The Invitation That Changed Everything

What Did He Say?

Pixel woke up to her alarm and stood up too fast, crashing to the ground. She noticed a gift box on her desk that wasn't there before. How did that get there? She got ready for the day, dressed and opened it.
'Hey Pixel!
You kinda left your door unlocked, so that's how this box got in. Please remember to lock it, some fighters like to draw on each other's faces. Especially the villains :( Anyways, I heard from Isabelle that you were wanting to decorate your room. So from one cake obsessed person to another, have these!
-Princess Peach'
Pixel was very thankful and looked at the box. There was a few cake plushies, a pink and yellow decorative plate and also a white rug with sprinkles. She put the plushies on the shelves, put the plate on her wall and placed the rug on the floor. Then she left. It was 6:00 am and very quiet. She was walking as quietly as she could, trying her very best to not make any noise. Pancake seemed to be anxious.
Oh yeah, did I forget to mention Pancake is somewhat alive? Not physically, but it can send messages to Pixel's brain.
But anyways, she was trying to go down very quietly. And as soon as she got to the brawl stairs...
"You're up early." The deep voice was unmistakable. It had to be...
"Oh hey Meta Knight."
"Greetings. I thought you get up a while after Sonic, why are you awake?"
"I wanted to be early so I can eat with you! You're my mentor after all!"
"I see. Then let's go." The two go down the stairs quietly and reach the Lunch Hall. But when they got to the Waddle Dees...
"Pixel, what would you like?"
"I'll have what you're having!"
"Dos tacos, gracias." The Waddle Dees instantly started making two tacos. They handed them to him and he walked away.
"What did you say?"
"I said 'two tacos, thanks.'"
"Oh! So what language is that?"
"It was in Spanish." He went to Halberd, Pixel following closely behind. Out of nowhere, a big spider fell from the ceiling, making her jump back and fall over. The taco almost went flying.
"Are you alright?" Asked Meta Knight, pulling her back to her feet.
"There's a big spider!" She threw Pancake at it and the spider was impaled. Meta Knight examined it and groaned.
"Ugh, idiotas." He took Pancake and handed it to her.
"What do you mean 'idiots'?"
"The Smash villains left that there to prank people. No wonder I left them, they're so immature." She noticed the paper on the spider that said 'You've been pranked by the Smash villains!' and sighed.
"Why do they prank people?"
"They're so determined to be annoying that it physically bugs me." He laughed at his own joke.
"Wow, that was terrible! Ahaha!" She laughed with him. The two calmed down a bit and went to Halberd. Then they sat down on the stage. But then he realised that he had to take his mask off...
"Pixel, can you stare off stage for a minute?"
"Oh sure! Why?"
"I just need to remove my mask."
"Aww, do you not trust me?" She joked.
"Actually, yes. I don't."
"Oh I see how it is!"
"I'm joking, you just wouldn't take me seriously if I removed it."
"I'm sure I would! The voice says all, the deeper the scarier."
"Are you implying my voice is intimidating?"
"No, it's just hard to not take you seriously without it."
"And how would you know?"
"Because Kirby talks with a high innocent 'poyo' and I doubt people take that seriously."
"... What does Kirby have to do with this?"
"Because apparently you're a blue Kirby."
"Who told you that?"
"The Smash villains when I sat with them described you as blue Kirby."
"... Ugh. I thought I told them to stop using that description. But what did I expect, they don't listen."
"Look, it can't be that bad! And if we're competing in this trial together, then I wanna at least know what you look like!"
"And you're sure I can trust you?"
"Absolutely! I've only ever lied once, and that was me saying why I wanted to join Smash!"
"That was a lie?"
"I mean... Kinda."
"Then why do you actually want to join?"
"I'll tell you if you show me your face!" She thought he wouldn't.
But then...
He swiftly turned around. She saw his face.
"There, are you happy now?"
"Oh! Wasn't expecting that!"
"What?"
"You really do look like him! But more strong, mature and even cooler!" She tried to compliment him so he wouldn't stab her to death for saying that.
"You really think so?"
"Yeah!"
"... Pixel, you do realise I know exactly what you're thinking, right?"
"... Oh. Cool."
"I know that there's something you want to say but won't because you think I'll kill you."
"... Y-Yeah maybe!"
"So say it, what do you actually think?"
"... I don't want you to get mad... But I think you're adorable."
"I knew it."
"So you won't kill me?"
"Of course not. If it's just you, then it's alright. And I hear that all the time. Now tell me."
"Tell you?"
"Yes."
"What?"
"Why you want to join Smash."
"... My games kinda old. And unpopular. So not many people want to play. Last time I was played it was 2015 by some random guy. I was still delusional so I played through the game by myself. Over and over. And over. And... Yeah. I was getting bored of it. Bored of my story. Bored of myself."
"... I see. Well I can understand why you want to join Smash. But how were you bored of yourself?"
"Some games can get boring fast, especially if you're constantly replaying it...." she pulled out Pancake, smiling. "Anyways, can we begin now?"
"Oh, I'm sorry for dragging that on. Yes, we may start. Now then, I'm going to teach you some other moves. My B moves. Let's start with Mach Tornado."
"Sounds cool!"
"Yes, you basically spin really fast and make a harmful mini tornado. You can also choose the directions.." He demonstrated on the sand bag. Pixel gave it a try, but was a little slow and did less damage.
"You need to be faster." Meta Knight held her hand and spun her around. When he let go, she fell backwards from the dizziness.
"That's hard, but I'll try." She tried again and did it better.
"Great work. Now you will learn Drill Rush." He pulled out his sword and spun sideways into the sand bag.
"... That looks really hard! How do I do that?"
"Well it's pretty easy for me as I'm small, but for you it may be tricky. Do Mach Tornado but sideways." She tried but fell instantly.
"I don't think it'll work... Maybe I should use a different move?"
"Hmm... Well is there any other Side B you can think of?" She threw a cake at the sand bag.
"Alright, good enough. So now you can try Shuttle Loop. It will probably be very hard though." He went upwards in a loop. Just then, she realised he had wings.
"Wow! You have wings!"
"Did you not notice?"
"No, but that's awesome! And probably why these moves are so hard for me... Heh."
"Ah, I should have thought about that. My apologies."
"It's okay! You don't know much about me. So wanna get to know me a bit?"
"I might as well, it would help a lot with training."
"I can't swim, I have no powers, I have a hay allergy and I really hate vegetables."
"... Those last two don't really help."
"Sorry, I get carried away sometimes."
"It's alright. In fact, I don't see why you'd need to learn Shuttle Loop as you can jump high. Do you have any move that will increase your jump?"
"I can spin upwards!" She jumped high with a twirl and then fell right back down.
"So how's that for a jump boost?" She asked, still on the floor.
"... Work on your landing. That's my only advice." He helped her up.
"Okay, I'll try. So what other moves are there?"
"The last B move is Dimensional Cape, but I don't think it will work."
"Why not?"
"You need a cape for it, and it involves you going temporarily invisible. Then you choose a direction and attack your opponent."
"Hmm, do you think my bow will work?"
"Maybe, try it."
"Can I have an example first?" He disappeared into his cape.
"Hey where did you-" He sliced into the sandbag.
"There's your example. Now try it on the sandbag." To his surprise, she disappeared and sliced into the sandbag. The bow worked, it was big enough to help her disappear.
"I did it! I did it!" She cheered, jumping up and down. The way she disappeared instantly first try... It was so impressive for a beginner with not much ability. His eyes faded blue for a minute.
"Estoy orgullosa de ti, Pixel." He whispered.
"Huh? What does that mean?"
"Uh- Something. Now then, there's one more thing I want you to try. It's a little more intense than what we've done, but learning comes with experience."
"What would that be?" She finished her taco.
"I want you to fight me."
"Oh, okay then-"
*GAME!*
...
"Ughhh... My head..." She got off the floor.
"I win."
"That's not fair, I'm new to this!"
"But you could have dodged, it was one attack."
"Then why did I die instantly?"
"You didn't die, you got KO'D."
"Regardless, I got OHKO'D (one hit KO'D), how did that happen?"
"Maybe your body isn't used to being attacked physically."
"Oh! That makes sense."
"Correct me if I'm wrong but you haven't been hit like that before, have you?"
"The only things I've been hit by is magic, spikes and vegetables."
"What?! Who could do such a horrible thing to a child?!"
"That stupid Cake Witch would throw those horrible greens at me, I refuse to eat them!"
"... I was talking about the spikes."
"Oh, those were from traps. I would try getting a key for the cages that had cakes, step on the wrong tile, and get impaled."
"That's child abuse!"
"Says you, Mr OHKO."
"... Fair point. But at least I didn't shoot spikes through you."
"Yeah, thank goodness. And what's worse is they instantly kill me. They shoot directly through my heart, split it in half, and jam gets everywhere."
"What's the age rating for your game?!"
"I think it's a 12."
"But you shoot jam when a spike goes into your heart, that's sounds violent."
"It's okay, I'm part cake. Jam isn't a substitute of blood, just something that's in cake."
"You're part cake?"
"Yes. My heart, bones and one part of my brain. It's so sweet in there, I think my pacifist part comes from there."
"I see. And that's why you can't swim?"
"Correct, nobody likes soggy cake."
"So... Were your parents human or cake?"
"I have no idea because they both abandoned me. Then a sweet old cake lady took me in."
"..." He went silent.
"... Are you okay?"
"... Yes."
"Why are you looking at the floor depressingly?"
"... No reason."
"Okay, so is training over for today?" He nodded.
"Great, see you on Friday!" She pat his head and was about to leave, before she remembered something.
"Meta Knight, what did you say earlier in Spanish?"
"... I said I was proud of you."
"Really? Aww, you're such a great mentor!" She left. Meta Knight was still in shock about what she told him. How can one abandon a child? It's a horrible thought. But Pixel seemed so careless, like she didn't even think about it. And she was so open about it, which just made it worse. But if she were to tell anyone information like that, she probably trusted them a lot. So.... Did she trust him that much? They only met a few days ago, how can she be so... Trusting of him? What if she trusted the wrong person one day?...
He sighed and finally ate the taco.
(Meanwhile with Pixel)
She made her way to Isabelle's room and knocked. Isabelle opened but she looked different. She had a pink shirt and glasses. There was also music playing.
"Oh, hello Pixel! Are you ready to con everyone?"
"I wouldn't say con, rather just get their money."
"I'm pretty sure that's still a con, haha."
"But cons are baaaadddd..."
"But so are weeeeeeee."
"I don't wanna be baaaaaddddd."
"Don't worry, it's fiiiiiinnnnneeee."
"Okaaaayyyyy..." Isabelle let her in. She had 2 empty pies on her desk and several fruits.
"Sooooooooooo we're making pieeeesssssss?"
"Why are you still talking like that?"
"I broke my jaaaaaaaaawwwwwww."
"When did you do that?"
"Just kidding, I'm fine."
"Oh, good! Now then, let's make fruit pies. I think a good idea is to con Dedede. He loves food, he's a king, he's probably loaded!"
"Nice! So he'll eat anything?"
"Yeah! We just gotta slice up the fruit, bake them, and voila!"
"Cool! So do we cut them now? I don't see a knife anywhere."
"Use Pancake, I'll use my axe!"
"That's sounds like a bad idea, are you sure about this?"
"Of course!" She slammed the axe into an apple on the invincible chopping board. The apple somehow didn't explode. Pixel carefully sliced her apple. Then they both did the same with the other fruits until they were ready to be baked. But Isabelle realised she had no oven.
"... Aw shit. We have no oven."
"Can't someone heat it?"
"Oh, good idea! Let's go hunt down Mario, he can heat it in his hand! And Mario could never turn anyone down." She took the pies and ran out of the room. Pixel followed and closed the door. The two went down to the main floor and saw Mario on his phone.
"Mariooooo! Can you heat our pies for us?" Called Isabelle.
"Hmm? Why-a don't you use an oven?"
"We don't have one! And plus, no fighter masters fire attacks like you~!"
"Oh alright, pass them-a here." They gave him the pies and he made small fire.
"So what are you making pies for anyway?"
"We're gonna sell them to rich people." Whispered Pixel.
"That's pretty smart! Well-a good luck!" The pies were ready and he gave them back, going back to death threating Bowser. The two giggled evilly and ran away, plotting this out.
"Isabelle, I just thought of something! We cut up the pies into thin slices, charge people 5 coins and-"
"And scam them out of their money?" Asked Wario, who literally heard their plan.
"AH! Oh hey Wario! Yeah, we're gonna get coins because I want to decorate my room!"
"Wahahahaaa! That's a great idea, money is the best! I can help you both get the best deal!"
"Really? That's awesome! We cannot reject help from the greediest fighter in the whole game!" Said Isabelle.
"... Passive aggressive much?" Groaned Pixel.
"Hehe, sorry. I'm just excited! So how do we start?"
"Both of you follow me outside, it's a great start if we do this privately." The three went outside.
"So to get the best deal, you gotta slice the pies into many slices. And only people that can eat will buy, so that eliminates a few fighters. So I'd saaay... 70 slices overall. Both pies are fairly large, so that means that 35 on each pie, all going for about 3 coins."
"Pixel, can you cut the pies with your sword?" Asked Isabelle.
"Of course!" She sliced perfectly into 70 slices. None were too thin, and they were all pretty even.
"Wow! Who taught this kid to cut?" Laughed Wario.
"I learn from the best." She flipped her hair smugly.
"She gets super secret training with Meta Knight." Said Isabelle in the exact same tone.
"Of course it was Meta Knight, that one attack where he goes 'HIYAYAYAYAA' is very specific. Now then, the next part is to advertise. Neither of you have the confidence to go out there and sell pies to fighters, do you?" They both shook their heads. "I thought so! So I recommend selling them in your rooms. There's a community board just next to the kitchen door, so just grab some paper and write about your pies. Now then, I've got motorbikes to polish. See ya!" He left.
"So who's selling?" Asked Pixel. Isabelle laughed.
"You, of course! I'm not letting those guys into my room if there's several weapons. They could hurt somebody!"
"What?"
"... I've said too much. See ya!" Isabelle ran full speed back into the building, leaving Pixel to carry both pies.
"Ugh... Damn you Isabelle." She stumbled up and tried taking them inside. They wobbled a lot, and unfortunately her arms were shaking. Pac-Man saw her struggling and came over to help.
"Pac-Man, how's it going?" He grabbed one of the pies. "Are you here to help?" He nodded. "Great, just follow me to my room." On the way up the stairs, she saw the clock. It was 17:37, so there's no way that breakfast was still on. She sighed, the pies would need to be preserved until the next day. When they got to her room, they put the pies down. He gave her a thumbs up and wakawaka'd away. (Lol I'm sorry)
Pixel had not a clue what to do. How does she preserve them?! Did she cover them with ice cubes? Did she put them in an imaginary fridge she never had?! Agh, what to do?!
"You need any help?" Asked two voices at once. It's the Ice Climbers!
"Yeah, I have no idea how to store pies without a fridge."
"We can freeze them for you! That will keep them cool for a day!" Suggested Nana.
"Thanks guys!" Popo and Nana encased the pies in ice and then went back to their rooms. They were very cool, there was no way they would expire! As for the next step... Advertisement.

Perfect! Thanks to Peach's gift, she had the right colours to make the poster pop! What could she do without her? :)
Pixel sneaked back downstairs and was going to put the poster up. But she noticed the hall was busy. Maybe if she was quiet they wouldn't notice! She pinned it on and was about to leave. But then...
"Hey, aren't you the newcomer?" Asked Ness.
"Hmm? Yeah, I am."
"Hi! I'm Ness, my friend Lucas wanted to come say hi but he was kinda nervous." He stepped to the right, revealing his friend that looked down at the floor.
"Hi..."
"Hello Lucas."
"Lucas, ask the question!" Encouraged Ness.
"Uhm... Do you know Joe?"
"Who's Joe?" She asked. The two start snickering.
"Joe Mama!" Laughed Ness.
"Neesss! I wanted to say the joke!"
"I said it first!"
"Grrr! 1v1 me final destination no items!"
"Haha, you're on!" The two ran towards the stage select door.
"Heh, kids nowadays." She smiled, walking back to her room. It was probably good to get some rest now, so she closed the door and went to sleep.