser roared. "We want to get the hell out of here!! NOW!!!!" He slammed a fist upon the stone desk, a crack running halfway through it.

"I'm.... sorry, sir. But I don't know how you got here. Even I was pulled into this against my will. I arrived here a few days before you did. I've just had to make the best of things!"

"Who did-a this to us?" Mario asked.

The pink-haired girl shook her head. "I don't know... I've never seen his true identity."

"Can you tell us why we're here?" Nana asked.

"To fight," the secretary replied. "that's why these are the Battle Royale Suites. We've set up arenas similar to your homes for combat. With special conditions, you cannot be hurt in standard matches, but you will be able to fight and subconsciously accumulate damage, until after enough damage is taken.... and a strong enough attack.... and WHAM!!!! KO points!!!"

She giggled at the surprised faces of the newcomers.

"It's just a way to have fun and for the boss to observe your skills. It's almost like a study in combat methods. Now then, do you want your rooms?"

They all shrugged at each other and replied as a group, "Yes."

"My name's Joy, by the way," she blurted out. "Now, tell me your name and draw a number from this box for your room."

At the mentioning of a familiar name, Pikachu leapt up onto the desk.

"Pikachu!" (It's you!) he squealed.

"Pikachu! Wow! Okay, pick a number." she said, hugging him and showing him the box. He stuck his adorable little paw in and pulled out a slip of paper.

"Number 22. Okay."

"Pikachu!" (Got it!) the electric mouse chirped, before leaping onto Zelda's shoulder.

"Hmmm... greenie, you're next!"

"My name is Link." The Hylian muttered, reaching into the box.

"Eleven. Thanks.... Link." Joy giggled as Link rolled his eyes and stepped away.

Everyone finally drew the rest of their numbers. Mario got Room 1 (go figure), Peach got Room 4, Ness got Room 5, Yoshi got Room 8, Nana and Popo shared Room 9 (they were reassured by Joy that she would move a bunkbed into the room. No sharing! Lol), Fox got Room 10, Captain Falcon got Room 14, Bowser got Room 16, Kirby got Room 18, Zelda got Room 19, Donkey Kong earned Room 21, and Samus got Room 23.

Joy appeared quite surprised, realizing she had just filled up 14 rooms.

"Wow, um... I guess I'll just show you to your rooms." She picked up the keys and led them to their respective rooms.

"Just like each rack of keys, there are five floors. And there are five rooms per floor."

"No duh," Bowser snickered. Even Popo and Ness were forced to giggle.

Ignoring them, Joy continued. "Here's the first floor, where..." She paused to glance at the paper she had recorded the names on. "Where Mario, Peach, and Ness will be boarding."

"Okey-dokey!" Mario confirmed.

"Fine with me!" Peach agreed.

"Okay!" Ness added with a nod.

Joy beckoned to the rest, then led them to the elevator. It took about three trips (considering DK and Bowser were so heavy) to get everyone to the second floor.

"Okay.... now Yoshi, Popo, Nana, and Fox will be staying here."

"Question," Zelda commented, raising her hand, "What will we do about clothes to change into?"

Joy smiled and replied, "We've already taken that into consideration and stocked a lovely wardrobe for each one of you, based on your preferred styles."

Popo leapt out of his room, with a green parka in his hands. "It's true! See?"

Fox held up a red-orange jacket for them to see as well.

"There's a note in your rooms to come to the main desk in fifteen minutes dressed in new clothes, and we'll continue meeting some of the staff and seeing additional rooms." Joy finished. "Let's continue, shall we?"

Giving a friendly wave, she led the remaining eight fighters up some stairs.

"Pikachu? Pikachu Pika Pikachu!" (More stairs? This is one heck of a workout!) Pikachu mumbled, as they made their way to the third floor.

"Here's where Link and Captain Falcon will be staying."

"Only two of us?" Captain Falcon asked, taking the key labelled #14. "It's gonna be a little lonelier then, huh?"

"I guess so," Link agreed, though he couldn't help but wonder why there were so many rooms available if there weren't enough fighters to fill them...

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At the fourth floor, Joy called off the names of Bowser, Kirby, and Zelda, gave them their keys, and departed, without any major details.

And finally, at last, after MILES of hiking.... (just kidding) DK, Pikachu, and Samus reached the top floor.

"You guys are the lucky ones," Joy said with a cute smile.

"Why's that?" Donkey Kong asked. ((I don't care if he's a giant monkey... in my story, he speaks!!))

Joy led them to the opposite end of the hallway, where a glass screen door was. She opened the door and led the Pokemon, ape, and bounty huntress outside into the sunshine. It was a balcony that had an excellent view point, with direct access to the sky. Four sunchairs with blue and white stripes, four walnut side-tables, and several potted plants (including a beautiful stargazer lily) were lined against the metal railing surrounding the sunny paradise.

"Pika pika!!" (Amazing!)

"Radiant," Samus said with a smile.

"And check out the view!" Donkey Kong added. "You can see the entire property up here!"

"This is the best balcony in the building. You can always find a cool breeze, a bright sky, or a beautiful moon out here!" Joy commented, leaning on the metal railings that surrounded the balcony.

She winked at the trio mischievously. "Did I mention this can be a VERY romantic location?"

Pikachu, Samus, and DK looked at her, faces flushed, before Joy giggled. "Sorry, I couldn't resist. Why don't you guys change your clothes and come downstairs in fifteen minutes? I'll continue the tour then."

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And so, to avoid time-consuming elaboration, everyone had returned downstairs in a new pair of clothes.

"I got a blue tie!" Donkey Kong said, holding it up on his neck for everyone to see.

"Lovely," Zelda complimented, wearing a dress which was blue as well.

Joy smiled at them. "Well, I think you all look very nice! Let's continue, shall we?" She led them to the hallway opposite the dorm rooms on the first floor. On the left was a glass window, showing off a swimming pool, and on the right was another room with a set of dumbells, some gymnastic equipment, a large trampoline, and some treadmills.

"Here's our recreation room. Use it for training or when you feel like a game of Marco Polo. All of you are entitled to use this room whenever you please. It's open 24/7, but remember that there isn't a life guard on duty. When you all changed clothes, I'm sure you saw some swimsuits in your closets."

She led them further along the hallway to a set of swinging double doors.

"In here," she said, leading them in, "is the cafeteria."

Six tables with four chairs each were scattered around the room. The wall directly across from them had a kitchen with all types of metal pots and pans were hanging from the ceiling. A young Asian woman looked up as everyone approached her. Dark hair reached down to her shoulders and rested over the edge of her forehead. Her eyes, which resembled two dark beads, shined at them brightly. Her skin was slightly tanner, and she was dressed in a yellow shirt, an orange apron, and a navy colored skirt with a pattern of swirling green flowers and vines. Her figure was slightly plump, but it gave her a motherly feel. The kitchen smelled like fresh-baked cookies and boiling ramen, which added to the effect.

"Joy, are these the guests?" she asked. Her voice sounded very soft, but there was a hint of a foreign accent in her voice.

"Everyone, this is Ruby. She'll be your chef while you live here. Ruby will make your meals while you live here, but she won't go off and become a personal chef for everyone. If you want something different, you have to pay extra, deal with it, or skip a meal."

Ruby couldn't help but laugh. "My cooking's really good, though, so nobody needs to worry about starving."

Joy led them to the right of the kitchen, where a bar was. There was also a stage, with a TV, some speakers, and a few microphones.

"We even have our own karaoke bar! This is Malon, she runs the beverage side of the bar, with her assistant, Diddy."

Link and DK glanced at each other in surprise as the familiar brunette and the younger monkey waved at them.

"What a surprise, Link! I didn't qualify as a fighter, but they still gave me a job in the bar! I wonder what Talon would think..."

"I make the best smoothies ever! DK, you should stop by and have some!"

At the same time, a teenager with a spiky pink mohawk and glasses and dressed in a one-piece dance suit with the pattern of the British flag walked over. A girl with navy hair, dressed in a neon orange shirt and lime green jeans walked over too. Her eyes looked slightly droopy, giving her a sad appearance.

"Yeah, the four of us run the karaoke bar! I'm Spike, and this is Alice," the pink-haired teen said, gesturing behind him to the girl. "And we specialize in the karaoke and dance sections of the bar."

"Uh, sure," Bowser commented, rolling his eyes. "You should also get a hair stylist here as well, because you look like a regular psycho," He snickered.

Spike grinned sarcastically. "You could use one too! I've never seen a pet turtle that's a red-head!"

Alice grabbed onto his arm gently. "Spike, don't speak that way... they're our guests."

Link glanced at her, noticing her soft voice and delicate features. When she noticed he was staring at her, she let go of Spike's arm and blushed.

Joy then led them to the third floor, where the medical room was located.

"I'll usually be found up here, until we can get a real doctor. It's got a few beds and the latest medical supplies. Our medical closet has many different supplies too."

In curiosity, Link held up two jars in his hands. "Emotion Elixir, Translation Water... what kind of medicine is this?" He replaced the jars on the shelf and raised an eyebrow at the nurse.

Joy giggled and lead them to the fourth floor. "And here are the bathing rooms for the men and women. They're on opposite sides of the floor, of course, we don't want to make any mistakes...."

Bowser muttered something under his breath, but when Peach, Samus, Joy, Zelda, and Nana glared at him, he shut up quickly.

"Although you have your own private restrooms, you don't have any place to actually bathe." Joy explained. "So, the men have to share with their fellow men, and same thing with the women."

Mario panicked. "You mean-a I have to-a see Bowser NAKED-A????"

"Yoshi!" (Gross!)

Link wrapped his arms around himself in a gesture of awkwardness.

"Oh, Link, it's no big deal," Zelda reassured. "They're just guys, after all."

"You're welcome to bathe any time you please, but I would recommend washing in the evening, after a hard day's fight. Speaking of which, how about we figure out the match-ups for tomorrow's fights? There's fourteen of you- Popo and Nana fight as a team, technically- so, how about seven one-on-one matches? Let's go to the first floor and draw names for tomorrow."

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As they made their way down the stairs, each fighter had different things on his or her mind.

Gee, I really hope I don't have to fight with Peach.... Mario adjusted his cap awkwardly.

Pikachu Pika Pika Pikachu Pi Pikachu... (What would Ash think if he saw me fighting humans?)

Stupid fools... I'm going to be the best fighter... Bowser tapped his claws against his arms impatiently.

Does this dress make me look fat? Peach tugged at the collar on her green dress.

I wonder if Miss Aran likes coffee... Captain Falcon tapped a finger to his chin thoughtfully.

I'm hungry. Kirby held his stomach.

"The other tall building you saw is where all the virtual arenas will be located. They're all based on your homes," Joy remarked, startling some of the fighters from their thoughts.

Ness raised his hand. "Does that mean that there's an Onett?"

"And a jungle?" DK asked. Joy nodded.

"Sweet!" The giant ape and the young boy cheered.

"Now then, we'll have to draw names to determine who and where you'll be fighting. So, without further ado... the first match."

The words flashed up on a TV screen behind Joy. Link and Zelda appeared puzzled, as they had never seen a TV before.

Kongo Jungle: 10:00 am
Mario vs. Captain Falcon

Mushroom Kingdom: 10:45 am
Fox vs. Zelda

Yoshi's Story: 11:30 am
Bowser vs. Samus

Hyrule Temple: 1:30 pm
Ice Climbers vs. Peach

Rainbow Cruise: 2:15 pm
Yoshi vs. Donkey Kong

Green Greens: 3:00 pm
Kirby vs. Ness

Venom: 4:00 pm
Link vs. Pikachu

Pikachu looked up at Link. "Chu pika pika pikachu, pi." (Don't think I'm weak because I'm small, Link.)

Link patted the Pokemon's head. "I'll fight you like a true opponent."

"I wonder how you'll fight in battle..." Fox commented to Zelda.

Everyone was already speaking to their future opponents for the next day, although technically Samus and Bowser were quarreling. Two men walked into the room, both with their hands in their pockets.

"Oh, Master! Crazy! The fighters have arrived," Joy explained. The two men nodded to each other. Master had straight, silver hair, pulled into a ponytail. Crazy had white spiky hair in a... well, crazy style. Despite their pale hair tones, both men appeared to be in their late twenties to mid thirties.

"We just wanted to inspect them before tomorrow's fights." Crazy snickered.

Bowser glared at the white-haired man. "This guy makes us sound like mutant lab rats..." the giant Koopa murmured to Kirby.

"Who's going last?" Master asked.

Link and Pikachu glanced at each other suspiciously. "... We are, sir." The Hylian replied.

"Ah, a swordsman." Master commented, nodding. He looked down at Link's boots to the shield and sword he had on his back. He smirked for no apparent reason. "Yes, the epitome of a true warrior." He glanced at the Pokemon uncaringly, before returning his focus to the elf. "Yes, your performance in your future battles shall prove to be quite interesting."

He gestured at Crazy to follow, and left the building.

"I don't like those guys," Ness whispered. "I mean, who has names like 'Master' and 'Crazy'? Do you think they mean anything?"

"Yeah," Captain Falcon replied. "Trouble."

Everyone departed to the cafeteria for dinner without any go-ahead from Joy. They ate their Greek food in what was pretty much silence, except for the oohs and aahs coming from Popo and Nana at a plate of delicious mousska. After the meal and a shower, the fighters went to their rooms to sleep in preparation for the matches.

Link, on the other hand, was awake in thought.

"Something's not right about this," He mused aloud. "Why would there be so many rooms in a place like this for only fourteen fighters? I get the feeling there's more to this than they're willing to reveal..."

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Meanwhile, in a building kept secret from the smashers, the employees were heading for bed. Spike was reapplying his hair dye, Alice was brushing her teeth, and Diddy was drooling, asleep on his pillow.

Underneath the building was a secret vault, similar to the one where the first fighters had appeared in.

In the dark blue light that sifted in, Master was watching a locked door in anticipation.

Crazy stepped out of the door and relocked it, before kicking at it in anger.

"Then you'll just have to wait for another day without eating, huh?!" He snarled, beating at the small square window.

"What did he say?" Master asked.

"Nothing," Crazy replied, wiping off his face with a glove on his left hand. "He just spat on me is all, so I gave him a good slap across the face before I tied up his arms and legs again."

"No food for three days, beatings, and strict restraint seem pretty harsh," Master commented. He smiled evilly. "He'll be ready for tomorrow's fighting."

"Did you ever consider Pikachu might beat that green guy?" Crazy asked.

"It's impossible. That's the same as asking if a rat can defeat a human in hand to hand combat. No, once Link beats that Pokemon thing, he'll be in for a real fight."

Crazy giggled. "That's right! Link loses, he dies; Link wins, we kill the other guy!"

Inside the cell, the prisoner sighed heavily in sorrow, wanting freedom. A spirit like his couldn't be kept chained up. Remembering what Crazy told him, he had no choice but to kill Link or die trying.

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bijoukaiba: AND THERE YOU HAVE IT!!!! THE FIRST CHAPTER!!!! I'm kinda disappointed with how it turned out. I've got my next chapter written out on paper, so that one might turn out better. (scrolls over writing) Dude, did I spend all that time elaborating?

(hugs the prisoner) Don't worry, I'll leave you anonymous until next chapter. Everyone might be able to guess who he is, but then again.... (winks at the reader) you might be wrong...

The next few chapters will probably have a better explanation as to what happened right now.

So... would you be kind enough to give me a review? Please?