Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hotdogs and taquitos roll endlessly at the Seven Eleven. Jin waits at the counter with a Monster energy drink as the sales clerk grabs a pack of cigarettes. Jin throws a ten down at the table and walks off drink and cigs in hand. 

"Hey!" The clerk calls out. 

The word shatters Jin's hungover head. 

"You want your change?" the clerk kindly asks. 

Jin squints at the clerk briefly and then walks off. The clerk shrugs and pockets the money. 

Jin walks out to what seems like an endless expanse of white light. It's mid July and the summer sun washes out everything outside. Jin takes a seat on the curb and lights one of the cigarettes, he takes a drag, and then drinks half of the monster in one gulp. 

Jin's friends the Torna Crew are hanging outside. 

Akhos is on DJ duty playing music from Mikhail's 1989 Volvo Station wagon. The song, Two of Hearts by Stacy Q plays. The song is garbled and full of static but Patroka and Mikhail dance beside the car. Mikhail gets to in the zone and dances in front of Patroka, waving and pumping his arms in her face. Patroka then shoves Mikhail into the Volvo several times, the pain accented by the rigid metal frame of the car. 

"So how was your night" 

Jin jumps not expecting the sudden question. He turns and to find Nia already sitting on the curb next to him. 

"How long have you been there?" Jin asks. He presses two fingers onto his forehead trying to alleviate the pressure. 

"You sat next to me you doof" 

Jin rubs his eyes and drinks the rest of his Monster. He tries to remember the night before. All that he can recall is a flurry of color and loud electronic music. Bodies and unfamiliar faces. 

"Did you black out again?" 

Jin snaps back to reality "No, well not all the way…".

"Jin, look check this out" its Mikhail, he is wearing a sleeveless black shirt with massive choppy holes for the arms exposing most of his torso. He poses multiple times. 

"Ok, what am I checking out?" Jin says.

"You know how I said I had no summer clothes"

"What?" "You did?" Nia and Jin look at Mikhail confused. 

"Well I did, so I made my own" Mikhail poses again lifting his arms over his head. 

"Those holes big enough for you" Nia's words break Mikhail's composure. 

"Actually I cut the arms for optimal summer cooling" the shirt exposes a nipple. 

The Vovlo's car horn then goes off in rapid succession. 

"What are you all doing?! Let's not be late for registration for once" Patroka yells over the parking lot. Mikhail yells back taunting Patroka. All the noise takes out all of Jin's senses like a flashbang. His vision goes out as an overwhelming ringing sound blows out his head. 

An hour or so pass, they are on the road packed into the Volvo. Mikhail drives while Alkhos sits shotgun. Nia sits in the middle between Patroka and the still comatose Jin. 

Patroka unplugs Akhos phone stopping the music.

 "You said you downloaded tunes, that was like four songs" Patroka yanks the aux cord frustrated. 

"The app said the drive would take less than thirty minutes" Akhos scoffs. The car sits motionless stuck in dense freeway traffic. 

Patroka finally manages to plug the cord into her phone. She plays a song but nothing comes out the speakers. 

"What gives"

Patroka unplugs and plugs the cord back in. 

"It looks like the cassette came loose" 

Mikhail ejects and then reinserts a cassette into his car's stereo. It's an adaptor, that the cord aux cord plugs into. 

"Wow I have never fully comprehended how crappy your car was until right now". 

Patroka's words ignite  a rage in Mikhail.

"I don't see you offering to drive".

They glare at each other through the rear view mirror. 

"I'll drive but you fucks aren't allowed into my car again… well except Nia" 

Nia smiles "Yeah that does sound a whole lot better, ditch these guys a drive something from this century". 

Groggy and struggling to get the words out Jin asks "What did I do?". 

"You ruined the backseats!" 

"You don't remember the stains, a couple of weeks ago... did you blackout?" Nia prys. 

Jin tries to recall but the memories can't surface over Jin's headache. 

Patroka's music finally comes on and the moment passes. Akhos sulks while Patroka chooses the playlist. The car finally starts moving as the traffic finally decongestants. 

The Torna group finally reach the venue, its a large manor like house and several people are gathered out front.

"I think I've been here before" Patroka says as they all approach the house. They walk inside to find Zeke and Pandoria sitting at a table at the entrance. Pandoria is hard at work on a laptop setting up the brackets and registering everyone. Zeke insists on talking to everyone that comes in whether they like it or not. 

"Hey guys glad you could make it" Pandoria waves at the Torna group to come. 

"We registered online before we got here" Patroka tries to say nicely. 

Pandoria diligently focused finds everyone. 

"Yep, looks like your all here… wait Jin what's your tag this time" 

"Sole"

"Soul?" 

"Sole like solo"

Pandoria confused looks back at Jin and shakes her head.

Zeke peeks over  at Pandoria's computer. 

"Gentlemen, it appears you registered yourself as 'swole' not sole" 

"Zeke is right, looks like you registered yourself as 'swole'" Pandoria vigorously clicks around the screen. 

"Don't worry about it" Jin says squinting through a headache. 

"Looks like your 'swole' for tonight" Mikhail slaps Jin's back and laughs. 

Though the slap was playful it feels like a baseball bat was taken to the side of Jin's head. Jin wanders off with a groan. 

Everyone is briefly confused. 

"Well we got some setups and snacks in the back, help yourself, its gonna be a little bit until we're set up" Pandoria gets right back to work on her laptop. 

The Tornas start to meander away but then Zeke calls out to Mikhail.

"Hey chum, sick tank" 

Mikail turns around. 

"Thanks bro" Mikhail smiles at Zeke. 

"Where you get it? I've never seen a cut for the arms like that" Zeke stands up and places his hand on his chin admiring the cut. 

"That's my handywork,  its a cut I invented" 

"Intriguing" 

Zeke starts fidgeting with his short sleeve shirt, its tight and clings to his body. 

"Bro, let me show you" Mikhail places a friendly arm over Zeke's shoulder. The two walk away together, Mikhail shows off a pair of scissors in his pocket while they walk into the bathroom. 

Pandoria looks up from her laptop. 

"That was quick, they better not make a mess"

Thump! 

Two hands slam onto the table. Its Malos wearing a snapback.

"I'm here to register" 

"Alright that will be ten dollars also whats your tag?" 

"The tags 'wreck' and how about no dollars" 

"Uhhh. No, you gotta pay" 

"Is there a student discount?" A child asks behind Malos. Malos moves to the side its Rex. 

"Hey there?" worry fills Pandoria. 

"Who's kid is this? Who brought a kid?" Pandoria calls out to the room. 

"I came to register, my mom dropped me off"

Rex shows his ten dollars and his Link themed Gamecube controller that plugs into a Wiimote.

"That's not legal" arrogance fills Malos's voice.

Pandoria is left scratching her head as Malos explains Smash tournament rules. 

Should I not let either of them in? But, ten dollars is ten dollars though.

" Hey what's your tag" Pandoria gestures for Rex to come closer. 

Malos begrudgingly takes out his wallet. As Rex registers. 

 "Who's the money even going to huh?" 

Malos slams the money on the table.

"Well half goes to host, thank Sheeba for letting us use her place, and then the other half goes to the prize money". Pandoria places the bills into a box under the table. She gets back to work, ignoring the two. They walk away.

Behind the table and Pandoria is a large living room, with a connected dining room. The dining room tables has been put away, several televisions are hooked up to Nintendo Switches all playing Smash Ultimate. Couches have been moved and dining room chairs have been all arranged to face a TV. Despite all the setups the attendance is light. 

"Pandy the stream is ready"

It's Adenine assisting Pandoria with the tournament. 

"Good let's get going then"

Jin still in a haze from the night before battles with his surroundings. The lights are way to bright and it feels like the room is spinning. He sits in front of one of the set ups with Nia. He rubs his eyes as his vision comes back to him. Nia is talking to two women. 

Its Brighid and Morag who is sitting behind her, offering support and shoulder rubs. Morag wipes the non existent sweat off of Brighid’s head, she notices Jin wallowing. 

"Is he ok" 

"He's fine, he's just dying" Nia laughs. 

Pandoria approaches with a laptop in hand. 

"Where your friend? He's about to be on" 

Everyone looks at each other confused. 

"I just saw him in the bathroom" 

Its Malos again. He gives Jin a firm slap to the back. 

"Really?! Still?" 

Jin stands up. 

"I'll get him". 

All this noise was starting to be too much for him anyway. Jin walks around strangers and chairs making his way to the back where the bathrooms are. 

He steps inside to find Zeke and Mikhail standing shirtless in the bathroom. The bathroom is tiny so the two huddle together as they look at themselves in the mirror. In their hands are the tattered remains of their shirts. 

"Mikhail your sets about to start" 

Jin immediately steps out of the bathroom.

Half a minute later Zeke and Mikhail walk out together. Zeke's shirt  is now shredded with several rough cuts, and huge holes for the arms that reach the bottom inseam of the shirt. 

Mikhail rushes to his set, while Zeke lingers around Jin.  

Zeke looks at Jin and says "What do you think?". 

"It looks… well ventilated"

Jin walks walks away but Zeke follows attempting to carry on the conversation. 

"Exactly, the freedom of movement is amazing and with these holes there's enough air circulation that I will never sweat….. Your friend do you think he does special orders I wouldn't mind modifying more of my wardrobe ..." 

Zeke keeps talking as Jin eventually takes a seat next to Nia, Morag, and Brighid again.

"B, B, Up B, Up B, wave dash, quarter A" Morag yells commands behind Brighid while she presses random buttons and inputs on her controller. 

Patroka stands in front of the two. 

"So where are you two heading after this" 

Morag points to Brighid while looking directly at Patroka. 

"Your place"

Patroka raises a curious eyebrow. 

"Nooo, I meant Brighid’s place, not your place"

As Morag stumbles over her words Brighid and Patroka playfully point finger guns at each other, messing with Morag.

"Binch, spelled B-I-N-C-H, your on" 

Adenine walks by calling for a "Binch" looking for the next competitor.

"Looks like I'm next, I'll see you later" Patroka walks away with a confident strut.

 The tournament continues into the evening, with the crowd becoming thinner and thinner as people get knocked out. The Torna Crew would have left earlier but Nia is about to be in the semi-finals. 

As Nia destroys her opponent an uproar builds in the back. Malos and Rex are arguing with each other, taunting and slinging insults. The remaining audience, Pandoria hosting the stream and even Nia stop briefly as the argument intensifies.

Adenine whispers to Pandoria. 

"Should we do something" 

"If he starts throwing hands with a kid then I'm calling the cops. Don't worry I can handle this" 

Pandoria adjusts the audio levels so their arguing can't be heard on stream. Adenine crosses out "All Ages" from their flyer. 

 "Alright money match, when we go to finals winner takes all the money" 

"Your on, I got nine dollars and a coupon for a free personal pizza from Pizza Hut"  

Rex pulls out his meager offings from a Pokemon themed wallet.

"That Pizza is as good as mine" 

Malos offers a handshake to Rex solidifying their deal and the two shake on it.

Nia wins going onto Loser's Finals. Somehow Rex cheesed his way through the bracket making his way to fight Nia. 

Malos is up against Brighid in the Winners Finals. Their feud rages on despite everything else going on and the lack of interest from others. Completely assured that they would face each other in the finals they get absolutely demolished by Nia and Brighid. Nia four stocks Rex with skillful Wolf play, and Brighid bullies Malos by only finishing his stocks with Jigglypuff's rest. 

It's a bloodbath. 

Now onto grand finals Nia and Brighid prepare to fight each other. Morag and the Torna Crew are the only one's remaining. They center around the final match while Pandoria makes Zeke start putting the setups away.

Meanwhile, the defeat only fuels the flame of Malos and Rexs' feud. Everyone else is over it and ready to tell Malos to stop bullying a highschooler. 

"Hey there has to be one more match right"

"Yeah third place or something" 

Malos and Rex plead with Pandoria, but behind her laptop she glares at them. They have been the biggest hassle of this tournament, but looking at these two she sees an opportunity. 

"Ok you can do you money match… On stream! But you have to stay and clean" 

"Sure" 

"Of course" 

Pandoria clasp her hand and smiles, the biggest pain should now be taken care of. Cleanup. 

"Sheeba has very high standards of cleanliness, so don't make me regret this"

Malos and Rex hurry over to help Zeke carry away a large TV.

Brighid and Nias' game is close but Brighid walks away the victor. The pot, a cool eighty dollars and a Kirby Amiibo are now Brighid’s. 

Everything winds down after the final game with everyone eager to leave.  

As people begin to meander out of the house and say their goodbyes Malos calls out. 

"Everyone come look, I'm about to win a pizza"

No one bothers but Pandoria who agreed to keep the stream going. 

"This time I'm going with my real main" 

Rex selects Link, he then chooses the Fierce Deity color palate. 

"Alright same goes for me"

Malos hesitates but in an instant Malos selects "Dark Link" as his fighter. 

Pandoria rubs her head while the two roll around the stage. Adenine with a ginger ale in one hand and a beer in the other hand. 

"Well at least it's clean"

Adenine hands Pandoria the beer. 

Outside the Torna Group gathers outside the Volvo waiting for Mikhail. 

"He better not be in the bathroom again" Akhos says trying to open the door.

They look around themselves but Mikhail is nowhere to be found. Suddenly, Mikhail walks out of the house. His jeans have now been cut into jorts. 

"What the hell" 

"What happened to your pants?" 

"You like it, me and Zeke are going to reinvent the fashion industry"

Everyone shakes their head. 

"Just drive us home" Jin says with a groan. 

Despite all this time his hangover remains. 

They all hop into the car but before Patroka gets in she receives a friendly tap on the shoulder.  

"So you coming?" 

It's Brighid and Morag holding their new Kirby friend.  

"With, with you?!" 

"Of course, you gotta ride though?" Brighid asks putting on a motorcycle helmet. 

"I'm afraid we only got space for two" Morag adds putting on a helmet of her own.

Brighid hops onto a motorcycle. Morag gets on behind her and firmly grabs Brighid’s waist. 

"I came with these guys, I'm getting a ride with them" 

Pandoria points and the junky Volvo.

Brighid opens up the visor of her helmet. 

"That's too bad" 

Brighid starts the engine and skids out before speeding off with Morag. 

Patroka takes her seat in the car. An angry scowl on her face. 

"What was that?" Akhos asks. 

"I was about to have a threesome"

Patroka slumps defeated in her seat. 

"Well that was fun" 

Mikhail then starts the car but then the whole car suddenly shakes. Everyone looks back to find Malos shaking the back of the car. 

"Where are you guys going? Do you wanna hang? I got this pizza coupon" 

The Torna Crew silently and mutually decide to not let him in. 

"Guys… guys… guys…" Malos says tapping on their back window. Mikhail rolls up the windows as they back out of the place. 

"Hey guys where we going?" Malos says as he opens up the back window latch. 

"Holy crap" Mikhail in a panic speeds out, knocking Malos to the ground. The Torna Crew share a collective sigh of relief speeding onward to dance in front of more convenience stores. 

Chapter Text

It's getting late as Mythra gets ready for bed. She lies partially under plush blankets and sheets reading a book. The room glows dimly in a warm light. Mythra glances over the top of her book to see the outline of Zenobia illuminated by the screen of Mythra's laptop. Zenobia sits at the foot of Mythra's queen sized bed.

The room is quiet with only the tapping of the keyboard breaking the silence. The tapping escalates as Zenobia's typing becomes frantic mashing soon degrading into Zenobia banging her fists against the keyboard. Mythra jumps up. 

"Is something the fucking mater?!" 

Zenobia flinches stopping immediately. 

"This match is terrible,  it's just rolling. The stream is just going downhill". 

"Let me see". 

Zenobia turns around the laptop to show a match of Super Smash Bros Ultimate, two Links roll across the stage.

Mythra's eyes scan across the screen to see the chat Zenobia ran amok in. Zenobia ranting and spamming emotes makes up most of the chat. In the corner are the commentators. Pandoria slumping biding her time to leave while Adenine writes in notebook not even paying attention to the game.

"Ohhhh this is close to us. Look thats Pandoria."

Mythra points at the screen.

"Tell her Mythra says 'hi' I didn't know she was doing this now". 

Zenobia types the message into the chat, "You know them?".

Zenobia reaches under the bed and pulls out an open Monster Energy Drink, she takes a sip. 

"Yeah I go to school with a lot of them".

Zenobia spaces out trying to remember.

"She has the glasses right? And she is always hanging out with that loud guy with the nipple piercings"

Mythra's eyes widen in shock, "What?!… wait, no your right".

Zenobia takes another gulp of her beverage. Mythra sassily glares at Zenobia.

"I thought you were going to sleep soon?" 

"I am, after this stream ends"

Zenobia takes another sip.

"Do you want some?" 

Zenobia extends the Monster to Mythra. 

"Yeah" 

Mythra takes a drink of sweet funky tasting beverage.

"Well… if you know these people and its not too far, what would you say if we pay them a visit next week?"

Zenobia lies down stretching herself out next to Mythra 

"Next week? I got work the next morning and it would be a long drive there and back".

Zenobia springs up onto her knees. 

"Come on, we can see your friends and I can beat them up".

Zenobia grabs onto Mythra's legs and shakes them back and forth.

"I don't know its probably going to run late to".

Zenobia aggressively squeezes Mythra's legs in an attempt to massage them. Zenobia then rubs her legs in a much more successful attempt. Mythra playfully sighs.

Mythra sits up exposing her back to Zenobia. 

"If your going to do that could you maybe hit up my back?".

"Does that mean were going?"

"Hmmmmm" 

Mythra avoids a response but her teasing causes Zenobia look away in a momment of genuine disappointment.

"Heyyy" Mythra reaches over to hug Zenobia. 

"We can go, but can you beat them up quickly?" 

Zenobia's eyes shine in excitement, "They don't stand a chance".

Mythra pulls herself back under the covers, "Are you going to get in here?" 

Zenobia immediately chugs the rest of her Monster, and then crushes the can against the side of her head. She haphazardly tosses the can to the floor.

Zenobia crawls across the bed and slides her way under the covers. Mythra looks at Zenobia in concern but it quickly fades away as Zenobia warms her up. Mythra then scoots right up to Zenobia to steal more warmth. 

Chapter Text

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

A small digital clock blares in Jin’s apartment. Jin’s arm raises out of the depths of sleep to turn off the alarm. He feels around beside his bed for the clock but he can’t find it as it continues to blare louder and louder. 

Beep! Beep! Beep! 

Jin sits up to find his clock completely obscured by clothes and trash, he throws the junk aside and turns off the clock. Jin sits alone as the clock flashes five minutes past eight. It had been a really long time since Jin had woken up before Noon and feeling motivated Jin stood up. 

Crunch… SNAP!

Jin sighs realizing he just broke something.

Jin’s studio apartment is a complete wreck, dishes are piled in the sink and the only sign of life, a small succulent plant lays tipped over on Jin’s small dining table. The morning speeds by as a Jin cleans his apartment, and even though it's cramped it starts to feel like a home again. 

One last task remains though, the fridge. Jin opens it up to find it mostly bare with only some eggs and condiments standing out, but as he inspects the fridge he smells the distict smell of rot. Jin opens up his crisper revealing a sludge of unidentifiable produce. 

“Fuck”.

Jin is able to salvage some veggies and makes a decent omelette for himself. He sits at the table feeling good about cleaning up. He takes a bite and a memory surges back to him. He remembers scrounging a neglected fridge with Lora back in the day and making omelettes just like this. He stops eating as a wave of sadness comes over him.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

 Jin stands up and opens the door to see Nia there. 

“Aye hey Jin, Whoa!” Nia welcomes herself in. 

“You finally spruced it up in here?” 

“It wasn’t that bad… What do you want?” Jin sits back down at the table. 

“We’re all going to Sheba’s place later for another weekly, you coming?”

“Ughhh yeah I’m going”.

“Good because Akhos, Patroka, and Mikhail need a ride”. 

“Really I was just about to clean out my car”. 

“Pandoria said the neighbors complained so you gotta carpool,” Nia bends down to inspect Jin’s breakfast. 

“Looks good,” Jin promptly pushes the plate towards Nia. 

“Nah, you look like you could use the food more,” Jin looks down at himself. 

Nia smiles smugly “I’m joking,” she pats Jin on the back. 

“Well I gotta get going, there at Akhos’s parents house and get them to bring their Switches too. Thank you bye!” Nia slips through the door and just like that is gone.

Jin pulls up to Akhos’s parents place, it's a nice big house in the suburbs complete with a backyard. Three cars are parked haphazardly out front. Everyone is here. 

Jin parks his Volvo and he looks up to see Mikhail standing in the open front door shirtless. 

“Jin! Yo!” Mikhail runs into the front yard. “I see you woke up early to see the gun show”. 

“Mikhail we’re going somewhere get a shirt on”. 

“Oh yeah, the weekly?” Jin then nods. 

Mikhail leads the way into the house jaunty jumping around the lawn on his bare feet. They walk in to find themselves in a massive open living room and dining room, Akhos and Patroka sit at the table playing with their Switches. Mikhail keeps walking into another room. 

“You finally changed your mind about genned Pokemon,” Akhos says. 

“I don’t care, just give me her… is there anything you want?” Patroka looks through her many boxes of Pokemon. 

Akhos chuckles “I really don’t care”. 

“I’m giving you a Sobble, it's adamant, deal with it”.

Jin takes a seat, “Jin you're here early, you alright?”. 

Jin sighs, “Everyone keeps saying that, so what are you doing?”. 

“Patroka finally gave in and had me make her a shiny Pokemon” Akhos's says with a snide smugness but the comment is completely ignored by Patroka. 

Jin peeks over Patroka's Switch to see Patroka playing with a shiny Budew. 

“Ha ha, little nugget friend". 

Jin stands up, “Alright well all of you need to get ready, and bring your
Switches were going to the weekly early”. 

Patroka immediately puts her Switch down, “Pfff what why?”. 

Mikhail walks in, he is wearing a tank top with massive holes in the arms, “How do I look?”.

Everyone glances at Mikhail for a second. 

Jin continues, “Pandoria needs help and setups, I said we can do it”.

Patroka rolls her eyes “I don’t know why we gotta do it”. 

“Wait!” Mikhail interjects, “Go early? Hell yeah we should!”. 

Patroka rolls her eyes, “You're just saying that because that one guy will be there!”.  

Mikhail calmly takes a deep breath “Would you not do the same?”. 

Patroka steeps the thought, she sighs “Alright, but what's in it for me!”

Jin shrugs, “I don’t know I think there’s food yall can eat”. 

Patroka pauses, “Fine”. 

“Do I get a say?” Akhos interjects. 

“I don’t know it's three to one,” Mikhail says as he grabs his stuff.

Some time passes and the Torna Crew finally pulls up to Sheba’s house. To their surprise Sheba welcomes them in as she waves to them on her porch; a drink in hand. Everyone hops out and begins to walk inside. Patroka doesn’t make it as she’s quickly pulled aside by Sheba. 

Directly inside the house is a small table where Pandoria is setting up her laptop.

“Uhhh Hi, we're here to help set up” Jin mutters out. 

“Great!” Pandoria mashes on her keyboard. 

“So what’s up with Sheba?”. 

“She got back early from her vacation, she’s cool with us using her place, so you know tell her thanks if you can,” Pandoria looks up and begins counting Jin and the others. Pandoria notices Sheba and Patroka outside, she looks to Jin. 

“Yeah register her to, the tags BINCH”.

Mikhail registers and begins to wander around. He tries to be subtle but he’s searching for Zeke. Mikhail wanders onto the porch and outside he spots Zeke with several chairs tucked into each arm. He struggles to hold all the chairs in hand but he’s committed to a single trip. 

“Wow, your technique is impressive,” Mikhail says crossing his arms in front of Zeke. Mikhail subtly flexes. 

“The trick is to squat a little bit, true strength comes from the hips,” Zeke drops the chairs. 

“Can I try?” Mikhail places a hand on the clusters of fold-up chairs. 

“Be my guest,” Zeke moves aside. Mikhail gets a grip on the chairs and lifts. He walks with the chairs for a second but they slip out of his hands as he struggles with the weight. 

“No no no, you're using your back, you need to squat more first,” Zeke places a hand on Mikhail's hip. “Go lower then pick up the chairs, down here” Zeke moves his hand a little bit lower to show Mikhail how low Zeke wants him to go. 

“Zeke what’s taking forever!” Pandoria calls out. 

“Hurry!” Zeke slings a stack of chairs on his back. Mikhail follows suit and the two scurry inside the house.

Meanwhile Sheba and Patroka continue to talk. 

“So what do you say, want to stick around once this is over,” Sheba runs her finger on the rim of her glass. 

“I don’t know, hmmpph I got a ride here,” as Patroka thinks it over a car pulls into Sheba’s driveway. A green Prius driven by Morag, with Brighid in the passenger seat. Patroka and Sheba can’t help but gawk a little bit as the attractive couple enter the house. 

“I’ll invite them to, what do you say?”.

“Uh huh Yeah sure,” Patroka spaces out. 

“It’s not polite to stare,” Sheba takes a sip while Patroka shakes herself out of it. 

“Whatever,” Patroka walks away and joins the rest inside the house.

As Sheba’s house fills up with people Jin walks around. Pandoria is busy with a line of people registering, while Zeke and Mikhail finish setting up the remaining switches. Jin see’s an unused setup and sits down.  

“MARTH!!” 

“Hey Jin! Want to go?!” Nia jumps into the seat next to him. 

“Yeah lets get some practice in”. 

“FOX!!” 

Akhos walks up behind them, “Fox versus Marth what is this uh Melee?! Huh”.

Jin and Nia mutually ignore him and begin the match. The match starts explosively with Marth juggling Fox and ending with a spike, a fast zero to death. 

“Dang, you can actually make some moves when you can keep your eyes open” 

Jin shakes his head, “I’m feeling good about this week”. 

Nia’s Fox then raw up-smashes the distracted Jin, Nia smiles smugly. 

Jin and Nia continue to fight but a commotion starts to build behind them. They turn their heads and it looks like Mythra just arrived. Pandoria is giving Mythra an awkward hug across the registration table. 

“Sorry Jin, I’m going to go say hi,” Nia springs up and runs over there. Jin tenses up. It's been a while since he last saw Mythra and he contemplates heading over there to. Mythra and the others laugh and talk together forming a big circle. Zenobia then walks in with a case of Monster Energy Drinks in hand, she holds the box over her head and puts it down on a table before grabbing two of them for herself. Zenobia makes a b-line to Jin’s open friendly set up. 

She plops down next to Jin, “Friendlies?”. 

“Uh yeah, let’s go,” Jin shakes himself back out of it.

“DONKEY KONG!” 

Zenobia takes a massive drink from her Monster, and the match begins.

 “So how’s it been going for you? It’s been forever?” Nia asks while her and Mythra walk onto the front porch. 

“My internship has been keeping me really busy”. 

“You like it?”

“Pfffff guhh hell no! Eight hour days and I’m still mostly being paid in experience but it’s whatever,” Mythra leans on the rail of the porch. 

“Sounds like a lot,” Nia says, taking a spot next to her. 

“I’ll get paid, EVENTUALLY! huhhh We need to hangout maybe, go on a road trip like we used to”.

"That would be fun," Nia and Mythra stand there in silence letting the thought sink in, they notice Sheba still chilling on the porch and Sheba winks at them. 

“So what are we doing out here again?” Mythra asks. 

Nia checks her phone, “He should be here any second now”. 

Nia looks up at the road, the bell of a bicycle can be heard in the distance. 

Ding Ding!

The bike pulls in as Nia and Mythra hop over the rail. On the bike is a large muscular looking man, his face is almost completely obscured by a mane of hair. He is covered in dirt and animal hair. Mythra’s face tenses up suspiciously as Nia hurries towards this man. 

The man greets them saying “Flora heals an aching soul,” revealing a bag of weed.

 Donkey Kong brutally spikes Marth. 

“GAME!.... Donkey Kong wins,” the game announcer exclaims as Zenobia joins Donkey Kong in pounding her chest. 

“Good game! You got a really spicy Marth” Zenobia says with a big smile as she offers a knuckle for Jin to bump. 

Akhos interrupts, “Spicy? I guess getting three stocked is pretty spicy”.

“You keep talking up a big game. Wanna fight?”. 

Jin bumps Zenobia’s knuckle and gets up, as Akhos takes his spot. 

“ROB!” The announcer exclaims. 

Jin walks into the kitchen to find several stacks of pizza boxes and piles of other snacks.

Jin goes to take a slice when suddenly Aegaeon appears behind the kitchen counter. 

“Food is free but we ask that all guests offer a donation if they can,” Aegaeon lifts a jar to Jin’s head. The startled Jin catches his breath, as Aegaeon just stands there. 

Suddenly Mythra and Nia burst into the kitchen.

“Oh hell yes!” Mythra grabs a plate and greedily stacks three slices of pizza onto her plate. She then grabs a couple of handfuls of chips and sprawls them across the slices. Aegaeon watches, 

“Food is free but we ask that all guests offer a donation if they can”. 

“I don’t got any money,” Mythra stares defiantly at Aegaeon. 

“Come on! Really?” Aegaeon’s glassy eyes piece Mythra as he holds the Jar up to her. 

Mythra takes out a five and shoves it into the jar. “Alright well I’m getting my money's worth,” Mythra grabs another slice and a soda as she leaves the kitchen. 

Aegaeon looks at Nia, “Food is free but we ask all….”. 

Nia shoves in a few dollars and Jin does the same as they both leave.

Meanwhile Malos walks through the door, he approaches the registration table with a foolish swagger while adjusting his snapback. 

“No” Pandoria flatly states as Malos leans up to her table.

Malos raises his eyebrow before Malos can rebut Pandoria continues, “You caused a lot of drama last time Malos, I’m not dealing with it today”. 

“That was the little punk’s fault, I don’t see any punks we should be good”.

“Come on this is a college event, go somewhere else, “ Pandoria gets back to her work. 

“Well I'm a student to in fact,” Malos pulls out an ID from his wallet. Malos somehow is wearing a snapback in his photo. 

“Really what are you studying?” 

“You know business administration, business development, pottery, I don’t think the college would like to hear your not allowing a student to participate sounds kinda discriminatory”. 

Pandoria gives Malos the ID back, “Fine, but if you cause any trouble..”. 

Malos interrupts, “I’ll be as well behaved as a suckling hog”. Malos walks away, “Hey you still have to pay!” Pandoria calls out. Malos grumbles and returns to the table.

The weekly has really filled up, the sun is going down, and everyone eagerly awaits the start of the tournament. Pandoria eventually calls up tags and the competitors quickly breeze through the first few rounds. Brighid and Nia cut through the tournament giving the randos not much of a chance. Zenobia brings it too, offering no mercy and only spikes to her opponents. The tournament coalesces with Mikhail, Zeke, Nia, Zenobia, Pandoria, Malos, Patroka and Brighid. 

These last rounds start with Mikhail and Zeke who somehow met up for another terrible Captain Falcon ditto. The two show off as they admire each other's fighting style but eventually Zeke wins. Patroka goes against Brighid, but Patroka loses as she keeps getting distracted by Brighid, as she attempts to start a conversation with her mid-fight. Pandoria gets pretty far with her Pichu game, but Malos janks a win with Hero. 

Malos is obnoxiously cocky, “Wow, I would have expected more from the President of the Smash club”. Pandoria reluctantly offers a handshake but Malos just gets up and leaves. 

The next round is between Nia and Zenobia with the winner going against Malos next round. 

Pandoria buts in between the two just as they are going to start, “Hey whoever wins, can you fucking destroy Malos”. 

Nia and Zenobia smile at each other, mutually understanding and wanting to destroy him too. 

The match begins and even though they are pretty equally matched Zenobia stands on top able to knock Nia out with several nasty spikes from Donkey Kong. 

Semi-finals begin with Brighid against Zeke, and Brighid’s Jigglypuff handily wins against Zeke’s Captain Falcon. Next up is Malos against Zenobia, Malos starts with some promise able to cheese some big damage with Hero’s spells but Zenobia gives Malos the Donkey Kong scrub combo, cargo throwing him off stage for a quick stock.

Malos responds by stalling hardcore. He uses accelerate to keep away from Donkey Kong while throwing as many fireballs as he can. He’s able to get a lead while stalling six minutes off the clock but Zenobia pulls through winning the round. The next round begins with Malos going all in on stalling. He does nothing but throws fireballs and run away, the audience groans as Malos evades direct combat. It starts to look like Malos might win the round, but then after a foolish magic burst Zenobia rushes in and makes quick work of Malos’s stock.

Flustered Malos quickly draws his next spell right into Kaclang. Zenobia waits and as soon as he becomes vulnerable grabs Hero and combos another stock away from Malos. Donkey Kong dances across the stage in a show of confidence. Malos tries to charge a fireball but then is grabbed by Donkey Kong, Zenobia cargo throws another stock away from Malos spiking him against the stage. Malos is now seething with anger, as the audience begins to call for a four-stock. The crowd's excitement grows but Malos rage quits, he unplugs his controller and leaves without a word. The audience boos Malos as he walks out the front door. Pandoria quickly runs up to declare Zenobia the winner. 

Finals are here, Brighid versus Zenobia, Donkey Kong versus Jigglypuff. Brighid and Zenobia shake hands and the match begins. They quickly take stocks off each other as Jigglypuff drags Donkey Kong off the stage and Donkey Kong uses his raw strength to send Jigglypuff flying. 

PfffRING!  

Brighid gets a rest off on Donkey Kong. Zenobia slams the rest of her monster down, as the fight comes to an end. Zenobia almost breaks Jigglypuff’s shield with a side-special but Brighid retaliates with another rest, taking the match and winning another weekly. The audience explodes in excitement.

Zenobia sighs in relief, and offers a hand to Brighid. As the two shake hands Zenobia says, “Good game, next time you will need to watch out”. 

“Just like how you said you would sweep us in chat” Brighid playfully smiles, as the grip of their handshake tightens. 

“So are you done? I want to play,” Mythra plops down next to Zenobia and picks up a controller. 

“Are we all playing now?” Sheba buts in sandwiching herself between everyone. This prompts others to join as silly eight player rounds start-up. 

Jin also obliges and joins in on the fun, prompting him to laugh as the shenanigans ensue. As they play, Mythra bumps Jin with her elbow,  “Hey Jin don’t be such a stranger, we should catch up sometime”.

“Yeah, yeah,” Jin says as the fight continues on. He is touched by those words, but suddenly he is spiked by Kirby's down-special. 

"HAHA Bitch!" Mythra laughs as she again jumps up into the air as Kirby getting ready another rock attack. Everyone keeps playing well into the night.

Sometime later, Patroka finds herself in the hot tub across from Sheba. It’s a delight but a bit awkward as Sheba stares at Patroka while running her lips on the rim of her champagne glass. Sheba pokes Patroka with her feet, “Would you like some?”. 

“I aight, where’s the others?” Patroka asks bluntly. Sheba doesn't respond, only focusing her lustful gaze on her, but then her eyes look towards something else. Patroka turns her head to see Morag and Brighid standing behind them. 

“Brighid, Morag! Hop in the waters perfect,” Sheba says splashing about. 

Morag is quick to respond, “I’m sorry we didn’t bring our swimsuits". 

“Nonsense we're all girlfriends here, just hop in with your underwear or maybe less,” Patroka then holds her breath eagerly awaiting them to respond to Sheba’s offer. 

Brighid places her hand on her chin with a long, “Hmmmmm”. 

“Sorry we really can’t,” Morag grabs Brighid’s hand and begins to lead her away. 

“Work early tomorrow, you know, maybe next time, Thanks we’ll see you later” Morag continues on as they get further and further away. 

Now Patroka just sits there alone with Sheba, contemplating bailing too. 

“Whatever, give me some of that,” Patorka reaches over and takes the glass from Sheba. She slams down the remaining champagne and Sheba coos in delight as she turns on the purple lights to her hot tub.