Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ace gripped her Splattershot as she waited outside the door of Smash Mansion. It was a massive ornate building and the land around it was no disappointment either. She could tell that the plants in the gardens had all been well attended to, just like the logo right above the door. Even the parking lot right behind her looked well maintained. The door to the mansion opened, on the other side was the one who had invited Ace. "Yo Master Hand you kept me waiting there," Ace said.

"Apologies," the hovering disembodied right hand said. Ace didn't bother questioning where his voice came from. She was too busy trying to hide the fact that Master Hand still weirded her out. "Come on in, the other Smashers are all gathered in the dining hall." Ace held her Splattershot at her side and grabbed the bag with her belongings (that was somehow vastly bigger on the inside than the outside) using her other hand as she followed Master Hand inside.

Everything in the mansion seemed too high class for Ace's taste. She prefered the kind of place where people didn't mind a little ink on the walls. In contrast Master Hand had made it so that any ink not being used for movement would be automatically cleaned up. The entry hall featured two large curving staircases that led up to the second floor and curved again in a spiral towards the third floor, between them was the door to the rest of the first floor. Paintings decorated the walls and there was even a chandelier. Master Hand gave an explanation of the mansion layout that Ace was only partially listening to as they walked to the dining hall.

Ace put on her game face when she walked into the dining hall. There were around five long tables that formed a loose pentagon shape, with all of the veteran Smashers sitting at them. Master Hand had told her to expect the strange but Ace hadn't expected to see humans in the mix of strange creatures. She was no history buff but even she knew about the ancient species that once ruled the Earth. "Everyone I'd like to introduce the first fighter of our fifth generation, Ace the Inkling," Master Hand said. "She's the first fighter to represent her world so expect to see some new decorations and the like in the mansion. At five there will be a concert with a popular singer duo from her world, the Squid Sisters. Now I have to get back to paperwork." Master Hand vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving Ace in entirely unknown turf.

Before Ace could size up the other Smashers a short man wearing blue overalls and a red hat approached. "Nice to meet you Ace. I'm Mario from the Mushroom Kingdom. Welcome to the Smashers," the man said. He extended a gloved hand to Ace, she accepted it. She could tell that he was a team player, the type to lead the charge into enemy turf but also the type to come to a teammate's rescue at a moment's notice. Years of competition had taught her how to size up teammates and rivals with a quick look.

"Thanks. I hope I get along with all of you guys," Ace said. Mario returned to his seat and the other Smashers at Mario's table moved to make room for her. Her spot was between Mario and a blonde haired human man wearing a blue shirt. Ace put her bag at her feet and carefully put the Splattershot into it. Directly across from Ace was an even shorter yet still adult looking human with brown hair and a red shirt that had the number one on it. The table was filled with a large variety of food, some of which Ace hadn't seen before. She started by grabbing a bowl of vegetable soup. "So what are you names?" Ace asked as she picked up her spoon.

"My name is Peach, I'm from the same world as Mario," a blonde haired woman in a pink dress said. She was sitting directly across from Mario. Peach was the supporting type without a doubt, her tone of voice said everything. "This is V," Peach gestured to the human sitting across from Ace, "and that's Link," Peach pointed to the blue shirted human. Ace noticed Link had pointed ears, maybe he wasn't human like she thought he was?

"Cool," Ace said. "Man this soup is fresh. You guys must have a great cook." Ace snatched some mushroom rice balls to put on her plate and looked for other food items to grab.

"I made it," Link said. He said it so quietly Ace wondered if he had wanted anyone to hear it. She could tell that Link wasn't a pushover but he didn't seem assertive either. A good follower but not much of a leader. Still he wasn't the kind of person she would complain about having on her team.

"Thanks for making it then," Ace said. Link gave a slight nod, one that would have been difficult for Ace to notice without the awareness beaten into her by countless hours of Turf War and other Inksports.

"He doesn't like to talk most of the time," Peach explained. "I also helped with some of the food. Do you like cooking too?"

"Nah most I can make for myself is instant noodles. Usually I just snag some food in Inkopolis Plaza before running to a match," Ace said.

"Sounds like you're used to competition. What do you compete in?" Peach asked.

"Oh you know, some Turf War and whatever ranked Inksport is open at the moment," Ace said. When she got blank looks in return she nearly pulled up her Splattershot. She had to stop herself and remember it wasn't that kind of screw up. Hoping nobody noticed she dropped the Splattershot back into the bag. "Right, Master Hand said I shouldn't assume you guys know anything. See Inksports are... " Ace stopped herself. She had dedicated years of her life to Inksports, why was she struggling to explain them? "They're…" Peach nudged the Smasher to her right while Ace kicked her legs together under the table.

"Inklings like her have the power to generate ink and use it as ammunition for weapons, Inksports are when they fight each other using ink powered weapons. Turf War is the simplest and most popular of the Inksports." Ace's savior was a strange white bipedal creature with a purple tail. Despite the gratitude Ace felt she didn't like the aura he gave off, it was intimidating. Peach reminded him that he hadn't introduced himself yet. "My name is Mewtwo. I used my psychic powers to get that information, normally I refrain from that tactic."

"Thanks and sorry about that, guess I've been competing in them for so long it's hard for me to explain Inksports," Ace said. She flicked one of the tentacles hanging off the side of her head and grabbed a Crusty Seanwich to eat. Seanwichs were her usual post-defeat food.

"Do you want to go into town once you get everything unpacked?" V offered. Ace had nearly forgotten he was there. Things were starting to fall apart.

"Sure, scoping out the place sounds fun. Maybe I'll grab some new gear too," Ace responded. She quickly devoured the Crusty Seanwich and picked up her bag from the floor. "So which way to my room? The hand only said that it was sorted by 'generation.'"

"It should be on the third floor, the stairs are on your right once you leave this room," Peach said. Ace thanked Peach and took off from the dining hall. She slowed down as she ascended the staircase. I can't let the fact that these guys are from other worlds throw me off guard ever again, even if a good number of them come from a species that's extinct in mine. Most of them still don't know me so my rep is still mostly intact, Ace thought to herself. Crap, what if that Mewtwo guy can hear this? No he said he doesn't do that kind of stuff normally. Enough with the paranoia.

Once Ace reached the third floor she saw that someone had helpfully and hastifully scribbled directions on the wall. It reminded her of the grafiti from Inkopolis Square. Her room was right next to a balcony that let her see the garden and large lake behind the mansion. She dropped her bag by the door and ran out to the balcony. It was large enough to have couches and a table with plenty of room to spare. Ace looked around and spotted a hangar on the left side of the mansion. More importantly there were three Inkrails that had one end on the balcony. One led to the lower floors, another to the hangar, and the third went towards the lake.

After snapping a picture of the view with her phone and heading back inside Ace pulled out the key to her room and opened the door. It had plenty of room for Ace to pace when she got restless. The walls were white like an empty canvas and the bed was in a corner. Another thing Ace liked about the bed's position was the window she could look out from even while lying down. On the bed was a note from Master Hand telling her she was free to customize the room in any non-deadly or otherwise harmful way she liked. She didn't want to know the story behind why the non-deadly part had to be specified.

Ace started by pulling out her Tri-Slosher from the bag. She used it to throw ink onto the wall, changing the colors between each splash. When she was done the walls were coated with a chaotic mix of differently colored ink. Ace went back to the doorway and looked around the room, her bed was in the back left corner so the weapons would go on the right wall. She pulled out all of the wall hooks and weaponry she brought with her and placed them all over the wall. Next on the unpacking list was her gear, which the closet gradually expanded on the inside to accommodate. Once again Ace decided the obvious question wasn't worth bothering with. Then she unpacked the basic necessities in her private bathroom while appreciating the fact that she had one. She decided to leave the rest of the unpacking for when she had some furniture.

N-Zap 89' in hand Ace ran out of her room. She quickly backtracked to lock the door. Ace fired at the Inkrail leading to the lower floors as she ran towards it. With a leap she changed into her squid form and rode it down to the patio. She dashed into and through the mansion, running past some Smashers who had just left lunch with a quick shout of 'hey.' That was the kind of stuff she wanted them to see. V was waiting for her at the entry hall.

"How do you like your room?" V asked.

"It's pretty good. Just need to get some furniture for it with that discount Master Hand mentioned before I can unpack everything, I'm so not putting my computer on the floor," Ace said. She opened the door and walked out of the mansion. "Which car are we taking? Actually just to make sure, you can drive right? I'm still too young to have a license," Ace said.

"I can drive," V said. They walked together to one of the cars. Ace pulled out her phone as V started up the car and got on the road. Just like Master Hand had promised Ace's phone had been updated to include information on Smash Mansion and the surrounding area. There was even a chatroom for the Smashers.

"What are some good stores in Smashville?" Ace asked as she scrolled through the list of stores on her phone.

"I get all of my furniture from T&T Emporium, we should go there first," V said. Ace looked out the window. She wasn't used to taking in such green and peaceful scenery. Usually if she was out of Inkopolis it was because she had either super jumped to a battlefield for some Inksports or was doing part time work for Grizzco. It wasn't like there was much land left to admire in her world anyway. Ace thought about all of the things she would have to explain to the Smashers. She tried coming up with different explanations of things like the Octarians and Splatfests in her head to avoid a repeat of that debacle at lunch.

V parked the car near T&T Emporium, he and Ace hopped out of the car. Ace was surprised by how few people there were. Towns were even smaller than she thought. V greeted a few villagers as they walked to the store. Ace noticed that everyone addressed him as mayor. "So why didn't you tell me that you were the mayor earlier?" Ace asked.

"I don't like bragging. While we're on the subject Peach didn't mention it but she's a princess," V said as they walked into the store.

"Really? I mean it's not bragging if you actually are the mayor or a princess," Ace responded. She looked around T&T Emporium in wonder as they walked up the stairs to the second floor. Ace liked large stores but most of the time she shopped at the Galleria because of the convenient location. After they got to the second floor she ran over to the first desk she saw and examined it before making the purchase. Before V could catch up to her she was already dashing to a lamp.

Timmy, the anthropomorphic raccoon clerk for the second floor, was able to slow down Ace with an introduction long enough for V to catch up. "Do you have any of those fresh spinny chairs Timmy?" Ace asked.

"Yes, yes, let me show you the way," Timmy said. Following the purchase of the spinning chair Ace bought two shelves and got talked into buying a rug. Timmy set up the furniture to be delivered to Ace's room and bid farewell to Ace and V.

"You know I was planning on getting some new clothes but I've bought enough stuff for today," Ace said as they descended back to the first floor. A tall man with dark, somewhat greenish skin that Ace recognized from the dining hall walked into the store right as Ace stepped off of the stairs. He seemed like the selfish type, the kind who cared more about splatting enemies than the actual objective.

"Hi Ganondorf," V said.

"Greetings. Escorting the newcomer around town?" Ganondorf's voice was deep and more composed than Ace expected. He was also giving Ace the same analytical look she had given to everyone.

"Yeah, he is," Ace said. "Nice to meet you Ganondorf." Ace shook his hand. Even if she was cautious of him being polite was generally the optimal strategy when meeting new people. The clerk for the first floor, who Ace assumed was the twin of the second floor's clerk due to their identical appearance, ran over to them.

"Mister Ganondorf good news, we should be able to hold a charity drive for the Gerudo in two weeks."

"Thank you Tommy. Do you have any boxing gloves? Little Mac somehow talked me into trying out boxing," Ganondorf said.

"Right this way," Timmy responded. Ganondorf followed Timmy to a different part of the store.

"See you later Ganondorf," V said. Ace wasn't the kind to delude herself, her initial assessment of Ganondorf was wrong. It was another screw up but at least she was the only one who knew about it. She would have to improve her ability to read people. "Want me to show you the rest of Smashville while we're here?"

"Sure," Ace said. V took her on a quick tour of the different stores. There was a clothing store run by a trio of hedgehogs, a weapon store that had just struck a deal with Ammo Knights to sell ink weapons, a supermarket run by a humanoid creature with a mushroom like head called a Toad, and various other shops. When they were finished looking around they walked back to the car and drove back to Smash Mansion.

Ace and V split up when they got back, V went for a walk in the gardens while Ace went back into the mansion. She ran up the stairs to the third floor and back to her room. Thanks to Master Hand's powers the furniture she bought had already been teleported there. It wasn't much longer until the Squid Sisters were set to perform so Ace aimed to unpack as quickly as possible. First was the green rug, which she put in the center of the room. The two shelves were put on the wall opposite to the weapon wall, the lamp was placed next to the head of the bed, and the desk was put in the corner opposite the door. Ace moved the chair in front of the desk before unpacking the rest of her items, like her computer and speaker set.

"Attention all Smashers, the performance from the Squid Sisters will be starting soon. Please gather in the performance room on the first floor," Master Hand announced through the intercom system. Ace pumped her fist, she had finished unpacking just in time. She ran out of her room and this time she remembered to lock her door as she closed it. The ink on the ground from before had been cleaned up but the Inkrail leading downstairs was still active. Peach was sitting on a couch at the patio with another woman when Ace jumped off of the rail and onto the ground.

"Ace I forgot to warn you, Master Hand gives his announcements a little too early. The trick is to leave ten minutes after the announcement." Peach said when she saw Ace run towards the door.

"Wait, really? Oh come on," Ace complained. She stopped right in front of the door and walked back to the patio.

"On the bright side there were some things I wanted to talk to you about. Back in my world we have regular racing tournaments and we're looking for some new racers. After some negotiating with Master Hand he agreed to let me invite some people from other worlds. Do you want to compete?" Peach offered.

"Sure, sounds like fun. But I'll need a chance to get some practice in before it starts," Ace said. "What were some of the other things you wanted to talk about?"

"I can answer that," the woman sitting next to Peach said. Ace didn't try to get a read on her, the only safe way to practice that skill was with people she wouldn't see again. "I should introduce myself properly first. My name is Zelda, princess of Hyrule. Every Saturday we like to gather up all of the female Smashers for a girl's only night. Would you like to take part in it?"

"I'm up for it," Ace said. She let herself fall into one of the chairs as Peach and Zelda resumed their earlier conversation. With invitations like that she clearly hadn't screwed up as badly as she thought she did. After a few minutes had passed Peach and Zelda got up from the couch to go to the concert. Ace jumped out of her chair and walked with them back into the mansion. When they reached the performance room the concert still hadn't started yet. There was a stage at the back of the room, tables for people to watch the performances, and a large snack bar next to the door.

Gradually the room began to fill up as the Smashers assembled. When everyone had arrived the Squid Sisters walked out onto the stage. Marie raised three fingers and Callie waved to Ace as they started the song, it was their classic hit 'City of Color.' Hearing it reminded Ace of when she first started competing in Inksports and had been recruited into the New Squidbeak Splatoon. She had put in a lot of effort to ascend to her current skill level after starting out as a newbie. So she could make the climb to the top again as a Smasher. Ace started dancing and some of the other Smashers joined in. She was going to enjoy her stay at Smash Mansion.

Chapter Text

Spring Man took deep breaths as the crowd cheered. On the other side of Spring Stadium was the defeated Springtron, his robotic doppelganger. Their battle had gone down to the last hit. He waved to the crowd like he was in a good mood as he walked back to the locker room. He always felt like he couldn’t afford to lose in Spring Stadium or to Springtron, so a match against Springtron in Spring Stadium had made him terrified of losing. Unfun fights like that always wore him out.

When Spring Man entered the locker room Max Brass was waiting for him with a bottle of water. “That was close, good job closing it out,” Max Brass said. He and Spring Man shared a fist bump. Spring Man slipped off the Tribolt and Boomerang attachments he had used for the match and stored them in the locker. He took the water bottle. “One of the Smashers is right outside, I can give you some tips about that match when you come back from the visit,” Max Brass said as Spring Man drank. Despite being the reigning champion Max Brass had always been generous with his offers to train and practice.

“Oh right, nearly forgot about that,” Spring Man said. “That creepy robot always makes it hard for me to think. Why are we still letting one of Coyle’s goons compete anyway?” Max Brass sighed.

“You were one of the people who fought to keep Helix in the league after that disaster in the Grand Prix finals, you should have realized that precedent would keep Springtron in too,” Max Brass said.

“Well I don’t have the heart to let Helix get kicked out, so I guess I’ll put up with it for now. I should get going now, need to make a good impression on the Smashers. See ya,” Spring Man said. He put his hand through his blue pompadour to make sure it was still in place, pushed open the door, and confidently stepped outside. One of the Smashers was waiting for Spring Man in the hallway. He was wearing a black tank top and green shorts. He had the analytical eyes of a veteran fighter.

“Hey, name’s Little Mac. That was a good match back there,” the Smasher said.

“Thanks,” Spring Man said. “That was one of the narrowest wins I’ve had this year.”

“You looked like you were about to fall over when you closed it out,” Little Mac commented. “Don’t worry I’m a boxer so I know how to look for that kind of stuff, the audience didn’t notice,” He added after seeing the panicked look on Spring Man’s face. Neither of them knew what to say next. “Uh, anyway the car is right outside,” Little Mac said. They walked towards the exit.

The moment they got out onto the city streets a horde of reporters descended on Spring Man. Cameras and microphones were aimed directly at him. He couldn’t do anything to fight back. “Any comments on your recent victory?” “How do you feel about criticisms that you aren’t taking the Arms League seriously?” “Are the rumors that Max Brass and Doctor Coyle used to be a couple true?” That last question made Spring Man want to throw up. Normally he would have tried to respond to a few of the more respectful questions but instead he hurried into a long limousine with Little Mac. Spring Man was quickly introduced to the driver, who was also Little Mac’s coach, a man named Doc Louis.

As the car took off Spring Man closed his eyes and leaned back. In a matter of seconds he was asleep and completely missed the jump between dimensions. When they arrived at Smash Mansion Little Mac shook him awake. “Thanks. I feel so much better now,” Spring Man said with a yawn as he regained consciousness. He got out of the limo and looked around.

Smash Mansion itself was large, and the area around it certainly wasn’t small either. Spring Man guessed that the halls would be big enough for him to jog in on rainy days. The gardens had clear cut paths that would also make good jogging routes. There were also plenty of strange plants that he had a feeling weren’t present in his world but he was confident they weren’t dangerous. While he was looking around Little Mac exchanged a few words with Doc Louis before the coach drove back into the nearby town. “This is bigger than I thought it would be. Do you guys have any rooms with training equipment?” Spring Man asked.

“Yeah. And if it isn’t good enough for you it will transform into something better. The Hands did something weird to make the mansion change in response to what we want. An entire boxing ring appeared out of nowhere after I showed up. The less you question the less your head will hurt,” Little Mac said.

“That actually sounds pretty cool. You know I’ve only met Crazy Hand, is Master hand less, you know…” Spring Man tapped his foot as he tried to find the right word.

“You can actually keep up with what he’s saying.”

“That’s a relief,” Spring Man said. When Crazy Hand had scouted him the conversation they got into had been almost as exhausting as fighting Springtron. “So are you just going to show me around the place?”

“Basically,” Little Mac said. “We can hit the dining hall right away if you want.”
______

Spring Man fully extended one of his arms and grabbed a slice of pizza from a plate further up the table. He liked how much space the interior of the mansion had. A side effect of the ARMS gene was that it was easy to feel cramped in spaces where normal people wouldn’t. He kept that information out of the description of the ARMS ability he gave the Smashers in the dining hall. “So some people in your world are just born with that ability?” Samus asked. She had her helmet in her lap as she ate some creamy heart soup.

“Yeah. It usually doesn’t show until the teens though,” Spring Man said, taking a large bite of the pizza slice. “I was a little freaked out when mine activated, but come on look at these things, they’re too rad to complain about.” Spring Man extended his arms to touch the ceiling and retracted them. From what he had seen having enough space to extend his arms wouldn’t be an issue anywhere in the mansion.

“Well, I guess that’s one way to look at it,” Samus said. She looked down at her arms. Spring Man snagged another slice of pizza. “So there’s a pretty big bounty on that Coyle woman’s head. Where do you think she is?”

“Could ya not ask the newcomers for leads on bounties? He hasn’t even signed up yet,” Little Mac protested.

“He’s connected to the case and I refuse to let Captain Falcon win our bet,” Samus said. She pointed in the direction of someone who Spring Man assumed was Captain Falcon. Spring Man looked at Little Mac in confusion.

“They’re trying to see who can get the biggest bounty from a newcomer’s world. Stuff like this is pretty common whenever recruitment starts. Ace over there is already sick of it,” Little Mac said, pointing out the first and so far only fifth generation Smasher. Unless Spring Man decided to accept the offer.

“If you want to track Coyle down then check ARMS Laboratory. Or anything ARMS related, she’s obsessed with it,” Spring Man said. He took yet another slice of pizza. Now that he thought about it he had no clue why Coyle seemed to have it out for him in particular. It was pretty obvious that Springtron hadn’t been made out of admiration.

“Got it. See you later, I’m heading to the shooting range,” Samus said. She got up from the table and put her helmet back on. A yellow mouse like creature leapt onto her shoulder and waved to Spring Man as she walked away. Little Mac sighed.

“Sorry about that, she can be pretty single minded whenever bounty hunting gets brought up. Anyway should you be eating that much pizza?” Little Mac asked.

“Don’t worry, my arms use up a lot of energy so this fits into the diet,” Spring Man said. He took a bowl of creamy meat soup and ate it quickly. After going through some more food Spring Man waited for Little Mac to finish eating. When he was done they got up and left to continue the tour.

________

The training room was filled with rows of neatly organized exercise equipment. They were so well maintained that they looked like they hadn’t been used at all. The wall was a somewhat unsettling blank white, Spring Man figured he’d get used to it with time. There was a door on the left wall and a door on the right wall. “The left door leads to a room with a bunch of yoga mats. Right one is where we keep the boxing ring,” Little Mac explained.

A woman entered the room through the door on the left, her skin was so white she looked like a mannequin. “Hello Little Mac,” she said. Something was off about her voice. It didn’t sound robotic but there was something in it that made Spring Man think of Byte and Springtron.

“Hey FT. Just showing the visitor around. Spring Man this is FT,” Little Mac introduced.

“Nice to meet you,” Spring Man said.

“Same on my side,” FT responded. She stepped onto a treadmill and turned it on. “If you need any assistance with maintaining your body I can assist. I was created for that purpose,” she said as she ran. Spring Man scratched his head as Little Mac sighed.

“Right I should probably explain that. FT here was made in some lab to be the perfect fitness trainer. She has the brain of a robot but her body is just like ours aside from the weird color,” Little Mac said.

“My creators referred to me as ‘Biological Pseudo Android Personal Fitness Trainer Model F,’ I prefer the name FT. Master Hand brought me in during the fourth wave of recruitment to get some of the Smashers into shape, after my fighting ability was observed I was recruited as a Smasher,” FT expositioned. She continued running on the treadmill. Little Mac winced. Spring Man suddenly had a feeling her training regimen was exactly how Master Hand saw her combat potential.

“I actually know somebody who has kind of a similar story, he was grown in a tube to compete in the ARMS League. Anyway if I end up as a Smasher I might try out some of your training,” Spring Man said. Then he got an idea. “Actually if you need some more clients you could try working with Spring Gym, I can put you into contact with people there.” FT turned her head to face Spring Man.

“Thank you. I have access to many resources and formulas for the creation of personalized training regimens so I should be able to assist that gym,” FT said. She turned her head back forward. He still wasn’t sure if being a Smasher fit with his goal of enhancing Spring Gym’s reputation but at least now the attempt had gotten something for Spring Gym. Little Mac opened the door in the right wall and gestured for Spring Man to follow him.

The side room had a small boxing ring in one of its corners. A white sandbag with a pair of eyes drawn on it stood at the other side of the room. Some lights hung from the ceiling and there were a few windows on the upper part of the walls. Aside from that and a few pieces of equipment that were laid against the side of the boxing ring there was nothing else in the room. It gave the room a focused feeling that Spring Man liked. He could easily see himself spending hours there.

“Try not to knock the sandbag through the window,” Little Mac said.

“Did that actually happen?” Spring Man asked.

“Uh, yeah,” Little Mac awkwardly put his hands together. “Master Hand can immediately repair anything here but for some reason he still gets upset if anything does get broken.”

“Well if I actually did punch that sandbag through the window it would totally be worth it,” Spring Man said.

“Trust me you don’t want to see Master Hand get angry,” Little Mac said with a nervous laugh. “Anyway I guess this basically wraps up the tour. Unless there’s something else you’d like to do.”

“You said you’re a boxer right? How about we have a friendly match right here?” Spring Man offered. Little Mac’s face lit up.

“I’m up for it. I’m better at getting to know people through boxing than talking,” Little Mac said. He ran to the lockers and grabbed two pairs of boxing gloves. He handed one of them to Spring Man before dashing to the further side of the boxing ring. Spring Man put on the gloves and jumped onto the closer side of the ring.

“Ready?”

“Yep. Let’s go.”

Spring Man extended his right arm to punch. Little Mac sidestepped and moved closer, then stopped and held up his arms to block a punch from Spring Man’s left arm. With the size of the boxing ring the range advantage granted by the ARMS gene wasn’t insurmountable but Little Mac still wasn’t close enough to punch Spring Man. Spring Man threw a punch that curved to catch Little Mac’s dodge and knocked him to the side.

“That was clever but I ain’t gonna fall for it again,” Little Mac said. Spring Man threw another punch. Little Mac blocked it and stepped forward. Spring Man also stepped forward as he threw another punch, then threw another behind it to catch any movement. Little Mac smirked. He ran towards the fists and leapt over them. Spring Man couldn’t retract his arms in time to block. Little Mac’s fist made contact with Spring Man’s chest and sent him stumbling backwards as the boxer landed with both feet on the ground, immediately hopping back with both arms thrown up in defense.

“That move was pretty good too,” Spring Man complimented. The way Little Mac moved around his punches and his leaping attack made Spring Man’s superior range a non-issue. So he would have to stick with letting Little Mac stay in striking range and hope the curve of his punches were enough to catch Little Mac’s dodges. He blocked a hit from Little Mac and retaliated. The counter attack was blocked and responded to with an equally futile attack. They kept the volley up for a while, attack, guard, attack, guard. Spring Man saw a chance to break the stalemate. He gathered energy for a rush attack and unleashed a rapid flurry of punches towards Little Mac. Little Mac dodged just in time and pulled out his own trump card.

“Star…” Little Mac’s right fist charged towards Spring Man’s chin “punch!” Little Mac landed the attack right as Spring Man struck him with the rush of punches. Spring Man went into the air while Little Mac was blown back. Little Mac kept his feet on the ground as he slid to the other end of the boxing ring while Spring Man crashed into the ring. Spring Man was able to pull himself up before Little Mac could offer to help.

“That was awesome. Guess you win,” Spring Man said. He stretched his arms over to the locker and put the boxing gloves away.

“It was pretty close. Your punches are really strong,” Little Mac said. He slipped his right hand out of it’s glove and felt his cheek.

“Thanks. Well after that I’m ready to go back,” Spring Man said.

“Got it. I’ll walk you to the exit,” Little Mac said. They shared a fist bump. If Spring Man did join the Smashers he knew who his rival was going to be. For now he was just focused on walking with Little Mac out of the mansion and back to his own world. He would make the decision after taking some time to think things through. Either way he didn’t have any regrets about the visit.

Chapter Text

When Rex was told he would be teleported into Smashville he wasn’t sure what exactly he was expecting but it was definitely not landing face first on the ground. Yet that was exactly what happened. “Ow, a little warning would have been nice,” Rex complained as he pushed himself up from the ground. Behind him Pyra also picked herself up.

“Well at least we’re here,” Pyra said. The duo took a few seconds to take in their surroundings. They had crashed into the sidewalk in front of a museum. On the other side of the street were a few shops and a cafe. Neither of them could see anything that looked like a mansion. At least it was a pleasant sunny day. All sorts of strange people walked around the town, Rex and Pyra only got a brief look from them. “It doesn’t look like our guide is here.”

“Or we were sent to the wrong place, he did have crazy in his name,” Mythra said from inside Pyra’s mind. Pyra felt that it was rude but her other self did have a point. Rex looked around for some kind of landmark. Aside from the inhabitants and machines with wheels that seemed to move by themselves the town looked fairly normal.

“Excuse me sir, could you give us directions to Smash Mansion?” Pyra asked. The person she asked looked like an ordinary but short human aside from the part where the top of their head looked like a mushroom. In other words they didn’t look like an ordinary human. Pyra thanked the strange person for the directions.

Before they could get going someone came running out of the cafe. He was a strange mostly blue and black bipedal creature that had a white spike coming out of the back of each hand. “Are you the visitors for today?” He asked. When Rex and Pyra answered yes he continued. “Crazy Hand was supposed to do this later and send you inside the mansion but then he decided to do his own thing. You call me Lucario, I’ll be your guide for today.” Mythra immediately reminded Pyra that she had called it.

“It’s fine. Anyway nice to meet you, my name’s Rex and this is Pyra.” Rex shook hands with Lucario. With a flash of light from Pyra she swapped out for Mythra.

“And I’m Mythra,” she said. “So does Crazy Hand do that kind of stuff often?”

“Unfortunately yes,” Lucario said. He gave them an odd look before quickly turning around before either of them could comment on it. “So do you want to explore this town before heading to the mansion?”

“Could we take a look inside that museum? I want to see what the history of the other worlds look like,” Mythra said. Lucario gave his approval and led the way into the museum. The main room had four different passageways leading to different sections. According to the signs the first floor was for the natural history of the town itself and the second was about the history of the other worlds. Standing in the middle of the main room was an anthropomorphic owl. A sleeping anthropomorphic owl.

“That’s Blathers. He runs the museum but he’s nocturnal so this happens all the time. He’s used to visitors waking him up if you want to talk to him,” Lucario explained.

“Nah, let’s let him get some sleep. We can find our own way through here,” Rex said. The group went up the staircase to the second floor. There were a large number of hallways, more than Rex was willing to put in the effort to count, and each of them had a different symbol above them. One of the hallways was blocked off by a barrier of blue light and had a sign next to it reading ‘New Exhibit Coming Soon: Stories of The Great Turf War.’ Mythra walked into the nearest passageway with only a brief look at the sign next to it. Lucario trailed behind her and Rex.

The next room was full of old armor and paintings. Mythra ran up to the largest painting to take a closer look at it. It was of a war between two armies of strange creatures with a gigantic tree looming over it in the background, a flash of green light was coming from the center of the tree. According to the text beneath the painting it was titled War’s End and showed the end of an infamous war, brought about by the sacrifice of the hero Sir Aaron. “That kind of looks like the world tree, don’t you think?” Rex commented.

“It definitely looks similar,” Mythra said.

“It’s called the Tree of Beginning. Though in reality it’s a rock formation,” Lucario said.

“Oh is this from your world?” Mythra asked. Lucario nodded. “Looking at this picture reminds me of my world. Maybe they have some things in common.” She turned her attention back to the painting and muttered something under her breath about the Aegis War. It was too quiet for Rex to notice. “You guys can go ahead if you want, I want to spend some more time looking at this painting,” she said.

“I’ll just explore the rest of this exhibit then,” Rex said. He and Lucario left Mythra alone with the painting. Mythra eventually turned her attention to some of the other paintings in the room, she had seen enough armor for a lifetime. The rest of the paintings were high quality but didn’t draw her in like War’s End. She stopped at a piece titled Mourning for a Hero. A queen was holding a staff that Mythra recognized from the paintings that featured Sir Aaron. The queen had a sorrowful expression on her face. It was too familiar for Mythra’s taste.

Mythra walked into the next room and stopped when she looked to her left and saw a statue of Sir Aaron, with Lucario standing by his side. The real Lucario was looking up at it. Rex was somewhere in one of the other rooms of the exhibit. Ignoring Pyra’s pleas for tact Mythra walked up to Lucario. “You lived through all of this didn’t you?” She asked, placing her right hand on her hip.

“So you caught on.”

“Well the statue certainly gave it away. I’m guessing Rex just walked past it. Anyway want us to skip this exhibit? I’m also in the history books so I understand how you feel,” Mythra said.

“I’ve put it in the past. While we’re talking I may as well bring this up. I have the ability to see aura, the life force of all living beings. You and Rex have auras that seem to be constantly changing each other, I’ve never seen something like that,” Lucario said.

“I did just dig into your past, so I’ll share some of mine. Rex died when we first met. He’s only standing now because Pyra shared our life force with him,” Mythra said. “Not like I wouldn’t have done the same or anything,” she quickly added in a defensive tone, taking a small step forward. Lucario chuckled. “Hey stop that.”

“Sorry, the way you said it was a little funny,” Lucario said.

“It wasn’t funny,” Mythra insisted. She crossed her arms and took a few seconds to calm herself down. “So, uh, since we’re already on the subject, how-“

“You can ask me about Sir Aaron.” Lucario put his hands together and briefly glanced up at the statue.

“Was it that obvious? I just want to know what he was really like. I knew somebody who also ended up being a legendary hero and the records couldn’t even get his food preferences right, not to mention some of the other stuff that got left out,” Mythra said.

“He was a good friend and loyal to his kingdom. When he went to the Tree of Beginning to sacrifice himself he didn’t tell anyone about his plan. He sealed me away so I wouldn’t give my life in his place,“ Lucario explained. His voice was even and calm but Mythra could feel a few bits of sadness in it.

“Looks like we have a lot in common then. Addam sealed Pyra and I away once the war was over, our power was too destructive. By the time Rex broke it Addam had been dead for a long time,” Mythra said. “Do you miss him?”

“Yes. But I don’t let it drag me down. I had to make the same sacrifice Sir Aaron did so we met again in the afterlife. I’m standing here because Master Hand revived me, he needed my help to keep order between the worlds,” Lucario said.

“I’m not sure if I would be able to do that,” Mythra said. “I wish I could have at least been with Addam when he died but I’d only be insulting him if I stopped to mope. Nice to see that we have the same idea. I’d like to talk more about everything we’ve been through later. Right now we should get going, I want to see the rest of this museum,” Mythra said. Lucario nodded and they moved to the next part of the exhibit. With a flash of light Mythra swapped out for Pyra.

“Thanks Lucario. Talking with you really helped, even if Mythra won’t admit it,” Pyra said.

__________

As he walked into the exhibit on the Sheikah tribe Rex’s eyes lit up. The room was filled with old, broken, and decayed technology. He had never been to a museum before but they always paid a good sum to salvagers who could get what they wanted. Someone else was already in the room, a blonde woman dressed in blue who was inspecting the largest machine. Rex eagerly ran next to her to take a closer look.

“This thing looks incredible,” Rex said. He quickly read the label, it was an ancient war machine called a Guardian that could move autonomously. When it detected a target it would fire a laser at them. “Hey Pyra check this out, this thing sounds like it used to be a lot like Siren.” Rex looked at the small gaps in the bottom of the Guardian, according to the label it used to have six legs that could bend to accommodate different elevations. He looked around and saw what was labeled as the leg of a Guardian. If it was really that flexible salvaging it would make a great profit, probably the most profitable part of the entire Guardian depending on how much the technology behind it was understood.

“Are you two the visitors I heard about?” the woman asked. Rex had almost completely forgotten about her in his excitement. Pyra walked over to join them.

“Yeah, sorry about barging in. I salvage this kind of stuff for a living so I got a little excited. My name’s Rex, that over there is Pyra.”

“My name is Zelda. I’m studying the ancient Sheikah technology so if you want to know more you can ask me.” She shook hands with Rex and Pyra.

“How much of this thing do you understand? In my world there’s a lot of ancient technology that we just don’t understand,” Rex asked.

“I’m making progress but there’s a lot we don’t understand, especially with how the Guardian actually operates. Before we could only turn them on and wait for the enemy to appear but recently I made a breakthrough,” Zelda said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small slate, it appeared to be made out of the same material as the Guardian. “This is a Sheikah Slate, another marvel from the Ancient Sheikah.” The screen on the slate came to life and displayed different icons.

“Woah, that looks incredible. What does it do?” Rex leaned in to take a closer look at the screen, Pyra pulled him back so Zelda could have more room.

“It can do a lot of things. Recently I was able to unlock a feature that lets me influence how Guardians operate, but it’s far more complicated than any other feature. I was able to link it to a single operating Guardian but I don’t know how, and I can’t repeat it for some reason,” Zelda said. She looked down at a symbol on her right hand.

“These things sound like they’re dangerous. You’re being careful right?” Pyra asked.

“We already learned a lesson about trusting the Guardians the hard way. The one I’m experimenting on doesn’t have any legs and it’s a trapped in a room that it can’t destroy, even if it’s corrupted it won’t be able to cause any harm. Anyway I was able to change one thing about the Guardian with the Sheikah Slate. I can make it target things that it wouldn’t have before but I’m still trying to understand just how it works,” Zelda explained. She put the Sheikah Slate back in her pocket.

“That’s so cool. You aren’t thinking of actually using it though are you?” Rex put his right hand on the back of his head.

“Oh goddess no, the Guardians have destroyed enough already. But if I can fully understand how they work I might be able to use that knowledge for more peaceful purposes or make the Guardians harmless,” Zelda said. “Right now my world is filled with ruins from more prosperous times. We need to do everything we can to bring ourselves back to that level.” She glanced at the deactivated Guardian, taking a slight step away from it.

“I know how you feel. I’m always picking up relics from ancient civilizations and they seem to know way more than we do now. Space in our world is running out and people are squabbling over what space is left. That’s why Pyra and I are going to fix it,” Rex said.

“How do you fix a lack of space?” Zelda asked. Rex smiled.

“Well in our world there’s a thing called the World Tree sitting right at the center, and on top of it is a paradise called Elysium. According to the stories people used to live up there with our divine father the Architect, but he sent us down to the Cloud Sea so we’ve been living on the Titans ever since. But now the Titans are dying out and if they go extinct we won’t have anything to live on. So if we climb the World Tree and go back to Elysium there’ll be enough space for everyone again,” Rex said.

“I see, so you’re in a race against time. I hope you and Pyra are able to reach it,” Zelda said.

“Thank you,” Pyra said. “I’m starting to feel better about our odds. We’ve found a lot of people who are willing to help.”

“If you two do become Smashers I hope you’ll have reached Elysium by then,” Zelda said. Pyra held her right wrist with her left hand.

“Oh don’t worry, we will,” Rex said. “It was nice talking with you, we should probably go see the rest of the place while we still have time.”

“Farewell for now,” Zelda said, waving as Rex and Pyra rejoined Lucario and went to tour the rest of the museum.

_________

The rest of the tour passed without incident, both for the museum and Smash Mansion itself. Pyra liked the cooking supplies in Smash Mansion, Mythra liked the lake that was nearby, and Rex liked the lack of rent. Lucario finished the tour by bringing them to the teleporter room that would return them to their world. “This was where you were supposed to arrive. We’re going to need to wait for Master Hand before you can return,” Lucario explained. “So, what did you think?”

“I just wish the rest of our friends could have come with us, Tora would have loved to see some of the technology you guys have,” Rex said.

“If we become Smashers will we be able to invite our friends to the mansion?” Pyra asked.

“Yes. For some reason it’s easier to summon people from worlds that already have a Smasher, so you would just have to input the right things into that console over there,” Lucario said, pointing to the control panel.

“That sounds convenient, wouldn’t want anyone else to land face first on the ground,” Rex said. He put a hand on his cheek, the pain was mostly gone.

“It’ll probably still happen to Zeke,” Pyra said. “Will we be able to visit the other worlds?”

“Yes. One Smasher even used this teleporter to invite some of the other Smashers to her racing tournament,” Lucario said.

“Your world sounds like it would be a lot of fun to explore Lucario. Maybe you could give us a tour of that too sometime,” Rex said. Pyra awkwardly looked away.

“I’d only be able to show you around a small part of it,” Lucario said.

“That’s fine, I’m sure it’s still great. And we can show you around our world once we reach Elysium, right Pyra?”

“That sounds like it would be fun,” Pyra said. Master Hand teleported into the room. Rex and Pyra jumped back in surprise, Lucario was unfazed.

“Apologies for my tardiness, recruitment season is always extremely busy,” Master Hand said.

“No problem. We’ll send the letter when we make our decision,” Rex said. He got onto the platform with Pyra. “It was fun visiting.”

“Goodbye,” Pyra said. Master Hand snapped his fingers and activated the teleporter. Rex and Pyra waved as they faded out of Smash Mansion and back into their world.

Chapter Text

“Hey Peach, Luigi!” Daisy called out as she ran to meet the two veteran Smashers in front of Smash Mansion. She pulled two wheeled suitcases with her as a Toad hurried behind her with another.

“Daisy? You’re the new fighter?” Luigi asked.

“Surprised? Peach spent the past few months training me how to fight,” Daisy said. The Toad dropped the suitcase and ran back into town. Daisy waved goodbye to him. “So are you going to take me to my room?”

“Of course. Luigi why don’t you pick up that suitcase? Daisy I’ll take one of those off of your hands,” Peach said.

“Thanks,” Daisy said. She let go of one of the suitcases so Peach could take it and they walked up the stairs to the front door of the mansion. When they got inside Daisy was impressed, it reminded her of her home in Sarasaland. She looked around as she ascended the staircase to the third floor.

Daisy’s room was near a balcony overlooking the lake. The room across from hers had a nameplate marked ‘Ace.’ “Do you want some help unpacking?” Peach offered.

“No thanks, I can do it myself,” Daisy said.

“All right then. When you’re done Master Hand said he’ll give you a tour,” Peach said.

“Neat. Thanks for the help. I’ll see you guys around.” Daisy waved as Peach and Luigi walked down the hallway. She opened the door and pulled in the three suitcases. Her furniture had already been brought over, complete with a flower vase containing daisies. The side table was right by the window so the daisies could get the sunlight she needed and her vanity was next to the closet. She started by unpacking the clothes, putting the dresses on the right side of her closet and her sports clothing on the left side.

Next were the sports trophies, which she lined up on a shelf. After unpacking all of the other items she took her journal and sat on her bed, it was nice and hard, the way she liked it. Daisy took a pen from the side table and started writing in the journal.

Just arrived at Smash Mansion and got my room all set up. It’s right next to the balcony which has a great view. After the tour I’m going to find some time to glide down to the lake with my parasol. I want to get in some more training rounds with Peach before my first fight too. Letting my first match as a Smasher end in defeat is NOT an option.

Daisy closed the journal and put it on the side table. She took a few seconds to check her appearance in the vanity before exiting the room. At the same time someone left the room that was to the left of Daisy’s room. The other person was a girl with black hair and a white brimmed hat with a small arch of red on it. She was wearing a blue shirt and a dark red skirt, long blue socks came up from her shoes. A yellow bag hung at her right side. “Hi I’m Daisy.” The girl took a second to gather her words.

“Nice to meet you Daisy, my name is Leaf,” the girl said. She extended her hand, Daisy shook it. “I’m new here, just checked out my room.”

“I just arrived too,” Daisy said. “When the tour is over let’s do something together, us newcomers should support each other.”

“Uh sure. Oh I know we could have a picnic somewhere,” Leaf said as she put her hands together. “My big brother is a veteran and he told me we can use the teleporter freely,”

“That sounds great,” Daisy said. Master Hand warped into the hallway. Leaf leapt back and pulled a red and white sphere out of her bag. She put it back with a sheepish look on her face.

“Most people react like that the first time,” Master Hand said. “So I see you two have already met. There’s just one more person we’re waiting for and then we can start the tour.” Right on cue someone walked down the hallway. He was an Inkling boy his two hair tentacles tied into a topknot. “There he is. Daisy, Leaf, this is Nept. Nept this is Daisy and Leaf, like you they just arrived here.”

“Yo,” Nept said. He walked up to them and shook their hands. “Hey, you were at the racing tournament in the Mushroom Kingdom right?” He asked Daisy.

“I thought you looked familiar. Nice to see you again,” Daisy said.

“You two know each other?” Leaf asked.

“A friend of mine is a veteran fighter so she used the teleporter here to invite some people to a racing tournament,” Daisy explained.

“I see. Well it’s good to meet you Nept,” Leaf said, resting her right hand on top of her bag. “Daisy and I were just talking about having a picnic together, do you want to come along? Maybe we could invite the girl from that room over there,” She pointed to the room with the nameplate saying ‘Ace.’

“Thanks, that sounds cool. Ace is from my world and a fellow member of the New Squidbeak Splatoon so I’ll try to get her to come,” Nept said, puffing out his chest.

“Does… does everyone else already know each other?” Leaf asked. It was easy to see the panic in her face.

“Relax Leaf, there’s plenty of people here none of us know. You said your big brother is also a veteran right?” Daisy comforted.

“Right, I’m feeling a little better now. Thanks,” Leaf said.

“Now let us begin the tour,” Master Hand said. He led the trio around the mansion, showing off the various rooms. Leaf quickly snatched a book to put in her bag when they went into the library. When they left the armory it took everyone a few seconds to realize Nept had stayed behind to stare at the weapons and they went back to grab him. At the garage Daisy daydreamed about driving the various vehicles stored in it, like the small spaceships that Master Hand referred to as Arwings. The tour ended in the dining room, since it wasn’t time for lunch they were the only ones there. “And that concludes the tour, the kitchen is through the doors in the back. Come to my office if you have any more questions,” Master Hand said. He teleported out of the room.

“Well since we’re here I think it would be a good idea to start packing for the picnic,” Leaf said.

“I’ll text Ace and ask her if she wants to come along,” Nept said, pulling out his phone. Leaf led the way into the kitchen. Thankfully the various cabinets were all labeled with what they contained. Daisy opened the refrigerator as Leaf started making a sandwich for herself. Leaf pulled out the red and white sphere from earlier and opened it. A stream of white light came from it and arched into the ground, forming into a creature. It was a quadruped with bright green skin and a yellow bud growing out of its back.

“This is Fushigisou, you can just call him Fushi,” Leaf said. “My brother also has an Ivysaur so I gave him that nickname to make things easier. Fushi the berries are over there, could you grab some for me?” Vines extended from the leaves around the bud on Fushi’s back, pulling open one of the cabinets and grabbing a few bags with berries one by one.

“She’s cute,” Daisy said. Nept grabbed a bag of potato chips from the cabinet.

“Well this is all I need for my lunch,” Nept said.

“Ugh, Nept you’re such a rookie it hurts.” The trio turned around, Ace was standing in the door of the kitchen. An Ink Tank was resting on her back and a Splattershot was in a holster on her hip. “Thanks for the invite by the way. Where are we having this picnic?”

“Either that lake by the back or one of the other worlds,” Daisy said. She grabbed a picnic basket from the cabinet above the refrigerator and Nept put the bag of chips in it.

“Sounds good. Also why is Ivysaur a different color all of a sudden?” Ace kneeled down to get a closer look at Fushi.

“This is a different Ivysaur from the one my brother has, the color difference is a rare trait he was born with,” Leaf explained. “I don’t think we’ve met yet, my name is Leaf.”

“So you’re Red’s little sister?” Leaf nodded her head. “Cool. I’m Ace.” Ace held out her fist, Leaf gave her a fist bump. “I heard the Hands have already scouted two new locations for the tournament. Moray Towers from my world and some place called the Great Plateau from Link’s world. How about we go check out that Great Plateau place for the picnic?”

“Sounds good to me,” Daisy said. Leaf nodded in agreement again as she put her sandwich in a ziplock bag.

“Moray Towers, really? That place is no fun to fight in,” Nept complained.

“Hey you didn’t have to endure it before they added those Ink Rails. That was the real Charger hell,” Ace responded. Leaf packed in some food for her Pokemon as Daisy got food for the rest of the group. Nept snatched a box of cookies and Ace grabbed some drinks. “Oh Nept it’s a rule to always be combat ready when using the teleporter so I grabbed your gear for you.” Ace took a small pouch out of her pocket and pulled out a vastly larger Inktank and Splattershot with a holster, Nept took both.

“Thanks. Did Sheldon make the holster?” Nept asked.

“Yeah, it’s one of his projects for the Splatoon. Not much use for it with Turf War and the like,” Ace answered.

“Let’s get going already,” Daisy said. She picked up the picnic basket and led the way out of the kitchen.

“So Nept, Ace, how exactly do you two know each other?” Leaf asked as Daisy threw open the dining hall door.

“We’re both part of the New Squidbeak Splatoon,” Nept said, taking out his Splattershot and twirling it before returning it to his holster. “It’s a secret group dedicated to keeping our home city of Inkopolis safe. I’m agent 4 and Ace is agent 3.”

“Wow that’s cool,” Leaf said. “Wait should you guys be talking about it so openly then?”

“It’s fine, you’re not from our world,” Ace said. They reached the teleporter room, Ace held the door open for the rest of the group. Leaf walked over to the console that controlled the teleporter.

“I’ve got it set up. Everyone ready?” Leaf asked. When she got the affirmative she turned on the teleporter and ran over to join the others. It turned on and in a flash they were absent from Smash Mansion.

_______

The group appeared on a ruined staircase. Behind them were the ruins of an ancient temple and a snow covered mountain, and in front of them was a large tower. It was a clear and sunny day, which Fushi made his appreciation of clear with contented sounds. “Let’s go climb that tower, the view from there is going to be great” Daisy suggested.

“Good thinking,” Leaf said. “I’d love to explore this place with my Pokemon some time so the tower would let me scope the area out.

“Are you sure? It looks like a pretty big climb,” Nept said.

“That means we’ll be in the perfect mood to eat once we get to the top,” Daisy said. Nept looked at the ground and mumbled his reluctant agreement. The sound of turning gears filled the air.

“Uh, you guys hear that too right?” Ace asked. Before anyone could answer a machine stepped into view, climbing up from a small depression in the ground that had a small pool of water. It had six long legs and a single glowing eye. A red targeting laser came from the eye and targeted Daisy. “That’s a Guardian, everyone move!” The group scattered immediately as a blue laser beam created an explosion where they had been standing.

“What is that thing?!” Leaf yelled.

“Who cares we need to destroy it before it kills us,” Nept shouted back. The Guardian took aim at Daisy again.

“I’ll distract him,” Daisy said. She waited until the Guardian began charging and leapt away, hovering in the middle of air away from the laser and explosion. Ace changed her hair and ink color to blue and gave a hand signal to Nept. They fired their Splattershots as they ran towards the Guardian, submerging themselves into the ink whenever the targeting laser turned to them. It was enough to fool the Guardian, whose attention kept on returning to Daisy. She had placed the picnic basket behind cover so it wouldn’t get damaged before running back into its view.

“Fushi use Leech Seed,” Leaf commanded. A small seed shot out from the bud on Fushi’s back and landed on top of the Guardian, vines erupted from the seed to cover it. Ace leapt up from the ink and fired shots into the Guardian’s eye before submerging again. Nept copied the motion. The Guardian’s targeting laser turned to Leaf.

Instantly Leaf made a run for cover. Without prompting Fushi arched forwards and shot seeds with the force of bullets into the eye of the Guardian. Daisy landed back on the ground and used white magic to create a turnip in her hands, she threw it into the eye of the Guardian as it aimed at Fushi. “We aren’t damaging it enough,” Ace said as she leapt out for another shot. Leaf was crouched behind a ruined column, shouting orders to Fushi and too filled with panic to focus. “Leaf warp back and get someone from this world,” Ace yelled over the sound of another missed Guardian laser.

Leaf stopped cowering, something about Ace’s request had enraged her. She was a trainer, running while her Pokemon fought wasn’t what she did. It was her job to come up with a plan. That was what she had always done for her Pokemon. Whatever the Guardian was it would pay for making her lose her composure as a trainer. Leaf pulled down the brim of her hat. “No. Everyone I have a plan. Ace, Nept, what else do you have on you?”

“Just some Splat Bombs and a Roller, I don’t think ink works on this thing,” Nept answered as a turnip nearly hit him instead of the Guardian. “Watch it Daisy!”

“Sorry.”

“Nept keep a closer eye on what everyone else is doing or you’re going to get yourself killed,” Ace said.

“Is the explosion from the bombs powerful enough to throw the Guardian off balance?” Leaf asked. She ducked her head back behind the column before the Guardian could target her.

“Oh I see. You want us to knock it over, good thinking,” Ace said.

“Exactly, put them on the front side so the Guardian gets sent backwards. Daisy get the Guardian to target you for the next blast, once the bombs go off Fushi is going to use solar beam but it needs a few seconds to charge even with sunlight. Ace and Nept, you two should get away from the Guardian once the bombs are out,” Leaf said. “Everyone understand. Good, Fushi use Solar Beam.”

“Hey ugly,” Daisy loudly taunted as she stepped into the Guardian’s targeting beam. At the same time Nept and Ace popped up in front of the Guardian to drop Splat Bombs right under it. Fushi began charging solar energy in the bud on its back. The laser fired. The Splat Bombs went off. Daisy dodged. The Guardian titled backwards. Fushi sent Solar Beam at it. The force of the beam knocked over the Guardian.

The Guardian’s legs bended downwards and towards the ruined column next to it. It pulled itself back upright using the column. The targeting laser was aimed at Daisy, who was running directly at it with a battle cry of “just admit defeat already you loser.” Daisy sidestepped the laser and was right in front of the Guardian. She leapt up and slammed her hip into the Guardian, tilting it back. Ace tossed a Splat Bomb to add more force to push it back, Nept threw his as well when he realized what the plan was. The Guardian fell over once again, its ‘head’ was on the ground with its legs moving wildly through the air to find something solid.

“Everyone go for the legs with your strongest attacks. Fushi pull the legs off with Vine Whip,” Leaf ordered. Right as one of the Guardian’s legs touched the column Fushi’s vines wrapped around it. After some struggle the leg snapped off. Ace and Nept covered the Guardian in ink, swam up it, and used their Rollers to slam the legs off of it, ducking into ink before the Guardian could fire a laser at them. Daisy took out a golf club and beat one of the legs with it until it detached from the Guardian.

“Only two left. Ace, Nept team up on one. Daisy help Fushi with the other one.” The two Inklings regrouped at one of the remaining legs and sent it crashing off with a simultaneous strike from their Rollers. Fushi’s vines wrapped around the last leg and pulled on them, a strike from Daisy’s golf club added enough force to sever it from the Guardian’s body. Ace and Nept ran in front of the Guardian’s eye and finished it off a burst of ink from their Splattershots. The blue light faded from the Guardian as it became an empty husk.

“Yeah! That’s what you get for messing with the NSS,” Nept cheered. Daisy walked back to where she had hidden the picnic basket and picked it up. Leaf rejoined the rest of the group.

“That could have gone a lot better,” Ace said, forming her left hand into a fist. Her hair turned back to its usual orange color.

“I think we all did great,” Leaf said. “Is everyone still up for climbing that tower? I think it might be safer up there.”

“Of course,” Daisy said. Leaf pulled out the red and white sphere from earlier and it sent out a red beam of light to Fushi that absorbed the Pokemon.

___

It took some time but when the group ascended to the top of the tower they all agreed the view was worth it. They could see a castle far off in the distance, wide plains of grass, and even a distant volcano. Nept stayed towards the center of the tower and away from the edges. Leaf sent out Fushi and her two other Pokemon, a small turtle like Pokemon nicknamed Zenigame and a dragon like Pokemon nicknamed Lizardon. Daisy handed out the food from the picnic basket. “I’m pretty sure I’ve heard Link and Zelda talk about those things before,” Ace said.

“So that’s why you knew what they were called,” Nept commented.

“We should tell them about our fight with it then, we might have missed a weak point,” Leaf said.

“Something about the way it showed up felt weird, but I can’t place my finger on it. Oh well, we can worry about it later. Those Guardians aren’t that tough,” Daisy said. The conversation shifted to lighter topics as the newest Smashers enjoyed their picnic. When the meal was over Leaf reactivated the teleporter and they vanished in a flash of light, returning to Smash Mansion.

Chapter Text

All of the Smashers were gathered in the performance room. The air was tense since Master Hand had gathered them for the reveal of the next Smasher with a reminder of the rules against fighting. That only happened if Master Hand thought there was a risk of a fight breaking out. Those who had been around for the longest still remembered the destructive battle that had happened when Ganondorf made his debut and Link rushed the stage. Samus was retelling the story to the newest Smashers when Master Hand teleported onto the stage, the sound of the newcomer being teleported in from behind the curtain could also be heard.

“Attention everyone, I would like to introduce all of you to our newest Smasher,” Master Hand said. For a floating disembodied hand his body language was easy to read after a while. No motion in the thumb meant he was expecting outrage over his choice. “From the same world as Samus Aran-“ every Smasher moved away from the bounty hunter “-we have the powerful Space Pirate, Ridley.”

From behind the curtain a large dragon like creature with dark purple skin walked onto the stage. Ridley had bent down to fit into the mansion better but was still taller than the other Smashers. He proved that it did nothing to inhibit his movement by sidestepping a fully charged power shot from his nemesis.

“Ridley?! You made a mistake Master Hand!” Samus leapt at Ridley and he charged to meet her. Arm cannon and claw clashed at the edge of the stage. Samus sent Ridley up in the air with a powerful uppercut. Ridley spread his wings and flew around just below the ceiling, dodging the power shots and missiles while retaliating with fireballs. The other Smashers either watched the fight, left the room, or in the case of Ace pulled out their phone to record the battle. Falco passed a bag of popcorn to Bowser Junior.

“Samus calm down-“ Master Hand was shot into the wall with a flurry of Super Missiles before he could finish speaking. He was knocked out cold against the wall, which had also happened when he tried to stop Link from attacking Ganondorf. Pikachu utilized Quick Attack to jump onto the stage. He grabbed Samus’s leg, when she looked down he shook his head and tapped her leg. That was enough to make Samus stop firing.

“What’s wrong, out of ammo or did you just remember that you’re not really Chozo?” Ridley mockingly asked. Instantly Samus’s rage returned and the barrage of projectiles resumed with even greater strength. Which resulted in Ridley getting hit by some of them. Pikachu exchanged a look with Mewtwo before firing a blast of electricity at Ridley that knocked him into the wall and sent him slowly falling down against it. At the same time Mewtwo teleported in front of Samus and stunned her with Disable before knocking her out with his tail.

“I’ll be in the clinic. You guys can handle dragging the bastard in,” Doctor Mario said.

“And I’ll take Samus back to her room for rest. Do you want a guard in the event Samus tries to hunt Ridley down?” Mewtwo asked.

“I can handle her,” Doctor Mario answered. The other Mario sighed as yet another part of the disaster that was Ganondorf’s first day as a Smasher repeated itself. Ganondorf grabbed Ridley’s legs while Bowser grabbed his shoulders and they carried him out of the room.

___

Ridley was used to waking up somewhere unusual after fighting Samus. This time the bed was large enough to hold Ridley’s full wingspan and the ceiling was white, with lights so bright his eyes hurt. “Finally up. Took you long enough for all the trouble you just caused,” Doctor Mario said as he filled out some paperwork on a clipboard. Ridley tried to move but there were restraints on all of his limbs, even his tail. And thanks to a gag over his mouth he couldn’t demand his release either. It didn’t stop him from trying and turning his head to glare at the doctor. “Did you really think I was letting you wake up and breathe fire on me? Dumbass.”

Doctor Mario walked over and removed the gag. “How dare you-” Ridley got hit with the clipboard for his remark.

“Those restraints come off when I feel like it. Don’t make that after your death,” Doctor Mario threatened. Ridley was too outraged to say anything kind and just barely restrained himself from saying anything at all. Even the aftermath of the K-2L raid hadn’t been as humiliating as his current situation, at the mercy of a human doctor with a sadistic look on their face. Still there had to be a way out. “Samus already told us everything so don’t play the victim, we all saw you provoke her. You’re not going to have any fights to the death here, understand? Any tricks with wording or word play and I’m surgically removing your wings.”

“Yes,” Ridley said, swallowing his pride. Doctor Mario tapped his foot expectantly. “Yes I won’t fight anyone to the death as long as I’m in this realm and will follow all the rules.” For Ridley it hurt on an almost physical level to say that to an inferior life form. The restraints were removed and he got out of the bed as quickly as he could.

“I’ll lead you to your room,” Doctor Mario said. He lead the way out of his office, after walking to and ascending a flight of stairs Ridley’s room was just a short walk down the hallway. The room had extremely dim lighting and covers over the windows, the one form of ‘decoration’ was a large touch screen on the right wall. Ridley shut the door and flew up towards the top of the room, digging his talons into the ceiling so he could hang from it. He didn’t feel a need to add anything else to the room. “You’re welcome. Ungrateful bastard,” Doctor Mario said from the other side of the door. Ridley carefully listened to the sounds of the doctor’s footsteps to confirm that he was being left alone.

Now that Ridley was in a better position he could make a plan. He had only agreed to be a Smasher to get stronger and finally kill Samus to secure the victory of the Space Pirates. Samus also being a Smasher threw a wrench into every plan Ridley had. After some thinking Ridley opened himself up to the possibility that some of the other species present could be among the elite that deserved to rule their universe. He dropped down to the floor feet first and raised a claw to turn on the touch screen, pulling up the roster and the profile it gave for each Smasher.

Humans and any human like species such as the Hylians and Inklings were immediately crossed off of the list, alongside the mutt and duck. After reading through the data on them he decided that the Manakete could at least be tolerated. Robots could be useful but only as tools, Mega Man would be another obstacle but R.O.B could be a decent weapon. The Pokemon varied, that yellow rat was obviously inferior but some of the others held promise. However it appeared that most of them had a misplaced loyalty to the clearly inferior humans, still Mewtwo and Greninja could possibly be recruited even if the loyalties of the two Charizard were a vast disappointment. The Lylat system seemed to be inhabited entirely by inferior beings, as did the world of that Sonic creature.

The Koopa would require more investigating, those two apes and the Yoshi were an instant no. Judging from appearances alone he would have dismissed the two puffballs, but reading up on their accomplishments made him deduce the small appearance was merely another weapon in their vast arsenal. The one called Kirby was almost like a Metroid with its use of other life forms’ energy.

A knock on the door interrupted Ridley’s plotting. He looked through the peephole, Bowser Junior was on the other side. He didn’t seem to have any weapons on him so Ridley opened the door. “What do you want?” Ridley asked.

“I just wanted to say that I think you’re really cool. Can I come in?” Junior asked. Ridley thought of all the different ways he could have just killed Junior if he wasn’t bound by the rules of the mansion. Of course last time he had been in a position like that the end result was Samus Aran becoming a menace to the Space Pirates.

“You can enter,” Ridley said. He stepped back and Junior walked into the dimly lit room closing the door behind him. Ridley found the naivety pitiful, anywhere else closing that door would have been a fatal mistake. Regardless Junior could offer valuable insight into how Smash Mansion operated despite his lack of overall intelligence. It hadn’t been difficult to realize that Master Hand wasn’t the true leader, he handled recruitment and made the rules but the Smashers all seemed to answer to someone else. However Ridley questioned if someone as naïve as Junior would know who that was.

It looked like Junior wanted to say something from how he kept on mumbling and stopping himself right as he started to talk. Whatever information it was Ridley figured it was worth getting out of him. Except he wasn’t sure how to make people tell him things when torture wasn’t an option. “So after that rough introduction to everyone I could use some friends. Can I meet some of yours?” Ridley asked.

“Oh yeah, follow me,” Junior threw open the door and ran out. Ridley hurried behind him, slamming the door shut on his way out. Dealing with Junior was definitely going to be a headache. When they got to the stairs Ridley opted to jump down to the second floor instead of walking. Junior cheered while Ridley held back the urge to yell at him to be quiet. Their destination was the first door on the right, which turned out to lead into the library.

Despite all the noise cooperating with Junior had already paid off. The library had tall and wide shelves filled with books, plus an assortment of chairs and tables with a few computers. Just from glancing at the different titles Ridley could tell it contained books from all of the different worlds. He would be making good use of the information they contained. Junior scampered over to Corrin, who was sitting in one of the chairs reading a book. Ridley had been hoping Junior would lead him to someone else on his list.

Corrin put the book down and stood up as Ridley walked over to him. “This is Corrin, he’s a prince like me and he can turn into a dragon and he has a cool chainsaw sword,” Junior introduced.

“Hello,” Corrin said. “Have you recovered from that fight with Samus?”

“She’s done worse,” Ridley said. Corrin was clearly uncomfortable and didn’t seem confident in his own words. Usually Ridley saw that kind of behavior when a subordinate had failed him. He had no idea why Corrin was behaving that way. Ridley had to remind himself that both Junior and Corrin must have been powerful enough to make up for their mental weakness to become Smashers. “What are you the prince of, Corrin?” Ridley asked. For some reason the profile on him had lacked that information.

“That’s actually kind of a complicated question, it’s a long story,” Corrin responded. After a few seconds spent glancing at the chainsaw sword Junior had mentioned Corrin spoke. “Sorry, I should tell the story anyway. It’s the polite thing to do. My twin sister and I were born in the kingdom of Hoshido but were kidnapped as infants and raised by the noble family of Nohr. Of course neither of us knew about that until recently when we ended up meeting my birth family. Things escalated and both of us decided the best thing to do was go here.”

“In other words you were hostages,” Ridley said.

“No,” Corrin yelled. He looked embarrassed and made sure to lower his tone. “Father- the King of Nohr I mean, he and my Nohrian siblings treated us well. I suspect he recently used us for something horrible but I still trust my siblings. I’m not sure I could break their hearts by opposing Nohr. However when I finally met my Hoshidan family they were so overjoyed to have finally found me that I can’t tolerate the thought of taking arms against them either. Kamui, my twin, she feels the same way. So we refused to fight and came here instead,” Corrin said.

“Sounds like you’re just using this place to run from your problems,” Ridley said. Actually saying that was clearly a mistake but it was what Ridley thought and he wasn’t used to diplomacy. Usually he could just force people to do what he wanted. Corrin put his hands together.

“That was true at first but we’ve started working on a plan. I can’t say anything else about it,” Corrin said. “Anyway what brought you here? You must have had your own reason for signing up.”

“I joined to be with my dad,” Junior added. He had spent most of the conversation tapping his foot in boredom.

“I joined to strengthen myself and the Space Pirates. It’s hard to conquer the universe when you keep losing to the same bounty hunter. At this point I may as well just use my forces as snacks for all their worth,” Ridley said with a chuckle. Corrin nervously laughed with him. Ridley crossed jokes off of his mental list of ways to talk with potential allies. “Perhaps we could help each other, I force your bickering relatives to get along at gun point and you help me fight my enemies.” Ridley slashed the air with his right claw.

“You can’t just force people to get along, and I’d like to know who I’d be fighting before accepting a deal like that. I do appreciate the offer, I’ll need all the help I can get,” Corrin said. Officially it was against the rules to meddle with the other worlds, Master Hand been rather clear about that. Fortunately Corrin’s response made it clear that the rule was more of a suggestion. Mowing down humans from a world with primitive technology would be an easy low risk high reward mission.

“Can I help too?” Junior asked.

“If your father lets you I’d be honored to have you as an ally,” Corrin said.

“Oh, speaking of allies my dad said he wants to work with you mister Ridley,” Junior said. He pulled a document out from under his shell and put it on the table. The terms were simple: they would defend each other from invasion and trade resources. Although Ridley loathed to admit it the Space Pirates had always failed to repel anyone who actually made it into one of their home planets. He would have preferred assistance with invasions but wondered if it was worth pushing for.

“Tell him to meet me in my room at twenty hundred hours,” Ridley said. “I like this but there are other leaders of the Space Pirates and beating them into agreeing with me is just boring at this point.” Corrin gave a nervous laugh assuming it was a joke, it wasn’t. There was an awkward silence between them. Junior put the document back in his shell, Ridley wondered what else was in there. That was when he remembered a certain vital piece of information he lacked. “Master Hand’s just a figure hand, who’s the real leader here? The one you actually listen to.”

“Who we actually listen to?” Corrin muttered to himself. His face lit up like he had made an important break through. “Peach, she organizes almost everything in this mansion. She’s even been able to organize stuff with other worlds, like a family visit day. If you want something done you should go to her first.”

“I’ll make contact with her soon then,” Ridley said.

“I think she should be out by the lake. Anyway I have to go see Kamui now, something you said just gave me an idea,” Corrin said. He picked up his book from the table and left the library. Junior ran off to find his father and waved goodbye as he hurried to the door.

Now that he was by himself Ridley went over his list of likely allies again: the ones he still needed to contact were Kirby, Meta Knight, Mewtwo, Greninja, and now Peach. He hated the idea of interacting with a human in a way that didn’t involve killing them but if Peach was the leader of the Smashers than he had to speak with her at some point.

Ridley made his way down to the first floor and walked to the backdoor. He crossed paths with some of the other Smashers but ignored any and all attempts to start a conversation. When he got outside he extended his wings and ascended up into the sky. There wasn’t much to obstruct Ridley’s vision from the air, he could see a forest but thankfully it was far away from the mansion. The nearby town was small and probably wasn’t worth raiding even if he was allowed to. He flew towards the lake and could make out Peach standing near it, he slowly descended to the ground so he wouldn’t be seen as a threat.

“Hello Ridley I don’t think we’ve properly met yet, my name’s Peach,” she said. “Here to enjoy the view?” Peach’s voice had such a soft quality to it Ridley wondered if she was really the boss. The lake was clear and the sunlight made it shine but Ridley didn’t have an eye for beauty and thus had no appreciation of the sight. So he didn’t look long enough to realize who was under the water. He did take notice of several creatures that he assumed were Pokemon. He considered challenging Peach to forcibly take her authority, he was sure he could win.

“Just felt that I should introduce myself to the true leader of Smash Mansion,” Ridley said. Peach frowned.

“That’s one way of putting it I suppose. You’re here because you want something, right? Like recruits for the Space Pirates,” Peach said. Her voice had suddenly gained a sharper edge, which made it clear she already knew she was right. Ridley’s mind raced to figure out why she was so confident in that. She must have had something or someone in the library that reported to her.

“Spying on me already I see,” Ridley said. He stood straight up and looked down at Peach, opening his mouth to show off his sharp fangs. Peach’s expression didn’t change at all.

“Oh I used something else to learn about your plans, it won’t be used in the future hopefully. Anyway since you’re so concerned with how things are run you should know that you can consider Mewtwo my right hand man, he may keep to himself but he cares deeply about everyone’s safety,” Peach said. Was she implying Mewtwo had done something? The file on him did state that he had mind reading powers but was only permitted to use them when needed. Like when a new Smasher was considered a possible threat and had taken part in a fight within the mansion. So Mewtwo using his mind reading powers on Ridley made sense.

“If I wanted to I could just kill you here,” Ridley said. Before he could react something had knocked him back. As he landed on the ground a turnip slammed into his face with intense force. Peach put her foot on top of Ridley’s chest and pushed down. Despite her appearance it had enough force to keep him down. Greninja was standing right next to her holding a shuriken made out of water between his hands, a shuriken that was also aimed at Ridley’s neck. It only took a few seconds for Ridley to realize that Greninja had been hiding in the lake the whole time. The whole thing had been a trap.

“I don’t want to be enemies. As long as you keep the fighting outside the mansion you can use your position here to help the Space Pirates. Which is also why Fox has a contract lined up with the Galactic Federation, it’s only fair you both get help from other worlds. I don’t like being mean so I’ll forgive you this time,” Peach said. She was smiling like they were having a meaningless conversation.

“I understand,” Ridley said. Peach and Greninja stepped off of him. Ridley pulled himself up from the ground and flapped his wings to ascend into the air. Then he flew back to Smash Mansion in retreat. He was never going to forgive those two.
__

After taking the time to explore Smash Mansion Ridley returned to his room. The encounter with Peach weighed on his mind so heavily he hadn’t bothered looking for the other possible allies. He had been outmatched by Peach completely. It was clear he had to use entirely new tactics if he wanted to see any long term success as a Smasher. So he had asked some of the other Smashers about how Peach had become the head of Smash Mansion.

None of the answers he got were what he had expected. Her rise to power had been built on doing favors for others and earning their trust. She was the leader because she had been unofficially elected to the position. None of the people he asked had talked about her cruel side. It baffled him how someone could be considered a leader without any threats of death hanging over their followers.

In other words Smash Mansion operated in a way that was nothing like what Ridley was used to. Previously he had no need of trust when fear was so easily acquired. Now that he was amongst people who could all supposedly beat him in a fight that was no longer an option. Even if the thought of doing something for someone else for no stated reward made him want to throw up it seemed to be how alliances were formed in Smash Mansion. No not alliances they all talked about friendships, a word that brought back uncomfortable memories of the little girl on K-2L.

After much thought and internal debate Ridley had settled on a new plan: spend time with Junior. It sounded hopelessly stupid yet it matched the methods Peach had used to gain her authority. To be powerful in Smash Mansion he needed to have people who would willingly do things for him, and Junior had called him ‘cool’ so that implied some measure of respect. Ridley would help him when he needed help and hope that Junior would do the same for him. That was how Smash Mansion worked so he would play along and when he returned to his world he planned on returning to the methods that worked there.

There was a knock on the door. Bowser had arrived to negotiate their alliance. Ridley reminded himself of the guidelines he had made up for appearing nice as he opened the door. Now that he understood the rules of Smash he was going to succeed even if it meant behaving in an entirely new way. So he shook Bowser’s hand and let him into the room. With any luck the alliance would also become the start of a new friendship.

Chapter Text

Chrom had been to Smash Mansion before but not as a fighter. Somehow that was enough for the entire place to feel different, like it was suddenly a battlefield where weakness couldn’t be shown. As he followed behind Roy of Pherae to the lounge he tightened his grip on the sheathed Falchion. Chrom stood a small distance away from the door as Roy entered the lounge. Roy had asked Marth, Lucina, Robin, and Reflet to gather there shortly before Chrom arrived at the mansion. “Thanks for coming here on short notice. One of the newcomers just arrived and wants to see you,” Roy said. On cue Chrom walked into the room.

“Father?” Chrom grinned as Lucina, Robin, and Reflet all failed to hide their shock. Robin had even dropped his book. Marth smiled from his spot near the back of the room.

“Roy’s been helping me train over the past year. I don’t think I would have been accepted if I didn’t have his help,” Chrom explained.

“Even if you use my style it was your own skill that brought you here,” Roy said. “I wanted to tell you guys that I was training Chrom but he told me not to so it could be a surprise.” Robin reached down to pick up his book.

“Then when Master Hand approved my entry I wanted to tell you but then Roy insisted on all of this set up,” Chrom said. Roy rubbed the back of his head.

“Regardless it’s good to have you here as a fellow Smasher Chrom,” Robin said.

“Since we both use Falchion I look forward to having sparring matches with you,” Marth said. He walked over to Chrom and shook his hand.

“I would be honored to,” Chrom said. It still felt strange talking directly to his ancestor but Lucina said she had gotten used to it after a while. Besides they had met before during Chrom’s visits to Smash Mansion to see Lucina. That first meeting had been extremely awkward and Chrom did his best not to think about it.

“Now please excuse me but I need to go talk to Link about something,” Marth said. He walked out of the lounge, Roy followed him out. Reflet leaned over to Lucina.

“Hey Lucina, are you going to tell him about your-“

“Don’t you dare!” Lucina shouted. Chrom could tell from the way Reflet had been grinning that she was up to some mischief he shouldn’t ask about. “Sorry about that. Let’s go father, I can introduce you to some of the other Smashers.”

“While you do that Reflet and I should go work on improving our technique. Master Hand needs people to test some new training area he has set up anyway,” Robin said.

“I’ll see you around then,” Chrom said. Lucina stood up and walked out of the room with him.

“Let’s go to the garden, one of the other newcomers should be there,” Lucina suggested. Chrom gave his approval and Lucina led the way to the garden. Despite all of his trips to Smash Mansion he still felt like he was relying on Lucina to know where they were going. He was bad at visualizing things in his mind, which was why having a tactician like Robin had been such a godsend. To memorize the layout he’d have to walk around by himself and brute force it.

The garden was large and filled with a variety of plants. The size and vision blocking hedges made it hard to judge how many people were in it but there were two right by the entrance. One of them he recognized as Olimar, the other was a woman in an orange dress he didn’t recognize. Chrom and Lucina walked over to them. “Father this is Daisy, the princess of Sarasaland and one of my friends. Daisy this is my father, the Exalt of Ylisse and the newest Smasher,” Lucina introduced.

“Please just call me Chrom.”

“Nice to meet you Chrom,” Daisy said.

“I see you’ve been promoted, Lucina’s been hoping for that for a while now,” Olimar said. “I wish I got that kind of promotion at my job,” he half muttered. Lucina had an embarrassed look on her face. The door into the mansion opened as two red Pikmin carried a flower vase down the steps, a flying Pikmin following behind them. Daisy picked up the flower vase and thanked the Pikmin.

“I’ve seen them before while aiding Robin in battle but what exactly are those Pikmin?” Chrom asked.

“They’re an odd type of creature that also qualify as plants. I’m not sure why they started helping me but if it weren’t for them I wouldn’t be here,” Olimar said.

“Well they’re my favorite part of this garden so I’m glad both of you are here,” Daisy said. She kneeled down and pulled up a flower to put into the vase. The Pikmin wandered off further into the garden. “Anyway after what happened with Ridley it’s nice to have a newcomer people are actually happy to have around,” Daisy said. That was an unfamiliar name to Chrom.

“What happened with this Ridley?” Chrom asked.

“Long story short the archenemy of one of the original Smashers just became a Smasher and neither of them can stand the other’s presence,” Olimar explained.

“I was able to have a conversation with Samus but I could tell that she was still seething with rage. With the kind of history they have I can’t blame her,” Lucina said. Chrom thought back to some of the more unusual recruits he had gathered for the Shepherds. Sometimes he had to remind himself why he had even recruited that dastard Gangrel. Of course the answer hadn’t changed since he had made that choice, because after everything that happened Gangrel had gone from a threat to a pathetic joke. He had a feeling Ridley hadn’t gone through anything like that.

Chrom felt a vibration in his pocket as a chime went off from some item Daisy had on her. He reached into his pocket to grab the communication device Master Hand had given him, something called a phone. Lucina, Olimar, and Daisy all took out theirs at the same time. There was already text on the screen reading Alert: Samus needs help in teleporter room. “Come on,” Chrom said as he took off back into the mansion. The others followed behind him, Daisy put down the vase and quickly typed something out on her phone as she ran to catch up.

They were the first to arrive at the scene. Samus was collapsed on the floor in front of the door to the teleporter room, a small yellow creature that had a great resemblance to Pikachu was standing over Samus. There was no movement from Samus. “Pichu what happened?” Lucina asked. Pichu gestured for Lucina’s phone, when he got it he typed ‘fell unconscious’ on the screen and handed it back. Chrom and Lucina pulled Samus up and supported her between them. Pichu climbed up Chrom and stood on his shoulder while taking hold of Samus. Pichu gave off a few sparks of electricity but they were so weak they only tingled Chrom.

“Where should we take her?” Chrom asked.

“Doctor Mario has a clinic, he’s already waiting for us,” Daisy said. She started walking in the direction of the clinic as the others followed. Chrom was about to ask how she knew that Doctor Mario was in his clinic but then he remembered what Lucina had told him about the technology at Smash Mansion. Those devices they handed out let any Smasher communicate with each other instantly so she probably just used hers. Chrom wondered how differently things would have gone in his world if they had that kind of technology, he could already think of one time it would have saved lives.

When they reached the clinic Pichu jumped off of Chrom’s shoulder as he and Lucina laid Samus down in one of the beds. Doctor Mario shooed Chrom and Lucina away before they had a chance to give Samus space of their own accord. After some examination Doctor Mario sighed. “She hasn’t slept at all since that purple bastard showed up, this is just a case of someone who thinks they’re too good for sleep learning otherwise the hard way. With some rest she’ll be back to her usual self,” Doctor Mario said.

“That’s good to hear,” Chrom said. “Are you sure she wasn’t attacked?”

“I’m sure she was raiding the Space Pirates again but I doubt she left any survivors for you to worry about. Ever since Ridley joined she’s been in and out of my office killing as many of them as she can.”

“And you didn’t stop her because…” Daisy said accusingly.

“You try negotiating with someone who has an arm cannon. Not my fault if she doesn’t want to listen to someone with an MD,” Doctor Mario said.

“It doesn’t sound like we can do anything more for her. We should let her rest,” Olimar said. Chrom didn’t want to agree but he had no choice so he left the clinic with the others. Even if he barely knew Samus being powerless always infuriated him. No matter how minor they were moments like that brought back memories of Emmeryn’s sacrifice. He could almost feel the sand under his boots as he clenched his fist.

“I’m off to the tennis court. I need to let off some steam after this,” Daisy said. She walked away. Olimar choose to return to the garden and said goodbye. Pichu went with Olimar.

“I’m not sure what we should do next,” Lucina admitted. She glanced at the door to the clinic with concern written all over her face. “You’ve already seen most of this mansion from your visits.”

“Then let’s go somewhere else. I’ve always wanted to see what these other worlds look like,” Chrom said. Lucina nodded and they walked back to the teleporter room. When they got into the room Lucina selected a destination on the console and then joined her father on the platform.

_____________

Teleportation spells had always made Chrom feel a little dizzy but the new sight that greeted him was far more disorientating. They were in a city filled with massive buildings, some so tall they looked like they were trying to pierce the sky itself. Even the castle in Ylisstol wasn’t that high, Chrom wasn’t sure if his world even had the technology to reach that height. Most of the city had a floor of cement but he and Lucina were standing in a small park on familiar grass and dirt.

“Where are we?” Chrom asked.

“New Donk City, this is somewhere in Mario’s world. Peach was telling me about it the other day. She said they had some great shops here,” Lucina said. They waited for the traffic signal before crossing the road and walking down Dixie Street. It was only a short walk to the store Lucina had in mind, Crazy Caps.

“Wait, we should convert our money the local currency first,” Chrom said.

“The teleporter should have already converted our money,” Lucina explained. Chrom pulled out his wallet, it was now filled with golden coins that had a rectangular indent in the center. He briefly questioned how that had happened before remembering that he had already decided the odd things about Smash Mansion were better off unquestioned. Lucina walked into the store and Chrom followed after her.

Despite what the name implied Chrom could quickly make out many articles of clothing for sale that weren’t even headwear let alone caps. He never had much of an eye for fashion so he just stood by as Lucina looked over the different clothing for sale. Lucina found some combination she liked and went to the dressing room in back. Chrom was filled with dread.

Lucina walked out of the dressing room wearing a clown suit paired with the same strange double hat the employees of the store were wearing. It felt like an attack on Chrom’s eyes and dignity. He was thankful for the Hero King’s absence. “How do I look?”

“Er, you look… gods no I can’t do it. Lucina change into something else please. You’re embarrassing me and it should be the other way around,” Chrom pleaded. Lucina gave a disappointed sigh and went to change into something that wasn’t a mockery of their entire bloodline. This time she came out wearing a black suit and matching hat. “That’s much better.”

“You should try something on too,” Lucina suggested. Chrom picked up a black suit in his size and walked into the dressing room, he walked out looking less like a king and more like a CEO. Lucina grabbed a hat identical to the one she was wearing and put it on his head to complete the look. “There, now we match.”

“This is more comfortable than I thought it would be,” Chrom admitted. At that moment Reflet and Dark Pit walked into the store. The latter didn’t look like he came willingly and Reflet had an evil smile on her face. It was what Chrom had dubbed her ‘trickster mode.’

“Oh what a surprise to run into you guys here. That’s a good look for you two,” Reflet complimented. She was clearly up to something but the fact that she didn’t see Lucina in the clown suit meant she had already lost. “I was just dragging Dark Pit here so he can dress up nice if Lucina wants to go on another date with him.”

“What!” Chrom already had Falchion unsheathed and pointed at Dark Pit. They were going to have a long talk.

“It wasn’t a real date Reflet tricked us into it!” Lucina and Dark Pit shouted at the same time. Chrom pointed the Falchion at Reflet instead.

“Oh, yeah, you guys can just mention that part. I forgot to plan around that,” Reflet said. She took a nervous step back towards the store exit.

“Reflet, what did I tell you not to do?” Chrom asked.

“Play matchmaker with Lucina.”

“What did they just testify to?”

“Well you see, sometimes you just get bored and you know what they say about old habits so… ah screw it you’ll never catch me!” Reflet shouted as she ran out of the store and into the city with Chrom hot on her trail. He pushed through the door so fiercely it broke and the anti-theft alarm went off. Dark Pit broke out into laughter.

“I’ll pay for it,” Lucina said to the cashier. The cashier seemed extremely eager to get the purchase over with.

“What’s with the smile?” Dark Pit asked Lucina.

“I’m just glad I can have moments like this with father. There wasn’t any time for things like this in the future I came from. Now you’re coming with me so we can stop my father and Reflet from accidentally destroying this city,” Lucina said. Before Dark Pit could protest or groan in annoyance Lucina was already dragging him with her out of the store.

Chapter Text

King K Rool threw open the door to Smash Manor so hard it nearly broke off the hinge. He had been trying to actually break it so K Rool marched in like that had happened for his nonexistent audience. “Bah, some welcome you have for a king,” K. Rool said in response to the lack of applause. He crossed his arms and tapped the ground with his foot, a king like him wasn’t going to carry his own suitcase to his room. Donkey Kong revealed himself on the wall above the door with a shout and leapt onto K Rool’s back. He threw Donkey Kong off and pulled out his blunderbuss. With a blue flash someone was standing between the two rivals before the fight could properly start.

“No fighting in the mansion guys. We don’t need yet another repeat of the Ganondorf incident,” Fox said. He held his reflector towards Donkey Kong with one hand and the other pointed his blaster at K Rool. With a glare and an ‘I’m watching you’ gesture Donkey Kong walked away and left them on their own. “Phew, that was close. Sorry about that whole mess.”

“You better be. Now bring me to my room, carry the suitcase too.” Fox sighed and led the way. Once they arrived at the door to his room K. Rool swiped his suitcase, shoved Fox out of the way, and barged in.

“You’re welcome,” Fox sarcastically remarked from the other side of the now closed door before the sound of his footsteps faded in the distance. K. Rool heard it but didn’t care. What he did care about was unpacking and making sure none of his many trophies had lost their shine. Unfortunately some of the trophies had gotten slightly dull so K. Rool plotted how he would punish the Kremlings who packed for him. He polished the trophies back into a shiny state and displayed them proudly on the window sill. When that was done and the less important items had been unpacked K. Rool determined that it was time for him to eat, and he didn’t know where the kitchen was but that detail was insignificant. Fox had been supposed to show him around but apparently he had decided his time was better spent elsewhere, K. Rool would make sure to remember that.

After some investigation into the layout of Smash Mansion that most certainly didn’t also involve being lost K. Rool arrived at the dining hall. The other Smashers were eating so K. Rool placed himself at one of the tables, coincidentally the other newcomers were all seated there. He sat down next to Chrom, who was eating a banana. K. Rool tried to swipe some of the food on Chrom’s plate but Chrom blocked it with his free hand. “There’s a plate right over there you know,” Chrom said. K. Rool glared and added Chrom to his mental list of enemies. He locked eyes with Daisy while serving himself food.

“Ugh, first Ridley and now you. I thought the Hands had standards,” Daisy complained. The few times they had met while playing Baseball had gone rather poorly.

“You should have questioned that when he invited you,” K. Rool fired back.

“Oh you want to go,” Daisy said. She stood up and rolled up her sleeves. Leaf pulled her back down.

“Please can we have some peace in the dining hall?” Leaf asked. “Anyway nice to meet you, my name is Leaf.” She went on to introduce the other newcomers, though K. Rool was barely paying attention. He was more focused on shoving food into his mouth.

“You pass me those chips,” K. Rool demanded from Chrom, whose free hand went towards Falchion’s sheath.

“Not if you’re going to be this rude.”

“I’m a king you pathetic human, show some respect,” K. Rool said.

“And I’m an exalt. You’re getting all the respect you’ve earned so far,” Chrom said. Daisy and Chrom fistbumped. K. Rool had to admit that Chrom clearly wasn’t a pushover and he could respect that, but he also didn’t like being disobeyed. He began plotting revenge while serving himself all of the remaining chips. The other newcomers went back to their conversation and some tried to pretend K. Rool wasn’t there. Ridley was giving him a curious look that got met with a fierce glare.

After having his fill K. Rool put the dining hall behind him and made his way to the hangar. Captain Falcon was lying under the Blue Falcon performing maintenance on it while talking to Red, who was sitting on a crate next to the Blue Machine. Red had a notepad that he was writing notes in. K. Rool walked up to the Blue Falcon. “What’s this?”

“My racing machine. Don’t touch without asking,” Captain Falcon said. He grabbed a wrench from a pile of tools next to the Blue Falcon on the floor. “Any mechanical experience?”

“Hah ‘any?’ I built my own weapons and an entire robot,” K. Rool boasted.

“Cool. Could you flip open the hood and make sure everything looks right? Sometimes things get a little displaced with how intense races get in my world, just make sure everything is connected,” Captain Falcon said. He ducked back under the machine. K. Rool pulled open the hood of the Blue Falcon. Some pipes looked a little dislodged so K. Rool pulled them back together. It took a surprising amount of effort since those pipes clearly hadn’t been intended to move but his brute force prevailed. He committed the layout to memory in case he felt like building one of his own.

“So why’s that brat here if he can’t do anything?” K. Rool asked. A red flash of light came out from Red’s pocket and formed into Charizard. Charizard narrowed his eyes and bared his fangs.

“Calm down Charizard,” Red said. He pushed himself off of the crate and put his hand on Charizard’s neck. “I want to know all about the different kinds of creatures in other people’s worlds so I was asking Captain Falcon about the aliens in his. If it’s a problem I can just come back later.”

“Don’t mind him kid, he’s just being a dick. Anyway K. Rool, that’s your name right, how does the hood look?” Captain Falcon asked. It was hard for K. Rool to tell what exactly he was doing.
“I put the pipe back in place. How do you even dislodge something like this?” K. Rool asked.

“Remember what I said about the races in my world, they’re brutal. These come from nearly being driven off the track at the highest speeds people can just barely handle. It’s dangerous as hell and they only let you in after all sorts of tests to prove you won’t die right away. Actually they’re on hold right now due to protests about it,” Captain Falcon said.

“Protests? What for?” Red asked. He flipped to a new page on his notebook.

“The amount of danger in them. It’s just nonsense being strewn up by people who don’t know anything about F-Zero regulations but it was enough to get them delayed indefinitely. Peach invited me to some race in her world but they’re far less intense than what I’m used to and I don’t want to accidentally bring F-Zero level intensity to people who never signed up for it,” Captain Falcon explained. Throughout the whole explanation his eyes remained fixed on the Blue Falcon. He had switched to some tool that K. Rool had never seen before, it looked like a small paint roller with no actual paint on it.

“That’s lame,” K. Rool said as he eyed Captain Falcon’s other tools. Those F-Zero races sounded perfect for K. Rool. If he could get a look at the rest of the Blue Falcon’s internal workings he could probably build his own counterpart to it. Getting a complete look right away would give himself away and he wanted to keep his projects secret so he would have to do so another time when nobody else was around. He noticed Red looking at him intently. “What are you looking at?” Charizard raised one of his claws as a reminder of his presence.

“Ah sorry. There’s nobody of your species in my world so I was just curious and writing down some basic observations. There are a bunch of different Pokemon types so I’m always wondering what people would fit under. If you can swim you’d probably be a water type, maybe part steel with your engineering skills,” Red said. Despite what some would assume K. Rool did respect the rules against fighting in the mansion, so he held back his comment about Red being a weirdo since Charizard was right there. K. Rool didn’t like the way Charizard was looking at him in general, it just screamed ‘I’m a carnivore with a short temper and big appetite.’

“Well as you can see I’m vastly superior to those monkey brained Kongs,” K. Rool said. Red shifted back uncomfortably and wrote something in his notepad. “What are you writing about me anyway?”

“Oh uh, you can see it if you want,” Red said. He held out his notepad.

“I didn’t ask to see it,” K. Rool said. He grabbed Red’s notepad and read through the notes on him. They were all basic one to three word observations about his appearance like ‘bipedal’ or ‘has scales.’ The longest note read ‘different number of toes and fingers - three toes four fingers.’ K. Rool looked down at his hands and feet, he had never thought about the number of fingers and toes he had. He looked at Red’s five fingered hand for comparison then curled up and uncurled his fingers.

“Are you okay?” Red asked.

“Fine,” K. Rool shouted as he shoved the notepad back into Red’s hands. Red rubbed his ears. K. Rool walked away without even bothering to say farewell, though Red and Captain Falcon did when they saw him leaving.

According to the explanation of Smash Mansion’s features that K. Rool had got with his invitation there was a boxing ring somewhere. It took a few accidental trips to other facilities like the library or lounge to find it. There was an annoying ticking noise that seemed to follow him but he decided it was nothing. More importantly he was definitely getting payback on Fox the next time they met. When K. Rool finally found the boxing ring he triumphantly marched into the room that housed it. Little Mac was practicing his punches on a sandbag in the ring. He stopped and turned to face K. Rool. “Hey you’re the newcomer right? Are you a boxer too?”

“You should know who I am already, I am King Krusha K. Rool the best boxer of the Kremling Krew,” K. Rool bragged. Of course he was the best boxer by virtue of actually beating him being a violation of the rules punishable by death, but to K. Rool that was a very insignificant detail. The win-loss ratio was all that really mattered.

“Cool. Want to go a few rounds Krusha?” Little Mac asked. K. Rool responded by grabbing boxing gloves off of the wall and jumping into the ring. While he put the gloves on Little Mac picked up the sandbag and threw it out of the ring. K. Rool didn’t think much of Little Mac as an opponent but going all out on weaklings was always fun.

With a shout K. Rool threw the first punch. Little Mac ducked. He blocked the second and threw the third punch of the match. K. Rool blocked it with a punch of his own and used his other fist to land a hit on Little Mac. Little Mac stumbled back but was still able to sidestep the follow up punch from K. Rool.

After that neither of them were able to land a hit. Little Mac would throw out punches that would get blocked but he had learned his lesson and always dodged the counterattack. Meanwhile all of K. Rool’s attacks met with either another boxing glove or empty space. K. Rool’s patience was running thin. He stepped forward and threw out a right hook. Little Mac ducked under it and with a shout of ‘Star Punch’ landed a direct hit on K. Rool.

Despite not being that hurt K. Rool fell to the ground like it had been a severe blow, throwing in a fake groan of pain for extra measure. He never liked how weak the tactic made him look but the potential victory was always worth it. Little Mac took the chance to catch his breath while K. Rool was on the ground. Seizing the new opening K. Rool erupted from the ground and struck Little Mac with an uppercut that sent him into the air. He landed on the floor and was literally down for the count. Little Mac pushed himself up from the floor and held onto the rope around the ring. “You fight like the opponents back home. Guess fair play is too much to ask for. Let’s have a rematch sometime, either here or in an actual Smash battle,” Little Mac said with a hint of irritation. He got back on his feet walked out of the room.

“Have any tricks that can work more than once?” A voice from the ceiling asked after Little Mac had left. K. Rool looked up and saw Ridley hanging upside down from the ceiling. Ridley released his grip on the ceiling, turned himself upright, and landed in front of K. Rool.

“Just say what you mean creep,” K. Rool responded. He refused to give any sign of being surprised by Ridley’s appearance. Instead he took off the boxing gloves so he could use his blunderbuss if needed.

“I want to know if allying with you is worth the trouble. You were already incompetent at navigating the mansion, you didn’t even notice that I was using the Koopa brats’ toys to spy on you,” Ridley said. He held up a mechakoopa. K. Rool sucker punched the draconic space pirate and grabbed the mechakoopa.

“How’s this for an answer?” K. Rool asked as he crushed the mechakoopa in his hand. Ridley had quickly recovered from the punch and kept a neutral expression.

“Decent. I’ll help you with your monkey problem if you help me deal with my own inferior lifeform problem,” Ridley said. K. Rool grinned.

“Anyone ready to help me put the hurt on those flea bitten apes is a friend of mine. You’ve got yourself a deal. Break it and I’ll break your spine. Oh and since that lousy Fox ditched me I need someone to show me around the rest of this place and that nearby town,” K. Rool said.

“Only if you don’t treat me like one of your minions, no shoving or making me carry luggage,” Ridley said. A mocking smile was plastered on his face. K. Rool was definitely getting payback on Fox at some point now.

“Fine. It’s a deal,” K. Rool said. Ridley reached out his closed claw and got a look of confusion in return. Ridley realized what he had done and a look of horror came on his face.

“Those damn Koopa brats and their constant fist bumping rubbed off on me. I should have known I would regret letting Bowser make me do those pointless tasks with them. Well anyway what do you say, ‘friend?’ To our new partnership,” Ridley said. He and K. Rool fistbumped.

Chapter Text

Simon Belmont held the Vampire Killer firmly in his hands as the stagecoach came into Smashville. It looked quite peaceful from what he could see outside the window, not like the type of place where his vampire slaying whip was needed. There were no gates or traces of monsters needing to be kept out by gates. Still it never hurt to be prepared and this was a fighting tournament he was going to. Of course there was no way Smash Mansion could be worse than Dracula’s Castle.

The stagecoach pulled to a stop and Simon threw open the door. He stepped out onto the paved road of Smashville. The horses pulled the stagecoach forward and through a portal that had just opened up, it closed once its purpose had been fulfilled. Simon didn’t trust the strange magic used by the Hands but it hadn’t harmed him yet. There didn’t seem to be any lingering effects from the closing of the portal either.

“Hey Simon,” someone shouted. Simon spun around with the vampire killer ready to strike. He eased up when he saw who had shouted. A brown haired angel was running towards him with a younger boy following behind. They felt familiar somehow and Simon felt oddly sure that their names were Kid Icarus and Mega Man.

“Are you two my guides?” Simon asked.

“Yes. My name is Mega Man and this is Pit. It’s nice to meet you Simon.” So he had gotten one right and the other wrong based on pure instinct. Simon wasn’t much of a thinker but he could tell something was up. “Pit I thought you told me you didn’t know the newcomer’s name,” Mega Man said.

“Yeah I didn’t,” Pit said. He looked confused, Simon felt the same. Was there something he was missing?

“So you just shouted out a random name?” Mega Man asked.

“What do you- oh right. Uh, Simon is your name right? I don’t know why but when I looked at you I really felt like that was your name,” Pit said. While talking he waved his hands in front of him frantically like he was trying to block something.

“Yes, my name is Simon. Somehow I just knew Mega Man’s name too. But I thought you were named Kid Icarus for some reason,” Simon said.

“This is really weird. Now that I think about Pit looked oddly familiar when we first met and I get that feeling from you too. What’s going on here?” Mega Man asked.

“I bet lady Palutena knows. She and Rosalina are up in the observatory I think,” Pit said. Simon had planned on gathering information in the town anyway. Hopefully there wouldn’t be any pranksters whose idea of a joke was giving false information to their only hope against the darkness. He most certainly wasn’t bitter about any past experiences in his own world.

Simon followed Pit and Mega Man into the museum and past the sleeping curator. As they walked up the stairs to the observatory Simon caught sight of a sign for an exhibit. ‘Coming soon: The Belmont Clan vs Dracula, a secret war. 1094 AD – 2036 AD.’ Simon did a complete one eighty degree turn and rushed back down the stairs. Mega Man and Pit followed behind him as Simon leapt onto the first floor and shook the museum curator awake.

“Is there some emergency?!” Blathers exclaimed.

“Simon what are you doing to Blathers?” Pit asked.

“That exhibit on my family, how were you able to make it?” Simon asked. Mega Man pulled Simon away from Blathers with a surprising amount of strength.

“Calm down. When it comes to our worlds Master Hand commissions the exhibits and donates everything needed to start it up. Blathers is just using what he was given,” Mega Man said. In other words Simon was going to have a long talk with the floating disembodied hand, not the anthropomorphic owl. That wasn’t a thought he had ever expected to have. Simon wondered what he had done to deserve such a bizarre experience. Surely killing Dracula should have earned him something more sensible.

“Sorry. It’s just that exhibit is rather suspicious. Because in my world it’s the year 1699 but it claims to have knowledge from 2036,” Simon explained. Mega Man looked up at one of the exhibits but quickly looked away and back at Simon. Simon had been able to trace Mega Man’s gaze to an exhibit titled ‘The Maverick Wars.’ Was that based on Mega Man’s world?

“Hoo that is quite strange. A similar thing happened with some other newcomers some time ago but I never did get around to asking Master Hand about it. I’ll make sure to remember this time,” Blathers said.

“Thank you. I’ll handle the questioning myself, you don’t need to get more involved. And sorry about waking you up,” Simon said.

“Oh it’s no problem I’m used to it. Feel free to wake me up if you ever want to donate something to the museum,” Blathers said. Simon nodded and turned to head back up the stairs with Pit and Mega Man close behind. They walked up to the observatory at the top of the museum without further incident.

Inside the observatory there was another sleeping owl and two women who were seated and drinking tea. Pit immediately ran over to one of them with an excited shout of ‘lady Palutena.’ Simon guessed that the other one sitting next to the telescope was Rosalina. “Hello Simon, it’s nice to meet you,” Rosalina said. She gestured for him to come closer.

“How do you know my name?” Simon asked.

“Oh the two of us like to stay on the ball when it comes to newcomers. That way I know when to pull out the cameras. Who needs TV when you can watch Master Hand get beat up in slow motion on repeat?” Palutena answered. Simon didn’t like where the conversation was going, he didn’t know what a camera or TV was. “So is there anything you need?”

“Something weird is going on. Simon knew my name the moment we met and Pit knew his. All of us feel like we know each other but we’re from other worlds, if we met we would know it right?” Mega Man asked. He tapped the side of his head like it would trigger the return of some missing memory.

“Oh. This might be a little hard to explain,” Palutena said. Her tone had turned serious. Rosalina took a sip of tea and gently placed the cup back on the table.

“Simon Belmont, Mega Man, and the angel who fought against the Underworld are comrades. But they aren’t you,” Rosalina said.

“Say that again, but in a way that makes sense please,” Simon said.

“Why didn’t I get name dropped,” Pit complained.

“I’ll get to that later, there’s a reason other than teasing you. Thanks to Master Hand this space is kind of a ‘in between’ area when it comes to different worlds,” Palutena said. “That doesn’t just include the ones he sends out letters to. And some worlds are a lot less different than you think. In fact they’re so similar that they have the same people in them.”

“There is another world that has a Simon Belmont of its own for example, in many ways that Simon is the same as you but you are still different people. However in a space like this where the walls between worlds are permeable something called Reality Bleed occurs. Reality Bleed is when somebody feels or remembers something that another world’s version of them did,” Rosalina continued.

“I think I see where this is going. There’s another world where the three of us are friends right?” Mega Man asked.

“That’s right. In that world Pit was named Kid Icarus for some weird reason so that’s why Rosalina didn’t use his name,” Palutena said.

“So I knew Simon’s name the moment I saw him because I’m already friends with him, but that’s technically someone else except for the part where they’re me, but they’re not really me…” Pit scratched his head as he tried to work out what he had just heard. Palutena sighed.

“And that’s why I waited this long to explain it. Don’t think about it too much Pit. I don’t want you to have an existential crisis,” Palutena said.

“I’m not sure I fully get this but it doesn’t sound like any kind of curse so I won’t worry about it,” Simon said. “But I still have one question you might be able to answer, there’s going to be an exhibit which has things from the future of my world. How?”

“The flow of time in each world is like a river, if you get out of the river and walk next to it you can enter at any point you desire. Because Master Hand made this world his base he’s stuck following the proper flow of time here, but for your world he can choose not just where but also when in it he appears. He’s already used this to recruit a few Smashers from very different points in the timeline of their world,” Rosalina explained.

“So that means he’s already seen what the future in my world is like,” Simon said. If that was true then Master Hand could have picked any Belmont he wanted to recruit. Had Simon really been the best option? Surely Leon, Trevor, or Christopher would have been Master Hand’s preferred choice, and what of those who would come after Simon? He had screwed up and let himself get cursed in the battle with Dracula, and while getting rid of the curse he ended up bringing the damn vampire back for another chance to destroy humanity. According to the family records no prior Belmont had needed two tries to slay Dracula. So why was he the chosen representative of the Belmont clan?

“Hey Simon are you okay?” Mega Man asked. Simon realized he had been starring into space while running his hand over the Vampire Killer.

“Sorry. I was just thinking about what this all means,” Simon said.

“I suppose you aren’t in the mood to hear about our ‘point of divergence’ theory then?” Rosalina asked with a teasing smile.

“Hey I’m the one in charge of teasing here,” Palutena said.

“We should go before they give you more of an existential crisis,” Mega Man said. He grabbed both Simon and Pit by their hands, then dragged them out of the observatory despite Pit’s protests. The door closed behind them on its own. Simon was still surprised by Mega Man’s strength. Then he realized something he should have asked before getting dragged away by Mega Man. But he had a feeling Mega Man and Pit knew the answer anyway.

“How did those two know all of that anyway?” Simon asked. He broke his hand out of Mega Man’s grip and took the lead going down the stairs to the museum exit. Pit was released and caught up with Simon.

“Lady Palutena is the goddess of light from my world and Rosalina is a goddess from another world. Well Rosalina has never called herself that but she definitely is, lady Palutena says so herself,” Pit said. Normally the talk of gods would have put Simon on guard but Master Hand had made sure to stress to Simon that other worlds had their own gods so religiously motivated conflict would be both meaningless and get him kicked out of the mansion. As long as Palutena didn’t demand tribute from him he was fine with her.

“Master Hand must have a lot of confidence to invite people like them here. Unless he really is that strong,” Simon said. They walked past Blathers, who had fallen back to sleep. The trio stopped at the base of the stairs outside the museum.

“There’s no way lady Palutena would ever cause trouble for Master Hand. Well, not the kind of trouble that gets people hurt at least. Besides Ridley and K. Rool are the ones you should keep an eye on, I don’t trust those jerks,” Pit said.

“Are you still mad about K. Rool stealing your ice cream?” Mega Man asked.

“Of course I am. Ice cream is a big deal. It wasn’t just any ice cream either, it was floor ice cream,” Pit said. He still sounded outraged about the incident.

“Who are you talking about?” Simon asked. He had decided not to dignify the idea of floor ice cream with any form of acknowledgement. Floor meat was something else entirely.

“Sorry. Two of the Smashers who joined recently have been causing a bit of trouble. But the mansion is neutral ground so it’s not actual fighting, outside of the matches at least,” Mega Man explained.

“If they do cause any trouble just leave it to me. Now are we going to the mansion? I’m interested in seeing where the fights happen,” Simon said.

“Yeah. The taxi should be here any second,” Mega Man said.

“Taxi?” Before his question could be answered what he assumed was the taxi pulled up and stopped in front of the group. A green creature around the same size as Blathers was sitting by the front with a wheel in its hands. Ignoring his own concerns Simon opened the door and got into the backseat of the taxi, despite the confusing lack of a visible power source (like a horse) it was still clearly something along the lines of a stagecoach. He had planned on walking but protesting wasn’t worth it.

“Hey Kapp’n, three for Smash Mansion,” Pit said as he sat down next to Simon.

“Simon you should put on your seatbelt,” Mega Man said.

“No don’t it’s much more exciting without seatbelts,” Pit said. Kapp’n gave a sigh.

“It really isn’t. Now please put it on or I’ll tell Palutena,” Mega Man said. Kapp’n chimed in with a declaration that the taxi wouldn’t move until everybody had their seatbelts on. Pit sadly put his seatbelt on. Simon didn’t understand why it was needed but it was easy enough to do and seemed like it could be removed quickly if something went wrong. The taxi started moving down the road towards Smash Mansion.

Simon looked out the window, the scenery was passing by much faster than it had with the stagecoach before. “So I was about to say this before Kapp’n arrived, what do you guys think we should do about this Reality Bleed thing?” Mega Man asked.

“What can we do? It’s not hindering us according to what Palutena and Rosalina said,” Simon said.

“Are you really fine hanging out with us even if it in results in all of these strange feelings. Just because some other versions of us were friends doesn’t mean we have to be if you don’t want to,” Mega Man said.

“It’s not a problem for me. Even if we’re friends that doesn’t mean we’ll have the same kind of friendship we did in some other world,” Simon said.

“That’s good. Don’t get me wrong I do want to be friends, I’m just worried about losing sight of myself in all this Reality Bleed stuff. I think I’ve formed some friendships because of it without even realizing it was a thing. There was a time I nearly crossed the line, what if Reality Bleed gives me the push needed to actually cross it,” Mega Man said.

“Oh, uh, that’s deep,” Pit said. Mega Man sighed. “Hey I don’t know what to say to something like that,” Pit protested.

“Don’t worry about it, there isn’t an easy response to something like that,” Mega Man said.

“If you say so. Hey since we’re all friends now let’s take a picture to celebrate,” Pit said. Part of Simon wanted to tell Pit he shouldn’t leap to call people friends after just meeting them but another part of him was perfectly fine with that, maybe it was because of Reality Bleed or all the time spent journeying by himself. Pit held out some rectangular device in front of him, Simon had gotten something similar with his acceptance letter. “Hey Simon smile,” Pit said. Simon smiled and Pit made a V sign with his free hand. There was a click and Pit turned the device around.

After explaining what a picture was Pit showed Simon the one he had just taken. Simon felt strange seeing such a lifelike image of himself in anything other than a mirror. It felt more unnerving than all the discussion of Reality Bleed and alternate selves. Thankfully Pit put his phone away so Simon didn’t have to see the picture any longer. The conversation shifted to what their own worlds were like and Simon told the story of his two battles with Dracula.

“So your family has been fighting this Dracula guy for centuries? That’s so cool,” Pit said when Simon had finished describing his own world.

“It’d be cooler if he stopped coming back. And I don’t think I’m going to be remembered well for having to fight him twice when all the past Belmonts only needed one try,” Simon said. He looked down at the Vampire Killer. In a way it was the physical manifestation of the Belmont legacy. He sometimes wondered if his victories had more to do with it than him.

“But nobody else can say they beat Dracula twice,” Pit said.

“And you were cursed the second time. Winning with something like that pulling you down is pretty impressive,” Mega Man said.

“Thanks,” Simon said. Was that the right way to respond to praise? Simon had no idea. He didn’t agree with Pit and Mega Man’s assessment either but it wasn’t worth bringing that up. The taxi came to a stop in front of Smash Mansion. Simon opened the door and got out of the taxi, taking a second to clear his head. Out of all possible Belmonts he was the one who had been chosen to represent the family as a Smasher. His doubts didn’t matter. He’d just overcome whatever challenges came at him next and show all those other worlds the power of Simon Belmont.

Chapter Text

Dark Samus was alive again. She looked around at her new location. It was an office with a desk standing between Dark Samus and the one other entity in the room. Said other entity was a floating disembodied gloved right human hand. Then Dark Samus realized she couldn’t sense any Phazon outside of her own body. In other words she had been mutilated, robbed of an entire sense. And the Phazon that was in her body seemed incapable of spreading.

“I bet you’re wondering why I brought you back,” the floating hand said. The source of its voice was beyond Dark Samus’s detection. “I’m Master Hand, one of the organizers of an inter-dimensional tournament you’re competing in now. I had to neuter some of your power to keep everyone safe but you’re free to live in this mansion and travel to other worlds, this includes returning to your world. As long as you agree that while in this world you’ll abstain from fighting others outside of pre-arranged matches.” Dark Samus nodded in response to Master Hand’s demands. She could speak but deemed the nod a more efficient method to convey her consent.

After that Dark Samus followed Master Hand out of the office and towards the room that had been designated as her resting place. She had no need for sleep but the room could serve other functions. She refused the offer to receive a tour of the entire mansion and placed herself in the middle of the dark empty room.

Dark Samus did not know what purpose her newly reacquired life had. The spread of Phazon throughout the entire universe was her function, now that was impossible. Unlike humans and other sentient life forms she had no desires to satiate. Therefore Dark Samus concluded she would merely fight when ordered and conserve energy for that sole usage. Then Ridley opened the door to her room.

The two of them silently stared at each other. Ridley betrayed himself with a few subtle indications of fear, his body readied for both fight and flight. There weren’t any traces of Phazon in the dragon unfortunately. Still even before then Ridley had served as a functional tool much like the rest of the Space Pirates. That recollection led Dark Samus to her new purpose, and reasserting control over the Space Pirates would be useful for that. Ridley slowly bowed in subservience under the weight of Dark Samus’s gaze.

“Two objectives: restoration of Phazon and elimination of Galactic Federation. Take me to subordinates,” Dark Samus ordered. She was aware that the Space Pirates had worshipped her but had never bothered paying attention to her cult so Ridley’s blatantly false declarations that he had been awaiting her return meant nothing to her. She waited for the groveling to end and had Ridley lead the way to the teleporter room. In hindsight turning down that tour was a poor decision.

Much to Dark Samus’s annoyance someone walked right up to Ridley while they were on their way to the teleporter. “K. Rool now is not the time,” Ridley said. K. Rool looked at Dark Samus. She paid him no mind.

“So that’s the newcomer? What you hate Samus but her clone is fine?” K. Rool asked. In a flash Dark Samus had her arm cannon right in K. Rool’s face. The kremling backed away slowly with his hands held up defensively.

“Well this one hasn’t tried to kill me yet. If you come along you might enjoy what we’re about to do,” Ridley said. He looked to Dark Samus and got an approving nod in return. There was strength in numbers.

“Only if you keep that arm cannon out of my face,” K. Rool said. Like with Ridley there was a hint of fear in his demeanor now. He probably realized what would have happened if Dark Samus had taken the shot. Thankfully the rest of the short walk to the teleporter room was uneventful. Once they arrived Dark Samus waited patiently on the teleporter platform as Ridley typed in the coordinates. A bright light clouded her vision of her surroundings.

When Dark Samus’s vision cleared she was in the dimly lit command room of a Space Pirate mothership. The design felt oddly familiar with the large monitors on the walls and central table that took up most of the room, it was exactly like the one from the ship where she first took control of the Space Pirates. If she didn’t deem the gesture pointless she would have groaned at the shocked gasps and groveling all of the present Space Pirates gave. K. Rool awkwardly watched the scene unfold as Ridley marched over to the intercom.

“Attention all Space Pirates, the Dark Hunter has returned to us. It is her will that we recreate the substance of the promised land and finally eliminate those who destroyed it. Now here’s what our first little step towards that will be…”

 ____

It was common for complaints to be made about how cramped the boarding pods were. Dark Samus didn’t even know about the concept of claustrophobia so she had no complaints. She was so still that if her feet were on the floor instead of hovering over it she could be mistaken for a statue. Dark Samus remembered some statues she had seen depicting herself, made by the Space Pirates obviously. It was a needless recollection she didn’t understand.

A siren began wailing as the door out of the boarding pod closed. It shot out of the ship like a bullet. When she felt the impact and heard the sound of the pod drilling through its target she aimed her arm cannon towards the exit. It opened up to the inside of a Galactic Federation ship.

Dark Samus threw herself out of the pod and scanned the area. For some reason it was empty. And barriers had been lowered on either side of the hall as though they knew an intruder would appear there. Something struck Dark Samus from behind and sent her into the air. Dark Samus turned around and landed on her feet, arm cannon pointed at her attacker.

“You’re the newcomer who was just recruited aren’t you? I guess Samus was right to be suspicious,” Shulk said. Dark Samus took a few seconds to piece together what he meant. She was fighting another Smasher. Dark Samus began charging up a shot. Shulk seemed distracted during the charge. Then he refocused just in time to dodge the shot. “They’re going to blow up the engines, someone stop them,” Shulk shouted into a communicator.

Dark Samus didn’t know or care how Shulk knew that. The important thing was that he revealed part of the plan and needed to be killed. Shulk sidestepped the grapple beam and closed the distance between him and Dark Samus. She got into morph ball form and rolled past him, dropping a bomb right between his legs. Shulk jumped away from it and nearly hit Dark Samus with the Monado.

“Samus look out Ridley is trying to ambush you. I’m currently fighting Dark Samus,” Shulk said into his communicator. That wasn’t even information Dark Samus had. Samus’s possible presence on the ship was considered unlikely and with what had happened already Shulk could ruin all of the contingencies for that.

“Smasher present. Knows our movements. Requesting aid for his elimination,” Dark Samus uttered through her comm link. She leapt over Shulk and fired a missile down at him, he rolled out of the way. The fight continued with neither of them being able to land a hit. Sometimes Shulk seemed to know what Dark Samus was doing before she did but with quick adjustments she had avoided the counterattacks. Their dance of dodging was disrupted by a green ball of energy that Shulk blocked by summoning a yellow forcefield around himself. The disruption had come from an air vent, a dark green cyborg crawled out of it. Dark Samus recognized him. It was Weavel, the Space Pirate Bounty Hunter who had fought Samus over the ‘Ultimate Power’ in the Alimbic Cluster.

“Leave him to me,” Weavel said. Dark Samus nodded and blasted open a hole in one of the barriers. Before Shulk could stop her Weavel jumped between them and his scythe clashed with the Monado.

“Samus look out Dark Samus is heading your way. Samus come in!” Shulk shouted into his communicator. That was a sign at least something had gone to plan, the Galactic Federation’s comms network on the ship was down. Meaning Dark Samus could ambush Samus and remove her from the equation.

“Die quickly will you, I’ve been waiting for another chance to kill Samus for ages,” Weavel said. Shulk responded with a determined glare and slash of the Monado. Dark Samus left the duel behind her as she sped through the ship. The halls were filled with the bodies of Galactic Federation soldiers and Space Pirates. Barriers had been lowered around all of the impact points for the boarding pods but holes had been blown through all of them. Foresight only helped so much.

Gradually Dark Samus drew closer to the sounds of Samus and Ridley fighting again. Some soldiers for the Galactic Federation tried to stand in Dark Samus’s way but her missiles made short work of them. With nobody else standing in her way Dark Samus was free to enter the research center where Ridley and Samus were currently fighting.

It was a wide rectangular room with rows of computers lined up against all four walls. Above them were sets of walkways and ladders for easier access regardless of what floor of the ship someone was on. Dark Samus couldn’t make out any corpses but a good number of the computers had been destroyed by collateral damage from Ridley and Samus’s ongoing fight. They were so busy fighting each other they didn’t notice Dark Samus entering and surveying the room.

Dark Samus had an impulse to immediately attack Samus but she held back. She walked over to one of the computer terminals on the opposite side of the room from where Samus was punching Ridley in the face repeatedly, and downloaded some important data about the PED suits onto a storage device. Dark Samus placed it somewhere safe and charged up a shot before firing it directly at Samus. The hit connected and knocked her down. Ridley seized the chance and jumped on top of Samus, slashing her with his claws and letting fireballs fall out of his mouth. Dark Samus doubted she needed to do anything more to see Samus finally killed.

“Falcon Kick!” Dark Samus looked up just in time to see Captain Falcon leap down from a higher floor and somehow cover his feet with fire right before they made contact with Ridley. Ridley stumbled and Samus fired a missile right at him. Dark Samus fired missiles of her own at Captain Falcon as he landed but he ran right past them and brought his knee up to her chest. The impact sent pain throughout Dark Samus’s body.

Logically there was no reason to continue the battle. Despite that Dark Samus used her grapple beam to grab Captain Falcon and pulled him right into an uppercut. Meanwhile Ridley found himself stuck to the floor thanks to a direct hit from Samus’s ice beam. Both of his feet were encased in ice and the flood of power beam shots left with him no opening to melt them with a fireball. Captain Falcon recovered from Dark Samus’s uppercut while still in the air and pulled out a gun. A small shot of energy burst out from it and struck Ridley. The draconic Space Pirate fell to the ground paralyzed.

Undeterred Dark Samus kept firing her power beam. Unfortunately for her Samus and Captain Falcon spread out as they approached and forced her to chose which one to aim at. The best she could do was keep them away while dodging their projectiles until one of her own landed. Then a sword slashed Dark Samus in the back.

“Sorry I’m so late,” Shulk said. He was covered in a dark blue aura. Dark Samus retaliated with a missile. Shulk ducked and the missile made contact with an unsuspecting Weavel, who ran right into it. Samus charged up her power beam while Captain Falcon cracked his knuckles.

“Self destruct initiated. Two minutes remaining until self destruct,” a robotic voice called out throughout the ship. Seeing an opening Dark Samus aimed her grapple beam at a higher level and pulled herself up there. Samus fired shots at her that just barely missed.

“We don’t have the time Samus we need to get out of here,” Captain Falcon said. With that the trio of heroic Smashers made their exit. Right as they left King K. Rool ran in on the floor Dark Samus had fled to. He looked down and saw the fallen Ridley and Weavel.

“I’ll grab him,” K. Rool said. He jumped down and picked up Ridley.

 “He failed. Weavel did better. Why rescue him?” Dark Samus questioned.

 “He’s way more useful than all of those other grunts but I’ll grab that cyborg too if it makes you shut up,” K. Rool responded as he broke the ice around Ridley’s feet. Dark Samus didn’t bother staying around to confirm K. Rool’s rescue of the two elite Space Pirates. To her escaping efficiently with the stolen data was the most important thing. Despite completing the objective it still felt like a failure.

____

After handing off the stolen data Dark Samus returned to Smash Mansion ahead of Ridley and King K. Rool. She didn’t care about the specifics of the plans or what exactly they learned from the stolen data. She cared only for the results. Right as Dark Samus left the teleporter room she came face to face with Shulk. Remembering the rule about not fighting in the mansion was the only reason she didn’t immediately attack him. Shulk had a firm grip on the Monado. They glared at each other for a few seconds before continuing on their respective ways. It wasn’t as though they could do anything to each other in the mansion.

Dark Samus returned to her room and settled in the exact center. She waited patiently and after some time had passed Ridley and K. Rool entered. “Why the hell did you just run off before anyone could even blink?” K. Rool asked.

“Nobody can attack in Mansion, safest place,” Dark Samus said. K. Rool’s left eye twitched.

“Anyway Shulk and Captain Falcon are going to be a problem if they keep helping out Samus. We should attack their worlds as well,” Ridley suggested. Dark Samus nodded in approval. Phazon didn’t make plans, it spread. She also noted the names and deduced who they referred to from the shout of ‘Falcon Kick’ during the battle.

“We’ll be on our own then since the teleporter just doesn’t work if you try to take non-Smashers anywhere but here or their own world,” K. Rool said.

“What, scarred without having some of your own minions backing you up,” Ridley said.

“No. I ain’t fighting a losing battle. And if you have any ‘witty’ response to that just remember that both of you have been killed and I haven’t,” K. Rool retaliated.

“He’s right,” Dark Samus said.

“I’m working on finding another way to travel through worlds. But until then the three of us are more than enough to do some damage,” Ridley said. Dark Samus noticed the abrupt change of subject.

“Well when you put it that way I’ve been meaning to visit Falcon’s world for a while now,” K. Rool said.

“Save some for me you glutton. I still need to heal from that last battle since not all of us got to pick on small fry. But I think it’s time I had a chat with Wolf,” Ridley said. The two of them had sinister grins spread across their faces. Dark Samus watched silently as they left to carry out their respective tasks.

___________

“You two owe Samus an explanation for this,” Peach said. A meeting had been called in Master Hand’s office, he and Crazy Hand floated next to each other while Peach and Samus sat in chairs on the opposite side of the desk. Mewtwo stood at the side with his back against the wall. Master Hand sighed.

“You know that this isn’t just a mere tournament but a way to call upon warriors to face grave threats that threaten all worlds. I can’t turn down a powerful fighter just because of their morals,” Master Hand said.

“It’s actually because there’s a really crazy, not like me, powerful bad guy who might do stuff soon. There might even be two. Oh what if it was three, three is a fun number, as long as it’s five or less so we can count them ourselves it’ll be fine. You know I don’t-“

“Enough Crazy,” Master Hand said, his voice filled with irritation.

“So you’re so scared of this new threat that you started recruiting even Space Pirates?” Samus asked. She crossed her arms and kept her glare focused on Master Hand. Master Hand sighed again.

“Yes. We don’t know much about them but they’re dangerous. So we’ve had to do all of our observations from a distance too great to make out anything important. But there is a trail of destruction going through multiple worlds that proves something is there. Whatever this new enemy is they can clearly travel through worlds relatively freely,” Master Hand said.

“Hey why do they always say ‘free as a bird’ when birds have so many commitments with migration and stuff. Wouldn’t sloths fit better since they just laze around all day…” Crazy Hand continued with his ignored tangent.

“Is there anything we can do to help? We can’t just sit by while entire worlds are destroyed, it might even target one of our worlds,” Peach said.

“Don’t worry I have all of your worlds concealed from creatures like that. The only thing we can do is observe until we know enough to attack. If we reveal ourselves to whatever this enemy is before we’re ready it would spell ruin for every world,” Master Hand said.

“I’m not too petty to see the bigger picture but the Space Pirates genuinely can’t be trusted. You’re endangering other worlds already by letting the Space Pirates know about them.”

“But if Master does too much then we lose our balance and Master Core comes out again. Chaos is fun Sammy, live on the risky side for a bit,” Crazy Hand said. Samus gave him a thumbs down.

“Don’t worry Samus. Crazy has a point but just because they can’t do anything doesn’t mean we can’t. Mewtwo can you contact some people?” Peach asked.

“I already went ahead and did that. Greninja and Snake have received a telepathic message from me asking for their assistance. Give them time to respond. Actually both just gave their agreement to help surveil Dark Samus and her followers.”

“Thank you. Come on Samus, let’s go talk to DK and Diddy. They need to know that the Kremlings might be backed up by the Space Pirates now,” Peach said. She stood up and took Samus’s hand.

“Are you sure you’re fine with this Peach? You’ve been so proud of being a peacekeeper here. I can talk to the Kongs myself. You don’t need to do all of this for me,” Samus said as she remained seated.

“Don’t worry I’m not giving that up. But sometimes in order to keep the peace you have to start a fight. I hope I can make peace with Dark Samus and the others eventually but I know that if I extend an olive branch now they’ll burn it. Besides you haven’t been feeling well ever since Ridley arrived so if an anti-Space Pirate alliance is what it takes to make you feel better then I’ll form one,” Peach explained.

“Thank you Peach,” Samus said after a short silence. She stood up and walked out of the room with Peach. Mewtwo teleported himself out of the room with no further comment.

“Things just keep on getting more and more complicated. I think I’ll need some help keeping track of everything,” Master Hand said to himself. He began writing a letter as Crazy Hand teleported out to recruit the next newcomer.

Chapter Text

            “This looks like the place,” Richter said to himself as he walked up to Smash Mansion. Part of him still worried that the whole thing was a trap. Past experiences had taught him to be very careful. He had considered rejecting the invitation outright, but Annette had convinced him to take it. She thought it would be a good change of pace for him. Richter felt some kind of presence near him and stopped the recollection. He readied the Vampire Killer and looked around.

            “Well well, it looks like we have another vampire hunter here,” Bayonetta said. She was sitting on the roof of the mansion. She leapt off the roof and descended gracefully, aided by a pair of large butterfly wings that emerged from her back. Richter looked at her shadow, which appeared to belong to someone else entirely, someone who wasn’t human. He prepared himself for a battle. “My, you’re just as rude as the other one too. Surely you can tell the difference between a witch and a vampire.”

            “If you’re with the forces of darkness I’ll fight you anyway,” Richter said.

            “Cheeky aren’t you. Vampires are just too dull for me, but we can still have some fun. Though the hand might get cranky if I don’t take you out to dinner first. Come along now fledgling, let’s get this tour over with,” Bayonetta said. She walked up the steps and pushed open the front door, letting it close behind her as she walked in. Richter kept on guard as he opened the door and followed her inside.

            At the very least Smash Mansion had a friendlier décor than Dracula’s Castle, it looked like a place the living spent time in. Richter kept the Vampire Killer ready as he followed behind Bayonetta, who seemed to be making a point of pretending Richter wasn’t there. She reminded him too much of Shaft and the series of events that definitely put Richter as the laughingstock of the Belmont clan. There was failure and then there was reviving your own enemy.

            The first stop on the tour was one of the lounge rooms. There were a few couches and chairs around the center, a TV (Bayonetta called it that but Richter didn’t bother asking what it was), and some tables. A woman with the symbol of an eye on her white shirt was seated on one of the couches while a small blue anthropomorphic hedgehog sat on the other end playing a few notes on a guitar.

            “Hey Bayo, is that the new guy?” The hedgehog asked. Before Richter could react, the hedgehog was in front of him and extending a hand. Richter shook it. “Sonic’s the name, speed’s my game.”

            “I’m Richter Belmont.”

            “Oh, are you Simon’s cousin or something?” Sonic asked.

            “Simon?” Richter asked. He had an ancestor with that name, but he didn’t know of any other Belmonts who were still alive.

            “Must be a coincidence I guess,” Sonic said. The woman on the couch got up and walked over to them.

            “You can call me Sheik. It’s nice to meet you Richter.” They shook hands as well.

            “Well now that we have that out of the way, I think we should get going,” Bayonetta said.

            “Sounds like somebody’s in a rush,” Sonic said.

            “Like you’re one to talk hedgehog. Though if our little fledgling wants to take his time then I’ll kick back for a bit,” Bayonetta said. She jumped over the couch and landed on it, with her legs covering the armrest. Sheik gave an irritated sigh in response.

            “Is she always like that?” Richter asked. He pointed to the armrest that was now a legrest for emphasis.

            “Unfortunately, yes, and she is far from the most disruptive person here,” Sheik said.

            “Hey, don’t be so hard on her. She’s just got her own style. You have to respect someone who doesn’t compromise on stuff like that,” Sonic said. “So what do you do in your free time Richter?”

            “To be honest I just train whenever I’m not goofing off. It helps me clear my mind,” Richter said.

            “Do you like listening to music?” Sheik asked.

            “Haven’t had too many chances for that, well aside from Maria and Annette singing. The two of them are great singers, makes me wish I had that kind of talent. Vampire slaying stops being cool when you run out of vampires,” Richter said.

            “That’s the paradox all heroes face. Victory means a world where you’re no longer needed, more people here deal with that feeling than you’d expect. Still, if you’re skilled enough to be here I’m sure you can pick up some other skills. Why not try learning some form of music? I could show you how to play a harp, and Sonic is a skilled guitar player,” Sheik offered, gesturing to Sonic’s guitar.

            “I’m up for showing you how to play a few notes if you want. Sheik knows some cool magic that works with music,” Sonic said.

            “You say that, but you turned down learning how to use it yourself,” Sheik said.

            “Just because it’s not my style doesn’t mean it isn’t cool, or that it isn’t Richter’s style,” Sonic said.

            “Well now I’m definitely interested. Maybe you could teach me how to play the guitar and Sheik can show me some of that magic. I can try to teach you some of the magic from my world in return,” Richter said.

            “That would be nice. We should let you get on with your tour before Bayonetta becomes too complacent. Just message us when you have time,” Sheik said.

            “You mean with this thing?” Richter asked, pulling the smart phone out of his pocket. He had read the instructions for the smart phone, but found them too confusing to understand.

            “Maybe you should do a test run of it here. Just press the red button and wait for the screen to light up, then press the icon in it that reads ‘public chat,’” Sheik said. Richter followed the instructions and watched curiously as the smartphone came to life. He pressed the icon he had been told about and the screen changed to show lines of text with names next to them.

            “That’s the main chatroom, everyone gets to post there. You used to be able to set a nickname there, but it got scrapped after a few incidents. Try sending something to introduce yourself,” Sonic said. Richter was about to ask how, but he saw the letters pop up on the screen. There were also a variety of different symbols to use. He quickly got used to the interface and sent his first post.

            “That is a… great quantity of emojis,” Sheik commented when she saw the post.

            “Ha, I like it. Anyway, just press that arrow in the corner when you need to back out of something. It can also do direct messaging between people and make calls, and it has an alert system too if you ever need help. A lot of people struggled with it at first so don’t be afraid to ask for help,” Sonic said.

            “Now that I’m actually using it this feels a lot easier to understand. I’ll get in touch with you guys later,” Richter said.

            “Shall we get on with the tour then?” Bayonetta asked. She kicked herself up to a standing position and moved out to the hallway.

            “See ya,” Sonic said as Richter moved to follow Bayonetta down the hallway. Richter was able to quickly draw a map of the mansion in his mind during the tour, a little trick that had been passed down through the Belmont clan. Dracula’s Castle kept changing its layout so that skill had taken the place of just handing down a map of it.

            “There’s something you should be warned about fledgling,” Bayonetta said. “Some of the other newcomers are being rather naughty. Dark Samus has really soured the mood here, and she’s just such a bore on top of that. Try not to let her or her goons gobble you up. You can always run and hide behind the better Samus if you get too scared.”

            “I thought the invite strictly said no fighting outside of scheduled matches?” Richter asked.

            “You should read more carefully little fledgling, it said no fighting in the mansion. There’s nothing against taking little trips to other worlds and fighting there,” Bayonetta said.

            “Well if they know what’s good for them, they’ll keep out of mine,” Richter said. He hadn’t realized he was putting his world in danger by accepting that invitation. Then again, if Master Hand could get to it there were probably others who could find their way into Richter’s world. At least now he could be prepared if invaders from another world appeared. Richter would have to intensify his training in case that happened, another failure was not acceptable.

            “Naughty children never know what’s good for them,” Bayonetta said. They walked through the hangar and out to the field on the left side of the mansion. There were courts for different sports laid out in the distance. At the moment two people were using the field for training. One of them was a boy with blue hair in a top knot and a tank of blue ink on his back, the other had a whip that looked like the Vampire Killer. Actually, when Richter compared them he saw that it was in fact the Vampire Killer. The two strangers turned to look at Richter and Bayonetta.

            “How do you have Vampire Killer?!” Richter and the other whip user shouted at the same time, entering their similar fighting stances.

            “Really Belboy? We have enough noise already without your screaming,” Bayonetta complained.

            “How many times do we have to go over this? It’s Belmont, Simon Belmont. My family has fought Dracula for generations, the least you could do is get our name right witch,” the man said. Richter’s eyes went wide as he pieced things together. It seemed impossible, but he was in another world after all.

            “Simon Belmont? The same one who defeated Dracula twice?” Richter asked.

            “Yes, you could say that I did that. Now why do you have the Vampire Killer?”

            “Because I’m your descendant, Richter Belmont.” Simon looked down at his Vampire Killer and to Richter’s. The two of them stared at each other, whips lowered.

            “You know, this isn’t even the first time someone met their own descendant here, so don’t go thinking you’re special or anything. Master Hand likes to take people from different points in time for some reason, he’s quite a strange one,” Bayonetta said. She circled the two of them like a shark, obviously amused by the turn of events.

             “I take it Dracula and his servants are still a threat in your time?” Simon asked.

            “Yeah, don’t worry though, I beat them back. I made some screw ups, but everything turned out all right in the end,” Richter said. He looked down at his Vampire Killer, he couldn’t bear to mention what happened with Shaft. Not in front of one of the greatest Belmonts.

            “Hey, I’m here too,” the blue haired boy said. Now that Richter had a closer look parts of the boy’s hair looked more like tentacles.

            “Oh, sorry, what’s your name?” Richter asked.

            “It’s Nept,” the boy said. He got into a stance that looked somewhat similar to the one Simon had gotten into and made a face that was most likely supposed to look tough. Richter could spot several weaknesses in Nept’s stance.

            “Nept, why don’t you go run to the lake and back?” Simon suggested.

            “But that’s so boring,” Nept said. He immediately reverted to standing normally.

            “It builds stamina. Now go,” Simon said. He crossed his arms and gave Nept a stern look. Nept sighed and started running, still carrying the ink tank on his back.

            “You’re really putting that little one to work,” Bayonetta said.

            “He asked for training, he’s getting it. That’s all there is to it,” Simon said. He kept his arms crossed as he shifted from watching Nept to giving Bayonetta a very unamused look.

            “Something tells me the little one doesn’t feel the same way. His constant prattling about ‘mister Belmont’ is getting a tad irritating.” Bayonetta said.

            “So, uh, sorry to interrupt, but how are we going to handle this time travel weirdness?” Richter said.

            “Just treat me like anyone else here, I’ve never been one for formalities anyway. If you’re here you must have some accomplishments to your name worthy of respect. I’m looking forward to fighting by your side, or against you,” Simon said.

            “Nah it’d be kind of boring to have a fight with both of us in it, I stuck pretty close to the old family techniques. No point in a fight with identical fighters,” Richter said. He tugged on his headband.

            “Oh my, sounds like somebody is a little scarred grandpa is better than them,” Bayonetta said. She was right, but Richter wasn’t going to admit it.

            “Just ignore her. A battle between us would be a great way to refine our ancestral style. Take some time to get adjusted first, but I’m sure there’s much I have to learn from you,” Simon said.

            “Yeah, sure, I’ll see you later, need to get my room set up and finish this tour so I can get rid of her,” Richter said, pointing to Bayonetta with his thumb. He turned away and walked back into the mansion, clenching his fist. He wished Annette, Maria, or even Alucard were at the Mansion. At least Alucard couldn’t be disappointed even further. The rest of the tour went by in a distracted blur that concluded in front of his room. Which was right across from Simon’s room. The potential for humiliation was far too high.

            “Well fledgling here’s your new little nest, have fun decorating it and don’t come crying to me for help. It’s Simon’s job to let you bother him now after all,” Bayonetta said. Richter didn’t bother giving a response that he knew would be either ignored or used as further ammunition for teasing.

            All of Richter’s belongings were in the room, waiting to be unpacked. He already had all the furniture he needed: a bed, shelf, desk, and chair. Richter’s dagger, axe, and cross were all hung on the wall opposite of his bed. His pocket watch was placed on the windowsill by the bed while the bottle of holy water and bible were placed on the shelf. Vampire Killer was kept at Richter’s side for the moment, but a spot on the wall above the head of his bed was set aside for it, since he would have to sleep at some point. He had tried sleeping while holding Vampire Killer once, the night after he was freed from Shaft’s control. It did not end well. With the weapons out of the way Richter put his spare clothes in the closet and the ancestral scrolls on the shelf. Last were the papers and pencils for when he wanted to write letters back home. Annette and Maria had both forced promises out of him to write frequently.

            There was a knock on the door. Richter didn’t bother wondering who was on the other side when he opened it. Which was good since he didn’t recognize the woman who had been knocking. “Hello, you’re the newcomer Richter, right? My name is Peach, princess of the Mushroom Kingdom. I wanted to come and say hello, I know how much of a handful Bayonetta can be at times.”

            “Yeah that’s me. It’s nice to meet you, your highness,” Richter said.

            “Please just call me Peach.” Peach put her gloved hands together and looked around the hallway. “There was something I wanted to talk to you about. May I come in?” Richter stepped back and let Peach in, who closed the door behind her.

            “What is it you wanted to talk about?” Richter asked.

            “You see, there’s a museum in town that Master Hand has contributed a lot to, and he has powers that lets him enter our worlds at any point in time. So, there’s an exhibit about your world with information from your future, and about what you went through. If you don’t believe me, I can take you to see it,” Peach said.

            “I don’t think I want to see it. I guess if Master Hand could bring Simon here from the past it makes sense he could go to the future too.”

            “Simon feels the same way, I heard he had the quite reaction when he first saw the exhibit on your world. I think the exhibit may be more detailed than either of you would like, it mentioned… what Shaft did to you after your first fight against him,” Peach said. Richter’s hand went right to the Vampire Killer, then returned to hanging at his side since there wasn’t anything to fight.

            “At least Simon doesn’t know,” Richter said. He tried to make his body less tense, but his hand wouldn’t leave the whip. Shaft had gotten him when he had just dropped his guard.

            “I don’t think he would judge you for it, you’re family after all. I know what it’s like to have your own body controlled by someone else. You don’t have to say anything about what happened, it’d hurt for me to talk about what my experience was like too. I just wanted to let you know that you’re not alone with this. I know this is all sudden, but if you need to talk with someone who experienced something similar, I’m here,” Peach said. Richter hadn’t been expecting that reaction. Annette and Maria had both asked about what it had been like being possessed, Richter had found it difficult to describe it to them. He had no problem confiding in either of them, it was just something only those with firsthand experience could truly understand.

            “It’s creepy how hard it is to remember what you actually thought during the possession. Makes it hard to know what you really believe sometimes,” Richter said. He often heard the words Shaft made him say echo in his head. What was his purpose now that Dracula was gone for the century? He had never thought of that before Shaft controlled him, then the question became inescapable.

            “And how strange it feels to move even a little bit afterwards, it felt like my arms were attached to strings the day after I was freed,” Peach said.

            “I was worried I couldn’t walk anymore for a few seconds. Glad it didn’t turn out like that, the whole thing was bad enough already. Doesn’t help that the one who broke the spell fought alongside one of my ancestors, I don’t want to think about how pathetic I must seem compared to Trevor,” Richter said.

            “You sound like Simon, he’s talked about struggling to live up to Trevor and Leon’s standards before.” Peach said.

            “Why would Simon need to worry about that? He beat Dracula twice, in my time he’s listed among the greatest Belmonts,” Richter said.

            “Everybody has their own doubts. You’re a Smasher now, that means you have your own strengths too,” Peach said. A ringing sound came from her pocket, Peach pulled out her phone and gave Richter an apologetic look. “Sorry, this looks important. Hello, what is it Snake? K. Rool is doing what?! Well I guess he’s not harming anybody now, but keep an eye on him. I want you to look into how he built that machine too, and if he’s building anything else like that.” Peach ended the call and turned to Richter. “It looks I have to go now.”

            “What happened?” Richter asked.

            “K. Rool, one of the newcomers who’s been causing a bit of trouble, apparently built a racing machine just like the ones in Captain Falcon’s world and is taking it for a spin. On an abandoned racetrack where it’s illegal to race, and his racing machine isn’t registered so that’s even more illegal. I’m more concerned about what else he might build, Master Hand can handle the paperwork if K. Rool gets arrested,” Peach explained. She hurried off to handle the situation in person. Richter didn’t want to slow her down, so he didn’t ask who Captain Falcon and K. Rool were.

            In her rush to leave Peach had forgotten to close the door behind her, giving Richter a clear look at the door to Simon’s room. Even with the knowledge that Simon was outside just the sight of the nameplate that read ‘Simon Belmont- #66’ made Richter feel nervous. Richter looked at the nameplate on his own door, he also had the 66 next to his name. Apparently Master Hand considered the two of them equals in some way. With their doors set up like that avoiding Simon wasn’t going to be an option.

            Richter made up his mind to head out and train with Simon. The Belmonts never fled, Simon had faced his curse head on and overcame it, so Richter would follow in that example. Before leaving his room there was something else Richter wanted to do. He took a piece of paper and a pencil, and started writing a letter to Annette about how the day had gone so far. After a bit of thought he found the words for the important part of the letter.

            I know you’ve been worried about me ever since Shaft possessed me, you’ve always been able to see right through me, but I think I’m finally getting past what happened thanks to the people here in Smash Mansion. I even met someone who offered to teach me how to play the guitar. It’d be great if we could play a song together sometime.

Chapter Text

           Isabelle patiently waited in front of the door to Master Hand’s office. About a minute after she had knocked the door opened. “I’m so sorry Isabelle, I was too caught up in my work,” Master Hand apologized.

            “I understand. Sometimes I get so focused on my work that I forget to sleep or eat,” Isabelle said.

            “You have that problem as well? I’m not sure if this is fortunate or an ill omen. Anyway, how has your first day as a Smasher been so far?” Master Hand asked.

            “It’s been wonderful, the mayor and Daisy helped me set up my room, then Ace helped me work on my aim, and I promised to go shopping with Link and Zelda tomorrow,” Isabelle said.

            “That’s good to hear,” Master Hand said. He ushered Isabelle in, there was a large table in the back corner with a computer and large stack of paperwork, nearly identical to the one in the center of the room. “As you can see, I already prepared your desk. I’m loathe to force this upon you on your first day here, but I have multiple urgent matters demanding my attention. King K. Rool, fighter number sixty seven, was recently arrested in another world. I want you to fill out the paperwork for his release,” Isabelle said.

            “Oh no, that’s terrible. What was K. Rool arrested for?” Isabelle asked.

            “Possessing an unregistered racing machine and racing in a restricted area. They threw him into one of the most secure prisons in that world, full of some of the worst criminals. Apparently they knew right away something was wrong about his very presence in their world,” Master Hand said.

            “Well don’t worry, I’ll get him out and back here quickly,” Isabelle said. She sat down at her desk and went right to work. The relevant paperwork had been put on top of the decently large stack. “So what’s the other thing you need done?”

            “You don’t need to concern yourself with that, I’m handling it as we speak,” Master Hand said. He was looking between three monitors on his desk which all displayed various graphs and maps. “Actually, considering the Subspace incident and your role here… can you keep a secret Isabelle?”

            “I’m great at keeping secrets,” Isabelle said. Master Hand took a deep breath and turned to face Isabelle.

            “We may be in danger soon. For quite some time I’ve noticed that something has been leaving a trail of mass destruction through multiple worlds. I’ve recently confirmed there are in fact two entities responsible for all of that devastation. And Crazy Hand was able to gain footage of one of them. This is from a world called Grastea,” Master Hand said. He turned to the central monitor and opened up a video on it.

            Isabelle held her breath as she watched the video. It showed a world that seemed peaceful at first glance, with clear green plains and a bright blue sky. Then a hole was thrown open in the sky. A single large eye could be seen on the other side of the hole, covered by dark thorns. The thorns rushed into the world and enveloped it entirely. Then the screen went dark. If it weren’t for the sight of that single eye floating in the sky Isabelle would have assumed that the video had already ended. It ended right as the eye turned to look directly into the camera.

            “What… what was that thing?” Isabelle asked.

            “For now we have decided to deem it ‘Dharkon.’ It appears to have some form of connection to the other entity, who has been given the name ‘Galeem,’ whose form of destruction utilizes light. At this stage it’s hard to determine what that connection is precisely, for our sake let us hope they are not allies,” Master Hand said.

            “The people in that world, are they…”

            “I don’t know. What little data we were able to get suggests both that the people of that world were killed and that they were spared, despite the obvious fact that those are contradictory. What’s truly concerning is that this is a world two Smashers, Marth and Mega Man, have paid visit to before. It’s difficult to describe, but there is a certain ‘geography’ when it comes to worlds and their relative distance. Because of this we can get at least a vague idea of Dharkon and Galeem’s trajectory. They’re set to strike worlds that while lacking in Smashers have been visited by them before,” Master Hand said.

            “I’ll send the warning letters right away. We need to evacuate those worlds. Just tell me where,” Isabelle said. Master Hand curled up his fingers and turned to look back at his monitors.

            “We can’t. Crazy Hand had to take a long detour in order to return without letting Dharkon know our location. If we go into those worlds now the risk of being detected is unacceptably high, it would reveal our location and we would be targeted next. We must bide our time and uncover some form of weakness in Dharkon and Galeem. Otherwise there will be nobody left to fight, and those two will have free reign. You saw what Dharkon could do in that video, I currently have no way to counteract such power,” Master Hand said. Isabelle slammed her hand on the desk.

            “There has to be something,” she said.

            “That’s why I’m looking. I need your help to keep things running and uncover how we can save all those worlds. And, in the event that I am… eliminated, you need to carry out my contingencies. Inform Peach that she is the acting leader of the Smashers until the resolution of the crisis, give her all of my files, and send out these.” Master Hand snapped his fingers and a compartment opened in the back wall. Inside the compartment were five letters sealed in envelopes that had the symbol of the Smashers on them.

            “Got it,” Isabelle said. She wanted to say more, but she knew there was nothing more to say. She reminded herself that it was just a contingency Master Hand had gone over, a backup that wouldn’t actually be used. The work for K. Rool’s release from prison seemed trivial compared to what had just been discussed, but Isabelle tried to sink herself into it and all the minor things that needed to be done. Dharkon couldn’t be fought if they didn’t have the funds for good weaponry.

            As usual Isabelle lost track of time while working, but for once she was thankful for it. Solving problems always made her better no matter how minor. Things that couldn’t be solved always haunted her, even before those problems abruptly escalated to the world destroying kind. It was dark out when Master Hand pulled himself out of his work just long enough to tell Isabelle that she was done for the day.

            Isabelle made her way out of the mansion and called for Kapp’n’s taxi to take her to The Roost. She wasn’t in a mood to talk, but Kapp’n talked so much that before she knew it she was talking about all sorts of minor, trivial things. The fact that she hadn’t been able to go for a walk in the garden became the worst thing that happened that day. When they arrived at The Roost she left a tip and got out of the taxi.

            Most of the other regulars had already arrived for the night. Simon, Mega Man, Pit, and Richter had taken one of the tables in the corner for themselves while Falco and Wolf were seated at opposite ends of the bar, in contrast Olimar and Robin had claimed the centermost seats and were deep in discussion. Isabelle placed her usual coffee order and took one of the open tables by the window. Another patron came into the shop. “Oh hello mayor,” Isabelle said.

            “Hey Isabelle,” V said. He got his usual order from Brewster and joined Isabelle at the table. “Sorry we couldn’t talk more at the mansion, I promised Little Mac we would have boxing practice then.” V took a sip of his coffee.

            “Oh it’s no problem, I have quite the busy schedule too. Master Hand has some important work he needs help with, so I’ll probably spend most of the day in his office anyway,” Isabelle said. V frowned and looked Isabelle in the eyes.

            “It’s okay to take it easy, you know. I’m worried about how much work you do, your house looked like it had been barely used when I came in to help you pack. And while I was there, I realized you’ve never visited my house or had me over to visit yours. I was hoping being in the Mario Kart races and now Smash Mansion would help you relax, but you still seem as busy as always,” V said.

            “I’m not bothered by it. I like making it so that everything runs smoothly,” Isabelle said. She looked down at her coffee, her hands remained motionless at her side.

            “Please, just promise me you’ll spend enough time in your room to unpack everything. With all the work you’ve done you deserve some time to yourself. Actually, I should apologize. I was a bad boss, you did most of the real work for me. But now I’m actually going to put in work to make sure Smashville continues being a great town, and so you can afford to do less work. Master Hand is going to be a better boss than I ever was for you,” V said. He looked out the window at the star filled sky. Smashville had expanded greatly since Smash Mansion had been relocated there, but the light pollution laws kept the night sky the same.

            “You’re a great mayor,” Isabelle said.

            “Only because I had you as my secretary,” V said.

            “Well if you ever need help with something you can just come to me. Oh, but I do think that you’ll do just fine on your own,” Isabelle said. They both took a sip of their coffee.

            “I’ve been working with Peach to arrange a little vacation to Wuhu Island a few months from now. Anybody who wants to come along can join, are you interested?” V asked. Isabelle wondered what the situation with Dharkon and Galeem would look like in a few months. There was a chance she would be needed to help Master Hand with something related to it, a vacation then would be irresponsible. Though it wouldn’t be too hard to bring her work with her, and it wasn’t like she would be of much help dealing with that problem anyway.

            “That sounds amazing, I’m looking forward to it already,” Isabelle said. From there the conversation went into less serious subjects. V talked about his experience fishing with Chrom and Mario, then shared some tips with Isabelle on which worlds had the best shops. Eventually he left to go back to the mansion, Isabelle remained at the table by herself.

            Mega Man walked over to Isabelle’s table and introduced himself. “Doctor Light sent me a message telling me to thank you for your email. He said it was very polite,” Mega Man said.

            “Thank you. I just hope those new supplies will help him with rebuilding the R.O.Bs,” Isabelle said.

            “He’s been working on it for a while now, I hope he has a breakthrough soon. I was also wondering if you could pass along a fighter request to Master Hand for me,” Mega Man said.

            “Of course. Who is it?” Isabelle asked.

            “His name is Euden, he comes from a world called Grastea. Marth met him too, and we both agreed he would make a great fighter here,” Mega Man said. The name Grastea sounded familiar to Isabelle for some reason.

            “I’ll tell Master Hand for you,” Isabelle said.

            “Thank you,” Mega Man said. He went back to the Belmonts and Pit right as Isabelle remembered where she had heard of Grastea before. She nearly spilled her coffee.

            “Oh no, this is terrible,” Isabelle said to herself. She had promised Master Hand to keep what she saw secret, so she couldn’t tell Mega Man what had happened to his friend. Just like she couldn’t explain to the mayor why she couldn’t afford to truly relax for now. And since she was done with work for the day there was nothing she could do about it. As V’s secretary she had been able to work non-stop, she had never realized that V had a problem with how much she worked.

            Seeking some company Isabelle picked up her coffee and took the seat next to Falco at the bar. He ignored Isabelle’s greeting and continued drinking coffee. “You’ve been a Smasher for a while right? Do you have any advice for a newcomer like me? I’m not really much of a fighter, but I want to do my best,” Isabelle said.

            “Then stop bothering me and get practicing,” Falco said.

            “Please, if some kind of emergency happens tomorrow there won’t be any time to practice. We’re not just fighting in some tournament, if something like that Tabuu person shows up again we have to beat them back,” Isabelle said. Falco took a sip of his coffee.

            “Guess you have a point there. Alright, I’d say the most important thing to keep in mind is that you can’t afford to be predictable. If the enemy knows what you’re doing next, you’re getting shot down. And make sure you get in some actual experience before shit goes down,” Falco said.

            “Thank you. Could you help me practice sometime?” Isabelle asked. Falco sighed.

            “Fine, just so you don’t screw up too badly in your first real battle,” Falco said. After taking another sip he turned to look at Isabelle. “You’re Master Hand’s secretary now, right? I’ve got some ideas on how to improve the hangar if he’s interested.”

            “I can get work started on it the moment I get to his office tomorrow,” Isabelle said. She listened carefully as Falco outlined his complaints with the current hangar. Those were the kinds of problems she was used to. The solutions were already starting to come together in Isabelle’s head before she gave any response to Falco. Eventually the conversation shifted to some of the other Smashers. Isabelle finally found herself able to keep her mind on the things she could handle, and let the distant threats remain distant.

______________________________________________________________________________

            “So, how was your little vacation K. Rool?” Ridley asked. They were in one of the Space Pirate’s most fortified ship. After being released from prison K. Rool had made his way to it as quickly as he could. It was just him, Ridley, and Dark Samus in the dimly lit and small room.

            “The food there was terrible. You should thank me for putting up with all of that nonsense just to make a few friends. Not to mention all of that teleporting. When we make our own way for traveling through worlds, can it be something that doesn’t make me dizzy?” K. Rool asked.

            “Mission success?” Dark Samus inquired.

            “Obviously. Captain Falcon’s clone and I had a nice little chat, after nearly breaking his pathetic neck he agreed to tell Black Shadow about our offer. Also got some Zolorkians to give up where to find the leader of that coalition of theirs,” K. Rool said.

            “Ridley, finalize negotiations. Show Phazon and teleporter data to scientists,” Dark Samus ordered. Ridley muttered some kind of complaint under his breath as he began the recall to Smash Mansion. Above them in the air vents, Greninja waited patiently for his chance to return undetected with the information. He had a feeling even further escalation was only a matter of time.

Chapter Text

            Ken sidestepped a punch from Little Mac and responded with one of his own. Little Mac ducked, and got hit with a Shoryuken for it. The attack sent Little Mac down for the count. Ken walked over and offered his hand, Little Mac took it and got back up on his feet. “That was a good fight. You and Ryu may have the same moves, but you don’t use them the same way. Ryu’s a lot safer than you,” Little Mac said.

            “Yeah, he complains about me being too stylish sometimes. You did good, I’ve fought boxers before and you’re a better fighter than some I can name. You’ve got a long way to go before you can beat me though,” Ken said.

            “We’ll see about that, next time we fight you’re going down,” Little Mac said.

            “I’ll have you know my last name is ‘Masters’ for a reason,” Ken said. The two of them made their way into the halls of Smash Mansion and towards the dining hall. “Anyway, how has Ryu been doing here? He doesn’t talk about himself that much.”

            “He’s a nice guy, a little hardcore though. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him do something that isn’t about fighting. It’s kind of hard to talk to him sometimes,” Little Mac said.

            “That’s Ryu alright. He has all of these different worlds open to him and all he cares about is who he can fight and where he can train. Honestly, I’m a little worried about how little he’s changed, even after some of the stuff he’s had to go through.” Ken said. He had been proud of Ryu for overcoming the Satsui no Hado, but he was still worried for Ryu’s future. From day one Ryu had always been a little old fashioned, or archaic to put it less kindly. As the world kept developing there was a chance he’d just be left behind, and Ken didn’t want to let that happen. There was no Shoryuken without Ryu or Ken.

            The dining hall was already crowded when Little Mac and Ken arrived, the two of them split up after walking through the door. Ken grabbed an open seat next to Ryu and served himself some pasta. Ryu’s plate was full, but rapidly had its contents depleted and refilled by Ryu. “How was your fight with Little Mac?” Ryu asked.

            “You were right, he has a ton of talent. His fighting style is a little boring, but he knows how to adapt. Still, he’s only as stylish as his opponent,” Ken said.

            “That’s because he knows what to focus on, unlike some people,” Ryu said.

            “Hey, you’re not slipping that one past me. From what I hear Little Mac can read you like a book now,” Ken said.

            “That’s why I’ve been practicing some new techniques. Once Little Mac realizes all you care about is being flashy, he’ll take you down quick,” Ryu said.

            “I’m not flashy, I’m stylish. There’s a difference,” Ken said. Both Ryu and Ken laughed at that.

            “How have Elisa and Mel been?” Ryu asked.

            “Great. Mel is growing up fast. You really need to visit more, he keeps asking if Uncle Ryu will be visiting for Thanksgiving, and then he’s probably going to start asking about Christmas,” Ken said.

            “When are those? You know I’ve never been one to keep track of the holidays,” Ryu said.

            “The fourth Thursday of November and December 25th. You have a smartphone now, you have no excuse for not knowing the date anymore,” Ken said.

            “Honestly I just leave it in my room most of the time. I can never figure out how to use it,” Ryu said.

            “You really need to get with the times Ryu. There’s no point in using your fist for the sake of the future if you don’t stick around to see it,” Ken said.

            “That’s the only path there is for me. I may not be able to visit your family for the holidays, but I’ll use my strength to make it so that you can spend it with them. I’m not just training to become stronger anymore, I’m becoming stronger so that I can make a better world for Mel and the next generation. I know my path may look unchanged from your perspective, but I know and accept what’s waiting for me at the end of it,” Ryu said. It wasn’t necessarily the words that made Ken frustrated, it was how Ryu said them.

            “My idea of a better world is one where you visit my family for Christmas every year, or even have a family of your own. I think it’s pretty lame to wield your strength for the sake of others and then stick to yourself for the rest of your life,” Ken said.

            “It’s not that I’m avoiding people, you know me better than that Ken. I just want to keep moving and challenging more people. That’s why I don’t have as many chances to visit you as you’d like,” Ryu said. Ken grunted and turned his concentration to the pasta in front of him. He didn’t accept defeat, but further arguing was futile at that point. Ryu wasn’t a man of words, he was a man of action. An argument would have to be backed up by action to make any real impact on Ryu.

            The tension quickly defused when Ken shifted the subject to complaining about how much of a stick in the mud Guile was, though it couldn’t be denied that Guile was a good uncle to Mel. From there Ken mentioned the rumors of some monster raiding old Shadaloo bases, and talked about how his first day at Smash Mansion had gone so far. When Ryu had finally eaten his fill he got up and left to do some training. Ken stayed behind for a chance to talk more with the other Smashers.

            “What I am going to do with you Ryu?” Ken asked himself. He looked around the room and listened to distract himself. Richter was talking to some of the others about his girlfriend back home. That’s when it hit Ken. “I guess I have to get Ryu’s foot in the door for him and play matchmaker. If he got a girlfriend and then a wife, he’d have to think about something that isn’t fighting.”

            “Did somebody say matchmaker?” Robin asked. He had been seated next to Ken during the entire conversation with Ryu.

            “Were you eavesdropping?”

            “I’m sitting right here, I didn’t have much choice in the matter. Anyway, if you want to play matchmaker I have quite some experience with that,” Robin said. Chrom and Lucina groaned in unison at that.

            “Then let’s get started. So, who are our options? There’s no way all of these women are single,” Ken said.

            “Let’s see, for eligible singles we have Lucina, Samus, FT, Kamui, Bayonetta, Palutena, and Rosalina. As you can see both Chrom and Lucina herself are giving us death glares so she is off the table. I don’t want to imagine what happens when FT and Ryu end up in the same room so definitely not her. As goddesses Palutena and Rosalina are probably out of his league. So that leaves Kamui, Bayonetta, and Samus,” Robin said.

            “I don’t think either Bayonetta or Samus have the time for romance, and neither does Ryu,” Chrom said.

            “Kamui it is then,” Robin said.

            “Wait, Robin no, that was supposed to be shutting you down not helping you,” Chrom said.

            “This is what you get for all of those times you placed yourself in far more risk than necessary. Besides, Ryu not being the type for romance is why we’re doing this in the first place. Come on Ken, we need to plan our strategy in private,” Robin said. He and Ken departed from the dining room as Chrom facepalmed and Lucina sighed. Reflet saw them leaving from her spot on the other side of the dining hall, and quickly ran to catch up with them as they walked down the halls toward one of the lounges.

            “Brother, who are we playing matchmaker for?” Reflet asked.

            “Ryu. Ken thinks he really needs to get into a relationship so we’re going to provide Ryu a little push,” Robin said.

            “Now that is going to be a challenge. Just like when we had to get Tharja off your back by pairing her with Libra. Except instead of a one track mind we’re dealing with one of the densest objects in the universe, Ryu’s head,” Reflet said.

            “You know as his friend I feel like I should fight you for that, but I can’t exactly argue against it,” Ken said. He pushed open the door to the lounge and let the twin tacticians get in first. “Now, if Ryu is ever alone with somebody he’s definitely going to try and train with them. We need some way to cut him off from that without actually being there,” Ken said.

            “Maybe we could unleash some Risen on them while they’re alone, and then Kamui can fall for Ryu as he heroically defeats all of them and protects her,” Reflet suggested. Ken and Robin gave her a harsh look. “It was just a joke, come on Robin, do you really believe I’d go that far for our matchmaking addiction?”

            “Maybe we can arrange some kind of special event, then give Kamui and Ryu seats right next to each other and away from all of their friends. We can put them between K. Rool and Wario so they don’t talk to anyone else. Inkopolis has a lot of bands, we could try to get some to perform at the mansion,” Robin said.

            “Ryu isn’t the type to attend a concert, trust me. If it isn’t a fighting tournament he won’t show, and if it’s a fighting tournament he’ll compete. We have two versus two battles here right? Why not find some way to pair Kamui and Ryu up for those?” Ken asked.

            “It’s going to take way more than that for the likes of Ryu. What we need is for them to train together and then distract them with something at least vaguely romantic. Like surprise fireworks, or maybe we could tell Ryu about all of those abusive, guilt tripping letters Kamui has been getting, and then he’ll comfort her,” Reflet said.

            “I’m missing a lot of context here,” Ken commented.

            “Kamui and her twin Corrin are royalty being fought over by two different families they have connections to, they fled to Smash Mansion in order to get away from all of that. Unfortunately, Master Hand is big on cross world communication, so there’s been a non-stop stream of letters begging them to come back,” Reflet said. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

            “I think Kamui needs a lot more than just a boyfriend from the sound of it,” Ken said.

            “But don’t you see, having a boyfriend would help her out greatly. If those siblings of her ever find their way here then Ryu can walk up to them and go ‘hey my girlfriend said she didn’t want to talk to you so back off, you don’t really care for her the way I do,’ and then Ryu and Kamui will have children who can combo the Shoryuken into assuming their dragon form and will establish a dynasty of-” Kamui was interrupted by Robin punching her in the gut. She leaned against the wall for support. Ken raised an eyebrow.

            “Don’t worry, I always do this when she gets like that. It’s just another Tuesday for her,” Robin said. Ken wondered what kind of weirdos he had gotten himself involved with. At least they were the entertaining, mostly harmless, kind of weird.

            “Let’s just start with Ryu and Kamui training together for now. There’s no way Ryu is getting in a relationship with someone who can’t give him a good fight,” Ken said.

            “Right, simple steps, and I’ll keep the fantasizing to myself,” Reflet said. The trio of matchmakers walked out into the hallway, where they saw Corrin walking somewhere. “Oh Corrin, what a coincidence, do you know where your sister is?” Reflet asked.

            “She said she wanted to try training with Ryu by the lake out back. She wanted me to go with her, but I made a promise to visit the museum with Meta Knight,” Corrin said. Ken, Reflet, and Robin all exchanged looks with each other.

            “Oh, I see. Guess we’ll talk with her later, wouldn’t want to get between Ryu and a potential training partner. We’re going to take Ken up to one of the balconies to try and get him into bird watching. Have fun at the museum,” Robin said. Reflet and Ken followed him towards the staircase as Corrin continued on his way, oblivious to what was really going on. Ken had to slow himself down so he didn’t overtake Robin.

            “So where are we actually going?” Ken asked.

            “The balcony, but we’re watching Ryu and Kamui instead of birds,” Robin said.

            “I’ve got some special binoculars that can also let us hear what they’re saying, I’ll go get them,” Reflet said. When they reached the top floor Reflet ran off to her room while Robin and Ken made their way to the balcony. They could see Ryu and Kamui in the distance, but due to the distance it was hard to tell what exactly they were doing. Reflet quickly joined them with binoculars in hand, there were only two pairs. She kept one for herself and handed the other to Ken despite Robin’s protests. Robin crossed his arms and took a seat on the couch as Ken and Reflet stood by the edge of the balcony to use their binoculars.

            “It’s just, I feel so weak. I was told to pick a side, and I couldn’t bring myself even to say no. When Master Hand gave Corrin and I the chance to run that’s exactly what we did. That’s why I want to train with you. You’re always so confident and focused, if I could just have even a little of the strength you do, I’d be a way better person,” Kamui said. She looked into the water of the lake. Ken instantly felt guilty for the eavesdropping. In his defense, he had thought it was literally just training. Not something as serious as that. He was in too deep now to look away.

            “I’m still not yet ready to take a disciple, but I can train alongside you. And I don’t think you’re weak at all,” Ryu said.

            “You don’t?” Kamui turned to look Ryu in the eyes.

            “Everybody around you tried to steer you down a certain path, and you resisted them. That too is a form of strength, to stay true to who you are no matter how hard people try to force you to play their twisted games. It took me a long time to find that strength. Don’t let anybody make you believe that you’re weak, or that you need to play by their rules to become stronger,” Ryu said. Kamui fidgeted with the pouch on her belt that held her dragonstone.

            “Thank you, Ryu. Someday I do plan on returning to my own world with Corrin, and finding some way to settle this mess I’m stuck in. And we’re going to do it our way. Though we may have no choice but to fight. When that time comes, would you be willing to help me?” Kamui asked.

            “Of course, you’ll need a few friends to stand by your side when you meet your siblings again. My strength exists to fight for the future, and when you fight to take control of your fate I’ll be there. Now let’s have a practice battle, maybe that will make you see you already have all the strength you need,” Ryu said. Kamui laid her Yato Blade on the ground and assumed a fighting stance. She and Ryu charged at each other.

            “Well, that’s not exactly what we wanted, but at least Ryu seems to have said the right things to cheer Kamui up,” Reflet said. She put her pair of binoculars on a nearby table and sat down next to Robin on the couch.

            “Ryu really is looking out for people, just like he said he would. Not that I had any doubts. It’s just reassuring to see it in action,” Ken said. He was watching the practice fight through the binoculars. From how Kamui fought Ken could tell that Ryu really had made an impact on her. He had an unconventional way of making a better world, but Ryu was still getting results. It was also obvious that Ryu was going to win against Kamui, however that wasn’t the point of the battle.

            “So, what’s the next step going to be? From the sound of it they got off to a good start, I never saw them interact that much before today,” Robin said. He had taken a small tome out of his pocket and was flipping through it. Ken tossed his pair of binoculars to Reflet and turned to face her and Robin.

            “Let’s not force things too much. They met up on their own without us doing anything, we should just watch and not ruin anything with our meddling. I think I should have more faith in Ryu, even if I’m not going to drop this issue with him,” Ken said.

            He’s definitely going to need a push if you want him to get romantic. Well luckily as a fellow lady-” Reflet jabbed Robin right as he was about to make a comment “-I’m in the perfect position to help give Kamui advice and pass it off as normal girl talk. You two can have fun trying to get through Ryu’s thick head. After we watch them for a bit to make sure we know what we’re doing obviously,” Reflet said.

            “Since you two are volunteering to help me is there anything I can do for you in return?” Ken asked.

            “Unless you have a way to keep Ridley or K. Rool away from the teleporter room I can’t think of anything. Those two keep on causing trouble, but since they’re Smashers they never get put down for too long,” Robin said.

            “Ryu mentioned some of this to me. I told him not to worry about our world since we have lots of good fighters. Guile already knows to be on the lookout for people obviously not from our world, right now he’s busy tracking down that weird monsters whose been raiding old Shadaloo bases and…”

            “Are you okay Ken?” Reflet asked.

            “I just realized something. I think Ridley may have made a few trips to my world already. There’s been word of something that matches his description raiding a bunch of places that used to belong to this one evil organization, Shadaloo. Let me send a quick text to Guile, he’ll be able to confirm that I’m right,” Ken said. He pulled out his phone and sent a picture of Ridley to Guile. The response was almost immediate and exactly what Ken expected. “It really is Ridley.”

            “Of course it is. Whenever something happens now it’s always because Dark Samus told Ridley or K. Rool to do something. If you want to stop Ridley you better catch him in the act, the moment he’s back in the mansion you won’t be able to touch him. Robin, go plan something to ruin Ridley’s day. I’m letting Peach know about this,” Reflet said. She got up from the couch and marched back into the mansion hallways.

            “Could you put me on the phone with Guile? I think I have a plan on how to handle this,” Robin said. Ken made the call and handed his phone to Robin.

            It had been a long time since Ken had to go inside a Shadaloo base. “You know, this looks exactly like the kind of evil base that shows up in those TV shows my kid watches,” Ken said.

            “You’re not supposed to talk while waiting to ambush someone,” Robin said. The two of them had hidden behind an upturned table in the corner of the room. For an abandoned base it didn’t show many signs of decay, the upturned table was one of the few signs that the base had been forcibly shut down. At the back of the room was a computer terminal, crouching in front of it was Guile. The sound of something inhuman approaching rang out through the base. Then Ridley walked into the room.

            “So you’re the one who’s been raiding all of those old Shadaloo bases. I don’t know what you want, but nothing with Shadaloo involved is any good. Surrender now or else,” Guile said.

            “Oooh how scary, you’re crouching in a corner,” Ridley said mockingly.

            “Sonic Boom!” Before Ridley could react the wave of ki struck him in the chest and knocked him back. Snarling, Ridley took to the air and tried to fly around the incoming projectiles. Guile’s Sonic Booms intercepted Ridley no matter where he went, each hit earning an even louder scream. Eventually Ridley had enough and tore through the Sonic Boom with his claw, then dive bombed Guile.

Robin readied his tome, but Ken stopped him from using it. “Flash Kick!” In an instant Ridley’s chin and Guile’s feet became intimately acquainted. Ridley fell in an arc towards the ground. “I can do this all day big guy,” Guile taunted. Ridley pulled himself up from the floor. Before he could make another move Ken jumped up and fired a Hadouken at his head. That sent Ridley down for the count.

            “I didn’t even need to do anything, you two are good,” Robin said as he got up and walked around the table.

            “Always helps to have backup. Besides this ambush was your idea. So, are you taking this thing back to that mansion?” Guile asked, gesturing to Ridley’s unconscious body.

            “Actually, you can keep him for now. I bet there are a lot of questions your superior officers would like to ask him. We’ll try to stall Master Hand’s attempts to get him released as best we can, if you get anything out of him let us know,” Robin said.

            “Got it. Thank you for all of your help,” Guile said. He held out his fist, Robin gave him a fist bump.

            “You can head back to the mansion on your own Robin, while I’m here in my world I’ll go home and visit my family,” Ken said.

            “I’ll see you later then,” Robin said. He activated the transport back to the mansion and faded from sight. Ken and Guile then began the frustrating work of dragging Ridley’s unconscious body out of the base.

Chapter Text

            Incineroar was enjoying a peaceful nap in his refreshingly cold new room when there was a knock on the door. “Incineroar, it’s lunch time,” Leaf said. With a few grunts Incineroar picked himself up from the floor and opened the door. Normally he would have tried to tune the knocking out, but food was important. He also wanted to find someone to serve as a tag team partner, which would be hard if he spent the entire day napping. So he followed Leaf down to the dining hall. When they arrived Incineroar scanned the dining hall carefully to find the best place to sit, he decided it was the spot that had all the other Pokemon. Red was also there, and Leaf sat down next to Incineroar.

            It was a little hot for Incineroar so he alternated between shoveling food into his mouth and drinking water. His fire belt quickly lowered to a much more pleasant temperature. Pikachu alternated between watching Incineroar and Red. When he was done with his food he jumped off the table and walked to the table where Samus was seated, giving a long look towards Red and Leaf.

            “Why is Pika always like that with us? He keeps looking like he wants to say something, then just walks off,” Leaf said.

            “Pika is from a different version of our world than the one we hail from. Apparently in that world his trainer is a different version of Red, but the one here is far too different for Pika. Pika also knows a version of you and me from his world,” Mewtwo explained. Incineroar was only half listening to the exposition he didn’t care about. He scanned the room and tried to size up all the different Smashers. There were a good number of potentially good tag team partners, though Incineroar didn’t care much for potential. He’d have to see them in action to properly judge them.

            “Wow, that’s really confusing. Lately I’ve been having dreams where my name is Green, do you think that’s the version of me Pika knows?” Leaf asked.

            “Probably. Reality Bleed is strongest with versions connected to other Smashers. I think we forgot to include Incineorar in this conversation,” Lucario said. “Do you know of a trainer named Ash Ketchum?” Incineroar shook his head. Greninja let out a mutter of disappointment.

            “You know, I think you’re kind of cute Incineroar,” Leaf said. Incineroar flexed his muscles in an attempt to dispel that image, Leaf laughed at the display. That earned her a growl.

            “I think he has an issue with being called cute,” Red said. Before the conversation could continue a disruption came from across the dining hall.

            “Wah, watch where you’re walking numbskull,” Wario shouted.

            “But you ran into me,” Popo said, slowly stepping away from Wario.

            “Oh so now it’s my fault?!” Wario took a step forward and winded up his fist.

            “It’s always your fault you loser,” Daisy said from her seat. She quickly finished the last of her food and held her plate like a weapon. Incineroar rose from his seat and ran over before things could escalate without him. He grabbed Wario from behind and tossed him up into the air, then jumped up and punched him back down to the floor. A terrified ‘wah’ filled the room up to the moment Wario made impact with the floor, face first.

            A majority of the gathered Smashers clapped as Incineroar posed. He was certain that would prevent the word ‘cute’ from ever being applied to him again, keeping a kid safe was also always a good outcome in his book. Master Hand teleported in, but cut his lecture about fighting in the mansion short when he saw it was Wario. Nobody had a chance to say hello before Master Hand warped back to his office. Lucario put his hands on his chest spike. “I just realized, Master Hand has been rather reclusive as of late. This may have been the first I’ve seen him all month. And he’s stressed, it’s all over his aura. What’s been going on with him?” Lucario wondered out loud. Greninja fiddled with his tongue scarf and focused his gaze on Dark Samus.

            Incineroar went back to finish his meal and then made his way outside. His room didn’t get enough sunlight so he wanted to nap somewhere that got more. Right as Incineroar was about to settle down under a tall tree a young looking girl approached him. She had platinum blonde hair that probably would have touched her feet if it weren’t for the ponytail, and a dress that reached all the way down to her shins. In her right hand was a staff. Incineroar closed his eyes and rested his back against the tree, his arms were also folded. “Hey! I was about to talk to you. I’m only the goddess of nature herself, Viridi, you know that one. Kind, charming, cute, way better than those stupid humans,” the girl shouted.

            A shuriken made of water flew over Viridi’s head and scraped the side of the tree. Greninja dashed into view and stopped a good distance away, enough that he could easily jump in for another attack or dodge any reprisal from Viridi before it could connect. Greninja made an x with his hands and glared at Viridi.

            “Ugh, what do you Pokemon even see in those humans? Every time I try to recruit one of you guys I get attacked like I’m the bad guy. Come on Incineroar, you can’t possibly like those stupid trainers. Join me and we can get rid of them all, then you can nap all day without having to bother with fighting ever again. Let’s shake on it,” Viridi said. Incineroar took Viridi’s outstretched hand, then pulled her into a grab and suplexed her.

            Viridi screamed as she hit the ground and quickly got up to her feet. Greninja threw a water shuriken at her. After dodging it Viridi held up her staff and readied an attack, both Greninja and Incineroar were prepared to counter it. The three of them all stood motionless, waiting for any opening to throw out an attack. Then Dark Pit walked into the standoff and looked around in confusion.

            “You were supposed to be here five minutes ago. What kind of lousy subordinate are you? I got suplexed by an oversized cat. Now help me fight these two.”

            “I’m not your subordinate, we just happen to both hate Pit and Palutena,” Dark Pit said.

            “Yeah sure, whatever. If you want the power of flight you need to actually do things for me sometimes. Now fight those two,” Viridi said. Master Hand teleported right into the center of the standoff. He had curled himself up into a fist.

            “What part of ‘no fighting in the mansion’ do you imbeciles not get?!” Master Hand shouted.

            “We’re not in the mansion,” Viridi said.

            “You know what I mean. If you want to fight go set up an official match or get the fuck out of here.” Master Hand assumed a finger gun shape, aimed right at Viridi. Greninja and Dark Pit exchanged a shocked look. Even Incineroar could tell that Master Hand wasn’t usually the swearing type.

            “Fine. Dark Pit go fight them. Phosphora will back you up, and if you win, they have to join the Forces of Nature.” Viridi said. Incineroar pounded his chest and his fire belt intensified, Greninja summoned kunai made out of water.

            “I have better things to do,” Dark Pit said. Incineroar responded with an impression of a chicken. Greninja looked at him like he had gone crazy. “Oh that’s it, you’re on.” Greninja sighed as Incineroar laughed.

            Phosphora was already in the battle room when the others arrived. Much like the teleporter room both the floor and walls were an uncomfortably sterile white, aside from the people it was completely empty. “About time, I was starting to get bored. Haven’t been here since Master Hand wanted to make a data copy of me for the fights,” she said.

            “Just don’t get in my way,” Dark Pit said. He was already in a fighting stance, his silver bow split into two small swords.

            “I’m not even a full fighter, yet, so I can’t use all of my powers. Maybe after this Master Hand will realize who really needs to become a Smasher,” Phosphora said. “So what battlefield are we going to-“ Greninja and Dark Pit both tried to stop her, but they were too late. The room transformed as the door vanished with a blue flash of light. In the blink of an eye they were standing on a long platform floating up in the sky, three smaller platforms hovered above it in a triangle formation. “What?”

            “This thing is voice activated, it heard you say battlefield so now we’re on the stage called battlefield. This bullshit happens every week,” Dark Pit explained.

            “Wow that’s really dumb. Well this looks like a decently big battlefield at-“

            “No!” The platforms above them shrunk in size and more appeared. The four combatants all exchanged a look and didn’t dare say anything more. Incineroar and Greninja walked to the left side of the main platform, Dark Pit and Phosphora went to the right. Incineroar narrowed his eyes and growled, Dark Pit smirked, Phosphora stretched her arms, and Greninja folded his arms.

            “One stock, two versus two battle,” a robotic voice declared. “Three, two, one, GO!”

            Dark Pit started by shooting arrows, backed up by Phosphora shooting out bolts of electricity. Greninja jumped above them and went to the highest platform, Incineroar let Dark Pit’s arrow hit and his fire belt flared up in response. Dark Pit and Incineroar charged at each other. Dark Pit split his bow into two blades and slashed. Incineroar spun through it and landed several hits on Dark Pit.

            Phosphora sent out an electric orb that followed Greninja as he jumped up and down the different platforms. Phosphora teleported behind Greninja, who used shadow sneak to get behind her and attack. “If I was allowed to use my kicks you’d be so KOed right now,” Phosphora complained. She teleported up above the highest platform and sent another series of bolts down.

            On the main stage Dark Pit was steadily growing more and more infuriated. Incineroar sidestepped one of Phosphora’s bolts and Dark Pit’s electroshock arm. With a mocking laugh he used a knifehand strike on Dark Pit. He posed as the angel stumbled back. Above them Greninja got caught by one of Phosphora’s bolts, which was followed by another volley that sent him towards the edge.

            Incineroar’s attempted grab was shut down by Dark Pit’s orbitars. Phosphora put her hands together and fired another orb of electricity towards Greninja, who was still recovering from her previous attacks. Incineroar leapt up and took the hit. His fire belt flared up again as he endured the blow. Dark Pit kicked Incineroar from below the platform and into Phosphora’s electric bolts. Greninja charged forward and slashed at Dark Pit with a kunai of water, the angel was sent flying.

            With his feet back on one of the smaller platforms Incineroar summoned the energy shield granted to all Smashers. Phosphora’s bolts wore it down quickly. Incineroar rolled past the bolts and jumped at Phosphora. He spun around in midair and kicked her with both feet. Phosphora was knocked back, but quickly teleported just above Incineroar. Before she could fire another bolt Incineroar grabbed her out of the air. A suplex followed immediately afterwards.

            “Dark Pit give me some cover!” A black arrow dug into Incineroar’s foot. He howled as Phosphora teleported to the other side of the stage. Greninja had been knocked off and was trying to recover with a jet of water. He barely dodged Phosphora’s bolts. Dark Pit prepared to intercept and spike Greninja. He was suplexed by Incineroar before he got the chance. Incineroar got shocked by a bolt from Phosphora in retaliation. Greninja jumped up from the ledge of the main platform. Phosphora got sliced by a blade of water before she could fire any more bolts. She held her arm and grimaced.

            Recovering from the suplex, Dark Pit fled to the other end of the main platform. Arrows flew at Incineroar, one right after the other. Greninja jumped up to the smaller platforms and approached Dark Pit. In response Dark Pit stopped firing arrows and jumped up to face him. Phosphora summoned another round of electric bolts. Incineroar jumped up and crashed down towards Phosphora. She bounced up from the fiery impact and right into Greninja’s water kunai. In a flash of light she vanished.

            Greninja dropped down to the main platform and got behind Dark Pit with shadow sneak. Dark Pit was prepared. Slashes from his two swords sent Greninja flying off of the stage and out of bounds. “Assist trophy eliminated! Fighter two eliminated!” Incineroar snarled and pointed at Dark Pit, then made a throat cutting gesture.

            As Incineroar approached Dark Pit shot an arrow. Then he pulled out the electroshock arm and charged. Incineroar shielded himself from the arrow. The electroshock arm rammed into his chest. The jolts of electricity flooded through Incineroar’s body, but Incineroar remained in place. His fire belt flared up so intensely Dark Pit was momentarily blinded. With an enzuigiri Incineroar sent Dark Pit flying off of the stage. Dark Pit recovered in midair and used his wings to jump back up towards the main platform. Before he could reach it Incineroar dropped down and performed a double foot stomp, sending Dark Pit crashing out of bounds.

            In a flash all four of the combatants were back in the white room. “The winner is… Red team,” the robotic announcer declared. Dark Pit scowled while Incineroar triumphantly flexed his muscles.

            “That was actually pretty fun. Next time we should fight in my world so I can use all of my powers,” Phosphora said. She and Incineroar fist bumped. The door opened and Viridi stormed in.

            “You had one job Dark Pit, what do I even keep you around for? Oh forget it, I’m leaving, I need a long bath to forget about all the nonsense I’ve had to put up with today,” Viridi said. She left the room as angrily as she had entered it.

            “Viridi’s usually a lot better than that, she just tends to stay in a bad mood for a while once she gets into it. Don’t get hung up on it,” Phosphora said apologetically.

            “Humph, like I’d care what some selfish goddess has to say.”

            “Try not to say that in front of her. Anyway, I’m heading back to my world too, see you guys.” With that Phosphora walked out of the room, Dark Pit followed after her. Incineroar gave Greninja a light slap on the back. In response Greninja held out his hand, Incineroar put his own hand on top of it. He didn’t have to worry about looking for a tag team partner any longer.

            Viridi muttered to herself as she marched towards the teleporter room, consoling herself with various revenge fantasies on a genocidal scale. When she walked into the teleporter room she was surprised to see that somebody else was already there. Despite never directly interacting before Viridi recognized what she was dealing with right away, there was only one source of Phazon left. “Dark Samus? What do you want? I’m really not in a mood to talk right now,” Viridi said.

            “Ally?” Dark Samus asked.

            “Oh please, why would I ever want to join forces with somebody like you. Phazon is just gross.” Viridi said.

            “Own teleporter in development. Could go to any world with forces. Need your power to finish.”

            “Wait, you’re saying instead of having to ask these stupid Smashers for help I could just send the Forces of Nature to other worlds directly?” Viridi asked. Dark Samus nodded. Viridi tapped her fingers on her staff as she thought through her options. It had always annoyed her that she couldn’t take the teleporter to worlds other than her own, and that she was only able to use it in the first place thanks to Dark Pit. On the other hand, Viridi didn’t like owing anybody anything. “Just to be clear, I’m betting you expect me to get all buddy buddy with the Space Pirates to help out with this teleporter?”

            “Alliance mandatory.”

            “Thought so,” Viridi said. “I’m in, with one condition. You Space Pirates and the like have to treat nature with respect. Do whatever you want to humans or whatever, but don’t you dare cause any pollution. Do we have a deal? By the way good luck finding any other goddess who would be willing to help.” Viridi held her staff up to appear taller.

            “Deal.”

            “Alright. Here, take this.” Viridi slammed her staff on the ground and summoned a green translucent orb. It hovered in the air in front of Dark Samus, who took hold of it. “Just plug that into your teleporter and it should be enough of a boost to get it working. And you better visit me first, also I want my own copy.” Dark Samus once again nodded. Viridi had a smug smirk on her face as she set up the mansion teleporter to take her back home. “Oh, I just can’t wait to see the look on Palutena’s face when she knows what I have going on now.”

Chapter Text

                                    Prologue: Bloody Twilight and Ominous Dawn

             Excited cheers filled the room as the teleporter came alive, the platform lighting up with a variety of colors. Even Ridley reveled a bit. Only Dark Samus remained unfazed by what was now the greatest achievement of the Space Pirates. “Initiate contact with Viridi, then Black Shadow, Zoda,” Dark Samus ordered.

            “Yeah sure, your bossyness,” K. Rool said as he began the true test of the teleporter. A loud hum filled the room as a portal manifested at the teleporter. Viridi could be seen on the other side. She confidently stepped through it and into the world of the Space Pirates.

            “Took you long enough, you better have made those spaceships environmentally friendly already,” Viridi said. She stepped down from the platform of the teleporter and joined the crowd. Black Shadow was next, Blood Falcon arrived alongside him. Then Zoda was the last of the alliance to be brought over, he and Black Shadow shared unfriendly looks with each other.

            “Well the gang is all together now. There’s a Federation outpost we could have some fun tearing apart,” Ridley said.

            “No. Keep teleporter secret. Attack non-Smasher world,” Dark Samus ordered.

            “They’re going to find out sooner or later,” K. Rool said.

            “Surprise is the most dangerous element. Now, where exactly should we attack? I’ll be the one handling how exactly we go about this evil deed,” Black Shadow said. Zoda let out a displeased grunt.

            “Apparently Master Hand scouted some recruits who turned him down. Dark Samus had me swipe the coordinates to their worlds. The one that Spring Man is from seems like it’d make a good warm up,” Ridley said.

            “Don’t just stand there then, go set it up you oversized crocodile,” Viridi said.

            “What do you think I’m already doing you stupid goddess,” K. Rool responded. The teleporter jumped back into action and opened up a portal.  Everybody quickly shielded their eyes as an overwhelming light filled the room. K. Rool shut it down fast. “Okay, that was weird, must be a bug. Let’s try that Alrest place.” Instead of blinding light nothing but darkness could be seen on the other side of the portal. Then a large eye appeared. K. Rool shut it down as the others yelled at him to do that.

            “The teleporter must need some adjustments. No matter, our combined evil will overcome any obstacle,” Black Shadow declared. Viridi was about to say something, but she shuddered as she sensed something.

            “It wasn’t a problem with the teleporter. Those worlds were turned into pure light and pure darkness. And the things that did that saw-“ A beam of light vaporized Viridi midsentence. Blood Falcon was next. Black Shadow and Zoda tried to run, they got vaporized. Dark Samus, K. Rool, and Ridley quickly teleported away as the beams of light spread. In a matter of seconds the entire ship was gone. The rest of the world followed shortly afterwards.

            Bayonetta walked through the halls of Smash Mansion looking for someone to tease. Her eyebrow raised when she saw Dark Samus, K. Rool, and Ridley charge out of the door. “My, if it isn’t the Brute Trio. Who beat you down this time?” Bayonetta asked. She let out a sharp breath and jumped to the side. A thorn of darkness burst through the floor of the mansion and into where Bayonetta had just been standing. An eye manifested in the center of the hallway.

            Ridley lunged at the eye and slashed it with his claws, then flew out of the way of a tentacle. More appeared to strike him. Ridley dodged all of them, each one closer than the last. Dark Samus and K. Rool fired a charged shot and cannonball respectively. The eye teleported away from the projectiles.

            “Well, that new friend of yours is quite rude,” Bayonetta said. She dodged out of the way of a hammer made of darkness. Using Witch Time she got to the eye, which had appeared behind her, and summoned Madama Butterfly to stomp on it. A burst of dark energy came from the eye. Bayonetta vanished.

            “Did… Bayo die?” K. Rool asked while ducking under another attack. The answer came in the form of Bayonetta reappearing. An alarm began blaring. An irritating, piercing alarm that felt like an attack of its own.

            “Of course not. Just took a little trip to Limbo,” Bayonetta said. Despite all the attacks that the mysterious darkness using eye had taken, it didn’t look fazed. It did seem interested in Bayonetta. All of the fighting had drawn the attention of the other Smashers. Crazy Hand teleported into the hallway. Ganondorf, Reflet, and Sonic also arrived to see what was happening.

            “Woah, what is that thing?” Sonic asked. A swarm of bullets flew at the new arrivals. Refelt and Ganondorf pulled out their shields. Sonic rushed past them and jumped over a thorn, he curled up into a ball and spun into the eye. A beam of electricity and orb of darkness followed closely behind. Crazy Hand started dropping bombs on the eye as soon as Sonic jumped back. There was no sign of any damage to the intruder.

            “What did you three do?!” Ganondorf shouted as he ducked under an orb of darkness near identical to the one he had just thrown out.

            “Hey we’re the victims here,” K. Rool responded, narrowly dodging another thorn of darkness. He pressed a hand against the wall for support. Ridley was hunched over more than usual. Reflet narrowly dodged a smaller tentacle that had been sent out in pursuit. Then a cluster of dark orbs appeared, forming a solid row behind Dark Samus and her subordinates. The orbs started flashing red. They looked exactly like the x bombs from the official matches.

            “Crap, come on,” Sonic grabbed Ganondorf but he swatted the hedgehog’s hand away.

            “We need to disable them fast.”

            “Eh, sounds lame. I have a much cooler idea. Sacrifice scenes in action movies are pretty cool. Ever seen-“ Crazy Hand’s monologue was disrupted by the bombs detonating. But none of the combatants were harmed. Nobody was even in the hallway. The walls, floor, and ceiling had endured the explosion, nothing between them had. But there was one exception to the two prior statements, Crazy Hand.

            Crazy Hand formed into a fist and charged at the intruding eye. A spiked tentacle went right through him, the white tainted by a thread of dark. The eye sunk into a pool of shadows that formed uncdf it. Crazy Hand struggled as he was pulled into a similar one, screaming as loud as he could. Sonic rushed back into the scene and Mewtwo teleported in. An outline of psychic energy appeared around Crazy Hand as Sonic spun into the thorn that had pierced the hand. Neither had any effect.

            Mewtwo held his hand out and restrained Sonic when it became clear Crazy Hand was beyond saving. Crazy Hand went limp, fingers facing up like a flag of surrender as he sunk into the shadows and vanished. “We need to rally the others, now. I don’t think that thing is done with us just yet,” Mewtwo said.

            On the roof of Smash Mansion another battle was taking place. Master Hand and Pit weaved around various orbs of light fired off by the other intruder. Said intruder was an orb of light, shielded by eight glowing wings. Palutena guided Pit’s flight carefully and fired attacks at the strange orb, Zelda sent out a spark of flame while Sheik tossed as many needles as she could.

            “How did Galeem find us? This is bad, he wasn’t supposed to, not yet, not now. Only my emergency protocols accounted for this,” Master Hand said. He formed a finger gun shape and fired bullets at Galeem, the wings blocked them.

            “Palutena do you have any idea what this Galeem thing is?” Sheik asked. Her needles burst into flames before they could reach their target.

            “No. Which is strange since usually I know everything. Maybe he’s mad about the fact that I’m a goddess of light? He doesn’t seem to take light lightly,” Palutena joked. Despite that she wasn’t smiling. One eye was focused on Pit, the other on Galeem. Simon and Ken emerged from the staircase.

            “Damn, I’m not good with enemies who can fly,” Ken said. Simon hurried to the edge of the roof and threw an axe up at Galeem. One of the wings moved to block it. The axe melted on contact with the wing.

            “This may be a problem,” Simon said. Two orbs like the one that sat at the center of Galeem’s body appeared, one in front of Pit, the other above him. A stream of projectiles flew out of the orbs. Pit quickly shielded himself the orbitars. Cracks started to form in them. Simon grabbed Pit’s foot with the Vampire Killer and pulled him to the ground. Palutena let out a sigh of relief, then sent out a mega laser. Two wings moved to shield the core of Galeem. The laser was redirected at Master Hand. It struck him in the palm. Master Hand started to descend, then forced himself back up.

            Ken ran over to Zelda and grabbed her hand. He quickly whispered something in her ear. The two of them rushed at Galeem. The duplicates of its core had vanished. Instead the wings had formed into a large spear aimed right at Master Hand. Ken and Zelda jumped, hands tightly locked. With a flash of green light they were gone, then reappeared at a greater height. Zelda tossed Ken upwards at Galeem’s core. Ken performed a shoryuken, striking the core directly. The spear disassembled as the wings quickly circled around Ken. Palutena raised her staff and teleported Ken back to the roof.

            A bright flash of light blinded all present. An agonized scream pierced the air. Only Palutena could make out the source. Chains of light had gone directly through Master Hand. Then Master Hand was gone. The blinding flight faded too, and Galeem with it. The other Smashers looked around in confusion, then noticed who was missing. “Galeem took Master Hand. We have to save him now,” Palutena said.

            “We don’t even know who we’re up against. Let’s regroup and find a way to beat him first. Crazy Hand might have some ideas, it sounded like Master Hand had at least some knowledge of Galeem,” Zelda said. An alert went off from all of the Smasher’s phones. Their screens all displayed live footage from the mansion security cameras. A wave of darkness had begun rising from the basement, consuming everything in its path. Bold red letters spelling out ‘evacuate’ flashed on the screen. Palutena looked up. A ring of solid light had formed above the mansion. It began to descend.

            A mass call was started instantly. “Evacuation role call, now! Everyone in the mansion state your location and if you need help evacuating,” Peach shouted through her phone. The line was immediately filled with shouts of different kinds. There was one thing all the Smashers on the roof could make out in the confusion, something happened to Crazy Hand.

            “I’m going to set off the self-destruct once everyone is out. There are things here Galeem and Dharkon can’t be allowed to have. But I’m trapped in the office and Dharkon is blocking the door,” Isabelle said. Simon looked over the side of the building and tried to judge if jumping was a reasonable escape plan.

            “Crazy already got most of us out. We just, oh, never mind Incineroar and Bowser just jumped out the window with the Koopalings. Those on the rooftop, we have rescue staffs ready to get you down. But something is blocking Isabelle from them,” Mewtwo said.

            “Use them on the others. I’ll handle this,” Sheik said. She vanished from the rooftop in a puff of smoke. The smoke cleared from her vision as the surroundings changed to Master Hand’s office. Isabelle was cradling five sealed letters and her phone in her arms. “Are those…”

            “He had these prepared in case of an emergency. Just like the self-destruct,” Isabelle said. Her eyes were focused on the button hidden at the back of the safe. Sheik held Isabelle’s shoulder and pressed the button.

            “Self-destruct commencing. No matter what, this can’t be undone. Beginning countdown…” With another puff of smoke Sheik and Isabelle were gone. This time they reappeared on the grass far from the mansion. All of the other Smashers were gathered there. Sonic had his arms crossed and tapped his foot, sometimes glaring at Mewtwo. Robin muttered to himself as he did yet another headcount to make sure everybody really had escaped. There were only two missing, and Robin had already been informed why. The Koopalings all clung to Bowser while Lucina stared at the mansion in shock.

            Smash Mansion itself was being attacked on two fronts. From the ground darkness rose to consume it. Above it a circle of light descended. The first and third floors had already been consumed. Then Smash Mansion exploded. Both the unnatural darkness and light were obliterated by the explosion. Not a single trace of Smash Mansion was left. There was no rubble or any indication that the ground had anything built upon it.

            “It’s gone… Smash Mansion is…” Mario let the sentence trail off. He took off his hat and held it to his chest, Luigi did the same. Fox feigned interest in his blaster while Link looked through pictures of the mansion on the Sheikah slate.

            “Whatever those things were, they’re going to pay for this,” Samus said. A chorus of agreement rose up from the Smashers. Isabelle began explaining everything Master Hand had told her to the other Smashers. While that was going on Palutena took Simon aside.

            “Simon, we both saw how powerful Galeem was. I couldn’t so much as scratch it and I’m a goddess. So, I have a request. If he kills me, take Pit and run. No matter how much he begs to fight don’t let him. Just keep him safe, please,” Palutena said. She looked Simon directly in the eyes. There wasn’t any sign of weakness in her face.

            “You have my word. But in return, I want you to do the same for Richter if I fall in battle,” Simon said. Palutena extended her hand, Simon shook it.

                                   Final: Light vs Dark vs Smash

            Arusu took a deep breath as he surveyed the forces in front of him. A large army had been gathered in the wake of the Smasher’s crusade. From countless worlds a varied army of those who would have never even known of each other had emerged. But they all shared one thing in common. They had all been victims of Galeem and Dharkon.

            By Arusu’s side were the others he had formed the army with, all of them united by strange letters they received that had allowed their spirits to break free. A flashy thief known as Joker, three fellow heroes named Solo, Eight, and Eleven, a honey bear named Banjo and his breegull friend Kazooie, a rough fist fighter named Terry, and two professors from a military academy named Byleth and Bel. Somehow out of all of them Arusu had been charged with giving a speech.

            “Some of you may not know who I am, others may be well aware, but it matters not. Whether through darkness or light, all of our worlds have met their end. Yet here we stand, and it’s all thanks to the Smashers. Even as we speak, they’re confronting those foul monsters and continuing to liberate those still bound by the foul power we know all too well. This time it’s our turn to help them. Our worlds were all divided when Galeem and Dharkon struck, but now, everyone is here. And we have had enough. For the Smashers!”

            “For the Smashers!” The shout moved throughout the crowd like a wave. Arusu held up the letter that had kept him safe from Galeem’s control, his comrades did the same. A massive portal opened in front of them to the final battleground. The order didn’t need to be spoken. Everyone charged right towards the portal.

            There was nothing on the other side of the portal but ground and sky, both of which were made of either light or darkness. There was a clear line divide between the light and darkness, though where the divide was shifted constantly. High up in the sky Galeem and Dharkon launched attacks at each other, below them the Smashers were surrounded by an army of their clones and a horde of monsters from various worlds. Almost all of the Smashers looked like they were on the brink of exhaustion. The true Master Hand and Crazy Hand saw the portal and the vast army, both of them gave a thumbs up.

            Up in the sky a legion of flying Pokemon charged at the clones of Crazy and Master Hand. Palkia slashed through the various Hand clones while Yvetal sent out a laser beam to clear the air, Tapu Koko zapped any enemy that it could get close to. Some of the Hand clones tried to drop bombs on the ground part of the army. They were mobbed before they got the chance. A Hydreigon ripped one to shreds while a Talonflame covered itself in flames and crashed into another Hand.

            A large group of identical giant monsters appeared, covered in the dark aura indicative of Dharkon’s control. They had five tentacles covered in glowing red spots, giving them a shape almost like that of a starfish as they stood with two tentacles placed on the ground. Eyes formed a circle around the opening in their center, which had a long green tentacle poking through it like a tongue. Surrounding them were a mass of much smaller flying creatures. “All forces this is the Lady Liberty. Those monsters are from our world. The larger ones are called Devestators, the smaller ones are Swarmers. Transmitting all data on them now.” Within the Lady Liberty Katherine furiously transcribed all of Randolph Carter’s notes and sent them across the coalition army. “Why couldn’t we get this fancy electronic stuff sooner.” Katherine muttered to herself. Rayquaza flew past the window of the Lady Liberty and towards the Devestators.

            “This is Elma, I’m engaging the Devestators.” The Ares 90 fired its cannon at the Devestators. Elma brought the Ares 90 closer and struck with the Vajira Flail. She stopped a Crazy Hand clone from hitting Rayquaza by destroying it with a missile. Rayquaza gave a brief nod of acknowledgement to the Skell and its pilot before turning back to the Devestators.

            “Team Starfox is on it too, well those of us up here at least,” Peppy said. Slippy was already at work analyzing the Devestators while shooting the Swarmers. Down on the ground two gunners looked up at the newly arrived monsters, while continuing to shoot and slash at whatever was in front of them.

            “Kachi, are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

            “Let’s do it Isa.” The two of them held hands. Then in a flash Isa transformed as Kachi seemingly vanished. Isa’s transformation had long flowing white hair and a shadow like face, a two pronged cannon was attached to the right arm. “Let’s clear out some of those Swarmers first,” Kachi advised from inside Isa.

            Isa took off to the sky, sending a few shots down at the ground for support. He used the cannon to crush a few Swarmers that flew at him. Fox made a note to save the questions about what he saw for later as he opened a comms link with the rest of Star Fox. “Hey Peppy, glad you could make it. Who’s in all of those other Arwings?”

            “Well, while you and Falco were running around freeing everybody I did some recruiting of my own. Hey new guys, introduce yourselves to the boss,” Peppy said. He fired a smart bomb at the Swarmer and sent a charged blast at a copy of Crazy Hand.

            “My name is Krystal. Somehow this all feels very familiar.”

            “I’m Fay, it’s great to meet you. Peppy talked a lot about you.”

            “Name’s Miyu, looking forward to kicking some ass.”

            “Dash Bowman, it’s an honor to fight alongside you sir.” Somehow Fox felt like he had already fought alongside all four of them. But not at the same time.

            “Alright, you guys look great so far. We can talk more after you take down those starfish things. If you see some weird white haired monster guy he’s friendly,” Fox said. He dashed through a clone of himself and destroyed a clone of Wolf with a blaster shot to the head. “That felt even better than I thought it would.”

            A short distance away from Fox, Simon and Richter both jumped out of the way as pillars of flame sprouted from the ground. Dracula approached them, flanked by Death. A large ball of darkness and flame appeared in Dracula’s hands, he prepared to toss it at Simon. The crack of many whips filled the air as Dracula stumbled and fell to his knees, the ball of shadow and fire fizzled out.

            “Mathias, it’s been a while,” Leon Belmont said. Standing at his side was a group of his most powerful descendants and their allies, including Alucard and Soma. Simon and Richter’s faces lit up when they realized just who had helped them. They ran to join the rest of their clan. Dracula rose back up with a bestial growl.

            “Leon, if only you had joined me back then. Perhaps then we would have had all been comrades. Come Death, we have a bloodline to exterminate.” The Belmont clan responded with what they did best, charging into battle against Dracula.

            While that took place Marth cut through a group of Risen with Falchion. A Redead let out a shriek and stunned him. While Marth tried to regain control of himself it lurched towards him. “Marth fight back!” Two separate voices cried out in unison. Bullets tore holes into the Redead while a sword split the head from the body. Euden offered his hand to Marth as Henry Fleming ran to meet them.

            “It’s been a while Marth,” Euden said.

            “I guess I’m not the only friend from another world you made,” Henry added. Henry and Euden quickly made their introductions to each other and shook hands. Marth let out a small laugh.

            “After all of my time helping other worlds it’s nice to be helped for once. For Altea!” Marth shouted as he charged back into the fray. Euden was right by his side as Henry supported them with gunfire.

            “Rising Circlet!” Euden shouted, driving his sword into the ground. A blue field of energy formed on the ground. Henry took out a mechanical eagle and prepared to toss it.

            “Red, white, and BOOM!” Henry shouted as he threw it. The eagle took flight and charged into a Lynel. Upon impact it exploded, when the dust cleared the Lynel was nowhere to be seen.

            In another part of the battle Rathalos let out a roar as it landed and began attacking, the glow around it showing it belonged to Galeem. Alph was knocked back by the impact of Rathalos landing, he landed right next to Brittany and Charlie. Olimar, Louie, and the President of the Hocotate Freight Company joined them. Each of them had an army of Pikmin with them. “We can’t afford to leave Rathalos alone. If someone distracts it, I can give us a good opening to at least hurt it,” Olimar said. He held a spray bottle carefully in his hands.

            “Mind if the Overlord helps?” The gathered captains looked behind them. There was a tall man completely covered in armor, holding a mace in his hands. Behind him were a group of small creatures, divided into four groups based on color.

            “You scare me but please help us,” Alph said. The Overlord nodded. He marched ahead and drew the attention of Rathalos. As it fought the Overlord and his minions, Olimar ran towards it from the side. With a quick dose of Ultra-Bitter spray Rathalos was turned to stone. The various captains immediately gave their Pikmin a taste of the Ultra-Spicy spray. Rathalos was swarmed by Pikmin ferociously striking at its petrified form. Once cracks began to form the Pikmin were recalled.

            “This is going to be a long battle, isn’t it,” Brittany said. The Ares 90 flew over the Rathalos and to a different section of the battleground. Seeing an outnumbered group, Elma quickly used the skell’s gatling gun to even out the numbers a bit.

            “Alright, way to go Elma!” Rex cheered. He sliced through a Primid that dissolved into light. Nia used her twin rings to cut through a Rototurret while Lucario fired an Aura Sphere at another Rototurret. Lucario turned to look at Mythra, something was different about her aura. He could tell that something had happened since their last meeting. A Hinox marched towards the group.

            “Let’s do a chain attack,” Rex said. Mythra jumped up and shot a beam of light at the Hinox.

            “I’m here! Ready or Gormotti!” Nia shouted. Dromarch lunged at the Hinox and released a wave of ether, healing all the nearby allied fighters.

            “Behold the power of Aura!” Lucario put his hands together and fired a beam of concentrated Aura right at the Hinox’s eye. That sent the Hinox down for the count, it evaporated into a cloud of darkness.

            Cloud took note of the Hinox’s defeat and looked around for anyone in need of help. His Buster Sword cut through a small creature made out of darkness. There was a strangely familiar man fighting a mass of them that moved as one. Cloud slashed at it, somehow knowing it was called a Demon Tower. “Sora, watch yourself.”

            “Cloud!”

            “I’m not the Cloud you know. Don’t go dying on my other self,” Cloud said. The mass of Heartless crashed into the ground nearby and reformed into one being: a large bipedal Heartless with a heart shaped hole in the chest. Smaller Heartless manifested by its legs.

            “At least it’s staying still now,” Neku said as he dashed to join up with the two swordsmen. A strangely bug like car drove past, Solo and Eight jumped off of it with a few other fighters. One of them was a black haired man holding a club, the other had a katana and spiky red hair.

            “All right, time for some smashing,” Malroth said as he readied his club. Crono nodded and prepared a spell. While the battle with the Darkside began Sonic rushed through. He cut his way through the battlefield, quickly cutting down enemies that were causing too much trouble. And offering words of encouragement to anyone he recognized.

            “Nice swordplay Vyse. Keep those eggs rolling Billy. Beat, nice graffiti there man. Don’t slow down Nights. You look crazy as always B.D Joe. Sweet tunes Amigo. Killing it with those dance moves Ulala, literally.”

            “Does that hedgehog ever stop talking,” Ganondorf complained as he cut down a Moblin. He couldn’t believe he had actually considered relying on those things before. Ganondorf quickly jumped out of the way of a trident. A blue pig like monster was the one responsible. It gave a laugh that conjured unpleasant memories for Ganondorf.

            “This is quite the reunion, ‘me,’” Ganon said.

            “But how? Wait what am I saying, the Hands jumping around the timeline caught up with them that’s how. It was only a matter of time before some freak from the worst timeline showed itself,” Ganondorf said as he parried another strike.

            “What worthless prattle, a sign those Gerudo ruined you. Come and embrace the curse of the dark god that flows through us, let us become one. Or have you forgotten the sole purpose of your existence.” Ganondorf’s eyes narrowed.

            “My purpose is mine to decide, that’s what being born into the Gerudo taught me. I’ll show you our power right now. Nabooru, Twinrova!” A blade dug into Ganon’s back, Nabooru laughed at how easy the sneak attack had been. Twinrova sent balls of fire and icicles down at Ganon. Then Ganon sent a fireball of his own to blast Nabooru back and tossed his trident at Twinrova. Ganondorf readied his Warlock Punch and aimed it at Ganon’s face.

            On the opposite side of the field a host of angels from Bayonetta’s world had been summoned by Galeem. Two very different fighters stood back to back surrounded by Affinities. “You use your strange weapon skillfully Mike Jones. It is an honor to fight by your side,” Takamaru said. He readied his sword for the oncoming charge of angels.

            “Your sword is pretty fucking rad too man,” Mike Jones said as he did a trick with his Yoyo. The two of them dashed in opposite directions to battle the angels. Meanwhile a pink robot with a disjointed body cut through the angels in its own way.

            “Beep boop, want to hear a joke?” Sukapon asked. “This is the joke: your existence!” Sukapon’s circular hands snatched an angel and tossed it up into the air, where Deoxys flew by and vaporized it with a laser.

            A copy of the angel Fortitudo descended towards the battle. Red leapt out of the way of a fireball and stumbled on the landing. Another trainer that looked just like Red helped him up. Pika gave an excited shout and leapt to the new trainer’s shoulder. Greninja had assumed his Ash-Greninja and drew the angels away from the trainers. Ash himself hurried to the other trainers, dragging another trainer with him by the hand, their Pikachu close behind.

            “Come on Tim, hurry up,” Ash said. The two of them reached the other trainers. Red called out his own Pikachu, making for four in total. The four Pikachu all looked up at Fortitudo and the rain of fireballs he was sending out. The trainers all exchanged a look.

            “Pikachu use thunderbolt!” They shouted as one. Four thunderbolts shot out from the quartet of Pikachu. Fortitudo and all the angels close to it were struck. The flow of thunder didn’t cease until Fortitudo dissolved back into mere light.

            Little Mac had no time to take in the light show. He was surrounded by monsters he had only heard stories of, Ruffians. The Lizard Seemer variety to be exact, who all had whip like appendages to attack with. Little Mac dodged one attack and charged through the next, taking out a Lizard Seemer with an uppercut. That also led to all the other ones landing direct hits on Little Mac, who could only grimace and try to withstand it.

            “Need some help Mac?” A sword cut through one of the Ruffians, revealing the one who had told Little Mac about them in the first place, Saki. Isaac summoned pillars of rock to clear out the Lizard Seemers and give Little Mac some space.

            “About time you guys showed up,” Little Mac said. A Moth Seemer appeared and rained down lasers at the trio, a fist attached to a coil of springs punched it in the eye. Spring Man hurried over to join the group, Doc Louis bicycling right behind him. Doc Louis got off his bike, pulled out a chocolate bar, bit into it, and star punched a Lizard Seemer that had tried to attack him. The group of fighters formed a tight circle as the Ruffians began to close the distance.

            Reflet tossed an arcfire towards the Ruffians while holding onto Walhart. Walhart batted away a Swarmer with his Wolf Berg while his mount raced through the battlefield. “Thanks for sharing your mount dear. Now get over to that Lynel and kill it,” Reflet said.

            “Those Smasher copies could use a spark of originality while you’re barking orders,” Walhart said. Reflet sent out a Thoron to destroy a group of Ridley clones, Samus gave a thumbs up.

            “I can’t believe you made a pun. Your domestication is coming along even faster than I thought it would. Though I’m still signing you up for ‘how to be a good uncle’ classes when this is over, Yarne and Morgan are scared stiff of you,” Reflet said.

            “So this is the thanks I get for trying to keep the Taguel from extinction.” Walhart split a Moth Seemer in two with the Wolf Berg. Robin sighed and scratched his head as Walhart’s horse ran past him. Panne assumed her Taguel form and tore into seemingly empty space, a monster covered in Galeem’s glow revealed itself. It was a blue bipedal fish like monster with a rifle in its hands.

            “A Stealth Prowler?! How did both Galeem and Dharkon get their hands on the aliens?”

            “Robin focus,” Panne said, tearing apart another Stealth Prowler. “These things smell terrible, like all the worst parts of the sea and man-spawn combined.”

            “That’s basically what they are,” Robin said. He scanned the surrounding area carefully, then used Nosferatu to expose and destroy another Stealth Prowler.

            Mash bashed her shield into the head of a much more visible Prowler. “Master stay close, these appear to be anti-human entities. They look nothing alike, but feel far too similar to the Laḫmu for comfort,” Mash said. Ritsuka Fujimura surveyed the rest of the battlefield carefully as he stayed close behind Mash. Gilgamesh was unleashing his entire treasury on the various enemies while Artoria fired blasts of energy from Excalibur. A strange metallic monster leapt at Ritsuka from behind, a sword sliced the attacker in two. The user of the sword appeared.

            “Contractor, be more cautious. Without you us Servants can’t fight,” King Hassan lectured. Ritsuka nodded with a smile on his face. A few transmissions came through to him.

            “Aparoid presence detected amongst Galeem forces, sending all related data to coalition army,” R.O.B 64 said. The influx of data showed it was an Aparoid that King Hassan had just bisected.

            “Looks like Dharkon has some demons under his control too, just small fry so far,” Rodin said. Rituska looked up and saw a few demons getting destroyed by Jeanne D’Arc Alter’s vengeful rampage.

            “Both new enemy types spotted in my location, already engaged,” Ritsuka said into his communicator. A group of armored scythe using demons came at Ritsuka and Mash. Before they could fight a shield and shovel destroyed the demons.

            “Foul demons! Return to whence you came,” Shovel Knight said.

            “Another shield user? Great, let’s trade tips when this is done,” Shield Knight said when she saw Mash. Behind them Black Knight and Polar Knight were fighting a blue tank like demon.

            “Hey kid, those Aparoid things are starting to become a real pain,” Cu Chulainn said, firing bolts of fire magic from his staff as he stepped backwards towards Ritsuka. Shield Knight tossed her shield at an Aparoid that Cu Chulainn had missed.

            “Let’s show those things the power of humanity then. All Servants, release your Noble Phantasms at will,” Ritsuka shouted. Cu Chulainn grinned, then briefly lost it when he saw the other versions of himself using the Gae Bolg. Thanks to the Caster class he was stuck using a staff instead.

            “Here’s something special for ya,” Cu Chulainn said he readied his Noble Phantasm. “Timber giant, eaten away by fire. Become a cage of flames, WICKER MAN!” Flames spread out from Cu Chulainn as a wooden giant rose up from the ground. It stomped on the grounded Aparoids and crushed the flying ones in its fists.

            Galleom was about to march towards the Wicker Man, but a laser beam struck it. It turned and saw R.O.B readying a gyro. Mega Man, Wonder-Red, and Tethu all prepared to take on the large robot. “Please, try not to destroy Galleom beyond repair. We may not be of the same series, but he too was constructed on the Isle of the Ancients,” R.O.B said.

            “Don’t worry, we just need to make sure not to destroy the cognitive circuit. It’s a lot easier than it sounds,” Mega Man said. Tethu sent out a small tornado towards Galleom, Wonder-Red jumped into it and let it send him soaring upwards.

            “Unite Hand!” A large red fist formed and collided with Galleom’s fist. After a struggle Wonder-Red pushed Galleom back and landed on the ground with a dramatic pose. As Galleom stumbled backwards two small robots took their chance. Ray Mk III flew up to Galleom’s shoulder and dropped Chibi-Robo onto it. Galleom turned his head to look at them when he felt the impact of a plug and several small lasers. Below by his feet Tethu and Wonder-Red dodged each stomp and left several dents in Galleom’s right leg. They were quickly joined by Miura and Vorkken, whose spear and boomerang cut at the left leg. Mega Man fired shots at Galleom from a distance, staying one step ahead of each counterattack.

            R.O.B began preparations to fire a laser at full power. Mr. Game & Watch and the Ice Climbers kept the Master Hand clones at bay during the charging sequence. Mr. Game & Watch looked up at Galleom. “If R.O.B thinks Galleom can become good, maybe this form can too.” Mr. Game & Watch let shadow bugs leak from his body and form into copies of himself. Then the copies all ran back into the original. They took the shape of something completely different. It was a large robot with a single set of wheels that connected two distinct parts, a sword armed blue half and a pink half with cannons attached to it.

            Duon charged towards Galleom, knocking aside all enemies in its path. Popo and Nana nearly got distracted watching the transformation. Then they froze a Master Hand copy that nearly punched the still vulnerable R.O.B.

            “I really hate clones,” the true Master Hand complained as he punched through one of his duplicates. The fighters from his emergency protocol had fought their way to him and helped clear things out. But there were two Master Hand didn’t recognize, so it was easy to guess whose letter they had received. “Byleth and Bel, yes? Your letter was addressed to Sothis, where is she?”

            “She wanted to come, but this is the closest she can get. Which is closer than it looks like,” Byleth said. Master Hand briefly paused as he heard a familiar voice in his head.

            “At last I have someone other than those two to speak with,” Sothis said. “I don’t have a physical form anymore, but I can still lend Byleth and Bel some of my power. Your letter helped save those two from their own recklessness, which may lead to them walking into the next obvious trap. And from what I hear your eagerness for new allies led to your early defeat.”           

            “Blunt as usual I see,” Master Hand said. He looked at Galeem and Dharkon. The two of them had gotten closer and closer to each other as the battle drew on. Master Hand used his powers to send out a message. “Everybody, while Galeem and Dharkon are fixated on each other we can destroy both of them. Clear a path for Smashers to their location.”

            “It’s showtime,” Joker said, slipping past the attack of a Crazy Hand clone and running towards the two towering monstrosities. Terry was right behind him, and across the battlefield all the other Smashers began cutting a path towards Galeem and Dharkon. The true final battle had only just started.

                                   Epilogue: New Worlds, New Rules, New Faces

            The Smashers all found themselves on a wide empty field in the aftermath of the battle. This time there was no strange abomination hovering in the sky. It took a few seconds for all of them to recover from the sudden teleportation. “We did it, it’s finally over,” Mario said. He looked around, all of the forces that had fought with the Smashers in the final battle had ended up at the field as well. Galleom was also present, but deactivated. R.O.B kept everyone else from getting too close to Galleom.

            “There’s a few loose ends we still need to cut off,” Samus said, aiming her arm cannon at Ridley.

            “Samus wait,” Peach said. She put her hand on Samus’s shoulder.

            “No, those bastards only made it easier for Galeem to kill us all the first time around. And that teleporter they made is only going to be a pain in the ass. Do you want the Space Pirates invading the Mushroom Kingdom?”

            “Go ahead and destroy it, we’ve got everything we need to build even more on hand. And thanks to you a great idea of where to take our forces next,” Ridley taunted. Samus’s glare could be felt even with the helmet covering it. Peach frowned.

            “If you want the Space Pirates to go extinct and have all traces of their existence erased that is,” Peach said. “Master Hand, where are we anyway?”

            “You haven’t noticed? This is where Smash Mansion once stood.”

            “Ah man, I forgot all about what happened to the mansion in all the excitement,” Pit said. He looked down at the ground sadly. “But you can make a new one, right? This is the part where you make a cooler version that’s way better than the old one, with free floor ice-cream for everyone.”

            “Nah, not possible,” Crazy Hand said.

            “Smash Mansion’s self-destruct function was designed by Crazy Hand. It was a force of destruction on a conceptual level. If the intent is for something to be a place where the Smashers gather, I can no longer create it. It might have even infected Galeem and Dharkon with mortality. Or perhaps they never were as invincible as they seemed at first. Either way due to a little quirk in how we designed it I can bring back all of your belongings that were in the mansion, but I’ll save it for when you have somewhere to put them.”

            “Could we create a new place for all of us to live together, so long as we don’t use your power to build it?” Mewtwo asked. Master Hand gave a thumbs up.

            “Actually while we’re on the subject, I have an idea,” Chrom said. “Not entirely mine, the idea was thrown around while traveling to free the spirits. With what has happened all of our worlds will bear the scars of this strange war, and we just had an argument over the spread of the teleporter technology. Why don’t we build a city for people of all worlds? Smashville already has a few businesses from other worlds. We’re all connected now, we can’t change that.” There various nods of agreement in the crowd.

            “I can do that. And we’ll call the city… Smashopolis.” A chorus of groans and complaints rose in response to Master Hand’s name. “My power, my city, my name.”

            “While we work on building a new home, we should all either return to our worlds or get housing in either Smashville or Smashopolis,” Peach said. Tom Nook approached the Smashers. V laughed nervously.

            “I believe I have a solution for your housing problems, once this new Smashopolis gets built somebody will have to help manage the real estate. Yes, yes! I’ll give everyone here a very special discount for saving the world. This goes for Smashville as well,” Tom Nook said.

            “Make it free you coward!” Rex shouted from somewhere in the crowd of non-Smashers.

            “No, no, that would put me out of business, a very bad outcome.”

            “He has a point. And now it’s time to actually make things happen,” Master Hand said. He snapped his fingers. A good distance away from the massive crowd buildings began to rise from the ground like sprouting flowers. A road between Smashopolis and Smashville formed as the new city took shape. Even from a distance it was obvious the city was a mixture of architecture from many different worlds, some skyscrapers looked similar to those in Corneria while the classic red roof of a Pokemon center could be made out.

            “Let’s-a go,” Mario shouted, taking off towards the city. Link and Fox ran after him. Others began walking towards the city at a much more relaxed pace, some remained at the field talking with others. Peach looked up at Master Hand. There was something she wanted to ask now that most people had turned their attention away from Master Hand.

            “Why exactly are Dark Samus and her cronies still Smashers?”

            “I know it may work against us at times, but their strength did help save the world. I don’t like this new status quo with all the worlds being connected, but it’s too late to go back, so we might as well stay on top of it. Dark Samus, Ridley, and K. Rool are easier for me to track if they’re Smashers, so we’ll know if they do anything,” Master Hand explained.

            “That makes sense. I guess it’s never really over, even if the stakes are lower. Forgive me, that was far too pessimistic. We should be celebrating for now,” Peach said. She looked towards Smashopolis and started the walk to see it for herself. Daisy and Ace ran over to join her. The rules of the game were different now, and more players would join to complicate it further, but that was better than letting it all end.

            Master Hand and Crazy Hand both teleported away from all of the others. There was a city to work on.

Chapter Text

            Test Subject D.L.C #0 heard a strange sound come from outside of the cage. He had lived inside the cage for all of his brief life. Sometimes tall people would come in and do things to him, then stand back and watch. There was one time a rodent had been put in the cage and he responded by spewing poison at it, that seemed to draw the tall people’s attention. Not that it changed anything. Unlike the presence of this new big person he hadn’t seen before. #0 was disappointed that he had yet to see anything he felt a connection to. He was certain that if he saw someone else like him, he would finally know what exactly he was.

            The visitor was a man with black hair and a blue coat that had gold trims. He had an eagle shaped breastplate, and a pair of gold colored boats also adorned with the symbol an eagle at the top. A cloth that was red, white, and blue was pinned to his coat with a gear. His pants were white with a single red line going down each leg. “Hello there little fella. I can’t stay here for too long, but it looks like you need some help. Name’s Abraham Lincoln, but please just call me Abe,” the visitor said.

            #0 slowly walked over to the door of the cage. He had never been outside of it. Lincoln broke the lock of the cage with a punch and threw open the door. “I hereby proclaim you emancipated. Now I have to get going before some real ugly fellas catch onto me, and I suggest you do the same.” Abe said. A glowing portal appeared, hovering in the air behind Abe. A thick fog obscured the sight of whatever was on the other side. Abe walked through the portal and it closed.

            After coming to the conclusion that it couldn’t replicate what Abe had done, #0 opted for running to the door. He grabbed the doorknob with his mouth and turned it, opening the door. #0 pushed ahead into a place he had never seen before.

            The hallway was made out of featureless metal, looking exactly the same in either direction. #0 knew somewhere within itself that it was the antithesis of the kind of place it was supposed to be in. He wanted a place like his cage with dirt and plants, but bigger and with others like him. And without the part where it was cage obviously. As #0 began walking to the right a kremling walked down the hall in his direction. The alarm was set off.

            Not understanding why there was now an irritating sound, #0 charged forward at the kremling. The kremling tried to grab him and got a face full of poison in return. #0 didn’t look back as the kremling fell to the ground. Then someone broke through a door and slammed #0 into the wall. “Those imbeciles couldn’t even keep a plant from breaking out. Let’s see if the reports of you being fireproof are right,” Ridley said. #0 tried to break free as Ridley pressed him against the wall. Ridley tightened his grip and swung #0 overhead and into the ground. There was no movement from #0.

            Ridley cackled as he prepared a fireball. #0 found the strength to fire a much smaller fireball of his own at Ridley. Ridley’s fireball plowed through it and struck #0, sending him sliding across the floor. Despite how much it hurt to move #0 knew he had to seize the chance. He coiled himself up, then quickly stretched out until his mouth hit the grate of an air vent. #0 grabbed on with his mouth and pulled himself up into the air vent before Ridley could grab him. He rushed through the air vent, Ridley’s claws destroying where he was moments before.

            The air vent went up. #0 spun his leaves rapidly and ascended, breaking through the grate at the top. For the first time, #0 saw the sun and a clear blue sky. Something about the sight felt calming. Like he had already seen it a thousand times before. Instead of walls there were railings at the edge of the deck, and water all around it. #0 leapt into the air as Ridley cut through the ground it was just standing. Ridley flew up through the newly made hole and grabbed #0, throwing him down to the cold hard metal.

            “Hey, can you do me a favor and continue not breaking? I really need a good punching bag. All the others keep dying just when I’ve got a good rhythm going. You make a lousy fighter anyway. Target practice suits you better” Ridley said. He spat out a fireball that made impact with #0. The flames did nothing, but the impact alone made #0 whimper in pain. Ridley flew down and began slashing #0 with his claws. Through all the pain #0 could still feel the sunlight. Even with the claws digging into him #0 could feel something slowly building up, hurried along by the power of the sun.

            #0 opened his mouth and fired a beam of solar energy. Ridley dodged it just in time. However, the recoil sent #0 flying backwards, away from Ridley and right through the railing of the ship’s deck. He knew he had to keep the momentum and spun his leaves to keep himself in the air over the water. Unfortunately, the many wounds from Ridley made that possible for only a few moments. As #0 fell into the ocean he could see flying ships descending towards the ship #0 just escaped from, and Ridley flying up towards them.

            #0 regained consciousness in a warm place. He was in a large building that had clear windows to let the sunlight in. There was a woman standing in front of #0. She didn’t look like a threat, which reminded #0 of Abe. “Hey there, Piranha Plant, right? My name is Professor Burnet. Nice to meet you.” Burnet held out her hand. #0 rubbed his head along it. The door opened.

            “Oh good, he’s finally awake,” Leaf said as she walked through the door.

            “Did any of the other Smashers have some good information?” Burnet asked.

            “Bowser had a lot to say when I told him about your findings. That Piranha Plant was an experiment made by the Space Pirates, using research provided by Viridi. When Bowser heard about what they were doing he broke off his deal with the Space Pirates and attacked, but the little guy broke out on his own.” Leaf walked over to #0 and patted it on the head. #0 purred in approval.

            “So will Bowser be coming by to pick him up?”

            “We have his permission to keep Piranha Plant. Bowser said he’s going to send over stuff to help with your research, he has no clue what was actually done to Piranha Plant. To be specific he said I could treat Piranha Plant like one of my Pokemon, is it okay if I give him a nickname?” Leaf asked.

            “That’s fine by me, but you should see what Piranha Plant thinks.” Burnet said. #0 nodded in approval. He was well aware that he had no way of communicating what he had been called before. And he hadn’t been attached to that number either. “So what are you thinking of calling him?”

            “Well Bowser said the experiments were trying to create the ultimate Piranha Plant, so I was thinking of calling him Ulti.”

            “That’s a cute name,” Burnet said. Leaf held out her hand, Ulti placed one of his leaves in it. “He probably hasn’t had a chance to get out much, why don’t you try taking him for a stroll around Wuhu? There are some great jogging routes. I can’t wait to show them to Kukui when he finally gets here.”

            “Okay, let’s get going Ulti.” Leaf took off towards the door, Ulti followed as quickly as he could. Which wasn’t that fast. Leaf held the door open for him. A warm wind greeted Ulti when he stepped outside the building. The feeling of grass under his feet felt good on an instinctual level for Ulti. There were only a few clouds up above, not enough to block out the sunlight. The lab was by a lighthouse that overlooked a cliff. Ulti didn’t like the fact that he could see the ocean. Thankfully Leaf led him away from the ocean and down the hill towards a paved road. After looking both ways Leaf held Ulti and they crossed the road together. The two of them were clearly different, but Ulti decided having a friend was close enough to having others of his kind.

            When they got to the other side Ulti heard a whistle. He took off in a run towards the source of the sound. Pikmin were gathered in a group in front of a man wearing a spacesuit, Ulti joined them. “A piranha plant? Leaf is that yours?” Olimar asked as Leaf came running up to him.

            “Yeah, this is Ulti. He heard your whistle and just took off running,” Leaf said.

            “Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever tried whistling near other plant animal things. I just assumed it only worked on Pikmin. We were about to get work building a house, Ulti can help out if he wants to. And then I can ask Bowser if I can borrow Petey Piranha next time I go to PNF 404, those Bulborbs won’t know what hit them. Oh, it’ll be payback time for all those times they ate Pikmin,” Olimar said.

            “Olimar you’re getting into your ambitious sadist mode again.”

            “Right sorry, sometimes the power goes right to my head. Well while I’m in the mood, may as well go all in on things I’ve wanted to say for a while. March my minions! Go forth and assemble that house!” Leaf did her best to hold back a chuckle as the Pikmin and Ulti picked up pieces of wood and carried them to a marked spot. Ulti did his best to match the Pikmin’s movements. He felt some form of kinship with them. But he was disappointed by the many differences between himself and the Pikmin. They were clearly different kinds of creatures.

            Leaf pulled out a pokeball and sent out Fushi, her Ivysaur. Fushi used his vines to help out with the construction. Ulti couldn’t climb the way the Pikmin did, so he spun his leaves and flew up with the flying Pikmin. The frame of the house quickly rose up thanks to the diligent work of the Pikmin. Olimar whistled and called for a break. When Ulti got down to the ground Leaf held out a few red Pokeblocks. Ulti ate all of them at once.

            “Wow, guess you were hungry. But some of those were for Fushi, try to be a bit less eager in the future,” Leaf said. She pulled out a few more Pokeblocks and gave them to Fushi. Ulti looked down at himself and then at Fushi. There were more differences between them then there were with the Pikmin. And since he had stolen Fushi’s food that probably meant they weren’t going to be friends. Ulti decided to be more careful in the future.

            “So how exactly did you end up with a piranha plant anyway?” Olimar asked.

            “I found Ulti on the beach one day and took him to Professor Burnet. She did some tests and discovered a lot of strange things about him, he has a lot of traits most piranha plants don’t. Burnet even says he’s practically a Pokemon, she thinks he might even be able to use moves like Solar Beam. But anyway, I talked to Bowser and he says that Ulti was a lab experiment made by the Space Pirates, so that’s why he’s so special,” Leaf said.

            “Hopefully those Space Pirates don’t come here. But if they do we’ll need a plan, they probably want their experiment back,” Olimar said.

            “Bowser said he’ll help us if that happens, and Samus will be more than happy to have an excuse to beat up Space Pirates,” Leaf said. While they talked Ulti walked over to a certain spot of the ground. He could sense that there was something under it. A few white Pikmin seemed to have noticed as well. They got to work digging whatever it was up. Ulti liked the sense of unity that came with working together with the Pikmin. He would have to make sure not to unknowingly steal their food.

            “Yeah, but they have to get here to help out. If we still had the mansion it would be different, but everybody’s scattered now. Bowser and Samus are in Smashopolis whenever they’re not in their own world, to fend off the Space Pirates they’d have to get here first. Smashopolis is neutral territory so we should take him there,” Olimar said.

            “But if we do that won’t it be easy for them to track Ulti? They probably have no clue where he is right now.”

            “Good point. We need to find some way to get him protected status, the kind where Ridley can’t just stalk him until he leaves Smashopolis for whatever reason. At least not without bringing in more trouble than he could handle,” Olimar said. Leaf put her hand on her chin as she tried to think of a solution, Olimar twiddled his thumbs. Meanwhile the top of a treasure chest emerged from the ground as the other colors of Pikmin moved to help with the excavation.

            “What if we asked Master Hand to make Ulti a Smasher? Then it’d be a huge risk for anyone to try and kidnap Ulti, and everybody would know about it right away if somebody tried to anyway,” Leaf suggested.

            “That might work. I heard Master Hand is looking for new recruits. We should call him, after we see what’s in that treasure chest,” Olimar said. The excavation of the treasure chest finished right as Olimar stopped talking. Ulti waited by it. Olimar opened the treasure chest and pulled out a book titled ‘The King in Yellow,’ he put it in his pocket. There was nothing else in the chest. Leaf’s phone began to ring.

            “Hey Professor Burnet, what’s up? No, I haven’t seen any Ultra Wormholes. I’ll get-wait what?! I’m on it,” Leaf said into her phone. She hung up with a panicked look on her face. “Professor Burnet says an Ultra Beast just appeared. Stay back, Fushi and I will go handle it.”

            “Ultra Beast?” Olimar asked.

            “Pokemon from other dimensions that got sent through things called Ultra Wormholes. Ultra Wormholes give off a ton of energy so anything that goes through one comes out super strong. Actually, you need to take Ulti with you to somewhere safe. The Ultra Beasts are drawn to anyone with Ultra Wormhole energy on them, and Burnet said that Ulti had a bit of Ultra Wormhole energy on him. She thinks it was just second-hand exposure, but that might be enough to make him a UB magnet,” Leaf hastily explained. A humanoid figure appeared in the distance, Fushi took a defensive stance in front of Leaf.

            “I’m not leaving you to fight this alone,” Olimar said. He whistled and the Pikmin formed up behind him. Ulti got into position next to Fushi and prepared to spew out poison. As the figure got closed it changed from humanoid to clearly some kind of human. Then Ulti realized exactly who it was.

            “Well my friend, it appears we meet again,” Abe said. He continued walking towards the group.

            “You know Ulti?” Leaf asked.

            “I helped the little fella break out, I’m glad to see he made it to a safe place. See I have a bit of a condition. Portals appear around me, and if I don’t go through them bad things begin to happen. The most I could do was break his cage and hope he could handle the rest,” Abe said. He patted Ulti on the head when he got close enough. “Name’s Abraham Lincoln, but you can just call me Abe. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.” He extended his hand, Leaf and then Olimar shook it.

            “It was a just false alarm with the Ultra Beast, that’s a relief,” Olimar said. Leaf’s eyes widened.

            “Burnet’s scanners know the difference between a human and an Ultra Beast. Mr. Lincoln, did anything strange come with you through the portal?” Leaf asked. The ground shook with the stomp of something large approaching. A strange creature that resembled a piece of architecture more than anything living came into view. “Never mind, we found it. That’s UB Assembly AKA Stakataka.”

            “Do we have a plan more sophisticated than ‘hit it really hard?’” Olimar asked.

            “Hit it really hard and then catch it with a Pokeball.” Olimar sighed. Stakataka began firing rocks. The group immediately scattered to avoid them. Jagged rocks burst out of the ground, forming a large but difficult to escape circle.

            “That bizarre piece of architecture is alive? I’m afraid I won’t be of much use here,” Abe said. He had the misfortune of ending up the closest to Stakataka, who instantly charged at him. Abe jumped out of the way. Fushi ran up to Stakataka and used Bullet Seed. Instead of retaliating Stakataka fired more rocks at Abe. Leaf tossed a Quick Ball at the Ultra Beast. Stakataka was drawn into the Pokeball, then promptly broke out of it.

            “Well it was worth a shot.” Stakataka picked up a rock and prepared to throw it. Olimar had managed to get close and threw Pikmin at Stakataka. The purple Pikmin seemed to get a slight reaction, but the rest were completely ignored. Meanwhile yet another projectile was lobbed at Abe. “UBs tend to focus people with Ultra Wormhole energy. Can you keep drawing its attention Abe?”

            “Just tell me where to go young lady,” Abe shouted. He ducked as a sharp rock went soaring over his head.

            “Not near us,” Leaf said. Eight of Stakataka’s eyes shifted their focus to Olimar. One of its legs knocked Olimar off his feet and a good distance away from itself. The King in Yellow slid out of Olimar’s pocket.

            “Whatever you do, do not let that book be opened,” Abe shouted when he saw the book. Stakataka looked at the book and started walking towards it. Ulti tried to stop it by spitting out seeds at him, the exact way Fushi had earlier. Fushi grabbed one of the legs with his vines, and then released right as the leg began to shake. Leaf threw a Beast Ball at Stakataka. It shook twice, then Stakataka broke out.

            “We need to keep weakening it,” Leaf said. Olimar grabbed The King in Yellow and tossed it towards Abe, who snatched it out of the air. Stakataka adjusted its focus in response and charged at Abe. Olimar flung a purple Pikmin at it. One of its legs wobbled, but ultimately the charge continued unimpeded. Abe was just barely able to get out of the way in time. “I wonder, with a bit more force… Hey Ulti, you used Bullet Seed earlier. Can you use Solar Beam too?” Ulti nodded. “Everyone, I have a plan.”

            Fushi and Ulti stood at Leaf’s side and began charging solar energy. Olimar stayed close to Stakataka, but not close enough to be attacked. Abe continued dodging projectiles, gradually slowing down and getting pelted by debris. Ulti and Fushi struggled to contain their built up solar energy. Finally, Stakataka began to rush at Abe. Olimar charged forward and threw as many purple Pikmin as he could at it. Then Fushi and Ulti unleashed their Solar Beams at the same time, the two beams merged together and threw Stakataka off balance. Leaf ran forward and tossed another Beast Ball. It hit and absorbed Stakataka, then landed on the ground. It shook once, it shook a second time, it shook for a third time and made a ‘click’ sound. The circle of jagged rocks sunk back into the ground. Leaf let out a sigh of relief.

            “Glad to have that over with,” Abe said. Leaf picked up the Beast Ball. Ulti reached out to The King in Yellow, Abe lifted it away from Ulti. A sad growl came from Ulti. For some reason the book felt comforting to Ulti, like it was an old friend. Ulti felt even more of a kinship with it than he had with the Pikmin.

            “Not having any treasure to haul back with me after a fight like this feels weird,” Olimar said. Some of the Pikmin began lifting up the treasure chest, which had gotten through the battle unscathed. “Well, it’s better than nothing. So, about that book.”

            “This is a very cursed play. I was the leader of an organization that dealt with plenty of forbidden knowledge, and even we considered it too dangerous to keep. The moment you open the cover your fate is sealed. One researcher was certain he could study it without even laying a finger on the book, but the potential for danger was simply too great when we already had other books of forbidden knowledge to study,” Abe explained. He fiddled with the gear on his coat.

            “It’s a play? Does anybody know what it’s about?” Leaf asked.

            “I’ve heard about parts of the plot, but nobody who reads the whole thing survives long enough to write a full synopsis. The important thing is that this book is filled to the brim with a mysterious kind of energy. Carter, the researcher I mentioned earlier, theorized that it may be something close to a living being. Or rather, a detached part of one.”

            “What? That sounds gross. And kind of like a UB.” Leaf pulled out another Beast Ball and tapped the book with it. There was no effect. A mist filled portal cut through the air behind Lincoln.

            “It appears I have to leave now. Thank you very much for your assistance. I’ll take the book off your hands, so you won’t need to worry about it,” Abe said.

            “Wait. You said one of your researchers could study the play without opening it, right? I’m sure Professor Burnet could figure out what’s going on with this book.” Abe looked between Leaf and Olimar, then at Ulti. He handed the King in Yellow to Leaf.

            “Tell this professor Burnet to get in contact with an organization called S.T.E.A.M, if they exist in this world. Let them know that I approved of this and I’m sure they’ll be willing to help.”

            “Thank you,” Leaf said.

            “Huh, I think Lucina said something about helping out some group like that.”

            “Ah you know Lucina, that’s good. Send her my regards, and the knowledge that I’m alive and well. I would do so myself, but these portals never put me anywhere near my old friends,” Abe said. Leaf picked up the Beast Ball that Stakataka had been caught in and handed it to Abe, alongside a few other empty Beast Balls.

            “It sounds like you need this guy’s help more than we do. And the other ones will help you make some new friends,” Leaf said. Abe accepted the gifts and put them in his pocket.

            “This is a strange gift, but I won’t refuse it. Hopefully these portals let us meet again someday.” With that Abe walked through the portal. Once he vanished from sight the portal closed.

            “That sounds bizarre, but you all handled it like champs,” Professor Burnet said. The group had quickly gone to her lab after the portal closed. A glass container sealed off The King in Yellow from any curious hands. Ulti and Fushi played together while Leaf and Olimar listened to Burnet. “I’m already getting interesting readings from this book. Abe was right, it’s covered with an energy similar to Ultra Wormhole energy. I’ve already had a breakthrough thanks to it.”

            “How did it do that already?” Olimar asked.

            “I specialize in studying things most people write off as an unexplainable, before the Ultra Wormholes I studied dreams at a lab in Unova. My biggest challenge jumping into the Ultra Wormhole research was the lack of evidence, they’re so rare that assuming things is difficult with such a small sample size. That means I have to be conservative with my conclusions, a seemingly unique Ultra Wormhole may actually just be what all of them are like in a certain area. And that makes each piece of data all the more valuable,” Burnet explained.

            “That’s why Pokemon Professors and Trainers have such a good relationship. We go out and collect all sorts of data,” Leaf added.

            “You gathered some vital data this time. There are a lot of hypotheticals I want to explore, but for today let’s just talk about what we actually learned. Most importantly, I was wrong about Ulti. The Ultra Wormhole like energy on him is similar to the one from the portals Abe went through, which may or may not be an Ultra Wormhole. Abe said he was the one to break Ulti out, so that energy must have come from that encounter.” Ulti perked up at the mention of Abe. Fushi had gone from playing to resting and had taken the spot that got the most sun. After the incident with the food Ulti didn’t want to push things. He was just glad it seemed to have been forgotten. “But there’s even more we know now.” Burnet turned her monitor so Olimar and Leaf could see it.

            “Sorry, I don’t understand what we’re looking at. If I understood science better I wouldn’t be working at Hocotate Freight. I’ve always wanted to be a biologist, but I don’t have the talent for it,” Olimar said. There were three graphs, labeled ‘Ulti,’ ‘Stakataka,’ and ‘The King in Yellow.’ All of them had a yellow line and a blue line, except for Ulti’s, which only had a blue line.

            “I could use a new lab assistant if you’re interested. Anyway, all you need to notice is how these graphs look compared to each other. I was able to fine tune my sensors to pick up on a new kind of energy thanks to that cursed book. It seems to have some form of direct relationship with the Ultra Wormhole energy, I can’t even guess at what that relationship is yet. Ulti, could you come here for a second so I can get up to date data.” Burnet held a Poke Bean in her hand and lowered it. Ulti came running over and chomped on the treat. Burnet’s scanners whirred to life and the graph for Ulti’s readings was updated with a yellow line.

            “Ulti’s data looks kind of similar to the book’s data now. And Stakataka’s yellow line is sitting at a solid zero,” Leaf said.

            “Right, those are the readings for the newly detected kind of energy. And Ulti here has a lot of it. I’m not sure what exactly this means, but it could mean something big. I need more data to say anything meaningful, this kind of energy looks like it will need its own units of measurement for precision. Kukui should be finishing up his research in Smashopolis soon, he was going to come here afterwards anyway. I’ll ask him to bring Samson too, together the three of us might be able to crack the case.”

            “I’ll get in contact with S.T.E.A.M. They should be able to help out, and it sounds like they don’t know Abe is doing okay. And I might take you up on that lab assistant offer,” Olimar said.

            “And I’ll go talk to Master Hand about making Ulti a Smasher. Ulti should stay here so you can keep doing your research,” Leaf said. Fushi got up and extended a vine towards Ulti, they did their own version of a handshake. Then Fushi was recalled into his Pokeball. Olimar and Leaf said goodbye and left the lab.

            Soon the only sounds in the lab came from Burnet typing on her keyboard. Ulti focused his gaze on The King in Yellow. There were a thousand secrets hidden behind the cover. And Ulti just knew that they had to do something with him. Ulti fell asleep after concluding all he could do for now was wait. In his dreams he saw a great number of sights he didn’t understand, like an ancient city known as Carcosa. But he was sure that he would understand all of it one day, and in turn understand what he was. With the help of the Smashers it was only a matter of time.

Chapter Text

            “Welcome to the Velvet Room.” Akira had gotten used to suddenly finding himself in the Velvet Room after falling asleep, but he hadn’t expected to see it look so different. They were standing on a railway turntable in the middle of space, surrounded by floating train tracks and stars. Igor sat at his usual table, which now had a train behind it. Lavenza stood next to a series of levers on Akira’s right. Three new people were present. A blindfolded man played on a large piano to Akira’s left, there was a singing woman next to the blindfolded man. They were performing the song that had always played in the Velvet Room. Behind the two of them was a green haired girl sitting on a throne.

            “What happened here?” Akira asked. It had felt almost deathly cold in the previous incarnation of the Velvet Room. Now there was a calming warmth to it.

            “I see you’ve noticed our remodeling. All done in honor of your triumph over Galeem and Dharkon, and your acceptance as a Smasher. Since you are no longer a prisoner the Velvet Room too is no longer a prison. Don’t worry, all of our old services remain at your disposal,” Igor explained.

            “Thanks to your actions the Velvet Room is now able to reach across many worlds, just as you have. And with the defeat of Galeem and Dharkon our master has become active once more,” Lavenza said.

            “Your master?” Akira asked. He had never heard talk of a master before. Morgana had called Igor ‘master,’ so Akira had assumed Igor was in charge of the Velvet room.

            “Philemon, the personification of humanity’s best qualities and acquaintance of Master Hand. Unfortunately, Nyaralthotep, a facet of the Crawling Chaos, has also returned to a more active role. Nyaralthotep is the shadow of all humanity, the one who drags the weak hearted into the abyss. You may come into conflict with him soon.”

            “It’s always something isn’t it. I can’t just stand by and let something like that have free reign. And I know my friends won’t either. So, are you going to introduce me to those new people before I wake up?”

            “The two performing for you are Belladonna and Nameless. They’ve always been present, but without the power of our master they were not able to be perceived. The girl on the throne is Sothis, an ally from another world,” Lavenza said.

            “I’m sure you noticed that other worlds have powers vastly different from your Persona. I’ll be able to let you use some of those powers. For that to be possible you must form bonds with those who inhabit those worlds and grant your power to them in return. You can’t afford to be stagnant and refuse to reach out just because you already have so many confidants. A whole new deck is now revealed to you,” Sothis said.

            “There is more to the Velvet’s Room changed nature, but it appears the time for you to awaken is approaching. Another new resident should appear by the time of your next visit. I have absolute confidence in your success as a Smasher,” Igor said. A white light briefly blinded Akira.

            Akira never had trouble waking up after the Velvet Room interrupted his sleep. He quickly got ready for the day as he thought about how strange everything had been, even for him. A few weeks ago he had been back in his hometown, now he was living in Smashopolis on his own. He knew the chance to be at a place like that couldn’t be passed up. And the Nook Apartment Building had a special Smasher discount that made it cheaper and higher quality than any other housing Akira could find.

            He didn’t have any plans for what happened after he settled into Smashopolis. All he knew was that it had been impossible to go back to his life before that fateful night, the night where he was punished for having a sense of justice. Smashopolis was a place with no history and filled with strange powers, which was exactly what he wanted. He never dreamed of telling the other Phantom Thieves, but he missed the Metaverse. It was impossible for him to look at people abusing their authority and not feel the urge to pull out his phone and turn on the MetaNav app. Smashopolis didn’t have the Metaverse, but it let him use his Persona, and that could be enough to help him the moment some shitty adult decided profits mattered more than someone’s future.

           There were still some boxes that needed to be unpacked, for now they were shoved to the side in the bedroom. Akira still had a clear path to the living room and kitchen. He made himself some coffee with the skills Sojiro had taught him and checked his phone. No new messages or mysterious apps. He had half expected the MetaNav to return. Nyaralthotep sounded somewhat similar to Yaldabaoth, but he had a feeling the differences were going to be significant. No Metaverse would mean a different kind of plan, even if the end result would ruin humanity all the same.

            By some stroke of luck Akira had a great view of the park just across the street from the apartment. It had a sizable pond and he could see a good number of Pokemon inside it. He took a picture and sent it to the rest of the Phantom Thieves. They could all worry about Nyaralthotep later. It was best to get adjusted to Smashopolis before looking for threats in every corner. After all doing both at the same time hadn’t gone so well in Tokyo.

            “Yo Smashopolis looks great. Hyped for Thursday man.” Ryuji texted back. Akira had already made plans to scope out restaurants in Smashopolis before the others arrived to visit him. They wanted something from another world that wasn’t too weird. So far Grillby’s seemed like a good place to eat. Smashopolis was still new so there weren’t many restaurants at the moment, but there were sure to be more on the way. When Akira was done with his coffee he went out the door.

            Akira stepped into the hallway at the same time as Corrin. “Oh, you’re one of the new Smashers. Joker, right?” Corrin asked. With how unusual his recruitment was Akira hadn’t been able to meet all of the veteran Smashers. He had already run into quite a few, but there were far more he hadn’t met yet.

            “You can call me Akira, Joker is just my codename. It’s nice to meet you.” Akira held out his hand, Corrin shook it.

            “My name’s Corrin. I was about to go look for a place to get some coffee, did you spot anywhere that looked good?”

            “I can make some for you if you want.” Corrin accepted the offer and followed Akira into the apartment. He waited patiently while Akira made the coffee and brought it over to the kitchen table. Corrin took a sip.

            “This is great. I’ve tried to cook some food for myself, but I always end up screwing it up. Thank you again for offering this to me,” Corrin said.

            “It’s no problem. I used to be bad at making coffee, but I learnt from somebody who runs their own coffee shop. I could teach you if you want.”

            “That would be great. Growing up I wasn’t allowed to cook anything for myself, so I never even got a handle on the basics.”

            “You weren’t allowed to cook?” Akira asked.

            “I had servants who insisted on doing everything for me, even when I didn’t want them to. Being nobility is oddly restrictive, the privilege isn’t entirely without cost. Leaving it behind to join the Smashers was the only choice I could make at the time. Though I don’t regret it,” Corrin said. He reminded Akira of Haru, not that greatly, but he could see some commonalities. If he introduced them to each other he was sure they would get along.

            “How do you leave being a noble behind?”

            “Running away. There was a moment where I was caught between two opposing forces and it looked like I would have to fight people I didn’t want to fight no matter what. Then the invitation to become a Smasher appeared before me and I fled. I just hope the people who served me are doing okay. Without me holding them back I’m sure they’re all better off.” Corrin looked down at his coffee intently.

            “Sounds like you don’t want to return,” Akira said. He wondered if that was pushing things too far. But in Akira’s experience people seemed to like talking about themselves if they had a good listener on hand.

            “I do have plans to go back, it’s my responsibility. But preparations are moving slow even by a snail’s standards since I want to get everything right. Things are starting to fall into place thankfully. Then I’ll be able to fix things. Sorry for unloading all of that on you. Uh, is there any chance the shop you learned to make coffee from is moving to Smashopolis?” Akira wasn’t bothered by Corrin’s story, but going along with the subject change seemed like it’d be best.

            “It’s no problem, I’m used to listening to people talk about their problems. And Café Leblanc is staying in Tokyo last I heard. The owner got an offer but he didn’t want to abandon his regulars,” Akira said.

            “With all of the empty storefronts maybe you could start your own. I’d be the first in line for it,” Corrin said.

            “Don’t think I have the money to start up a shop. But now that you mention it…” Akira trailed off as he thought to himself. Being a phantom thief couldn’t be a fulltime job, and there wasn’t a Phansite to get intel through anymore. There was a good chance the coffee shop could help him with more than just funding. And it would also make a good surprise for the other phantom thieves when they came to visit him.

            “Oh. Hey, what if I gave the money to you. We could be business partners. I could handle finding other people to help you around the place and getting word out while you just focus on the food, maybe you could even teach me how to make some of it,” Corrin said. Akira pulled himself out of his introspection and nodded.

            “Let’s do it. I need to contribute something to this city if I’m living in it,” Akira said. He held out his hand, Corrin shook it. As they made contact a familiar voice resounded in Akira’s head.

            I am thou, thou art I…

            Thou hast formed a vow between worlds.

            This new vow will be thine guiding light

            And thine sheltering shadow.

            With a new Magician Persona’s birth

            I have opened a new path

            That will forge an unforetold future.

            The doorbell rang right as Corrin was about to speak. Akira hurried over to it, wondering who would be visiting him. Leaf was on the other side of the door, alongside a woman Akira had never seen before. The stranger had long flowing bright red hair and a strange golden headpiece that formed an open semicircle around her head, with the open part conveniently being where her face was. “Hey Akira. Do you know where Corrin is right now? He lives right across from you but he doesn’t seem to be there,” Leaf said. Akira stepped aside so Leaf could see who was in his apartment.

            “Who’s your friend?” Akira asked.

            “This is Akasha, a priestess of a god named Hastur. She’s been helping Burnet over at the lab since she moved in. When Stakataka caused all that trouble she was a big help taking it down,” Leaf said.

            “You overstate my role, I merely played my assigned part. We come here as heralds of a very fortunate reunion,” Akasha said. She and Leaf stepped out of the way, letting an old man in black armor walk into view.

            “Gunther?!” Corrin leapt to his feet, nearly knocking over his coffee. He stopped to make sure the mug wouldn’t fall over, then rushed over to the door and threw his arms around Gunther. Akira stepped back to give them some space. “I thought you were dead.”

            “I think we should take this somewhere more private. Having all of these people watching is embarrassing,” Gunther said. Despite his words there was a smile on his face. And he had returned the hug. “I missed you.” The two of them walked out of Akira’s apartment and across the hall into Corrin’s apartment. There would be time to talk about the logistics of running a café with Corrin later. Leaf and Akasha remained right outside Akira’s door.

            “We should make haste as well. Our role has been fulfilled. Care to partake in our shopping expedition Akira?” Akasha asked.

            “Need a bit of time to rest, I get worn out quickly with stuff like this. I’ll catch up with you later,” Akira said. Something about Akasha felt strange to him. He hadn’t remembered hearing anything about her when word of Ulti being made a Smasher came out. Then a memory came to him of reading her name in the report about Ulti’s origins that had been sent to every Smasher other than Ridley, Dark Samus, and K. Rool. Still he needed some time to himself anyway.

            “Okay, see you later” Leaf said. She took off with Akasha, closing the door to Akira’s apartment for him. Akira debated what to do next before settling on grabbing a book and sitting by the window. He was trying to read all of the Arsene Lupin stories, there wasn’t much left of the one he was currently on.

            When Joker finished the book he left it on the table. As he stepped out into the apartment building hallway, he noticed a familiar blue door at the end of the hallway. Apparently the universe really didn’t want him to get outside for the day. Though time didn’t seem to pass whenever he willingly went to the Velvet Room, so he’d still have time to walk around the city.

            The Velvet Room looked the same as it had last night. There was a new person who hadn’t been present the prior night. He was an old man with white hair, seated on a wooden chair in the back that looked more plain and more comfortable than Sothis’s throne. His eyes had an inhuman crimson color to them. “I knew you would make your way here. As before, we have established a location you can visit while awake. And we have another person here to support you. Say hello to Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg,” Igor said.

            “Just call me Zelretch. I came here because Philemon asked Master Hand to ask me. Quite the maze of relationships we’ve managed to form. Now, Ren was it?”

            “It’s Akira.”

            “Ah, must have looked at the wrong possibility. So many of you Smashers are filled with so many possibilities it’s simply too hard to keep track of which one I’m looking at. The Hands certainly don’t make it easier with their constant creation of new ones. It’s such a typical Master Hand thing to look at Hyrule and act as though there aren’t enough timelines,” Zelretch said.

            “Zelretch, have you forgotten your reason for coming here? Akira does not know of the second magic and what you mean by possibilities, explain it or leave,” Sothis said.

            “Such harsh words. They’d have more impact if you stopped using that immature body. Reminds me of someone I killed once, they survived unfortunately.” Zelretch said. He laughed to himself. “The second magic lets me observe and travel to all possible worlds. I have to be careful when observing. If I look too closely the possibility I observe will become the only true one. Since the Velvet Room isn’t entirely real I can look more closely without making what I observe real. Basically consider me an informant,” Zelretch said.

            “Do you remember how your invitation explained Reality Bleed? Worlds like those are what Zelretech refers to when he talks about possibilities,” Lavenza explained.

            “I don’t fully get it, but I think I understand enough. What are you getting out of this Zelretch?” Akira asked.

            “There are some threats that concern me which I can’t handle myself, such as the Crawling Chaos and the King in Yellow. If I observed them directly, I would only give them more power. In some cases they are impossible for someone like me to observe anyway. You Smashers don’t have high odds of winning against them, but out of everyone your chances of winning are the furthest from zero. Besides, the fact that you are all unified under one title is so unlikely it’s impossible to look away. Nobody watches something that is completely normal and understandable.”

            “Why is your cognition worth more than mine?” Akira asked. He wasn’t entirely sure he had followed everything correctly, but it sounded like the process for manipulating Palaces. If a door couldn’t be opened, then they had to make the target observe the door being opened in the real world. It wasn’t worth fixating on that comment about low odds when there were still questions.

            “The same reason I’m here, the second magic. Don’t expect any lessons on it, with how previous ‘students of a magician’ have ended up the Hands are never letting me give lessons to a Smasher. Anyway it will take time to confront those great enemies I mentioned, but there are also smaller threats which could potentially be of issue. By tomorrow I should have a list of things for you to investigate,” Zelretch said.

            “I’m looking forward to working with you,” Akira said. He wasn’t sure if that was actually the case, but he preferred to be polite. Zelretch had proven hard to keep up with, Akira understood things best by putting them into practice.

            Zelretch let a small smile form on his face. “So do I.” Akira heard a familiar voice within his head, the forming of a new confidant. This time it was of an arcana he had never formed a confidant for before: The World. Having an arcana like that was proof enough that Zelretch genuinely was powerful. Judging from last time Akira had a confidant with someone in the Velvet Room it was going to take more than just talking to unlock its full power.

            Akira turned to Sothis, figuring he may as well get all the explanations out of the way. “How does the power borrowing you mentioned work?”

            “As your bonds grow your Persona will begin to take on powers from your new confidants. To be specific the ultimate of each Arcana. Futsunushi has a new skill waiting to be drawn out, shall we use him as an example?”

            “Go ahead.” Futsunushi manifested in front of Sothis. Sothis extended her arms and a card materialized between them. One side was the Magician card that Akira often visualized in his mind when using those Personae, the other side was a picture of Corrin. The card flew into Futsunushi and the persona opened his mouth, an orb of water came blasting out. With that the persona faded and returned to Akira.

            “These are only imitations, so don’t expect to go blow for blow with Corrin just because you can use one of his moves. And few of these will be perfect copies. For example your version of that attack doesn’t have the paralyzing effect of the original. You won’t get the same results from it that Corrin does,” Sothis said.

            “Don’t be eager to dismiss it however. There is no rule that a fake can’t be equal or even superior to the real thing. As of now it’s a hollow imitation, but as your bond with Corrin grows stronger it could compensate for the lack of paralysis with a different effect, or simply go all in for brute strength,” Zelretch said.

            “I just hope Corrin doesn’t mind,” Akira said.

            “The only reason you can use this power is because he trusts you now. Though with some people it will take much longer to gain power from your bond with them,” Sothis said, directing her gaze to Zelretch. Zelretch didn’t bother responding to the targeted comment.

            “Well, I don’t think there’s any fusing I want to do so I’ll be going now,” Akira said. With that he turned and left the Velvet Room.

            Now that he was finally outside Akira could properly appreciate Smashopolis and its strange mixture of architecture. Though a good part of his attention were on the many yet to be occupied commercial buildings. People were eager to establish a presence in Smashopolis, but Master Hand wanted to personally review and approve each store. Akira wondered if being a Smasher would give him and Corrin an advantage in finding a space for their café. Normally he would have texted Corrin, but he figured it was better not to interrupt his heartfelt reunion.

            When Akira had walked down a few blocks he caught sight of Leaf and Akasha entering the Pokemon Center. He followed them inside it. The Pokemon Center had two counters located in the back, one had a nurse and the other had what appeared to be a normal store clerk. There were a good number of seats spread throughout. “So it’s a Unovan style Pokemon Center,” Leaf said.

            “Unovan style?” Leaf spun around at that comment, Pokeball in hand. She lowered the Pokeball. Akasha chuckled.

            “Did you have to surprise me like that?”

            “Sorry. So, are there different styles of Pokemon Centers?” Akira asked. Leaf nodded. Akasha took her hand and quickly guided her to the side of the building so they didn’t block the way for anyone else. Akira followed.

            “Most regions have separate Poke Marts for shopping, but Unova combined them together. Kalos ended up adopting that style and then Alola also did that, but added cafes in too,” Leaf explained.

            “Well it’s a good thing we didn’t get an Alolan style Pokemon Center, Corrin and I were talking about opening a café of our own.”

            “Oh cool, let us know when it gets up and running. Do you have a name yet?” Leaf asked.

            “Haven’t gotten that far yet,” Akira said.

            “Then may I offer up the name of Joker’s Kitchen?” Akasha asked. Something about that name felt natural to Akira, almost like he could have thought of it himself given time. He told Akasha he’d bring up her suggested name with Corrin. Leaf went over to the counter with the sales clerk, Akasha and Akira waited by the wall. They stood in a silence for a bit as Leaf sorted through what was available to purchase.

            “Where did you find Gunther anyway?”

            “A vision from Hastur illuminated the way to him in a forbidden land. Through his blessing the nefarious force intending to utilize him was banished. Being in the service of a higher power is quite enlightening, though at times constraining,” Akasha said. There seemed to be a hint of regret in Akasha’s voice, but Akira couldn’t be fully confident it was actually there.

            “Well if he gets too constraining I can help out with that,” Akira said. Akasha chuckled.

            “Knowledge matters to me above all else. Offering it and offering salvation are one and the same. Your offer of aid is appreciated however.” Akira didn’t know how to respond so he stayed quiet. “There is a man who I thought felt the same as I do, however that is not true. That realization was displeasing.”

            “That doesn’t mean you can’t be friends though,” Akira said.

            “That is veracious. Understanding another person being distinct from comradery is most vexing. I know of your exploits, how was the experience of traversing another’s distorted mind?” Akasha asked.

            “Not something I can easily describe,” Akira said. The Metaverse had made him realize just how twisted some people could be. But he had also seen how people could change for the better. He told Akasha some stories from exploring Momentos as they waited for Leaf. In turn Akasha told him of some legends from her world. Akira felt a new confidant form with her: The Faith.

            Leaf finished her shopping and walked back over to Akira and Akasha. Right as they were about to head out Akira got a text from Corrin. “Corrin says he’s free to scout around for locations now. I’m going to tell him to meet me here so you guys can just go ahead,” Akira said.

           “Okay, see you later Akira,” Leaf said. She waved as she walked out of the Pokemon Center with Akasha. Smashopolis was still new, but Akira decided he liked it so far. It was a city of pure possibility.

Chapter Text

Arusu

The sounds of the waterfalls helped Arusu stay focused on his surroundings. There had been rumors of some mysterious presence in Hoenn’s Meteor Falls, so Arusu had gone to investigate. Simon Belmont, Ness, Cloud, and Pikachu were right behind him as they walked across a bridge further into the cavern.

“You know it’s strange, I feel like I owe a lot to you for some reason, but I can’t put my finger on what it is,” Ness said. He had picked up his pace to walk right next to Arusu.

“Well he only helped rally a massive army to fight against Galeem and Dharkon,” Simon said. His eyes were turned upwards towards the Zubat nesting on the ceiling. Thankfully the ceiling was rather high up.

“No it’s not that. I mean I’m grateful for all of that, but this feels like something older,” Ness said. He lifted up his cap and put it back on his head. Arusu kept his gaze fixed forwards. He found it embarrassing to be talked about that way.

“I have that feeling towards him too,” Cloud said. “It’s probably something to do with Reality Bleed. Sometimes I wish reality would bleed less, I don’t like having my head screwed with.”

“If we don’t keep sharp we’ll be the ones bleeding,” Simon said. Pikachu suddenly stopped in his tracks. Before he could be asked about what was wrong a loud noise burst through the air.

“Up at the waterfall,” Simon shouted. Arusu looked up and saw two Mega Salamance charging down the waterfall. Then he realized there was a slight arc in their path, which would send them right at the bridge. He hurried to the other side of the bridge and the others came to the same realization he had. Then in the blink of an eye the bridge was gone. Ness and Simon fell towards the water.

Simon lashed out the Vampire Killer, Cloud grabbed it and pulled him up. With a quick use of PK Thunder Ness fired himself up to solid ground with the others. Pikachu sent out a thunderbolt at one of the Mega Salamances, it missed. Then both of the Mega Salamance made a turn and flew back towards the Smashers. Fire spewed out of their mouths.

“I can take this,” Ness said. The other Smashers gathered around him as he used PSI Magnet. The Mega Salamances passed overheard as PSI Magnet absorbed all of their flames. All of the Zubat that had been resting on the ceiling became agitated and flew out of the cave en masse. If it weren’t for the sword and shield Arusu was carrying he would have tried to cover his ears with all of the shrieking.

“Doesn’t Mega Evolution need a trainer?” Cloud asked.

“Save the ‘hows’ for later and focus on winning,” Simon said.

“Doesn’t look like they can stop moving. Any plans? I can keep using PSI Magnet,” Ness said. The Mega Salamances moved in a wide arc around the cavern, their speed had ultimately given the Smashers more time to react.

“Ness, is it possible to use PK Thunder to blast off other people, not just yourself?” Arusu asked. Ness nodded.

“Please tell me this won’t involve blasting us at the raging dragons,” Cloud said.

“If that’s what it takes we’re doing it, swallow your pride,” Simon responded.

“Uh, that isn’t the plan,” Arusu said. He hoped Simon wasn’t too disappointed. The Mega Salamances lowered themselves for a dive at the Smashers. “Pikachu, Volt Tackle the one on the right. Ness to the side and get a PK Thunder ready for the left, hit from behind. Simon, Cloud, we’re bait.” Sparks of electricity jumped from Pikachu’s cheeks as he dashed at the Mega Salamances. Ness ran off and used PK Thunder in a wide arc when the Mega Salamance were midturn.

Pikachu and the right Mega Salamance clashed. Despite the Mega Salamance briefly being pushed back it ultimately won out, charging through the mass of electricity surrounding Pikachu and knocking him into the air. Arusu leapt out of the way of the Mega Salamances, Simon and Cloud quickly followed. The Mega Salamance on the Smasher’s left got hit with a PK Thunder from behind. Its speed increased even further. Too fast for the Mega Salamance to control. It crashed right into the wall of the cavern, forming a hole for it to lay unconscious in. It reverted back to its regular form.

Simon used the Vampire Killer to grab Pikachu by the tail and bring him back down. The remaining Mega Salamance looked like it was preparing for another charge. Then a portal opened in front of it, closing right as the Mega Salamance passed through it. “Well this isn’t suspicious at all,” Cloud said. Then the sound of a portal opening and something heavy landing came from behind the Smashers, followed by the unmistakable roar of a Rathalos. “Oh come on.”

The Smashers turned around and prepared for a fight. There was somebody standing next to the Rathalos. A blue skinned creature with a purple robe and horn like hair. Arusu could tell that monster was from his world, though he had never seen that particular monster before. “So this is the legendary Erdrick,” the monster said. Arusu hated that title. Part of the reason he had gone with the Smashers was to be with people who wouldn’t call him that. Whoever this person was, they were already off to a bad start.

“And who are you?” Simon asked.

“I am the king of kings, the master of masters, the Dragonlord. My new friend here has the power to traverse worlds on his own. I see humans and their insistence on building remains a constant across worlds, so I will wipe out even their ability to build from this world. Just as I did in my own world after Erdrick’s descendant aligned himself with me.“ Arusu felt himself freeze at that last sentence. His descendant had allied with somebody like that? Could it have been the weight of Erdrick’s legacy that led to such a foolish decision? That would ultimately make the whole thing Arusu’s fault for quietly accepting the title and not rejecting it outright like he had wanted to. He knew he was leaping to assumptions, but he couldn’t shake the thought.

“He’s just trying to mess with you Arusu, don’t let this blue wannabe in your head. All you have to do is tell these people to shut up and tune them out,” Cloud said.

“What a closed mind you have. Perhaps Erdrick feels an interest in joining his descendant?”

“Well where is this descendant? If he was really on your side you would have brought him here. You already know he’s Erdrick despite all of us calling him Arusu, because that’s what he wants to be called, so you must have come here for him,” Ness said. Arusu wanted to apologize for not being worth all the supportive words. For a moment he had wondered what accepting the Dragonlord’s offer would lead to.

“I just did what I had to do. I’m no legendary hero. And I won’t side with a monster who loathes creation. Prepare to fight,” Arusu said.

“I’m not here today to fight. I already possess what I need from this encounter. Rathalos, back to the World Between Worlds for us,” the Dragonlord said. Pikachu fired a thunderbolt, but Rathalos had already opened a portal and charged through it. Arusu took off running towards the portal, it closed right as the Dragonlord stepped through it. Arusu stopped and cursed himself for not thinking to use a projectile.

“I have a strange feeling I fought against this Dragonlord before. I’ll have to see if the name rings a bell for Mega Man or Pit,” Simon said.

“I’m sorry. I should have used one of my spells to catch them. And my plan with Pikachu just got him hurt,” Arusu said.

“Don’t beat yourself up over this. You came up with an actual plan, I just play everything by ear,” Simon said. He put his hand on Arusu’s shoulder.

“I think you’re pretty cool too,” Ness added. Arusu gave his thanks and turned his gaze to the broken bridge. He would have to help out with the rebuilding to make up for not protecting it.

“Let’s mosey over to Master Hand and see if he knows anything useful,” Cloud said. He activated the teleporter recall. With a flash the Smashers were gone from the Meteor Falls.

Solo

It was another sunny day on Wuhu Island. Solo was practicing on top of Talon Rock. He swung at the training dummy and landed his usual combo, then finished it with a sizzle. The training dummy burnt to ashes. Solo had rented the training dummy, he went pale as he remembered the fee for destroying it. That made the third in a row. He had enough money leftover from his previous mercenary jobs for it to not be too much of an issue, but it was still a fee he could have avoided.

With a sigh Solo turned around and walked past the forest monument towards New Garfont Village. The store that gave out training dummy rentals was on the outskirts so it was a short walk. Solo walked in, put down the money owed for the fee, and walked back out without a comment. He figured it would probably be better for everybody if he found another way to get practice in. The Garfont Mercenaries needed those training dummies more than him anyway. Despite the offer he had gotten from Rex, Solo had no intent on joining the Garfont Mercenaries.

Apparently the old Garfont village had been forced to relocate from its home world of Alrest due to some rather significant geography changes, Master Hand had used his powers to teleport all of the buildings right onto Wuhu Island. It was a fine place, but Solo didn’t plan on staying for much longer. After everything with Aamon was over and done Solo had never been able to stay in one place. Nothing could replace his destroyed hometown. Just because Eliza came back didn’t mean the way that they lived did. And the other chosen all had lives of their own they had to get back to. Sometimes Solo regretted not staying in Zenithia, then he remembered who exactly had killed his father. He had secretly been glad when he had gotten drawn into the war against Galeem and Dharkon, it had given him a purpose again. And now he was once more a drifter with no reason to keep going.

“Hey, Solo right?” Solo had been so distracted that he hadn’t even noticed a young brown haired girl approach him. Her outfit looked exactly like Robin’s.

“Who are you?” Solo asked.

“My name is Morgan, my dad is one of the Smashers. I’m looking for someone to help me with both magic and sword stuff, and you can do both at the same time. I’m a terrible multi tasker, can you show me your secret?” She smiled, it was a bit too wide.

“You’re Robin’s daughter aren’t you, go ask him instead of me.”

“Oh, uh, I want to surprise him. Yeah that’s it, mom and dad would be so proud if out of nowhere I just whip up some magic into sword combo. So come on, you don’t want to deprive a dutiful daughter of a chance to impress her parents do you?” Morgan was so obviously lying it almost made Solo feel embarrassed.

“Well whatever the real reason is, if you were trying to murder somebody you would have done a decent job lying. Not interested either way,” Solo said. He turned and walked away. Morgan grabbed him by the back of his shirt.

“Look this is really important. It’s about way more than just me or even just my world. I can’t afford to say why though, if I do things might get really screwed up. But I was too stupid to win the first time, so I know I need help. If things line up the way they look like they do, I need to get some revenge.” That last word caught Solo’s attention. He remembered when all he had was vague knowledge of some prophecy, and knowledge that his mere existence had gotten everyone he knew killed. The sense of isolation he felt back then was too much. He was sure it wasn’t the same for Morgan, but something about ignoring her no longer felt right.

“I want an explanation at some point, but I’m along for the ride now. Whatever this is I want in on fighting it,” Solo said.

“Since you’re already on board with the real mission there’s something I want to check out. Do you have any time for some ruin exploring?” Morgan asked. She pulled Solo along with her before he could give an answer one way or the other.

“You know I can just use zoom to get us over to the ruins faster, right?” Solo asked.

“Oh really. Great, use that then,” Morgan said. Solo sighed.

“Lesson one, make sure you know what your allies can do. Now keep holding on.” Solo closed his eyes and cast the spell. They took off into the air. It took only a few seconds for them to touch down at the ruins on the other side of the island. There had been no time to even slightly make out what they had gone over. “See this is way more efficient.” Solo successfully disguised his desire to throw up. Zoom was too convenient to not use, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.

The spell had put Morgan and Solo at the top of a staircase leading to an underground door. Grey stone buildings surrounded them. They were strangely empty, and Solo had overheard a few rants about how difficult it was to figure out what purpose the ruins had even served. Morgan started walking down the staircase. “Come on, I bet there’s some secret behind the door. They only dug it out last night,” Morgan said.

“I was unaware you held an interest in archeology Solo.” Solo turned around. Akasha, Leaf, and Ulti had just walked out of one of the buildings in Solo’s direction.

“Morgan dragged me here, she wanted to explore it but she was scared about doing it alone,” Solo said. Morgan frowned, though for some reason it looked like it was directed at Akasha rather than Solo.

“Yeah these ruins can be kind of freaky. Never know when some sort of evil monster might pop up,” Morgan said.

“Well we were about to see what was behind that door too, so let’s all go together,” Leaf said.

“Sure,” Solo said. He walked ahead of the group and pushed open the door. The sight on the other side was unlike the rest of the ruins. The walls were made of steel, there were black lines in the center of the walls that lit up with strange blue characters, like neon signs. Functionally it was just a hallway that had a sharp right turn at the end.

“How curious, this architecture is identical to what was once on the Isle of the Ancients,” Akasha said.

“Wait, really? We should tell R.O.B then. It’s a good thing you were there during the Subspace Incident, I heard about it but I wouldn’t have made the connection on my own,” Leaf said. She reached into her bag and pulled out her phone.

“That’s why you should endeavor to read more. There is much to be ascertained from written records,” Akasha said.

“Well you know how I am, I prefer hands on experience and finding things out for myself,” Leaf said. She took a few pictures of the ruins. Ulti ran ahead of the group and turned around the corner, vanishing from sight. Leaf was about to chase him but Akasha held out her hand.

“He can safeguard himself, we should take our time and not fall prey to enervation,” Akasha said. The relatively fast walk to catch up to Ulti was strangely uneventful. When they turned the corner they walked past what Akasha said was an elevator and opened another door.

The next room was more in line with the rest of the ruins, the walls had gone from steel to stone. Solo had many questions for whatever architect had designed that place. The room was a fairly small rectangle with just a small altar at the end opposite the door, Ulti was standing on it and looking up at a picture engraved into the wall. Solo rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t imagining the engraving or vastly misinterpreting what it depicted.

“Hey, does that look pretty much exactly like Dharkon to any of you guys too,” Morgan said.

“The representation is without flaw. How fascinating,” Akasha said. Leaf walked up to Ulti. It was hard to read the body language of a plant, but Solo got the feeling Ulti had some interest in the drawing. But he had apparently been created after Dharkon was already destroyed. Leaf tapped Ulti on the head, Ulti jumped ahead in surprise. Then he walked back to Leaf and brushed his head against her leg.

“He’s kind of like a dog,” Solo said. Akasha walked up to the engraving and traced the characters written under it with her finger.

“I know of this language. It appears Dharkon was held in regard of some height by whoever made this. ‘Consumer of Worlds’ is one translation of the title given to it here,” Akasha said.

“And what are some of the other translations?” Leaf asked. She tapped the brim of her hat.

“The word used for worlds could also be translated as timelines. Quantum Consumer, Timeline Assimilator, those would also be veracious interpretations of varying flavor. According to this Dharkon acted against the erasure of other worlds, by destroying a world Dharkon became one with that world and it lived on past its appointed final hour. So says these ruins,” Akasha explained.

“How does destroying a world let it live on? That makes no sense,” Solo said.

“From Dharkon’s perspective it may have not been destruction at all. A god does not share the perspective of its worshippers,” Akasha said.

“I’ve seen worse choices of god to worship, Anyway how about we go tell everyone else and get the other experts before exploring the rest of the place?” Morgan asked. She tugged on Solo’s shirt.

“Sure. Akasha and I will stay here. Ulti seems to like it here too,” Leaf said. Solo went with Morgan out of the room, he had gotten the hint. Once they were at the staircase leading aboveground Morgan turned to face Solo.

“Hey can we take a little detour? There’s somebody I have to meet, and you can’t tell anyone else about them, okay? That’s why I dragged you with me,” Morgan said. The serious look in her eyes had returned.

“I’m not that good with secrets, you go by yourself. Besides there’s something I want to settle in New Garfont,” Solo said.

“What’s that?”

“Rex gave me an offer to join the Garfont Mercenaries. I’m going to take him up on it now. After what we saw in there I have a feeling there’s some loose ends we all need to take care of,” Solo said. He hadn’t even realized that was his plan until he opened his mouth. There was a chance he wouldn’t even need to fight for a while, but investigating the ruins was still a group effort. Between Morgan’s mission and the ruins he wouldn’t have to think about the past for a while.

Eight

Joker’s Kitchen somehow already felt like it had been around for a while, despite opening just a few days ago. Eight sized up the menu as he looked at his options. He went for the coffee and curry, word was already getting out that those two were the best items, not that the others were bad. Unfortunately, there was no cheese. The cashier was named Zavok according to his nametag, his body was mostly red but his horned head and legs were black. Apparently he was something known as a Zeti, not that Eight had any idea what a Zeti was. Eight did know that Master Hand had made some kind of deal to prevent someone named Zavok from being a problem, and had made similar deals for quite a few troublemakers.

After giving his order Eight went to the right side of the store and grabbed one of the tables by the window. He had been able to come at a relatively slow hour so it wasn’t too crowded. There was a girl named Kachi sitting at one of the other window side tables, she and Eight had talked a bit in line so Eight knew she was waiting for her boyfriend. For a second Eight could have sworn he saw a black butterfly fluttering above her. Towards the back of the cafe Krystal, Fay, and Miyu were having a discussion about Starfox related issues. Wolf and Isabelle were seated next to each other at the counter. Rumor was that Wolf worked as Nook Inc’s debt collector, but Eight doubted those rumors since Nook Inc rarely had deadlines for debts. Their conversation looked too animated to be about financial issues in Eight’s opinion.

Corrin walked over with Eight’s coffee and curry. “Nice to see a prince who isn’t afraid to do some work,” Eight said.

“Oh this is nothing. Akira, Game & Watch, and the others are the ones doing the real work in the actual kitchen. I wanted to help out, but my cooking still needs some work,” Corrin said.

“You’re still putting in work of your own to keep this place running. I don’t like people who don’t put in any effort and still expect results. And I should let you get back to work now.”

“I’m not needed at the moment so I can talk for a bit longer. Doing work like this has made me appreciate the servants I grew up around more. I never took them for granted, I think, but now I feel like I can understand what they did for me better,” Corrin said.

“I get what you’re saying. Oh also sorry if this is kind of rude, but you’re part dragon right? I have some dragon blood of my own, just a fourth though,” Eight said.

“My family is descended from dragons. Though my twin and I seem to be the only ones who can actually transform. I don’t know of anyone else from my world who can transform into a dragon. Which is kind of strange now that I think about it. And nobody else in the family seems to have pointed ears.” Corrin touched the pointed ends of his ears.

“Yeah I was just about to say something about that doesn’t seem to add up.”

“Maybe Gunther knows something. He usually works here but he got the day off because he wanted to spy on Ryu and Kamui’s date, not that either of them know they’re dating,” Corrin said. Eight briefly debated if it was worth asking the obvious question, before deciding to go for it.

“How do you date without knowing it?” Eight asked.

“I don’t know either. But Ryu and Kamui have been spending a ton of time together, it started with training but they’re going to see a martial arts movie together. I really hope we don’t have any troublesome customers today, Akira and I had no idea how to handle Waluigi until Gunther just threw him out. We’re still not sure what exactly Waluigi was here for,” Corrin said. He looked around to check that everybody who was seated had everything they ordered.

“So that’s who got kicked out, I heard the rumors about some troublemaker getting the boot. Maybe he was trying to apply for a job here since his entire existence is a joke?” Eight’s smirk faded when he saw that Corrin didn’t get it. Then Corrin laughed. For Eight’s jokes that was a pretty short amount of time to get it. It had once taken his friends an entire hour to get one of his jokes.

“I get it now, it’s because of the cafe name. And I’m about to be needed so I’ll speak with you later.” Corrin took his leave and hurried back into the kitchen, presumably to grab something that needed serving. Eight took his time with the coffee and curry. He observed the other patrons now that he wasn’t talking to anyone. Kachi’s boyfriend had arrived while the trio of Krystal, Fay, and Miyu looked like they were just about ready to leave. A new customer walked in. Eight had never seen him before, but he looked like one of the monsters from his world. His footwear on the other hand seemed to have been bought in Smashopolis. The shoes were purple with a large number of small holes in them, Eight felt fairly confident they were called crocs.

“Hey my destroying days are behind me, quit looking at me like that,” the monster said.

“Sorry, I’m just, uh, intrigued by your choice of shoes,” Eight said. Saying what he really thought about those crocs would probably just make trouble for the cafe staff.

“These are just perfect. At least this is one upside of having lost that bet,” the monster said.

“What kind of bet was that?” Eight asked.

“It’s a long story where I had to give up destruction and admit that building is better.” Eight did not know how to respond to that. He was clearly missing a lot of context and he wasn’t sure he wanted to ask for the context. Smashopolis was a neutral ground but that didn’t mean he felt comfortable around obvious villains, former or otherwise.

“Hargon get over here and put down your order already or I will throw the cash register at you,” Zavok called from the counter. The monster hurried over to give his order. Corrin gave Zavok a disapproving look as he cleaned up the table the women of Star Fox had used.

“That Hargon guy totally has a past as some kind of villain,” Munchie said from Eight’s pocket. Eight looked around to make sure nobody else had heard that comment.

“Grandpa please, not when he’s right there,” Eight pleaded. Even after all of the revelations about Eight’s heritage it was sometimes hard for him to remember that Munchie could talk, since his grandfather rarely talked in that form. Granted having to explain why his grandfather was shape shifted as a mouse every time he met someone new would get old fast. “Maybe we should see if all of this world crossing stuff will make the King of Dragovians let you stay in your other forms?”

“I doubt it. Now let’s go get some cheese.” Eight sighed. He left a tip on the table and walked out of the door. He had every intent of returning the next day.

Eleven

Eleven glanced at the weapons on the wall as he ate. Link had explained earlier that the equipment on display had belonged to some friends of his. Staring at their weapons made Eleven wonder what they were like. If they had fought alongside Link and Zelda they had to have been skilled. But nobody needed to ask why their weapons were in Link’s home. Eleven knew what it was like to lose a close companion. He wasn’t sure if he could handle not being able to do anything about it.

“I would have never thought of shield surfing back in my own world. That was more fun than I expected,” Chrom said. He finished off his serving.

“Even the part where your shield broke and you fell on your face?” Richter asked. Chrom groaned.

“I’ve lived through much worse. I couldn’t just use the Fire Emblem for something like this, or any other shield that could be useful in combat,” Chrom said. Eleven and Link both exchanged a look. Neither of them were prone to talking, so they had been reliant on Chrom and Richter for most of the conversation.

“What’s the point of family heirlooms if you don’t use them? I use the Vampire Killer for all sorts of things,” Richter said.

“After all of the fighting over the Fire Emblem I’d rather not risk breaking it like the thousands of other shields I’ve broken,” Chrom said.

“I think important things should be handled carefully,” Link said. His voice was so quiet Eleven had to strain to hear him. Eleven had often received the same complaint. In his opinion other people were just too loud, and talked too much. He hoped he didn’t get dragged into the argument. Picking sides always made him anxious, someone would always get angry at him.

“Guess I’m not winning this one,” Richter said. The sound of the alarm bell ringing burst through the walls. It was accompanied by a few screams. Without a word all four of the Smashers grabbed their weapons and rushed outside. They crossed the bridge connecting Link’s house to the rest of the village and ran down the hill towards the front gate.

Hateno Village had been slowly building up its fortifications since Zelda’s return, but the intruder had sliced the gate apart like it was an old rotted door. The intruder in question was covered in azure armor and had a large sword in their left hand. There was a large eyeball in the middle of the sword, and part of it appeared to be made of flesh. A grotesque three fingered claw served as the right hand and gripped a large shield. The shield had the same mixture of flesh and metal that the sword had. Red feathers decorated the shoulder pads of the armor. Richter threw his cross and charged at the demonic knight.

“Nightmare? How do I know that name?” Link asked.

“Must be reality bleed. I wish I could get the kind where I know people’s names, not the kind where I have dreams about my best friend marrying my daughter,” Chrom said. Nightmare blocked Richter’s attacks with his shield. Chrom took advantage of the opening and leapt at Nightmare. The Exalted Falchion failed to pierce the armor. Link pulled out his bow. He shot a few arrows that bounced off the armor.

Eleven charged up a kafrizz. He launched the fireball at Nightmare. It was blocked by the shield. Link circled around and slashed at Nightmare from behind with the Master Sword. Nightmare let out a pained howl. He turned around and knocked Link away with the shield. Then he swung his sword at Chrom. Chrom blocked and countered the hit. The counterattack failed to pierce the armor, but the holy water Richter threw seemed to be having some effect.

An idea came to Eleven. He put his shield on his back. With a shout he charged at Nightmare and swung at Nightmare’s shield. It was blocked, just as Eleven planned. With his free hand Eleven grabbed the shield and used kaswoosh. He went soaring up into the air, pulling Nightmare’s shield with him. One of his fingers stung due to a spike on the handle. Eleven put Nightmare’s shield under his feet as he fell back to the ground.

“What a childish imitator of a hero,” a voice rung out. Eleven clutched his head. The voice sounded like Link’s. “Going to copy that technique I got from one of my friends like it was meant for just anybody, worthless copycat. Not all of us can just turn back the clock after our friends die. Everything I knew was destroyed but I just carried on, what makes you think your loss was anything special let alone worth nearly ruining the world for.”

“You know when my daughter turned back time it was because the world had ended, not because she didn’t get the exact kind of victory she wanted with grand titles as a reward. You can’t run away from loss forever, only a selfish idiot like you would turn back time just because you won but not in the exact way you wanted to. Worthless Darkspawn. The title of Erdrick is wasted on you.”

“Shut up shut up shut up,” Eleven shouted as he slashed empty air. What followed afterwards was a complete haze. There were voices that wouldn’t be quiet and Eleven needed them to stop talking at any cost. The word Darkspawn was repeated so many times it lost any real meaning, becoming a repeating series of nonsensical sounds that wouldn’t cease. And then Eleven was on the ground being held by Richter. He looked around, Link and Chrom were still fighting Nightmare. A new ally had arrived to help them, a blonde haired man with a crystalline two handed sword. And Nightmare had his shield back.

“Are you okay?” Richter asked.

“What happened?”

“Nightmare put some kind of curse on you that made you go berserk, looks like a scratch is all he needs to do this to people. Good thing I made sure to pick up some anti curse and possession spells,” Richter said. Nightmare let out a pulse of dark energy. Link, Chrom, and the stranger with the crystalline sword were all pushed away by the pulse. Nightmare held his sword in front of him and pointed it towards the sky. There was a glowing purple shard embedded in the back of his left gauntlet. A portal appeared behind Nightmare, he turned and walked through it. Eleven cursed his timing, if he had gotten at least one more hit in that could have somewhat made up for the trouble he caused with his poorly thought out plan.

“Are you okay Eleven?” Chrom asked. He, Link, and the stranger walked over to where Eleven and Richter were. The three of them sheathed their respective swords. Eleven nodded and pushed himself up from the ground. Richter rose up with him. Chrom turned to the stranger. “Thank you for your help. My name is Chrom, what’s yours?”

“Siegfried. I’m sorry for this, Nightmare is my responsibility,” the stranger said. Now that Eleven had a closer look at Siegfried he noticed a scar across his right eye. And there was a strange look in both of his eyes, Eleven had seen a similar look in Richter and Peach before.

“How so?” Chrom asked.

“I used to be him. That sword he uses is called Soul Edge, it takes control of whoever uses it. Whoever Nightmare really is isn’t doing this of their own will, Soul Edge is just using them as a puppet. This sword I hold, Soul Calibur, is the only thing that can destroy Soul Edge. In order to free Soul Calibur I had to submit myself to Soul Edge, but somebody stole that cursed sword and now someone else is under its thrall,” Siegfried said.

“You didn’t even see the person who stole it?” Richter asked.

“No, at the time Soul Edge had complete control of my body. I had to focus all of my will into protecting Soul Calibur in the hope that someone would free both of us. By the time I regained consciousness the thief was already gone. And now I’m at a loss for what to do, I don’t know where that portal leads,” Siegfried said.

“That thing Nightmare used is called an otherworld fragment. Those things lead into the space between worlds, he could be anywhere now. Why don’t you come with us? We know people who can figure out just where that portal led to. It will take some time but it’s better than wandering aimlessly,” Chrom said.

“I don’t have any other choice. But please, Soul Edge is my responsibility, let me handle confronting it,” Siegfried said. He looked down at Soul Calibur.

“Just because it’s personal doesn’t mean you should go about this alone. If Nightmare has some way to travel between worlds he’s going to become a problem for all of us,” Richter said. Link nodded in agreement.

“It’s only because of me that Soul Edge became such a problem.” Siegfried held his left hand with his right hand. It almost looked like he was trying to crush it.

“After what Soul Edge did to me I need to fight it again too,” Eleven said.

“What it made you do was nothing. I was never a great hero like you. I could see the fight as I was hurrying to lend my aid, what you did with the shield took more courage than I ever had. I did things with Soul Edge that can never be undone, but I can at least save whoever it’s currently controlling,” Siegfried said.

“Don’t worry, we’ll save them. Together,” Chrom said.

“Eleven and I will repair the gate. Go without us,” Link said.

“See you guys later, we’ll let you know when we find Nightmare,” Richter said. He made a peace sign as the recall activated and he vanished. Siegfried and Chrom disappeared as well. Eleven started walking towards the gate. He figured Link had singled him out for the screw up during the fight. Link grabbed Eleven’s hand and stopped him. Link looked Eleven in the eyes.

“You saved me in Dharkon’s world. You’re not weak. You’re strong.” Eleven didn’t know what to say in response. He found himself smiling for some reason, and that seemed to be enough for Link. And Link’s words were enough for him.

Chapter Text

“Nice of the princess to invite us over for a picnic, eh Kazooie.” Banjo stopped to admire the scenery. It was a sunny day in the Mushroom Kingdom and the many colored flowers were in full bloom. He and Kazooie were in Peach’s garden, the princess herself was seated a little bit away on a pink picnic blanket. Sitting with her was Mewtwo, Daisy, Mega Man, and Ganondorf. Banjo walked over to join them, when he sat down Kazooie jumped out of his backpack and took a spot next to him.

“Thank you for coming Banjo, Kazooie. Diddy Kong told me a lot about you, and we all owe you for your help during that giant battle,” Peach said. She handed over some plates with sandwiches on them.

“Oh it was nothing. The others did most of the work,” Banjo said. He shrank back as he started eating the sandwich.

“By others he means me. If it weren’t for me that lazy bear would have slept through all of it,” Kazooie said. She pecked at the bread in her sandwich.

“Well I think you both contributed a lot. Which is why I wanted to discuss something with you,” Peach said.

“I thought this was just a picnic,” Banjo said. He hoped he wasn’t about to get dragged into some sort of adventure. Tooty still hadn’t come back to Spiral Mountain since she set off on an adventure after the incident with Gruntilda kidnapping her. That was why Banjo didn’t like adventuring, it could just drag on and on. After dealing with Galeem and Dharkon he was fine with just lazing around in Spiral Mountain for a few years, that had given him more than his fill of adventuring for the decade.

“Well I never said we wouldn’t be talking about serious things here. It’s about all of the Smashers, so I would bring it up to you at some point regardless,” Peach said. She reached for her cup and took a sip of tea before gently returning the cup to its small plate. “With Smash Mansion gone we’re scattered all over the place now. So I wanted to get your input on making a new gathering place. Since you never got a chance to experience the mansion that means you have a different perspective on it than us.”

“I still think you should leave the talk of traditions to those who actually experienced them,” Ganondorf said. He was seated at the edge of the picnic blanket, his legs stretched out on the grass.

“She isn’t asking you ganondork,” Kazooie said.

“Kazooie!” Banjo chastised.

“How creative. I definitely have not heard that one before,” Ganondorf said. His voice had switched to be completely monotone. The look in his eyes scared Banjo. He had not signed up for anything like that when he agreed to the picnic.

“Hey how about we get back on subject here, and stop fighting,” Daisy said. She pulled out a tennis racket and swatted the air with it. Peach put her palm on her forehead.

“I mean I like my own place back in Spiral Mountain. It’s nice and quiet over there. Having everybody together in one place sounds like it would be noisy,” Banjo said. He took a large bite out of his sandwich.

“More like fun. Spiral Mountain has been so boring. I’ve been having adventure withdrawal ever since those two big dolts went down,” Kazooie countered. She made punching like gestures with her wings.

“If you want enemies just stick around us, you’ll get a long list,” Mewtwo said. He gave a chuckle that seemed a little too sinister for Banjo’s liking. Banjo gave his own nervous laugh in response. He didn’t even like having one enemy. Getting dragged into more adventures was not something he wanted or needed.

“I think we’re getting a bit too heated here. Banjo you have some experience driving karts right? Do you want to join the kart races we have here sometime?” Peach asked. Kazooie brushed aside most of the contents of her sandwich and went straight for the bread.

“Oh no I’m fine. Kart racing isn’t really for me, after the thing with Diddy Kong I gave it another try with Sonic. I don’t want to get in a kart for the third time, it’s just not for me. Makes my head spin,” Banjo said.

“Oh I see,” Peach said.

“Good thing you didn’t bring up ‘that,’” Kazooie said. She looked around and shook her head. “Wait, I don’t even know what ’that’ is. That thing with Sonic and his friends is the only time I’ve ever been in a car. And why does saying that make me feel extremely relieved?”

“I’m getting the same feeling. It feels like I just lied but I can’t think of any other time I got in a car,” Banjo said. He scratched the side of his head.

“Don’t worry about it,” Mega Man said. He pulled out an unopened bag of bread from the picnic basket and offered it to Banjo and Kazooie. It was labeled ‘Fitness Bread.’ “Apparently this is great for your health.” Banjo opened the bag and Kazooie swiped the top slice. She downed it in one go. Then she started gagging and stole Mewtwo’s slice of berry cake, also devouring it in one go. After that went Peach’s tea (Daisy saved hers with a slap to Kazooie’s beak) and Ganondorf’s jelly filled doughnut.

“Kazooie!”

“Help the taste is so terrible my beak feels like it’s melting. That’s not bread, it’s poison. What’s the big idea you Astro Boy knock off, trying to kill me?!” Kazooie screamed. Peach handed Kazooie a bottle of water and she gulped it all down. Everyone turned to look at the bag of Fitness Bread.

“It was on sale so I thought it was worth a try. Is it really that bad?” Peach asked. She took out a slice of Fitness Bread and put it on her plate. She cut out a small piece out and bit into it. And then immediately covered her mouth with her hands as they softly glowed with white magic. Mewtwo quickly handed her a scone that she scooped into her mouth. Daisy passed her a can of beer that was quickly emptied. “Not even my white magic could make that anywhere near tolerable. Today I issue a new royal decree. Fitness Bread is banned from the Mushroom Kingdom and feeding it to prisoners of war will be classified as a war crime.” Kazooie clapped wildly.

“Finally some good laws are getting passed,” Kazooie said. She felt her beak. Banjo gave her a reassuring pat on the back.

“We need to destroy the bread, now,” Mewtwo said.

“I’ll do it. I feel bad for offering it to Kazooie, I had no idea it was so awful,” Mega Man said. He took the bag of Fitness Bread and walked a short distance away from the others. He set the horrific bread down on the ground and switched both of his arms to cannon mode before plating them on the ground. Pillars of flame rose up to destroy the bread. But somehow the Fitness Bread survived what its container didn’t. Mega Man looked around in confusion and fired a fully charger shot from his blaster at the now illegal bread. The shot fizzled out when it made contact.

“Leave this to an expert kid,” Kazooie said. She grabbed a golden feather from Banjo’s backpack and walked up to the stack of Fitness Bread. A golden light surrounded her as she charged head first at the Fitness Bread. Then she banged her head against the bread and was left on the ground with a head injury. Mega Man helped her up to her talons. He felt the top slice of Fitness Bread.

“It’s hardened now, somehow. I think it might even be durable enough to use as a weapon,” Mega Man said.

“I’ll take being hit with it over eating it,” Kazooie said. She picked up the stack of bread and carried it over to Banjo. The bread was placed in the projectile compartment of the backpack.

“So about what Peach wanted to bring up,” Mega Man began. An intensely cold wind swept through the garden. Various flowers froze into solid chunks of ice. A siren began to blare from the castle. “We should worry about that first.”

“Oh damn it, don’t tell me that jerk is here. Come on let’s go,” Daisy said. She got up and began running towards the castle. Kazooie grabbed her slice of normal edible bread and got into Banjo’s backpack. The rest of the group quickly followed behind Daisy. It didn’t take long for them to get through the castle and into Toad Town.

Half of the buildings in Toad Town had been turned into solid blocks of ice. The fountain in the central plaza had become an ice sculpture. Up in the sky a flying ship was headed across the sea towards Toad Town. The inhabitants of the town all ran towards the castle for safety. The smashers quickly got on the side of the path to get out of the crowd’s way. Banjo wanted to cover his ears with how loud the toads were screaming. “Well at least we have more warning than that time Bowser stole the Star Rod. Daisy, is this what I think it is?” Peach asked.

“Yep that’s a Snowmad ship. This is Fredrik’s work alright. Let’s cut them off at the harbor,” Daisy said. Banjo sighed to himself. He had just wanted a peaceful picnic, not yet another adventure.

“Who’s Fredrik and why does he sound like a bitch?” Kazooie asked.

“Kazooie!”

“Fredrik is the leader of this group originally from the Snow Kingdom called the Snowmads. They’ve been a pain in my side for years with their raids on the Muda Kingdom and other parts of Sarasaland. He’s more of a bastard than a bitch,” Daisy said. Peach sighed and muttered something about unladylike language. The group ran to the Toad Town harbor and arrived right as the Snowman ship did. Ridley jumped off of the ship and flew down. The Dragonlord and a Hydreigon followed shortly afterwards. Fredrik and Black Shadow jumped down from the ship.

“Hello Daisy,” Fredrik said. He had a deep booming voice.

“Oh don’t you hello me after all of your raiding. And now you’re after the Mushroom Kingdom and working with Ridley, man you really are a loser.” Daisy said. She put her hands on her hips and glared at him.

“Sarasaland wouldn’t be raided so much if a certain someone hadn’t canceled our arranged marriage,” Fredrik said. Ganondorf’s eyes went wide. Mega Man covered his mouth. Mewtwo looked in the other direction.

“Banjo where’s the brain bleach? I need it now.”

“Kazooie!” Fredrik rolled his eyes at the duo’s usual antics.

“Enough banter,” Black Shadow said. He stepped forward and pulled out a ray gun. It was almost exactly like the ray guns used in the Smashers simulation battles, except the green energy had been changed to a pitch black color. “Give us the spell book that can create portal paintings or suffer. We know it’s in your castle.”

“Uh how about no you creep,” Daisy said.

“Daisy please, this is my kingdom. I appreciate the support, but let me handle this. Diplomacy is a delicate matter,” Peach said. She walked forward. “I’m not giving you the spell book after what you just did to my kingdom you mediocre dunces. And before you say it no reverting the freezing is not a sufficient bargaining chip.” She used her magic to pluck a turnip from the ground. Ridley flew off towards the castle and evaded the turnip thrown at him.

“I’ll cut him off at the castle, you handle the other brutes,” Mewtwo said. He teleported away. Peach made some gestures with her hands Banjo didn’t understand, the others seemed to. The Dragonlord had Hydreigon carry him up to a nearby rooftop. Hydreigon charged at Ganondorf as the Dragonlord sent flame magic at Peach. Ganondorf sidestepped the charge and kicked Hydreigon. Peach jumped and used her white magic to jump again, then hover to the Dragonlord’s position. Mega Man threw a metal blade at Black Shadow, who jumped over it and fired a laser at Mega Man with his ray gun.

Banjo was so overwhelmed watching the other fights he didn’t notice Fredrik’s blowhorn growing and being pointed at him. Daisy pulled him away right as Fredrik blew and a dragon made of ice flew at them. “Banjo pay attention, you nearly died,” Kazooie shrieked.

“Sorry Kazooie.”

“So you’re Banjo the bear. I heard about you and how unreliable you are,” Fredrik said. His horn shrank and he reattached it to his necklace.

“What did I do?” Banjo asked. Fredrik snorted.

“It’s what you didn’t do. I get quite the haul from the regular raids on the Red Squirrel Kingdom, their king is a drunk too obsessed with his regrets to stop me. His moaning about how he just wants to go back to those days he raced with you and Diddy Kong is pathetic, not even worth putting him out of his misery. Then Timber the Tiger was so certain you’d rescue him it genuinely disappointed me that you didn’t even try. Your sister tried, but I bet that’s the first you’ve heard of that,” Fredrik said. Daisy threw a turnip at him. He caught it and threw it into the sea.

“Tooty? What did you do to her?” Banjo clutched his necklace. It had been a gift from her.

“If you actually wanted to know you would have kept in contact with her. Maybe I’ll tell you if you can beat me, or maybe I’ll tell you about something you actually care for.”

“That settles it, we’re kicking your ass you oversized walrus,” Kazooie said. Fredrik charged at them. Daisy dodged to the left while Banjo and Kazooie went to the right. Fredrik brought himself to a stop. Daisy whacked him with a golf club. Banjo pulled Kazooie out from his backpack and slammed her into Fredrik’s side. Fredrik shrugged off the attacks and punched Banjo in the face, knocking him into the water. Before Fredrik could ready his horn, Daisy struck him with a tennis racquet. His counter punch collided with the racquet. Somehow they canceled each other out.

While swimming back to the battle Banjo tried to remind himself of his past accomplishments. If Tooty was in some kind of trouble he could save her, just like he had done before. He didn’t like adventuring, that was why he hadn’t kept in contact with his more adventurous friends. But if they were in trouble then he couldn’t afford to just sit around and do nothing. Even if it turned out he had already lost his friendship with them. Kazooie whispered something to Banjo as the fight between Fredrik and Daisy continued.

“Ha bet you’re not into me now that you know I can go toe to toe with you,” Daisy said. She ducked under a punch and slammed a frying pan into Fredrik’s stomach.

“First it was entirely a political arrangement. Second that happens to be exactly my type. If anything I’m more interested in you now,” Fredrik said. If the various attacks bothered him it wasn’t showing. Then Banjo hurled Fitness Bread at him from the water. The impact nearly made Fredrik fall over, but he quickly swatted Daisy away with his horn and regained his balance. “Was that… bread?”

“In name only,” Kazooie said. Banjo climbed back up onto dry land. He tried to shake himself dry. Kazooie threw another slice of Fitness Bread. It struck Fredrik in the face. Up on the rooftop the Dragon Lord quickly casted a healing spell on Fredrik. “Hey that’s not fair, baddies don’t get to heal,” Kazooie protested. Banjo then jumped out of the way of a stray Dragon Pulse. Hydreigon and Ganondorf had slowly drifted further away from the others as they fought, but the projectiles could still interrupt the other fights. Banjo had nearly forgotten about them. He wasn’t used to fighting alongside people who weren’t Kazooie. Or large battles in general.

Banjo leapt up at Fredrik and punched his chest. A direct assault seemed like the best bet despite how much Banjo hated the risk involved. Kazooie lobbed a grenade over Fredrik and at Black Shadow. Fredrik grabbed Banjo by the legs and threw him up into the air. The Dragonlord tried to cast fire magic on him but Peach slammed into him with her hip. “Hydreigon, use Return on that bear and bird,” the Dragonlord called out.

Hydreigon immediately stopped its charge at Ganondorf and flew at Banjo. He slammed into Banjo with maximum power and knocked Banjo to the ground. Kazooie pulled out a golden feather to shield both herself and Banjo from the damage their crash into the ground caused. Hydreigon began charging a Dragon Pulse, but was interrupted by an orb of dark magic from Ganondorf. With that Hydreigon switched targets back to Ganondorf. Banjo didn’t know much about Pokemon, but there was one thing he had heard of. Return was a move that grew in strength with the bond of the trainer and Pokemon. Banjo and Kazooie were close, but he had let some of his other relationships fall by the wayside. He hadn’t even helped anyone else on his side in the current battle.

“Banjo stop being contemplative!” Kazooie’s shout made Banjo aware that Fredrik was once again taking the time to ready his horn. Black Shadow had managed to force Daisy away from Fredrik while still keeping Mega Man’s attention. As Fredrik summoned the ice dragon Banjo took stock of his golden feathers, only three left. He took off running towards the ice dragon, Kazooie pulled out a golden feather. They ran right through the ice towards Fredrik. Banjo reached back into his backpack as he felt the effects of the golden feather wear off. Then he tossed it to Daisy. Kazooie handed over the final golden feather to Banjo.

Banjo ran right into Fredrik and kicked him. The lord of the Snowmads was sent flying at the Dragonlord. Hydreigon got between them and used Protect, Fredrik crashed through the barrier at the cost of most of his momentum. All three of them fell into a heap on the rooftop. Meanwhile Daisy had used the golden feather that was tossed to her to abandon all need for defense and go into an all out assault on Black Shadow. She had grabbed and pummeled him before throwing him into the side of a building.

At that point Ridley appeared in the skies, clutching a book in his claws. He spat a fireball at Peach, who blocked it with her parasol. “I got the book. We’re done here,” Ridley shouted. The Dragonlord raised his staff, he, Fredrik, and Hydreigon all shot up in arc back towards Fredrik’s ship. In response Daisy grabbed Black Shadow, but he was able to press something on his wrist. The sound of a F-Zero engine cut through the area like a bomb. Daisy released Black Shadow and got out of the way. An all black F-Zero machine rushed through where she had been a moment ago, and Black Shadow was gone. Fredrik’s ship had already begun to take off towards the sea.

“Hey get back here!” Banjo shouted. Fredrik walked up to the bow of the ship and looked down at Banjo.

“Nice kick. We got the ransom for Tooty and Timber from Timber’s parents and let them go. Haven’t seen them since then. You broke their hearts you lazy bear. But since you won I’ll give you this.” Fredrik blew into his horn and all the ice in Toad Town vanished as abruptly as it had appeared. The ship sped up and flew away from the Mushroom Kingdom. Banjo watched as it quickly faded into the distance.

“Banjo…”

“It’s okay Kazooie. Wherever they are, Tooty and Timber must be doing fine. We should go visit them.” Banjo was startled and nearly thrown off balance by the sudden appearance of Mewtwo. Peach opened her parasol and jumped down from the rooftops, gently floating down.

“Ridley lit the entire library on fire as a diversion. And that idiotic Toadsworth got himself trapped in it. With the time it took to rescue him and extinguish the fire he got away,” Mewtwo said. He looked over the rest of the group.

“At least you were able to rescue him. But I guess we lost. They got what they came for,” Mega Man said. He looked towards Peach’s castle.

“Can they even use that book? Peach you said nobody in this world has had enough magical power to use it in centuries,” Ganondorf said. His arms were crossed.

“Viridi could. She’s a goddess after all. There must have been some issues with their own transporter the book will help them fix. Don’t worry though, I think I’m already coming up with a plan,” Peach said.

“Let me guess, use Palutena to fight fire with fire?” Daisy asked. From the tone of her voice she sounded on board with the idea.

“I’m thinking even bigger,” Peach said. She clasped her hands together. Mewtwo and Ganondorf shared a concerned look. Banjo felt like there was some change in Peach’s voice, but couldn’t put his finger on what exactly had changed. “The mansion just stayed in one place, and even outright villains like Ridley were allowed in. Let’s have something a bit more mobile with some stricter rules about who gets in. Since it will be able to go between worlds itself visiting people will be a lot easier too, and we can give it a lot of guest space as well. It’ll take a lot of work to build but if we all pitch in it won’t take too long.”

“Well I don’t know if I can help build it, but that sounds like a great idea,” Banjo said.

“He just doesn’t want to put in any work,” Kazooie commented. Mega Man was about to say something but stopped.

“We should talk about this in a more secure spot. And with more people who can actually help,” Ganondorf said.

“Then let’s get going,” Daisy said. She led the way back to the castle. Banjo looked out at the sea. Daisy stopped and looked back to him. “Hey Banjo are you okay? I know Fredrik really tore into you there.”

“I’m fine,” Banjo said. He held out his shark tooth necklace and looked down at it. Kazooie leaned over him with a concerned look on her face. “Let’s have another adventure Kazooie.”

Far away from the world of the Mushroom Kingdom, a group of four had observed the entire battle. The events in the Mushroom Kingdom had been displayed in an arch made of black thorns, a rift had been torn into the empty space. The only things that existed in that world of shadow aside from the black thorns were the four observers: a mercenary, a bounty hunter, a skeleton, and a dragon knight. An endless expanse of darkness surrounded them on all sides. The first of the observers to speak was the bounty hunter. “This isn’t good. I know we want the barriers between worlds weakened, but the Space Pirates can’t be trusted with that power. Trust me, we don’t want any help from the Space Pirates.”

“I made a deal with Fredrik in case it turned out like this. He’ll give us the knowledge about portal creation if we do a job for him in the Ruined Kingdom. And I’m sure the Smashers can handle the Space Pirates on their own. They beat ‘us’ before after all,” the mercenary said. He pushed his dark shades up and tugged at his red scarf.

“I miss when words like ‘I’ ‘we’ ‘me’ and whatever weren’t so loaded. It beats being dead but this is still weird. It wasn’t really us the Smashers beat. She has a winning record on me but the rest of them don’t. Besides I’d kill for a rematch with her without somebody using me as a puppet,” the bounty hunter responded. He looked at his right claw and moved it as though he didn’t fully trust it.

“FREEING OUR FIFTH SELF AND FINDING ANY OTHERS SHOULD BE OUR PRIORITY,” the skeleton said. His voice was loud, but it would be difficult for any observer to make out his words. He made various symbols with his hands as he spoke. The fact that the other three could understand him was due to their unusual connection.

“He’s right, I’ve had enough of watching. You handle Fredrik’s job. I’ll go get Soul Edge and use it to break the seal,” the dragon knight said. He held onto his spear tightly and walked towards the arch. The bounty hunter got in his way. They glared at each other.

“We don’t even know where Soul Edge is or if it can actually break the seal. And you should be careful with the azure knight, don’t want to hurt that girl being used as a puppet.”

“I won’t hold back, not against anyone.”

“There’s more to life than fighting you know. Anyway somebody just had to give Soul Edge an otherworld shard so we can’t track him that easily. Let’s just calm down and wait for when we know where Soul Edge actually is,” the mercenary said. The skeleton waved his hand and the image in the arch changed. It showed Soul Edge’s location. With a groan the bounty hunter stepped aside.

“I’ll be going now,” the dragon knight said.

“One last thing, just a bit of advice” the mercenary said. The dragon knight stopped and turned to face the mercenary. “No matter what happens, never give up, and trust your instincts.”

Chapter Text

Nintendo Land was as bright as it was crowded. Terry weaved his way through the crowd, keeping an eye on his date and a hand on his hat. Bel had more trouble cutting through the crowd, relying more on pushing to get through. They were able to break out from the crowd around the central tower of the theme park. The two of them stopped to take a breather.

“I never thought crowds of this size would be such a consistent problem,” Bel said.

“Yeah, it’s all part of the theme park experience,” Terry said.

“Well, I guess with a crowd this big the attractions must be really good,” Bel said. Terry laughed. For a veteran mercenary known as the Ashen Demon, Bel was naive about the nature of theme parks. He looked up at the top of the tower and the bottom of the stadium. Terry and Bel had been invited to compete in some exhibition matches at the new stadium seated on the top of the tower.

“We’ve still got some time. So let’s check out some stuff,” Terry said. He looked out across the park. They had a straight shot to Takamaru’s Ninja Castle. Terry and Bel threw themselves back into the crowd and made their way to it. Once they stepped through the clearly marked gate the dimmer lighting was the first thing they noticed. It was also colder, not enough to be a bother, but enough to be noticed immediately. The decorations were all obviously fake, but it still felt like they were somewhere else.

The lines didn’t appear to be long, but they moved very slowly. Terry tapped his hat, Bel observed the other people in the crowd. “How many people here do you think will also be watching our fights?” Bel asked.

“Probably a lot, but not all. It’s the big event of the day after all. You nervous?” Terry responded.

“No, just trying to get a feel for things.” Bel leaned against the wall and tapped her foot on the floor. “When you think about it, isn’t it a little strange that so many people are interested in watching other people fight?”

“Not really, it’s all in good fun. People just enjoy watching others push their limits and test their strength.” Terry adjusted his cap.

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” Bel said. She didn’t sound entirely convinced, but she also didn’t seem interested in arguing the other point. She seemed used to hiding her emotion, but Terry had learned how to spot the tells. He’d continue the conversation when she felt like it. To distract her he brought up some old stories from South Town, both ones that he lived through and a few urban legends. It made the line more tolerable.

After some time they finally got to the actual attraction. It was a game that revolved around throwing shuriken at paper ninja, which would throw projectiles of their own at players. Despite not being used to weapons Terry quickly got the hang of it. Together he and Bel got through the entire attraction, though by the end they were only one hit away from losing. They walked into the gift shop leading back out to the plaza triumphantly.

“Oh come on, I had no idea they were going to make it look like that.” Terry and Bel both stopped to look. Rex and Nia were gazing in distress at something in the T shirt section. Terry walked over to see what could get that kind of reaction, and stopped in his tracks. A disgusting T shirt hung in front of him. At the center was a poorly photoshopped picture of Rex with the words ‘make the rent free you cowards’ under it. The shirt had a fuchsia background, seafoam green stripes, and mustard yellow polka dots.

“Just looking at it hurts,” Bel said.

“You should have known better than to trust Lucina’s fashion sense,” Nia said.

“She told me she would run the design by someone first. Someone else had to approve of it so I thought it would be safe. What kind of mad man would mistake this for a good idea?”

“I bet she ran it by Master Hand,” Bel said.

“Or it could be Crazy Hand. Seriously though, this thing is like the Fitness Bread of T shirts,” Terry said.

“Ugh, don’t remind of that crime against nature,” Nia said.

“Well not much we can do about it now. So I guess we should just try to forgot we ever saw these things. Nia let’s go check out that crash course thing, we’ve got some time before our fights,” Rex said.

“Oh you guys are competing too?” Terry asked.

“Yep. Rex why don’t you go ahead and grab us a spot in line, I just need to check out some things here,” Nia said. Rex ran off towards the next attraction. With a snicker Nia grabbed a large quantity of the horrific shirts. “I’m getting one each for all of our friends. It’ll be worth every G. See you later.” Bel let out a nervous chuckle as Nia went over to the register. Terry made for the exit and Bel went with him.

Coincidentally the train that ran around Nintendo Land had just stopped right in front of the store. Seizing the opportunity Terry and Bel jumped on board. Terry gripped the brim of his hat as Bel watched the park go past them. They sat in silence for a while as the train went in a circle. Bel tapped her foot against the floor. The relative silence of the train was refreshing. The messy assortment of noises found in every theme park were still present, but they were a bit further away.

Terry started looking out the window as well. There were a large number of families visiting Nintendo Land, just like any other amusement park. He remembered his father, the memories and reminder of his father’s death struck him like a punch to the face. He found himself worrying if Bel was going through something similar. Her father had been killed too, and it was more recent for her. With Terry it was an old wound that acted up some times, for Bel it was still fresh. He didn’t want to risk being the one who made it worse, so he kept quiet. Bel could handle herself and knew she could bring it up.

Advertisements for the exhibition matches could be seen throughout the park. Terry didn’t recognize everyone featured on the ads. Loud cheering suddenly burst from the arena. It was loud enough to be hard to figure out what was actually shouted, but Terry felt he could just make out that Little Mac had won. It made Terry even more excited for his own round, Bel was shifting uncomfortably in her seat.

“Hey Terry, can I ask something a little personal?” Bel asked. Terry nodded. “Are you worried about the other fighters being hurt?”

“Nah, if they got invited here then they can take it. Don’t want them to get hurt real bad, but if they’re here they’ll be tough enough to handle a few punches. And I can handle whatever they throw at me,” Terry said.

“So it doesn’t make the fighting less fun for you?”

“It’d be a lot more fun with no pain, but it’s still fun. And you can’t avoid pain so there’s no point in letting it stop you from doing what you like. How could pushing yourself to the limit and growing stronger not be fun?”

“Did… did you enjoy fighting Geese?”

“Yes. But I didn’t want to kill him. Well, that’s not really true. Only reason I didn’t want to kill Geese was so that we wouldn’t get locked into some never ending cycle of revenge. I mean, how can I not want to beat the shit out of Geese. Same goes for the people who killed your father. Once we find them they’re going to get what’s coming to them,” Terry said. Bel looked up.

“Thank you Terry. I was worried that there was something wrong with me for enjoying fighting, especially since my brother doesn’t and we used to practically be copies of each other. We should have a sparring match again some time.” Terry nodded. There wasn’t anything else to say, so the conversation ended there. A few minutes later they were talking about far less significant subjects. Then the timer Terry had set on his phone went off. It was time to get ready for the exhibition match. The train stopped by the central tower, Terry and Bel hopped off and got inside the tower. It was a quick elevator ride to the stadium the top.

Stepping off of the elevator brought the couple to the large entry hall. The inside of the stadium had been painted with a dark blue color. There were stairs leading up to the seating area and two doors marked ‘competitors only’ set into the left and right wall respectively. At the other end of the room was an electronic display board showing the schedule for the many exhibition matches being held that day. Terry was up next.

Sheik was staring at the list of competitors like it was some sort of puzzle. “Hey Sheik, you fighting too?” Terry asked.

“No. I’m just looking at something odd. The person you’re fighting, Volga, I thought for sure that he was dead. I can’t help but be suspicious. Though I never looked too closely into what happened to him with everything else that was going on, so maybe I’m overthinking things. It wouldn’t be unlike him to have just barely survived our last encounter and show up at some event like this,” Sheik said.

“I trust your judgement Sheik. If you think something is suspicious then it probably is,” Bel said.

“If this Volga guy is planning anything sketchy it should show in how he fights. I’ll let you know what my read on him is after the fight, which I need to get to right now,” Terry said. He walked over to one of the competitor only doors and pushed it open.

The locker room looked exactly like how Terry had expected from past experiences. Only difference was the screen set into one of the walls that let him look at the arena. The camera angles appeared to have been carefully chosen to stop Terry from looking at his opponent if they went out first, which judging from the cheers was exactly what had happened. Nothing about the arena stood out to him, though getting knocked down onto the artificial turf would most likely hurt less than all the times he’d gotten acquainted with the sidewalk. Terry sat down by the door leading out to the arena, he was already ready.

Gradually the cheers for Terry’s opponents died down. Then the crowd broke out into a chant. “When Terry?! When Terry?! When Terry?!”

“And now representing both the Smashers and South Town, the Legendary Wolf, Terry Bogard!” The announcer shouted. Terry walked out into the arena, lifting up his cap and putting it back on his head. He took a few moments to soak in the cheers of the crowd. Standing across from him was a man dressed in red armor, Volga. Volga had a helmet shaped like a dragon skull, a long red plume that changed to a light orange at the tip reached out from the helm. Volga’s eyes were obscured underneath the helmet, all Terry could make out was the black paint that surrounded his eyes and fell down his face in a straight line, almost like tears.

The announcer counted down from three. Both fighters were already in a fighting stance when it started. The countdown ended. Volga lunged forward with his spear. Terry charged right next to it and leapt up with a cry of ‘power dunk.’ Volga evaded the incoming attack and sent out a ball of fire. The fireball fell apart with a kick from Terry. It was even hotter than a hadouken, but thankfully Terry’s foot was merely hot and not burning. Volga thrust with his spear again, a punch to the spear threw off his aim.

Terry went on the defensive as Volga sped up his attacks. Volga seemed pleased with the battle, but there was also an obvious element of impatience. Terry had learned how to spot people who showed up to fighting tournaments with ulterior motives. There was something bigger at play for Volga. Terry exploited the impatience to land some hits of his own in, taking a few in return. The impact of Volga’s strikes with the blunt end of the spear made it clear his affinity with fire was deeper than most. Even a simple strike radiated the kind of heat normal humans didn’t have. It felt more like fighting Incineroar than Ryu.

With a quick kick Terry spent Volga’s spear flying up in the air. “Hey Volga, I got a question for you? Are you okay?” Terry dashed forward. The entire crowd joined in for his next line.

“BUSTER WOLF!” Volga went soaring backwards into the wall of the arena. He didn’t stand up. The crowd cheered as Terry’s victory was announced.

Terry walked over to help Volga back up. Then he stopped, something felt wrong. A rift opened inside the arena. A knight in azure armor stepped through it. Terry noticed the sword and was able to identity the intruder immediately, Nightmare. A magical barrier quickly formed around the audience stands, the announcer called for a calm and orderly evacuation. Terry could see Bel and Sheik making their way down to the arena.

Nightmare nearly stabbed Terry, but he jumped over the sword. Then Terry transitioned to a power dunk. The impact with the armor hurt Terry’s hand. But Nightmare stumbled back, so clearly it had worked. Needles flew out at Nightmare. Sheik appeared in a puff of smoke next to Volga. “Let’s go Volga, we can battle Nightmare later.”

“Heh, as if I’d miss out on a chance to battle the so called sword of salvation,” Volga said. He forced himself back up. With a rush his spear went right for Soul Edge’s eye. Nightmare raised the sword and brought it down on Volga. A whip took hold of Soul Edge and pulled both it and Nightmare away. Bel called for someone to land a hit while her version of the Sword of the Creator kept Nightmare occupied. Terry obliged with an uppercut to Nightmare’s helmet. It went up into the air. The true face of the azure knight was no longer hidden.

“Edelgard?!” Bel shouted. The white haired woman in the azure armor said nothing. Her eyes were glowing red. Terry quickly thought back to what he had heard of her from Bel. She was a student of Bel’s brother and some kind of royal, he had never cared much for political details. Bel released Soul Edge from her own sword’s grip as Edelgard swung Soul Edge above her.

“Soul Edge is the true power behind Nightmare, not whoever she is,” Volga said.

“Then the solution is simple,” Sheik said. She ran in front of Nightmare. Then she side stepped Soul Edge when it was brought down. A small storm of needles burst out of Sheik’s hands, all aimed directly at Soul Edge’s eye. A burst of dark energy came from Nightmare. It knocked Sheik, Volga, and Bel down to the ground. Terry held his ground and readied the next attack, punching the ground in front of him.

“Power Geyser!” A pillar of chi burst up from the ground beneath Soul Edge and Edelgard. Pieces of the infamous azure armor were scattered across the arena as the two went up in a small arc. Parts of an ordinary outfit showed beneath the armor. A purple light emitted from Soul Edge and another rift appeared between it and the ground. Terry ran to it, but the rift closed again. Both Soul Edge and Edelgard were gone.

“What a cowardly move,” Volga said. He rejected Sheik’s offer of support and forced himself back up once again. Sheik seemed unamused and helped lift Bel up. “Next time I won’t let Soul Edge get away so easily.” Bel opened her mouth, Volga cut her off immediately. “I’m not interested in an alliance.” With that Volga made his way towards the exit.

“Hey Volga, fighting you was fun. Let’s do it again some time,” Terry said. Volga stopped to acknowledge Terry’s words.

“I can see why they call you the Legendary Wolf. Next time I won’t hold anything back.” Volga resumed his walk out of the arena.

“You two go update everyone else on what happened,” Sheik said. “There’s something I need to investigate on my own.” She vanished in a puff of smoke.

“Byleth isn’t going to like this news,” Bel said.

“It’ll be fine. No point sitting around worrying about Edelgard when we could go look for her instead,” Terry said. He started walking, moving slowly at first so Bel could notice and walk alongside him. “Let’s just go spread the word around and then get going to the next fight. As long as we keep moving things are going to work out.”

In a distant world overflowing with light, a small group of people had watched the battle with Nightmare. They were six in total, an ancient king, a sage, a Persona user, an alien, a manakete, and an aura guardian. Although it was bright, their world was empty of any life aside from them. There was an only an empty expanse to gaze at from the mountaintop they had all gathered on. “I guess we were wrong, someone is using Soul Edge for something, but it isn’t our counterparts. There’s no reason for Volga to help fight his own ally, even if he does love a good battle,” the king said.

“I’m just glad none of the bystanders were hurt,” the aura guardian said. He held up his staff and closed his eyes. “I’ll be able to find Nightmare soon. We should free that girl and eliminate Soul Edge as soon as we can.”

“Something about this worries me. We didn’t give Soul Edge that shard which lets it travel to other worlds, neither did our counterparts, the Smashers, the Space Pirates, or any of their allies. But someone must have given it to Soul Edge on purpose,” the sage said.

“It’s definitely fishy. But we can’t let Soul Edge run wild, he’s making the situation with the world borders even more unstable.” The persona user said.

“We have quite the list of enemies already. If we don’t do something about my other half, there won’t be anything left in my world to preserve. Perhaps we should put our faith in the Smashers and leave it to them? If it looks like too much for them then we’ll step in,” The manakete proposed.

“Found it,” the aura guardian said. “It looks like Nightmare is in the Hands’ home dimension now. And so is Lincoln.” The alien had an immediate reaction. He spoke in a language no human could possibly comprehend. Everyone present understood him clearly.

“Just focus on your mission, don’t get sidetracked with revenge and try to spare that girl. Even in the event that she had ill intent when seeking out the sword, Soul Edge is the one actually responsible for all this,” the king said. The alien flew through a portal with no indication if it heard or not.

“Should one of us follow him to make sure he doesn’t freeze that entire world or kill Lincoln? I know we don’t have many options, but I worry about allying ourselves with something like that,” the manakete said.

“I’ll do it. All of us should keep one eye on him until we’re sure he can really be trusted,” the sage said. With that he also opened up a portal and left through it.

“Guess that’s my cue to get going too. I’ll use my reporter skills to see if I can dig up any info on Wuhu,” the persona user said. She took out a notepad and a pencil from her pocket.

“Are you sure about that? We might reveal ourselves with this much activity,” the aura guardian said.

“I’ll be fine. Things might seem difficult, but we’ll get through somehow. Let’s think positive.”

Chapter Text

Byleth paced around the meeting room in Bowser’s castle. The motion helped his thoughts flow. Standing around looking at uniform dark stone walls had a tendency to slow his thinking down. “I’m confused about something,” Bowser said. “I thought your world was frozen in time while you were gone.” An unfortunate side effect of Byleth and Bel escaping from the void had been the rest of Fódlan being stuck in that exact moment, according to Sothis it had something to do with the Divine Pulse when combined with Master Hand’s power. Until the effect wore off it had been assumed nobody could enter that world.

“So did I,” Byleth said. “There must be someone with powers like the Hands who disrupted things. Whoever that is probably tricked Edelgard into taking Soul Edge. Or maybe they’re working with Those Who Slither In The Dark. They could have had the Flame Emperor force Soul Edge onto Edelgard.” According to Master Hand the time freeze was still in effect for Fódlan, but someone had still been able to enter and leave it. Thankfully the rest of the Black Eagles were still accounted for. For them and everyone else in Fódlan they’d have no idea about the time stop once it was over.

“It’s not long until your world finally breaks out of that weird time stop thing, right? Maybe some overly complicated time travel thing is involved,” Bowser said. Kamek nodded from his corner of the room, clearly only pretending to follow the conversation.

“Maybe,” Byleth said. “For now all we can do is free Edelgard from Soul Edge and hope she’ll be able to give us some more information. The person responsible could even be hiding in plain sight.” Akasha and Siegfried walked into the room. Byleth had been told about the relationship between Soul Edge and Soul Caliber, Siegfried having Soul Calibur with him was already a point in their favor.

“We were told about what happened,” Siegfried said.

“I’ve already used my powers to locate Soul Edge. It appears to be in the same dimension that Master Hand and Crazy Hand originally came from, the one they’ve taken data from for some of their simulations,” Akasha said.

“Then we should prepare ourselves and get going as soon as possible. We’ll need some way to cut off that rift opening power to stop Soul Edge from escaping. And I think I know somebody who can do that,” Byleth said.

“On my own that would have been too much to ask, but I’ve picked up some new skills of my own since coming here.” Sothis said. She wasn’t in the room, and nobody else could hear her. Though Sothis had never been a secret amongst the Smashers. Sometimes Byleth had been pushed into sharing some of her stronger opinions with the Smashers. Despite dwelling on a supposed ‘higher plane of existence’ she seemed rather content with commenting on the plane Byleth was stuck on.

“How excellent. Unfortunately I will not be able to accompany you, I came to examine some things to help with the research back at Wuhu,” Akasha said.

“I don’t trust her,” Sothis commented. “She reminds me of both bacon and betrayal. And only one is because of her hair.” Byleth sighed.

“How is Ulti doing over there?” Bowser asked.

“Leaf is taking good care of him. He remains quite curious about the world around him, almost like he’s seeking something,” Akasha said. A koopa offered to show her to the library, Akasha went with them.

“Kamek go call Master Hand and tell him we need a portal for one of our ships, and get the ship ready too,” Bowser said. Byleth and Siegfried followed Bowser out of the room. With the long red carpets and torches the hallway barely looked any different from the meeting room. Byleth made a note to introduce Bowser to the concept of interior decorating.

“Where are we going?” Siegfried asked.

“To the study. Junior and Ludwig are coming with us,” Bowser said. “Also Byleth, the person you’re thinking of is that small goddess who lives in your head right?” Byleth nodded. Siegfried raised an eyebrow but made no comment.

“For an oversized turtle he’s somewhat clever,” Sothis said. Bowser shoved open the doors to the study. It was a tall, wide room. A few windows offered a view of the ash and magma outside the castle. Bowser Junior was seated by himself at a desk at the other side of the room, struggling with some assignments that Byleth had given him. Byleth made a mental note to tone down the difficulty after observing how stressed Junior looked. Ludwig had taken a seat next to a bookshelf and was leafing through a book on music.

“Ludwig, you can study your music after you finish your assignments. The two of you are coming with us on a mission,” Bowser said.

“Yes sir.” Ludwig groaned and put a bookmark in the book before returning it to the bookshelf. Junior jumped out of his chair and ran over to Bowser.

“Hey who’s the guy with the big sword, he’s cool. Where did you get that cool crystal sword?” Junior asked.

“My name is Siegfried.” He seemed thrown off by Junior’s enthusiasm. “Are you sure about having them accompany us? Soul Edge isn’t to be underestimated.”

“Whoever Soul Edge is I can handle them. I’m probably a lot smarter than them,” Ludwig said.

“I’m not so sure about that,” Sothis commented.

“Sothis ease up,” Byleth mentally reprimanded. He hoped he hadn’t given anything away with his face.

“Byleth has been teaching them, and he can do a better job teaching them how to fight once he sees them in a real battle. Now we’re going to the airship. Follow me,” Bowser ordered.

By the time they arrived at the airship Master Hand still needed some time to open up the portal. Junior and Ludwig were in the lower deck while Byleth, Bowser, and Siegfried stood at the bow. “Your kids seem energetic,” Siegfried said.

“Junior is my only kid. Ludwig is just a general,” Bowser said. Byleth and Sothis were both in agreement that Bowser certainly didn’t treat any of the Koopalings like mere underlings.

“Doesn’t he seem a little… childish for a general.”

“Well he is still a kid. People here are so beaten down that ambitious kids were the only ones I could get to be generals. With the state of our kingdom it’s hard to blame them. When all the soil is infertile and there’s barely anything to hunt it’s hard to get invested in the state of a country.”

“Was it always like this?” Siegfried asked.

“Back in the day we used to have it as good as the Mushroom Kingdom. But their king hated us koopas, so he cursed the entire country. That was generations ago. Naturally plenty of people jumped ship when nobody could figure out how to break the spell. My army is practically all that’s left of the country. I had to spark up some hatred of the Mushroom Kingdom just to give people a sense of purpose,” Bowser said. Bowser looked out at his kingdom. It was hard for Byleth to imagine such a desolate place being anything else.

“I see,” Siegfried said.

“And now of course Bowser realized what happens when you encourage hatred of an enemy instead of doing things to improve the country, especially when most aren’t even interested in the former,” Byleth said. Sothis offered her approval to Byleth.

“I can understand how easy it is to fall into that mindset. Hating someone else is much easier than admitting your own faults. Even if you need to invent someone to hate,” Siegfried said.

“Screws you up later though,” Bowser said.

“It certainly does,” Siegfried said. He tightened his grip on Soul Calibur. The portal finally opened. Byleth and Siegfried struggled to maintain their footing as the airship began to move forward and ascend at once. Bowser grabbed Byleth to stop him from falling, Siegfried grabbed the railing.

“I thought you were the one I hired to keep me grounded,” Bowser said.

“Well we aren’t on the ground right now, are we?” Byleth responded. Siegfried laughed, unknown to him Sothis joined in. The group went down to the lower deck as the airship drew closer to the portal. Junior and Ludwig had already taken seats by the windows. Currently there was only an empty void on the other side of the windows, and it would stay that way until the airship arrived at its destination. Junior ran over to Siegfried.

“Are you going to tell me where you got your sword now?” Junior asked.

“I’d rather not.” Siegfried clutched his left hand and turned to look at the walls.

“You’re no fun.”

“You shouldn’t pry into someone else’s past if they don’t want to talk about it Junior. Not everyone is comfortable talking about what they’ve been through, you should try to remember that in the future,” Byleth said. He tried to speak as gently as he could. Dealing with young children was not on the list of things he was used to, though he was steadily gaining more experience.

“You’re a lot nicer about this stuff than Dad.” Bowser stepped back when he heard those words. Byleth found the shocked expression on his face a little cute.

“Bowser needs a lot of work on realizing what others think of him,” Sothis said.

“Well, anyway, as the strategist here Byleth will be the one giving orders once we start to fight. So listen to him or you’ll have a long lecture waiting for you when we get back. And you’ve already slacked off once today Ludwig so you’re on thin ice.”

“Yes sir,” Ludwig said. He didn’t look Bowser in the eyes, instead looking down at the floor with his head tucked a bit closer to his shell.

“You should have a talk with Bowser about lighting up a little with those kids,” Sothis said.

“I will. And I need to talk to Bowser about finding someone who can actually teach Ludwig how to play music,” Byleth responded in his own head. Part of him felt bad for having that kind of discussion right in front of the people in question. But in his defense, the discussion was literally all in his head.

“We are now leaving the interdimensional space, passengers are allowed back on the deck now,” a voice announced over the intercom system. Presumably it was the koopa in charge of piloting the ship. Junior scampered towards the deck immediately. The rest of the group followed him at a slower pace.

Blue skies and white clouds surrounded the airship. Floating islands were off in the horizon, all at different heights. There were also islands seated on the water, and a few larger landmasses. The ocean dropped down after a certain point, turning into a wide waterfall. The bottom of the waterfall couldn’t be seen. Every island had a building on it that took up almost all of the island’s space, almost as if the islands had been created to house the buildings. Large blue crystals leapt out of the water and hung beneath the floating islands. It was a far cry from the landscape of the Koopa Kingdom.

“So this is what they based the current version of Battlefield on,” Byleth said.

“Is it just me, or does this world seem… empty?” Siegfried asked. Byleth looked around. He couldn’t see even a single bird in the sky. Plants were the only living thing that could be seen.

“He’s right. Fortunately that’s how this world is supposed to be. Even this much is more than there should be here. I’ll save the explanation for Master Hand, he most likely knows what happened but has simply neglected to let anyone know vital information yet again,” Sothis said.

“Sothis says it’s supposed to be empty, but she’s refusing to explain what she means because she wants to make Master Hand do it instead and loves being cryptic.”

“Hey don’t talk about me like that. I don’t tell the people in the Velvet Room about that time you got us trapped in the void.”

“That was one time.”

“Well someone had to build all those buildings,” Bowser said. Byleth shook his head to break himself from the mental argument. “Now that we’re here I can sense Soul Edge, it’s got to be that source of black magic over there.” Bowser pointed to one of the floating islands. The pilot of the ship steered it towards the island. Junior went back inside to fetch the koopa clown car, he came back riding it. Ludwig twirled his magic wand.

“You can sense black magic?” Siegfried asked.

“Can’t break a curse if you don’t know anything about curses.” Siegfried raised an eyebrow. “Look I put my ‘curse the Mushroom Kingdom the same way they cursed us’ phase behind me, I don’t need a reminder every time I break out the magic myself instead of having Kamek do it instead.”

“Sorry. I’m just hesitant around certain powers now after I made the mistake of taking Soul Edge for myself.”

“Eh back in the day I would have tried to get my claws on that thing too.” The ship came to a halt right next to the floating island, this time everyone held their ground. A large castle took up most of the island. There was no sign of decay, nor was there any sign that it was inhabited. Despite looking like it had only recently been built, something about it felt ancient. Then the sounds of fighting burst out from within the castle.

“Someone must have already engaged Edelgard in battle. We need to hurry, but stay cautious. I’ll take point,” Byleth said. He led the way into the castle, pushing open the large doors. Inside was a large hall with no furniture or decorations. Byleth continued onward, looking around him for any sign of a trap or previous visitor while trying not to be too slow.

“Byleth, be careful. Whatever is up ahead is completely negating the Divine Pulse. We won’t be able to use it for this battle. I don’t even think they’re doing it on purpose,” Sothis warned. Byleth thought back to the last time the Divine Pulse had failed him. That failure still stung. After losing his father Byleth wasn’t going to let himself lose anyone else.

“Someone else is using dark powers. I don’t know why, but the powers feel familiar. I was never too good at this magic stuff anyway,” Bowser said. Byleth considered bringing up what Sothis mentioned, there was a chance it could lower morale. He already knew they were going to be on guard, hyping up the enemy would be pointless.

The sounds of battle had grown even louder. Among them were the roar of flames, a howl of pure battle lust, and a gun being shot. Ludwig was clearly struggling not to cover his ears. The propeller of the Koopa Clown Car could barely be heard over the other noises. Byleth was certain that the door in front of him would lead to the battle. Combat had been slowly losing its appeal to him, but he had no reason to hesitate for this fight.

Four people were in the large throne room. Edelgard had repaired her armor since the last battle, but she no longer wore the helmet. Soul Edge remained in her grasp. A warrior dressed in red stood against her, Byleth recognized him as Volga from the reports. Hovering in the sky was a bizarre almost cobra like creature. Five stalks stood out from the closest thing it had to face, forming a star shape. Closer inspection revealed the stalks were the eyes, and the mouth they surrounded opened up to reveal numerous teeth. And standing closest to Byleth’s group was another face Byleth recognized from the reports of other Smashers.

“Well hello there friends, mind lending me a hand? Starface over there has somewhat of a grudge against me,” Lincoln said. Starface sent a shard of ice at Lincoln, who jumped out of the way. Volga and Edelgard continued to clash weapons.

“Of course. Siegfried, find an opening to disarm Edelgard and attack Soul Edge directly. Everyone else attack Starface.” Siegfried moved towards Edelgard while Ludwig and Junior rushed towards Starface. Bowser followed behind them. Byleth gripped his Sword of the Creator, it transformed into a copy of Failnaught. He took aim at Starface, pulled back, and shot an arrow.

Then Ridley charged through the window. He spat a fireball at Edelgard. It ended up colliding with Starface instead. “Oh excuse me, I didn’t realize I was crashing a party,” Ridley said. The mocking tone in his voice was almost as irritating to Byleth as the sudden intrusion.

“I’m surprised you even know what a party is,” Bowser said.

“Party, fight, same thing. If you want to be defeated then come at me,” Volga said. He blocked a swing from Siegfried and thrusted his spear at Edelgard.

“I sincerely hope nobody has made the error of inviting him to a party,” Sothis commented. Byleth smirked at that and sent an arrow at Ridley. Starface shrieked and three orbs of light appeared in the area. Byleth recognized the technique, that was one of the attacks Galeem had used. The orbs were spread out too far to destroy any of them before they could detonate.

“Those are Galeem bombs. Evade!” In a flash everyone moved to a safe zone as quickly as they could. The bombs detonated in a bright explosion. Ridley tried to knock Bowser into it and got a punch to the gut in return.

“Why does Starface have some of Galeem’s powers?!” Bowser shouted. A dark aura manifested around Volga. Black thorn like tentacles shot from Volga’s body at both Edelgard and Starface. Tentacles that looked identical to the ones that Dharkon had used. Ridley switched focus and dove at Volga, then pulled back just in time to dodge a hammer made of black tentacles. That prompted Ridley to switch focus to sending fireballs down while he stayed well above the battle. Starface sent several shards of ice towards Ridley, while dark portals appeared around Ridley to shoot out more tentacles.

Ludwig hopped around the arena, shooting trios of fireballs from his wand at Starface. Byleth noted that while Ludwig had been able to dodge the attacks from Starface, the accuracy of Starface’s attacks were only improving. Meanwhile Junior was throwing as many Mechakoopas as he could at Starface, set to detonate in mid air. The more immediate threats had taken all the heat away from Lincoln. His gun let out a click instead of a bullet.

“This isn’t good, I’m out of ammo,” Lincoln said.

“How good are you at hand to hand combat?” Byleth asked.

“No experience against swords, but I can try to apply my wrestling experience.”

“Help Siegfried. I’ll keep covering you.” With that Byleth continued loosing arrows at Ridley and Starface. A blue orb appeared above Byleth, then it divided itself into six copies that flew at him. Byleth ran. A similar orb appeared behind Junior. Junior also tried to evade them. Ridley swooped down and grabbed the Clown Kart, dragging it along the ground. That immediately drew Bowser’s attention, allowing a shard of ice to strike him. Starface followed up by summoning two copes of Galeem’s wings. They spun down towards Bowser like drills. Bowser retreated into his shell. A hideous screech came from the collision of shell and wing.

“Weren’t we friends?!” Junior shouted.

“Smash mansion is gone, I don’t need to play by those rules any longer. At least now I know how fun betrayal is. I hope there are more gullible idiots like you I can betray,” Ridley said. He prepared a fireball in his mouth. Byleth shifted his weapon to take Aymr’s form and leapt.

“Get away from him monster!” The axe went down on Ridley. Somehow Ridley endured the hit. He released his grip and tried to fly back. Byleth returned the Sword of the Creator to its original form. It reached out and grabbed Ridley by the tail. While Ridley was locked into place Ludwig leapt up and sent out fireballs of his own. Junior got the Clown Lart upright again and prepared its cannon. The cannonball struck Ridley in the stomach. Byleth dug his feet into the ground, keeping Ridley from escaping. Bowser ran over to Byleth.

“Let’s take a page from Mario’s book.” Bowser grabbed Byleth and held him up. He swung Byleth around him in a circle, and Byleth dragged Ridley with him. Resisting the urge to throw up was almost as hard for Byleth as holding onto Ridley. Once they built up enough momentum Byleth released Ridley. “So long Ridley.” Ridley crashed into the wall and formed a hole in it.

“What did you just say?” Byleth asked.

“So long Ridley. I was trying to copy Mario’s accent.”

“It sounded like you were saying something else.” Somehow Ridley was still conscious. Then Junior charged the Clown Lart towards Ridley and fired another cannonball. Ridley was finally down for the count.

Edelgard turned towards Ridley. Soul Edge hungered for more souls. Starface swung its tail and fired a purple laser towards Volga. Volga leapt up towards Starface to counterattack. With all enemies distracted Lincoln and Siegfried seized the opening. Lincoln ran in front of Edelgard while Siegfried approached from behind. The two unleashed their drop kicks at the same time. The impact made Edelgard’s grip loosen. Soul Edge fell from her hands. Edelgard collapsed to the ground.

“Destroy it now!” Byleth shouted. He and Bowser placed themselves between Soul Edge and the other combatants. Ludwig continued to leap around, his fireballs demanding attention from both Volga and Starface. Starface seemed more interested in preventing Volga from reaching Soul Edge than getting closer to it.

Siegfried lifted up Soul Calibur and aimed the tip at Soul Edge’s eye. A purple glow came from Soul Edge. The space around it began to distort, a rift in space began to open. Time stopped. Byleth was still aware, and he could still move. He ran towards Soul Edge. Sothis channeled her power through him, the spatial distortion around Soul Edge vanished. Time was still frozen. Sothis wasn’t the one who had stopped time.

A masked man appeared next to Soul Edge. His mask was made of gold and shaped like the sun. He wore a white robe decorated with a line of red diamond designs that transitioned into a chain around his waist, the pattern was also present on the left, right, and back of the robe. “Even destroying this abomination is too risky, it could merge with a certain other abomination and become even more powerful. Permit me to dispose of this.” He grabbed Soul Edge and plucked a purple shard from the sword. Then he crushed it in his hands. The masked man summoned a bright portal in the side of the room, and hurled Soul Edge into it. It closed with Soul Edge sealed on the other side. He summoned another portal behind Starface, the next second he had leapt through it. Time resumed. Starface flew into the portal, almost as if he had expected it to appear. The portal closed behind him.

“What happened?” Siegfried asked.

“Hmph, time manipulation, what a cowardly technique. I’d continue fighting you, but certain people will yell my ear off if I do,” Volga said.

“How about you tell us what you’re doing with Dharkon’s powers then,” Bowser said.

“No.” A dark portal appeared beneath Volga’s feet and swallowed him. It closed immediately afterwards.

“Wait I’m confused. Did we win or not?” Junior asked. Byleth and Bowser looked at each other, then Byleth looked towards Edelgard. Siegfried was already lifting her up in his arms.

“Well without that cursed sword this young lady seems a lot less violent. Thanks for your help,” Lincoln said.

“You’re the guy who helped Leaf and Ulti deal with that Ultra Beast, right?” Byleth asked.

“Ah so you’re some of their friends, good to know. Hopefully this time we can talk a bit before I’m forced to go through another portal.” Edelgard let out a groan. Her eyes slowly opened.

“Professor? What happened? I feel like I’ve been in a long dream,” Edelgard said. Her voice was groggy.

“It’s a long story. I’m just glad you’re safe. Edelgard, what’s the last thing you can remember?” Byleth asked.

“Everything had just stopped moving. And then this strange woman approached me, she told me that she had with her the sword of the salvation. I took it in my hands, and then I… I don’t remember. I heard voices I think, voices of people who couldn’t possibly be there.”

“That’s one of Soul Edge’s ways of manipulating its victims. That woman tricked you, it’s no sword of salvation,” Siegfried said. He helped Edelgard get back on her feet. She stumbled at first before regaining her balance.

“We need something that actually narrows it down. Give us more information,” Bowser said.

“Bowser, calm down. I don’t think she’s fully recovered,” Byleth said.

“No, I can’t permit anything to let me falter. Some details are coming back to me. She had long red hair, her clothing was rather peculiar, especially her headdress. She gave me her name, but I’m struggling to recall it. The first letter was a, the last one was too. Akasha! That was her name.”

“Akasha?” Siegfried asked. “That can’t be, she was helping us.”

“Who is this Akasha?” Lincoln asked.

“Huh, the reports said she helped you out in fighting that Ultra Beast,” Byleth said.

“I don’t recall anyone with that name.” Lincoln scratched his head.

“I told you so Byleth,” Sothis said. Byleth tried to process the information. Akasha had most likely been manipulating them. Which meant she had to have some sort of plan she currently carrying out, and there was no way she’d help expose it if she felt it could be still be stopped. Whatever her objective was could have already been carried out.

“Let’s go find Akasha and see what she has to say about this,” Byleth said. Bowser took out his phone.

“Kamek where’s Akasha?!” Bowser shouted.

“She left the castle a while ago sire. Is she alright? We got along quite well, we talked about our favorite plays. She said she was fond of this one play called The King in Yellow that sounded quite-“ Bowser hung up.

“The King in Yellow? That play is cursed, nobody can read the script and keep their sanity,” Lincoln said. Edelgard looked at Byleth. The confusion was obvious. Byleth took out his own phone and tried to call Leaf. With how close she had been to Akasha she was the most likely to know where Akasha was. An error message popped up, informing Byleth that Wuhu Island could not be reached at the moment. Another message took over the screen, one directly from Master Hand.

Go to these coordinates ASAP. Something is happening on Wuhu Island. I’ll meet you at the ship and explain on the way.

“What are those devices?” Edelgard asked. Lincoln shrugged.

“I’ll explain everything to you later. Right now we need to get going, you can stay here if you need to rest,” Byleth said.

“I understand enough to know that I owe everyone here for my safety, I can fight at your side,” Edelgard said. With that Byleth led the charge back out of the castle.

“Ludwig, Junior, you both did great. Just wanted to say that before I forgot,” Bowser said. Junior still seemed downcast. Byleth wished he had the time for a serious conversation. But at the very least they needed to rendezvous with Master Hand first. Byleth wondered what exactly was waiting for them at the set location.

Alarms blared all over Wuhu Island. Invaders from another world had been detected. Leaf was looking over the defense plan for the island. The King in Yellow remained in its sealed container. Akasha gave a small chuckle, quiet enough for nobody else to hear. Leaf was too absorbed in preparations to notice anything else. Akasha reached for her knife.

Chapter Text

Leaf ran around Burnet’s laboratory as fast as she could, hiding the various documents in secret compartments. Burnet had left to gather more intel and wasn’t due back for several more days, which thankfully meant she was safe from whatever was attacking Wuhu Island. Leaf removed the case around the King in Yellow. A knife pierced Leaf’s heart.

“A…Akasha?” Leaf fell to the ground. Her pokeballs spilled out of her bag and rolled across the floor. A puddle of blood formed around her corpse. Ulti let out a distressed howl. Akasha cleaned her dagger and chuckled to herself.

“This part was most fun to play, nostalgic even, yet the call of the curtain reaches me.” Akasha walked over to Ulti. Her staff let out a green glow, forming great shadows in its wake. “Now, you who are ancient and new, progenitor and scion, gate and key, the time has come. The answer to the riddle of your identity will soon be made manifest. All that is required is the opening of the gate which stands before you.” Ulti’s attention was still turned to Leaf. He lowered himself into his pot, paying no heed to Akasha. “Surely you see that one life is beneath beings as vast as us. With how many worlds there are nothing of her nature is truly unique. You must accept both your true nature and the fact of her demise.” Ulti thrust his head at Akasha and bit her arm. Akasha pulled her arm free.

“No. Fuck you,” Ulti said. His voice was deep and booming, and it came from the air itself rather than his mouth. He no longer cared about what he was. There was something more important, revenge. Throughout many worlds he let out his call and heard various answers. He didn’t know or care how he had accomplished that, how he had heard those answers to his cry. Akasha held that knowledge, and he didn’t want anything Akasha had held.

A distortion in space formed around Ulti and spread. It was a space without color. No sound came from Akasha stepping back in shock and attempting to utter the name of the power she was subjected to, the negative zone. There was only one sound, an incantation no mouth could ever hope to repeat without flaw. It had one purpose: to bring about a miracle.

Leaf was alive again. The fatal wound and spilled blood had vanished in the blink of an eye. The negative zone reduced itself to a sphere around Akasha. Leaf pushed herself up from the floor, letting out deep breaths. Ulti let out a triumphant cheer. He spat a cloud of poison into the negative zone and flung himself at Akasha. Akasha was sent flying into the air with more force than the impact of his pot could have logically had. Akasha fell through the negative zone in slow motion. Ulti spat seeds at her with speed surpassing bullets and landed a leech seed on her. Despite the lack of sunlight he fired off a solar beam without even a second of charging. The negative zone vanished completely, Akasha crashed through the wall.

Ulti ran towards Leaf. He stood in front of her protectively. Akasha let out a roar and transformed. Her shape changed to that of a large flying serpent with two arms, hovering upright. In one hand was a large spear. Most of the new shape was yellow with many traces of green, it almost looked as though it was wearing a hood. The tail was a spiral of tentacles laced with thorns, the tip was green and it turned yellow closer to the main body. “Behold the visage of the king in yellow, Hastur.” The play of the same name flew towards Akasha. It entered her body like a stone tossed into a lake. Leaf reached for her pokeballs.

“Was it all a lie Akasha?!” Leaf shouted.

“I played the part that was allotted to me, and now the play has ended. The gate will soon open even if Ulti rejects his purpose.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you killed me. So I’m not letting you get away with this.” Leaf threw one of her pokeballs up in the air. Her Charizard emerged and manifested in front of her. “Lizardon use flare blitz.” The Charizard covered itself in flames and charged at Akasha. Akasha used her spear to knock Lizardon into the ground. Lizardon quickly recovered and breathed flames towards Akasha, they had no effect.

Ulti spat a cloud of poison at Akasha, it vanished. Lizardon got up close and slashed, he was swatted away like an ant. Leaf could feel herself growing angrier and angrier. Akasha laughed as Lizardon attempted another futile slash. Not even a point blank flare blitz left a mark on Akasha’s transformed self. Without thinking Leaf pointed at Lizardon. Ultra wormhole energy surrounded both trainer and Pokemon.

“This is proof of our bond, beast boost mega evolution.” Lizardon howled and mega evolved. Spikes emerged from his shoulders, his wings became sharper and almost blade like, and his body changed color to black and a light blue. He got close to Akasha and slashed again. This time it left a mark. Akasha swung her spear at him. Lizardon caught it. Akasha pulled herself back.

“So you have some of his power now. A miracle like resurrection granting such boons is quite excessive if you ask me,” Akasha said.

“Nobody did. Lizardon, form change.” In a flash Lizardon changed again. His body had returned to its original coloration, but now two small wing like extensions started from his hands and went backwards alongside the arms, and a long horn joined the two already on his head. The sun beat down fiercely on Wuhu island. Leaf pointed at Ulti. The ultra wormhole energy surrounded Ulti, and he began to charge up a solar beam. A second later it was launched at Akasha.

Akasha held out her spear. It parted the solar beam, but it continued alongside the spear. The force knocked her back, but she was still standing. “Form change X, then dragon pulse.” Lizardon shifted to his other form before launching the attack. Akasha was beginning to show signs of damage, but much less than anyone would normally have.

“Fight all you like, the wheel of fate is already turning,” Akasha said. She charged forward with her spear.

Akira was on high alert as he surveyed the town from the rooftops. So far no obvious threats had revealed themselves in the town. Fox had entered into a dogfight with a mysterious Arwing up in the sky, but Akira couldn’t do much there. He spotted a woman wandering around the town and leapt down, doing a flip in mid air for dramatic effect. “There’s something going on here, please get to safety.”

“Oh don’t worry about me, I’m a Persona user too and I’ve been through worse,” the woman said. She held out her hand. “My name is Maya Amano, what’s yours?”

“For now you can call me Joker. How did you know about my Persona?” Akira asked. Maya had given him a strange look upon hearing his name.

“Sorry, I knew somebody else who called themselves that. Did nobody tell you that Persona users can sense other Persona users? Weird, I’ve never even had to think about it,” Maya said. Their conversation was disrupted by a strange sound.

“👎⚐☠🕯❄ ❄☼🕆💧❄ ❄☟✌❄ 🕈⚐💣✌☠.” A skull appeared above Maya. She leapt aside as a blast of energy poured out of its mouth. A skeleton appeared in front of Akira. He was dressed in a black suit. There was a crack going upwards from his left eye and a crack going downwards from his right eye.

“What are you?” Akira asked.

“✋ ✌💣 ☝✌💧❄☜☼. 👌🕆❄ ✋ ✌💣 ✌☹💧⚐ 👎☟✌☼😐⚐☠.” It was a mystery why Joker hadn’t seen that coming. A dark aura enveloped the skeleton. It reminded Akira too much of a certain enemy the Smashers had faced.

“You don’t need to get involved in this fight. I can handle myself. Artemis!” Maya raised her hand, her persona appeared behind her. It had a humanoid shape and looked somewhat mechanical. The body was black and somewhat reminiscent of a mannequin, but most of it was covered with white and purple clothing. The only part of the mask like face that could be seen was the mouth, a purple gem like headdress covered the eyes. The persona created an icicle over the skeleton and dropped it. A skull appeared to destroy the icicle before it made contact.

“Not my style to leave someone to fend for themselves. Arsene!” Akira summoned his own persona. It swiped at the skeleton, who raised his hand to block it. Akira sensed something coming his way and ducked. A flaming spear flew over his head.

“Leave this one to me Gaster,” Volga said. Maya clutched her chest like she was pain. She recovered in time to evade another skull. She pulled out two pistols and fired at Gaster. A skull appeared to take the shots. Akira rushed to stab Volga, he was knocked aside. “You’re holding back. Stop that.” Volga transformed into a red dragon and charged at Akira. He jumped away, only narrowly avoiding the flames that spread out. Volga returned to his humanoid form, but kept the wings of his dragon form. He flew up and struck Akira with an uppercut. Maya summoned an icy stalagmite under Volga, he shattered it with his spear.

“If you insist. Satanael!” Akira shouted. The six winged persona manifested behind him, aiming its long gun at Volga. It fired. Volga was pushed back. “You know most people die when they get shot,” Akira complained.

“I don’t die even when I’m killed,” Volga responded. Gaster sighed. A mass of shadows appeared around Volga feet. He turned into his dragon form and avoided the massive maw that appeared. Akira had Satanael cast Heat Riser on himself. Another shot from Satanael was aimed at Volga. It clashed with Volga’s spear and was redirected elsewhere. Akira fired a bullet from his own gun, it hit Volga’s side.

Volga retaliated with a fireball. Satanael took the hit, Akira was knocked to his feet. Volga rushed forward, his spear dressed in flames. Akira didn’t have time to recover. Maya stood between them. The spear bounced off of her. Volga was thrown back. Akira recognized the glow of tetrakarn. “Crescent Mirror!” Maya summoned Artemis. Artemis raised her hands, a mirror appeared above her. A bright light came forth from it. Gaster was knocked back, Volga’s legs were frozen. Volga melted the ice around him.

Akira got back on his feet, evading another skull. Off in the distance there was an explosion. It was near Burnet’s lab. The distraction let one of the skulls slam into him. Satanael retaliated with a shot. Gaster summoned a skull as a shield. Meanwhile Maya was trying to keep Volga at a distance with her guns and spells. She had another tetrakarn shielding her, Volga dispelled it with a weak hit.

“Joker! Go help them. You have friends over where that explosion was, right? I can handle these two,” Maya said. She was smiling, despite the concerned look on her face before. Artemis appeared behind her. Cold winds whipped around the battlefield. Akira heard a familiar voice in his head.

I am thou, thou art I…

        Thou hast formed a vow between worlds.

            This new vow will be thine guiding light

            And thine blinding reflection.

            With a new Moon Persona’s birth

            I have opened a new path

            That will forge an unforetold future…

“Thank you Maya,” Akira said. He took off towards Burnet’s lab. When his back was turned, Maya began to glow with a bright aura. A second persona appeared next to Artemis. It was a much smaller copy of Galeem.

Fox gritted his teeth. The rival pilot was good. Since they were so close to an inhabited area Fox had to watch his shots to avoid collateral damage. Then his radar showed someone else had locked onto him. Fox sent his Arwing down, a missile flew past. A quick U turn let him see the new attacker.

Instead of a ship it was a person. They were skating on ice that formed in front of them, melting when it was no longer needed. Fox barrel rolled to avoid the incoming ice beams. The Arwing’s scanner pulled up the name of his new opponent. Rundas, from Samus’s world. Who was listed as deceased. “Sorry, but trust me when I say you really don’t want to fight that guy,” Rundas said. Fox responded with a charged shot.

“Some guy who’s supposed to be dead is getting in my way,” Fox said over the communicator. “That Arwing pilot is good, I can’t take him on with other people butting in.” Rundas jumped off the ice to get closer to Fox, then formed more ice. He was on the side of the Arwing, where the weapons couldn’t reach. Fox turned around, another leap reset the situation. Fox used the Arwing’s boost to get out of the missile’s way. A few ice beams struck the Arwing, but the ice quickly melted thanks to the engine’s heat. “I really wish I had a bigger target right about now.”

As if in response to Fox’s wish a large dragon suddenly appeared. The sensors identified as a manakete, or at least similar enough to one. It looked somewhat similar to the dragon forms Corrin and Kamui could take. It slashed the other Arwing with its claw, sending it crashing down. Fox quickly calculated where it would land, the path leading to the interior of Maka Wuhu. Rundas shifted his attention to the dragon. That gave Fox an opening to follow the other Arwing.

Lucario traced the strange auras in the ruins. Something had appeared in the innermost chamber. That something soon came into view. It was a tall, thin creature, with skin like charcoal. He let out a loud shriek and vanished. Then he punched Lucario in the back of the head. Lucario retaliated with a punch of his own. The creature vanished again. This time Lucario knew to evade the attack.

The fight continued in that exact way. Teleports and dodges without a single hit connecting. Even Lucario’s aura attacks couldn’t connect. Then an aura sphere connected with the creature. An aura sphere that Lucario hadn’t made. A familiar aura revealed itself to Lucario. He refused to believe it at first. Then he saw the source of that aura.

“Sir Aaron?”

“Not entirely.” Sir Aaron looked around. “I guess Enderman has gone somewhere else, looks like I do have time to explain.” Aaron didn’t look Lucario in the eyes. He tapped the brim of his hat then put his hands together. He shifted uncomfortably in place.

“What’s going on here? If you’re not Sir Aaron then who are you?” Lucario asked.

“I don’t know. Let me explain, when you defeated Galeem he broke apart into different pieces. Those pieces somehow merged with remnants of the dead. One of those was Sir Aaron. For a while I thought that I really was Sir Aaron. But I’m just a piece of Galeem that has Sir Aaron’s body, memories and skills. I was hoping this encounter wouldn’t have to happen, please forget all about it.” Aaron turned around and started to walk away.

“Sir Aaron wait. Just because you have parts of Galeem doesn’t mean you have to hide away.”

“I am Galeem, as much as I am Sir Aaron at least. My goal is to unify all worlds, bring them together as one. But just because I’m being nicer about it than last time doesn’t mean you’ll like it. Sometimes to build a road you have to tear some old things down.” Aaron looked up towards the ceiling. Lucario thought back to the Great Maze, World of Light, and World of Darkness. All of them had been disturbing in their own way. Bringing worlds together couldn’t result in anything other than chaos. Lucario couldn’t bring himself to risk that. Even Aaron had admitted it, somethings would inevitably be destroyed in the process. Aaron made for the exit. Lucario rushed around him and blocked the exit.

“This isn’t making any sense to me, but the Sir Aaron I know would never sacrifice anyone to achieve his goals.” Lucario got into a fighting stance. He tried to ignore how much the person in front of him resembled Sir Aaron. The ground shook.

“What now?!”

“There are fragments of Dharkon just like me. One of them somehow fused with some entity that’s still sealed away in this island. But the other fragments of Dharkon are trying to break the seal by stirring up conflict. I need to go help out my other selves now.” Aaron ducked, Enderman had swung an axe at his head.

Enderman vanished. He reappeared at the back of the room, holding a stack of TNT in his hands. He lowered the TNT. He lit the fuses. Aaron leapt forward and shoved Lucario away. The TNT detonated.

Toon Link and Bayonetta watched as an explosion erupted from the ruins. Between the sudden appearance of a dragon and now the random explosion Toon was starting to feel overwhelmed. “Oh dear, hopefully Lucario’s fur didn’t get too burnt,” Bayonetta said. “Come along little one, we have our own job.” Toon nodded in response and continued up the path leading into Maka Wuhu. One of the portals had opened there.

The heat of the volcano brought back memories for Toon. His quest up Dragon’s Roost Island felt like it belonged to another lifetime, so did everything else. It was difficult to remember that time without also remembering King Daphnes, or as Toon had known him the King of Red Lions. So as he and Bayonetta entered Maka Wuhu, Toon was convinced that he was merely hallucinating.

“A volcano is no place to just sit around you know. Unless of course you’re doing something naughty,” Bayonetta said.

“You don’t need to worry about me. I’m on your side. It’s good to see you again Link,” King Daphnes said. He looked exactly like he had when Toon last saw him alive. In his right hand was a folded up sail, the head of the King of Red Lions was perched on the top. Toon’s mouth fell open. “Long ago a being known as the Dark Emperor was sealed away on this island. Certain people are trying to break the seal, but I’m reinforcing it”

“I… I thought you were dead,” Toon said.

“I’m sorry, but the reason why I’m here is too complicated to explain with so many enemies around,” Daphnes said.

“Keeping a naughty boy locked up sounds like a good cause. Since you two seem to know each other I’ll go find someone to play with,” Bayonetta said. Daphne’s eyes went wide. Toon felt a gun to the back of his head. Bayonetta aimed her own guns over Toon’s head.

“You. I’ve heard of you, the mercenary who created Team Starfox, James McCloud,” Daphnes said.

“Glad to see I still have a reputation. Now, get rid of that seal or I pull the trigger. Don’t think I need to say what any other movement gets you,” James said. Toon gulped. Of course he had to screw up when he was finally reunited with Daphnes. All he could do was hope for an opening.

“Get so much as an inch closer to the little one and I’ll be dining on fox tonight,” Bayonetta said. Daphnes remained silent. He took in a deep breath.

“Countdown is starting from ten. Nine. Eight. Seven..” James continued with the count down.

“I pray you come to deeply regret your actions,” Daphnes said. He lifted his hand. The volcano began to roar. A laser hit James’s gun. Bayonetta did a sweeping kick to knock James down. She stepped on him and pointed her guns down at his face. Fox ran into the volcano, holstering his gun. Daphnes held out his hands and they emitted a golden light. His attempt to reinforce the seal didn’t work. A cloud of darkness rose up from the lava. It rose up above the Smashers and began to take form.

The Dark Emperor’s body was like a dark opal, containing a mosaic of colors ranging between dark blue and light green. His eyes were red, and horn like shapes formed behind him. A wispy tail stood beneath him. Talons with four claws hovered next to him, there was nothing visibly connecting them to the Dark Emperor’s body. There were some sort of lines that could be seen inside his body, constantly moving like water in a river. The Dark Emperor opened his dark red mouth. “At last I’m free. This island shall once again serve as the seat of my power.”

Daphnes swung his sail at the Dark Emperor, who hovered above it. Fox was the only one uninterested in the Dark Emperor. “You. Why do you look like my father. I know you’re not him,” Fox said.

“Is that what your instincts told you? I taught you better than to doubt them,” James responded. Fox growled.

“My father would never hold someone hostage like that. Instincts can’t be right all the time. Now fess up, who sent you. Was it Andrew? The Space Pirates?” As Fox shouted the Dark Emperor prepared a spell. A wave of magic spread around the volcano. James got up with unnatural speed, activating his reflector before Fox or Bayonetta could shoot. He ran and threw a kick at Toon, it collided with a shield. Toon swung the Master Sword at James. James evaded the counter, leaving himself open to a flurry of kicks from Fox. A quick burst of flames around James forced Fox away. Fox rushed in for another kick, James rolled past, giving up a chance to strike Fox. Fox continued to launch attacks that were avoided. James only aimed his gun at his other enemies.

“I find it funny how you conned them into thinking you’re on the same team,” the Dark Emperor said. He tried to punch Daphnes, who blocked it with the sail. “I can sense the bombs you’ve planted around my island, Galeem.” Toon shot an arrow at the Dark Emperor.

“Ah, so you were up to something naughty after all,” Bayonetta said. One of her guns fired at the Dark Emperor, another was aimed at Daphnes.

“He’s obviously lying. That’s not Galeem,” Toon said. Daphnes shook his head.

“They’re not deigned to hurt anyone. All they’ll do is relocate whatever and whoever is in their radius to the World of Light.” The description sounded too similar to the subspace bombs for Toon’s liking.

“Bombs are still bombs, you’re going to strand everyone here in your hollow little world,” James said.

“At least it’s not your dreary abyss. You’re planning on claiming this island for your own realm as well.” Daphnes landed a hit on the Dark Emperor. From the top of the volcano a new combatant dropped down. The Dark Emperor narrowly avoided the double bladed glaive.

“Father?”

“Balder, thank you,” Daphnes said. Balder held a strange device in his left hand. It resembled a subspace bomb, but it was smaller and made of a white material. He dropped it. The bomb landed on the floor and spread apart, revealing a bright yellow orb in its center.

“So, I guess we’re back to fighting each other,” Bayonetta said.

“Cereza… No that won’t be enough to convince you. We’ll have to fight each other yet again,” Balder said. Up in the sky, far above the open top of Maka Wuhu, a crack formed. Everyone present felt a shiver. “What is that?”

Leaf looked up at the crack in the sky. Akasha raised her spear up at it. A beam of light went from the spear to the crack. Ulti spat seeds at the spear, it didn’t leave Akasha’s hand. The crack in the sky began to widen. “The Ancient One…” Leaf muttered to herself. She didn’t know why she knew that name. Vague visions came to her, none of them good. “Focus the spear, stop Akasha from opening the gate to The Ancient One.” Lizardon charged at the spear with a flare blitz. The spear went flying up in the sky, the beam of light curving to reach the crack. It landed back in Akasha’s transformed hands.

“Satanael!” The persona appeared behind Akasha, its gun pointed at her head. It fired. Akasha reverted back to her human form. The spear vanished, the hole in the sky remained. Akira ran into view. “Akasha? What’s going on?”

“She’s a traitor. She nearly killed me, and she tried to summon this thing known as The Ancient One that would have destroyed us all just by entering this world,” Leaf said. She didn’t have time to get into her death and resurrection. She was still trying to process it herself. It was a line of thought for after all the immediate threats had been gotten rid of. Akasha laughed.

“Tried? Look again,” Akasha said. Leaf looked up. The hole in the sky was expanding by itself. Ulti let out a whimper. “Alas, this play is over regardless of what you do. An alarm ceases to have meaning once the sleeper has awakened. And thus my role has been fulfilled. The gate will open by itself now.” Akasha vanished. One second she was there, the next she wasn’t. The hole in the sky was only growing larger.

“Hello! Smashers come in.” Master Hand’s voice flickered through a layer of static. “Help is on the way, but we need a way into Wuhu Island. Entrance into that world is being blocked. Somebody is trying to open a gate to awaken an entity that we can’t allow to be awakened, otherwise we’re all done for. I can seal it, but I need to reach it first.” Leaf looked down at her hands. Then she looked at the apparent source of her new powers, Ulti. She felt a little bitter about the fact that of all times for the sudden flow of just knowing things to stop, it had to be when the world was at stake.

“Ulti, can you help them get in?” Leaf asked. Ulti looked to Leaf, then Akira. He got between them, his leaves reached up towards their hands. With a bit of reluctance Akira took hold of the leaf. Leaf gripped it.

Power began to well up inside Leaf, and she became aware that the same was happening for Akira. Satanael appeared above them, pointing his gun towards the horizon. Lizardon flew into position next to the persona. Another persona appeared. It was bipedal, its skin was black like obsidian, and it had no face. Tentacles reached out from various points along its body. There were some yellow spots on the body that somewhat resembled a honeycomb. Leaf knew its name, Hastur. That too was Hastur, as was the form that Akasha had taken. And the persona belonged to Ulti, because he was Hastur as well.

“Kaleidoscope Bullet!” Satanael fired a bullet up towards the sky. It cut through space itself, forming another rift in the sky. Lizardon flew up and spewed out blue flames that expanded the hole. Hastur extended its tentacles to reach inside the newly opened rift, pulling it open. The assault continued. Leaf could feel her strength draining. Akira was letting out deep breathes. They were attacking the world itself, forcing it to bend to their will. In the midst of all the chaos, they succeeded. The path for Master Hand was open.

A large fortress flew through the newly opened rift, casting a shadow over Wuhu Island. It looked similar to the buildings that had been seen in the battlefield simulation. A large number of cannons were built into it. Lizardon landed in front of Leaf, transformed into his Y form and hunched over. Leaf got on his back, Akira hopped on behind her. Ulti jumped onto Akira’s lap. They took off towards the fortress.

Up in the sky they had a better view of it. It was actually a floating island. While a majority of it had been covered by the fortress there were sections where the natural environment had been left undisturbed, even a pond could be seen. Tall towers stood at various spots on the island. The Smash Brothers logo was all over the fortress. Master Hand flew over to greet them. “What do you think of Smash Fortress?” Master Hand asked.

“It looks amazing. But we kind of have an emergency going on right now,” Leaf said.

“Yes that is true. This way.” Master Hand took off towards the hole in the sky. Lizardon followed behind him.

Master Hand grabbed the edge of the rift in the sky. Then he pulled along the side like he was pulling a zipper, it closed the gate. He let go. It forced itself back open. Master Hand quickly repeated the motion, this time he didn’t let go. “Seal it. Use the same power that opened the gate that let Smash Fortress in,” Master Hand ordered. Lizardon breathed fire that collided with the seemingly empty space that the gate occupied. Master Hand was still struggling to keep it closed.

Skulls appeared by the gate, covered in a dark aura. Akira readied his gun. The skulls opened their mouths, unleashing lasers on the rift. A large cobra like creature flew up to the gate, covered in a bright aura. The name of the creature popped into Leaf’s head, Starface. Starface raised his tail, beams of light reached up from various spots on Wuhu Island, gathering together on the tail before rushing at the gate. Master Hand loosened his grip, then let go. This time the gate did not reopen. Leaf released her breath right as she realized she had been holding it.

“So, can I get an explanation of what’s going on now?” Akira asked.

Fox looked up at the now sealed hole in the sky. Everyone in the fight had stopped to watch it be sealed. It had been enough to force him to reevaluate the situation and forget how hot it was inside Maka Wuhu. Fox looked around for James, he was already gone. “What a coward. To think someone so spineless would liberate me. Next time our battle will not be so easily disrupted, and I will reclaim this island,” the Dark Emperor said. A portal of darkness appeared above him, he flew through it. If he didn’t have a reputation to maintain, Fox would have begged the Dark Emperor to stay. It had become clear that despite everything, Fox really had confronted his own father.

“You two should get going too if you know what’s good for you. I’ll give you a pass for now since you gave up your own bombs to close that nasty little crack in the sky,” Bayonetta said.

“That’s quite generous of you,” Daphnes said. He looked away from Toon. Another man entered Maka Wuhu. He wore a white hooded cloak, the hood obscured his face. His bright blue hair was long enough for parts of it to poke out from under the hood. “Anankos, you took your time.”

“The enemy was even more skilled than I expected,” Anankos said. “We may be enemies now, but I have one request to ask of you Smashers. Tell Corrin and Kamui that their world is in more danger than they realize.” A bright portal appeared behind Anankos, he fell backwards into it.

“Don’t stop protecting the legacy of Hyrule, no matter which world it belongs to. Even if we have to fight now, I’m still proud of you Link,” Daphnes said. He walked through another portal. It stayed open.

“Daphnes already said what I wanted to, and we’ve had this conversation before. This time I’ll try not to attempt any genocides,” Balder said. He walked through the portal and closed it. Bayonetta turned around and walked away.

“Well, come along little one, you too kit. This heat is atrocious, no point moping in here,” Bayonetta said. Fox and Toon followed her. It was clear that many unpleasant battles were waiting on the horizon. Fox was going to have to check in with Peppy.

Despite the ancient looking exterior, the interior of Smash Fortress was rather advanced. All of the Smashers present on Wuhu Island were gathered in the command room. The walls were covered in monitors and a large table sat in the center of the room. Akira had tried to follow the explanation about the hologram projecting technology in the table, but had given up. “What was up with Ulti?” Akira asked.

“He’s actually an aspect of an elder god, Hastur, the same one who Akasha claimed to be a priestess of. It looks like Akasha and Hastur have a relationship very different from priestess and god though. Ulit is his own being now though. It’s like when a Nincada evolves, from that point onward the resulting Ninjask and Shedninja are distinct individuals,” Leaf explained.

“How did you learn all of that?” Bayonetta asked. Fox shook his head in confusion.

“Some part of me just knew once we joined our powers together. And Ulti gave me some of his power too,” Leaf said. She was withholding something. The way she gripped her bag and fiddled with the zipper made it obvious.

“I don’t care about Hastur or The Ancient One, I want to stay with you guys,” Ulti said. Nobody said a word in response. Ulti’s mouth had moved, but the actual words sounded as though they came from somewhere else. Somehow, Akira had no doubt it was Ulti speaking. Leaf patted Ulti’s head. Fox held his head in his hands.

“Well that’s good to hear,” Lucario said. Normally Lucario could stand in place like a statue. He was currently fidgeting in his seat, and had been doing so throughout the entire debriefing. Something else was clearly on his mind.

“And what about all of those weird people who showed up?” Akira asked. Lucario, Fox, Toon Link, and Bayonetta all developed an interest in other parts of the room.

“It looks like some of you already know. Galeem and Dharkon are still alive in some form. They split into pieces, and those pieces have fused with what remains of the dead from various worlds. The resulting beings are about fifty percent the original, fifty percent Galeem or Dharkon respectively. They have all the characteristics of the original person, even memories and feelings. But their goal is the same as their other half,” Master Hand explained. One of the monitors came to life and displayed a list. Akira was surprised to see Maya Amano listed as one of the aspects of Galeem.

“Could there be more of them?” Leaf asked.

“Maybe. With beings like Galeem and Dharkon it’s fully possible new aspects are forming as we speak,” Master Hand said. Bayonetta placed her legs on the table.

“So, what happened to not being able to create a place for us Smashers to gather?” Bayonetta asked.

“This wasn’t made by me. But with Peach’s help I set it up as a base of operations for the Smashers going forward. Though there is something I need to confess. I may have been greatly simplifying the definition of Smasher this entire time.” Master Hand curled up his fingers. Fox leaned forward in his seat.

“Well, go on, you’ve only been holding this back for years,” Fox said.

“Smasher refers to anyone who has formed a contract with a being that exists between worlds, not just those aligned with Crazy and myself. By that definition, the aspects of Galeem and Dharkon all qualify as Smashers. Before there weren’t any other beings capable of making Smashers so the exact definition didn’t matter, and I could afford to watch from the sidelines for the most part. But things have changed. I’ll be taking a more active role now. And I’ve already recruited some support staff.” Master Hand gestured to the door. Three people entered. “These are Lincoln, Siegfried, and Edelgard.”

“Nice to finally see you again, Leaf, Ulti. Master Hand fixed my little portal problem so it’ll be nice to stay in one place for a while,” Lincoln said. “Master Hand we’ve already checked in with one person on your list. Spring Man turned us down, but he directed us to some other people with the ARMS gene we can try to contact.”

“Good. Meeting dismissed.” The gathered Smashers split up and left the room with an uncharacteristic silence. As Akira made his way to start exploring the fortress, he felt something in his pocket. It was a note.

I’m sure we will fight each other once more. Here is a riddle for you to contemplate until then. What binds a person more, love or hate?- Akasha

A voice resounded in Akira’s mind.

I am thou, thou art I

The vow has been broken and reforged.

The cursed chains of hate now bind you,

Thou must bear the title of enemy.

With the unmasking of The Faith

Thy heart’s liberation becomes possible

The mocking truth of The Jester will lead you to power…

Enderman stood in the corner of the space, watching the other Dharkons argue. Gaster punched James in the face. James fell to the ground of the dark world. “❄☟✌❄ 🕈✌💧 ☞⚐☼ 🕆💧✋☠☝ ✌ 👍☟✋☹👎 ✌💧 ✌ ☟⚐💧❄✌☝☜📪” Gaster said.

“I can’t believe I just got yelled at in wingdings,” James said. “You guys do realize the Galeems were using literal bombs, right?”

“This is about you, not them,” Rundas said. “Next time I’m not going to even try to bail you out of having to fight your own son.”

“Enough,” the Dark Emperor said. The other Dharkons stopped and turned to him. “There is no point protesting what already took place. This world of ours is desolate. At least the World of Light has something, we only have this vast empty void. Now that we have enemies we must craft plans of our own to acquire something of substance for our world. There are many tactics aside from hostage taking that we can employ.”

“Like…” James said.

“Instead of just waiting for new aspects to form, we will seek out allies. It will give you the needed experience for when the worlds are all unified as our empire,” the Dark Emperor said. Rundas and Gaster exchanged a glance. Enderman wondered what an empire was.

“I don’t care for leading people. But I know someone I want on our side,” Volga said.

“Contact them then. Enderman.” The Dark Emperor’s call brought Enderman to attention. He didn’t understand why, but he was fine when the other Dharkons looked at him. Anyone else looking at him was an obvious threat. “I have a mission for you. There are certain worlds I want you to scout with your power.”

Chapter Text

 Min Min walked up the long ramp to Smash Fortress. It had landed on the outskirts of her hometown for convenience. The architecture of the fortress alone was a jarring clash compared to the sleek modern buildings native to her world, and that was without getting into the fact that it was hovering up in the sky. Spring Man helped her carry up some of her luggage. “Wow, this place is a major upgrade over Smash Mansion. You’re going to love it here Min Min,” Spring Man said.

“Thanks Spring Man,” Min Min said. She was still nervous, but she wasn’t going to let it show. To her it was obvious that showing any hesitation would mark her as weak. That wasn’t the kind of reputation she wanted. The ARMS League had brought a lot more attention to herself and to the Mintendo Ramen House, but somehow even winning popularity polls felt insufficient to her. When Min Min reached the top of the ramp she stopped to take in the sight.

They were already far up in the sky, and the fortress still towered over them. Min Min was surprised by how much grass she could see, she had been told the fortress was on a floating island but had assumed it had all been paved over. The fortress took up the center of the island and expanded outwards, surrounded by nature. The cobblestone path leading to the fortress interior proved to be an irritating obstacle for the wheeled suitcases. Min Min looked up at the various towers that dotted the outer ring of the island, their height made her feel small.

Min Min pushed the large doors open with her shoulder, wheeling in her suitcases behind her. She turned around to get a look at the interior. The roof was at a normal height, which made Min Min wonder how many floors there were with how large the building looked from the outside. There weren’t many decorations in the room, but somebody had rolled out a red carpet. A woman with eerie white skin approached Min Min and Spring Man.

“Hey FT,” Spring Man said. “Min Min this is FT, she’s a fitness trainer for the Smashers who helps out with Spring Gym sometime. And a pretty good fighter too.”

“Pleased to make your acquaintance,” FT said. Her voice sounded peculiar to Min Min. “Allow me to show you the way to your room.” She walked towards the back door, Min Min and Spring Man followed. The door led to a strange sort of cloister. The walkways formed a square, and inside that square was a fairly deep body of water. Min Min saw two small turtle like creatures swimming in it. There were two ladders, one on the left and one on the right, allowing for someone to get into and out of the water.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Min Min said.

“The water here is for the comfort of water dwelling Smashers. If you are interested in swimming there is a swimming pool with a design more suited for recreation and exercise,” FT explained.

“No thanks, water tends to mess with my ARMS if I stay in it for too long,” Min Min said. They walked around the cloister until they reached the opposite end. That led them to the next room. It was a large chamber. There were ten elevators. Eight of them were located in pairs at the corners of the chamber. The other two were located in the center and noticeably larger than the others. “That’s a lot of elevators.”

“The central ones allow for access to the meeting room above us and the hangar below us. Each of the pairs in the corners leads to a different tower with housing. They are all connected and can be walked between, but the number of elevators and staircases is designed for efficiency and to prevent arguing over which rooms have easier access to the rest of the fortress.” FT led the way to one of the elevators to the group’s right. Min Min was surprised to see that some of the buttons were marked with a minus, then she remembered the buildings on the underside of the fortress. FT pressed the minus five button. The elevator went down, the floors passed by quickly and the doors opened again.

They stepped out into a curved hallway. The windows showed a look at the skyline of her hometown and the underside of Smash Fortress. Going down and getting a view of the sky made her feel a little strange. Her room was just a little to the left of the elevator, on the side of the hallway opposite to it. FT opened it for Min Min and Spring Man.

Despite what Min Min expected, her new room was around the same size as her room back home. She had a nice view of the city she had grown up in, and of the ramp she had climbed up to get to Smash Fortress. The unpacking took some time, the only words exchanged were about where things should be placed. The walls were decorated with posters of different anime and her clothes were sorted in the dresser. “Okay, looks like you’re all set up so I’ll get going now,” Spring Man said.

“Hey, thanks for passing along the invite to me,” Min Min said. Spring Man gave her a thumbs up. At first Min Min had been hesitant to accept the invitation to become a Smasher, but it was Spring Man who had convinced her that it would be worthwhile for increasing her fame.

“Would you like a tour of the facilities here?” FT asked.

“No. Right now I kind of want to just sit by myself,” Min Min said. She had learned to appreciate quiet moments with no obligations, and she was unwilling to give them up easily. FT left the room. Min Min sprawled out on her bed. After all of the walking it felt good to rest her legs. She watched as the long ramp retracted and the skyline of her hometown became more and more distant, Smash Fortress had moved without her feeling a thing. Min Min closed her eyes and enjoyed the silence.

After an unclear amount of time, Min Min grabbed her phone and checked it. The Smasher related apps had all been downloaded beforehand, including the map. She looked out the window, a faint blue shield of light surrounded the fortress as it drifted through outer space. The kitchen was on the ground floor, so Min Min got up and went back into the hallway. It took a few seconds for the elevator to pull up. Min Min returned to the ground floor and made her way to the kitchen, which was on the side opposite of the entrance to the fortress.

The kitchen was spacious, with room for multiple people to cook at once and a large number of cabinets. A wide window that stretched against the back wall showed the surface of the island. There were lights on the towers that had turned on to illuminate the exterior of the fortress. A few picnic tables had been set up on the grass. Rosalina was already using the kitchen. “Oh hello, are you here to eat or just looking around?” Rosalina asked.

“Was thinking of making some ramen for everyone. I didn’t sleep past lunch did I?” Min Min asked.

“No, you’re just in time. I should warn you that cooking for the people here can be rather difficult.” Rosalina said.

“I’ve worked at a ramen house, I can handle it.” Fortunately for Min Min the cabinets were already stocked with what she needed, and Rosalina helpfully pointed out where the ingredients were. While they were working Edelgard walked into the kitchen.

“How was your time in Min Min’s world, Edelgard?” Rosalina asked.

“I enjoyed it. Seeing another world has helped give me a new perspective. You come from a good world Min Min,” Edelgard said. 

“I’m sure yours is good too.” Min Min was too focused on her cooking to look up. Edelgard shook her head.

“It could be better,” Edelgard said. Something about her rubbed Min Min the wrong way. There was almost something Coyle like in Edelgard’s voice. Though Min Min wrote it off as her being paranoid. “If I may ask, what is it like for those with the ARMS gene compared to those without it?”

“Pretty normal honestly, the masks make it obvious but there’s so many people with ARMS now that it’s not too big of a deal. I mean Mechanica doesn’t have the ability, but she still got into the ARMS League with her mech. Now the attention from some fans, that’s annoying. I’ve gotten a lot of creepy letters, and every fighter does. But the ones that aren’t creepy are totally worth it,” Min Min said.

“There do seem to be some rather odd people. I accidentally stepped on someone’s face while I was walking around the city, and before I could apologize he thanked me. I didn't know what to do so I ran away,” Edelgard said. 

“Oh no, not one of those people,” Min Min said. She thought back to some of the fan letters she had gotten, the ones that almost made her regret incorporating kicks into her fighting style. “Just ignore people like that. At all costs.”

“It’s reassuring to hear that I did the right thing. I’ll wait for the food and stop interrupting you now,” Edelgard said. She walked out of the kitchen.

The rest of the food prep went without incident. Rosalina called the Smashers for lunch as she and Min Min set up two of the picnic tables with food. There were less people than she expected, which was still enough to fill the two tables. The amount of unfamiliar people briefly made her worried, it could be hard to make an impression with a big crowd. “Isn’t this supposed to be a massive group?” Min Min asked.

“A lot of people are still setting up to move in,” Rosalina said.

“That explains it.” Min Min took a seat. Now that she was looking closer she recognized one of the Smashers. “Hey, you’re Doctor Mario, right?”

“Last I checked. I’ve only been put in charge of the financials and biological research at ARMS Lab, so don’t bug me about weapons or anything like that. They’re still finding someone for the weapons. Your ramen is great by the way.”

“Thanks. Look I know Coyle is apparently as horrible at finance as she is as a person, but with the access to other worlds I’m sure some cross dimensional advertising will fix things.”
“Oh trust me, the ARMs League is our way of getting some funding back. Don’t need to beg me for a shot at superstardom.”

“Hey it’s not like that,” Min Min protested. It was like that. Min Min didn’t want to lose her shot at popularity to the controversy and low funding that Coyle had left in her wake. “Speaking of what Coyle left us with, what’s going to happen with Springtron?”

“Doctor Light has custody of Springtron now. We needed to keep things quiet to get it done safely.” Doctor Mario took a sip of water. Min Min let out a sigh of relief.

“That’s good. I was worried he ended up going back to Coyle after all. I’m not exactly friends with Springtron, but I don’t want him to end up getting thrashed in a temper tantrum the way Hedlok was after I beat them.” Min Min looked around the tables, everyone who was having ramen seemed to be enjoying it. Then Red ran into the room. It was Min Min’s first time seeing him in person, but she had seen him from coverage of the Pokémon League. 

“Has anyone seen Lucario?!”

“No. Did something happen?” Doctor Mario asked. Min Min had heard of Lucario, but hadn’t met him yet.

“He left us.” Everyone turned to Rosalina in shock. She had said it casually, with little change in expression.

“What do you mean he left us!” Doctor Mario stomped his foot. 

“After what he saw at Wuhu Island, he needs time to contemplate. So he left to find his new purpose. I saw him off myself while the rest of you were exploring Min Min’s world.”

“Rosalina, didn’t you think that we needed to know this sooner.”

“You hadn’t asked about Lucario.”

“Well excuse me for not thinking to ask ‘hey Rosalina did Lucario run off to join the enemy earlier today.’ He’s my friend too you know. Always a help, good to talk to, a breath of fresh air from some of the other weirdos here.” Doctor Mario fiddled with his stethoscope. It reminded Min Min of when a fight broke out in her family, except here she had none of the context. She had only just met Doctor Mario and Rosalina, she didn’t know Lucario. She was only a spectator.

“He will come back to us when he’s ready.” Rosalina returned to eating ramen as though nothing had happened. Red had looked at the ground during the argument, obscuring his eyes. He brought his gaze back up.

“Sorry you had to see that,” Red said. “I saw you on TV Min Min, I liked the way you fight. Oh, my name’s Red.”

“Oh thanks, I saw you on TV too. I like that dragon Pokémon of yours.” Min Min felt self conscious of how she spoke. She hated dancing around the obvious thing on everyone’s mind, but what could she even say as a newcomer. It wasn’t like she had any relationship with Lucario herself. 

“Dragon? Oh you mean Charizard. Thank you.” Red hurried himself to a seat and helped himself to some ramen. “This tastes good.”

“Glad you guys liked the ramen, I’m going to go take a walk around the fortress now.” Min Min got up and made her retreat. 

Min Min crossed her arms as she wandered through the various rooms of the fortress. It felt empty, which Min Min knew was because people were still moving in. When she imagined what it would be like with everyone present, the opposite problem presented itself. There’d be too many people, it’d be a challenge to stand out. She walked without much thought, the issue of the fortress and Smashers taking up her focus. That was the opposite of how it was supposed to go, but Min Min felt obligated to finish the walk.

Then she stumbled on the boxing room. It was well lit and featured a small boxing ring in the center. Lockers filled with equipment lined the walls, it even had the equipment for ARMS. Someone was already beating up a sandbag in the boxing ring, Min Min had heard of him, Little Mac. Spring Man had gotten along with him and brought him up a few times.

“Hey, want an opponent who fights back?” Min Min asked. Little Mac turned to look at her, right fist still extended into the sandbag.

“Oh you’re Min Min, Spring Man hyped you up. Want to go for a round or two? You can treat it like an ARMS match,” Little Mac said. Min Min changed her arms to their extendable state and picked two of her usual weapons from the lockers, the RamRam and Megawatt. She jumped into the boxing ring. The mention of Spring Man hyping her up made her nervous, but it was a chance to build up a reputation with the Smashers. And fighting would definitely help distract her.

“Let’s go,” Min Min said. She and Little Mac took opposite corners of the ring. Her plan was fairly simple, pelt Little Mac at a safe distance to build up rush, then use that to finish it off. The ARMS ability gave her a clear advantage. 

The fight started with Min Min throwing out her RamRam in arc, swinging at Little Mac from his left. Little Mac weaved through it and the following Megawatt, but Min Min sent out the RamRam again and landed a hit. She threw out the Megawatt again to keep up the aggression, but Little Mac got into a stance and readied for it. He sidestepped the Megawatt and threw a punch straight into Min Min’s gut.

At a distance that close most of the official ARMs equipment became far less effective. Against other fighters in the ARMS League that drawback barely mattered, even the (relatively) close range fighters needed a certain distance. Little Mac on the other hand bent the usual playbook in a far more disruptive way than giving a fighter six arms. Still, Min Min had at least one weapon that was blunt enough to work at unintended ranges. The Megawatt jumped out at Little Mac and knocked him back. With the short distance it didn’t take long for the Megawatt to retract. 

Min Min did a quick dash forward and charged her arms. Her right arm, which held the Megawatt, changed from ramen to the scales of a dragon. Underestimating Little Mac’s ability to close the distance had been a mistake, she couldn’t be confident in her range. She threw out the Megawatt again, this time cackling with electricity. Little Mac attempted another sidestep, but the increased size caught him. The Megawatt had been carefully designed to only stun other fighters with its electricity. Min Min took advantage of the opening with the RamRam, using it to knock Little Mac to the ground. She charged the RamRam again as Little Mac got back onto his feet.

Seeing little reason to change what worked, Min Min threw out another Megawatt. Little Mac ran towards it. Then he jumped over it. One of his fists was clearly prepared for a punch. Min Min tried to send the RamRam up to cut him off, it didn’t reach. The Megawatt had only then started its retraction. Little Mac landed with a direct hit on Min Min. He slipped back to avoid a counter attack. 

Driven by panic, Min Min threw the RamRam straight ahead. Little Mac ducked under it and advanced on Min Min’s left. He connected another punch. It wasn’t like his other punches, there was more to it. The punch carried the same kind of weight Min Min’s rush attacks had, only focused into a single point. It sent her into the air in a short arc. The ropes caught her, but they couldn’t stop her from falling to her knees. She was glad it was only a practice battle.

“Damn, that was powerful,” Min Min said.

“Thanks, that was my KO Punch. You were great too, after my sparring with Spring Man I knew I couldn’t let you get that rush attack thing going,” Little Mac said. He offered his hand, Min Min took it.

“I’m going to win next time,” Min Min said. 

“You’ve got a lot of drive, I could feel your determination in your fighting style. So, what brought you here?” Little Mac asked.

“Well, it seemed like a way to get some more fights in now that the ARMS League is on break,” Min Min said. She let go of Little Mac’s hand. It was strange how a fight like that could make her feel like someone would understand her. “Actually, if I can be honest for a bit, I wanted people even in other worlds to know who I am. My family’s ramen shop is great and all, its famous and I want it to be even more famous, but I don’t want to just be part of its history. Does that make sense? Fans of the ARMS League know me as a fighter, not the future owner of the Mintendo Ramen House.”

“My family has nothing special, but I can get wanting to leave your mark.” Little Mac rubbed the back of his neck. “Though are you sure you’re getting what you want out of this?”

“What do you mean?” 

“My coach had me read a little bit of philosophy, mainly this bit about wanting recognition. You need validation from people you think are valid. Having fans feels great, but its not like that lasts. That’s why I gave up pro boxing but ended up as a Smasher. I want people to know that I’m strong, but fans are just rooting for who they like in the moment, and you don’t really know them enough to care what they think. But I care about what the guys here think because I know them.”

“That’s… a good point,” Min Min conceded. She thought back to all of the fan mail and online comments she had received. People praising her felt good for a minute or two, while the other members of the ARMS League complimenting her brightened up the rest of the day. She looked at the floor. “Huh, should I even be here?”

“What about that rematch?” Little Mac asked. Min Min raised her face and smiled. It was strange how quickly her doubts had vanished, but she wasn't questioning it. “I know the amount of us Smashers is overwhelming at first, but after a while you’ll get to know some people.”

“Thanks,” Min Min said. She and Little Mac got out of the boxing ring, put away the equipment, and left the room together.

Meanwhile, up in the command room, Master Hand was deep in contemplation with Crazy Hand as the only witness. “I don’t think we’ll ever stop paying for our arrogance,” Master Hand said. He hovered back and forth through the room.

“As long as it keeps being fun I’m cool with that,” Crazy Hand said.

“Crazy, please.” Master Hand turned his attention to a photo on the wall, the original twelve Smashers. “We’ve spread ourselves out too much. Now worlds we didn’t even invite are involved. We should have contented ourselves with the cluster of worlds we had and the occasional reach like Sonic. The unity amongst the Smashers is gone thanks to us.”

“Eh it’s all fine. Unity is boring.” Crazy Hand said. Master Hand sighed.

“Even when Smashers go rogue? We still need to figure out who Dark Samus and her cronies have partnered with now.”

“Maybe it’s Tab-”

“No! It can’t be him!” Master Hand formed himself into a fist. Then slowly he uncurled himself. “Sorry about that. Let’s look into contacting Rex again next. And tracking down all of these other interworld factions.”

“You know it’d be easier if we let that sky guy help out,” Crazy Hand said.

“The keyblade is a dangerous weapon. We shouldn’t get it involved. Now I’ll go find Rex, you try to figure out where Lucario went.” Master Hand vanished in a flash of light.

“How about I go find Sora anyway?” Crazy Hand cackled before vanishing.

Chapter Text

Enderman did not enjoy being seen. However the Pokémon in front of him, Abra, wasn’t looking at him, her eyes were closed. The Abra moved closer, Enderman held out his hand and pet Abra. The two had been like that for a while, it started with Enderman giving Abra a berry out of curiosity. Now Enderman felt fond of Abra. Following the Dark Emperor’s orders had been stressful for Enderman, it involved getting too close to things that could look at him, even if they weren’t supposed to. Enderman preferred the forest he was in at the moment to the cities he had been sneaking through.

The sounds of an explosion assaulted Enderman’s ears, which he immediately covered. Abra teleported away, then teleported back to Enderman. She didn’t move away when Enderman picked her up and moved towards the explosion. Ordinarily Enderman would never go near something that drew attention. However, he knew exactly who was responsible for the explosion. Enderman found a hiding spot right before a clearing in the forest, he and Abra could watch without being watched.

Volga was breathing heavily, a wide smile on his face. The Blaziken standing on the opposite side of the clearing was breathing just as hard. “Finally, a strong enemy here. Don’t you dare retreat now.” Volga lunged forward with his spear. The sight prompted a sigh from Enderman, a habit it had developed and disliked. Interacting with the likes of Volga involved sighing on a regular basis. Their orders had been to scout the world and recruit Pokémon, fighting had not been on the list.

Blaziken rushed to the spear’s side and performed an uppercut on Volga. In a flash Volga assumed his draconic form and dove to the ground, forcing Blaziken along. The impact sent Blaziken into a tree near Enderman’s location. Abra teleported herself and Enderman a short distance away. Getting closer again was too risky, so Enderman closed his eyes and saw through Volga’s. As aspects of Dharkon their minds were linked.

A concentrated beam of fire erupted out of Blaziken’s mouth. It was so hot that Enderman could feel it through his own body. Instead of dodging, Volga charged through it, using his spear to scatter the fire. Volga summoned a sphere of darkness in his hand, which turned into a Pokéball. It was a customized type made by Gaster, dubbed the Dharkon ball. It had a pitch black color and blue button. Volga jabbed Blaziken with the Poké Ball. Instead of the typical red beam of light, a thorn of darkness leapt out and dissolved Blaziken into it. It shook once, it shook again. For a moment it was motionless. Then it shook for a third time, giving a click. “You and I are going to be allies now,” Volga said. He looked in Enderman’s direction. “Get out of my head.” Enderman obliged and opened his eyes.

It was a mystery even to Enderman himself why the other Dharkons could look at him without setting him off. Volga walking towards Enderman only prompted thought of how anyone else would have been attacked in the same situation. There was no movement from either Enderman or Abra when Volga was directly in front of them, or when a pool of darkness formed beneath their feet and swallowed them.

The world of darkness was the same empty and lightless place as before, in other words a paradise for Enderman. Rising up into it from a portal was always a wonderful homecoming. “[Did the Dharkon Ball function correctly?]” Gaster asked. There were various papers written in wingdings on his standing desk, one of the few constant pieces of furniture in the world of darkness. Dark Emperor stood next to him with an expectant look. James and Rundas had been assigned a different mission, one that was apparently still in progress.

“Yes.” Volga tossed up Blaziken’s ball, a thorn of darkness jumped out and formed into Blaziken. All injuries had vanished. Abra turned to look at Enderman, who released Abra and took out his own Poké Ball. Once Abra was ‘caught’ she jumped back out. Dark Emperor reached out a hand to pet Abra.

“Excellent, with Pokémon on our side we can bolster our numbers. A full assimilation of their world is still beyond us, but the resources will aid with the conquest of others,” Dark Emperor said.

“That’s a coward’s plan.”

“It’s called strategy. You’ll get your fights Volga.” Dark Emperor somehow sounded less like a leader and more like a tired parent. That comparison only came to Enderman thanks to the other Dharkon aspects. Volga looked away, prompting a chuckle from Gaster, who in turn was glared at by Volga.

Rundas and James walked in from the shadows. Enderman stared at Jame’s sunglasses. Up until recently Enderman had thought those were how James’s eyes naturally looked, and it had taken an explanation from Rundas to understand why the covering being used in the world of darkness was absurd. James had claimed that they made him look cool, and the following argument with Rundas had required the combined efforts of Gaster and Volga to stop.

“I thought Volga didn’t like chickens,” James said, gesturing to Blaziken. Rundas facepalmed. Volga looked confused. Enderman wondered what the joke was. Dark Emperor laughed. “Thank you, at least someone gets me.”

“Was your mission a success?” Dark Emperor asked.

“Of course. The Space Pirates definitely have a new ally, some group called the G Corporation,” James said.

“And they have someone helping them travel through worlds, in a way the Hands can’t detect apparently. It’s not the portal paintings, they use this other method for ships and their first visit to a world and then create portal paintings,” Rundas added.

“Are the Galeems helping them?” Dark Emperor asked. Although Enderman didn’t care much for expanding the world of darkness, he felt an instinctual hatred for the Galeems. No matter what form or fragment, Dharkon and Galeem were enemies. Yet the hatred wasn’t strong enough to overwrite the desire to avoid attention.

“They were doing their own recon on the Space Pirates, which made us run into each other. So it can’t be them,” James said.

“Are you okay?” Dark Emperor leaned forward to inspect James and Rundas more closely.

“It was no big deal, after a bit of fighting we realized neither of us would win if it got too loud. So we made a quick truce and agreed to spy on different parts of the base. More importantly, we got a tracking beacon on a crate headed for G Corp,” Rundas said. He tossed a small device to Gaster. Gaster caught it and made a remark about how to handle delicate equipment.

“[If their report is done, I have something I’ve been waiting to share.]” Gaster paused as the others turned to look at him. “[There is another.]” A different kind of silence filled the area. Enderman tried to sense what Gaster had mentioned, there was a new darkness somewhere in some world.

“And if there’s another of us, there’s another of them to fight,” Volga said. He tightened his grip on his spear.

“Don’t sound too excited now,” James said. “Anyway, there’s not much the rest of us can do while Gaster is looking for the new guy, so let’s get some rest. That way we can move out the moment we’ve got a read on him or G Corp.” Dark Emperor looked to Gaster, who nodded.

“Very well,” Dark Emperor said. Enderman began placing small beds around the area. Volga walked off off with Blaziken. “No, the two of you are getting rest, not sparring. At least sit down.” Volga groaned, but obeyed the order.

Each of the Dharkon aspects made themselves comfortable while they waited. James and Rundas had opted to sleep. Time was hard to measure in the world of darkness, so sleeping was only a matter of exhaustion and rest. Enderman sat with Abra. Dark Emperor’s eyes were closed, but he didn’t appear to be sleeping. And Volga had ended up petting Blaziken.

"Have you seen Cia yet?" Dark Emperor asked. Volga tensed up.

"No. She wouldn’t side against Link again. There's no point in asking her." The conversation came to an uneasy halt. Thankfully, the lack of noise accompanying it allowed Enderman to sleep for a bit.

In the absence of sunlight or roosters, Dark Emperor woke up the others with a loud roar. Enderman teleported out of bed, then relaxed when he realized where the roar came from. James and Rundas had instinctually drawn their weapons. "Do you have to wake us up that way?" James asked.

"Yes. Now it's time for the mission briefing," Dark Emperor said. A loud snore stopped Dark Emperor from continuing. Gaster was still asleep on the bed.

"Shouldn't we wake him up?" Rundas asked.

"He's the one who stayed up working to get us information, now it's his turn to rest." Dark Emperor snapped his fingers. A portal appeared. "The new aspect is currently in the G Corp base our tracker went to. Because of that we can accomplish both tasks simultaneously. Volga, you and Blaziken are the distraction. Just be yourself. The rest of you, look for information and our new comrade. Understood?"

"Perfectly." Volga walked into the portal. Two seconds later shouts of confusion could be heard from the other side, followed by alarms and screams of terror.

"I feel kind of bad for them now," Rundas said. Dark Emperor opened another portal. Rundas took a step forward, James held out his arm and stopped him.

"Enderman always knows when somebody is looking at him. Best if he goes first," James said. Enderman felt uneasy. Yet he knew that the others were counting on him, so he stepped into the portal.

There was nothing remarkable about the hallway on the other side. It looked like any sort of corporate building. There were doors to other rooms, windows, potted plants, a water cooler for the fabled water cooler talk, and a security camera through which someone was looking at Enderman. The last detail struck Enderman immediately. Panic overcame him. The urge to destroy the observer followed soon after.

The next second, Enderman had teleported himself into a room filled with monitors, each showing the feed from a different security camera in the building. The man charged with looking at them ran away with decently impressive speed. "I won't tell! I'm not being paid enough to be loyal!” The man shouted. Enderman prepared to pursue.

“Leave him be Enderman.” Dark Emperor had been watching through their connection. Telepathy was yet another part of what Gaster had referred to as ‘the Dharkon pseudohivemind.’ Abra leapt out of its Poké Ball. She hovered in front of Enderman, humming softly. The panic slowly faded away from Enderman.

A thorn of darkness sprouted from the floor and leapt up to the top of the doorframe. Enderman turned to watch the feed from the cameras. One screen showed Volga and Blaziken fighting a weird girl wearing cat ears, Volga was so irritated by her voice and way of speaking that Enderman felt hatred wash over him. The camera feed labeled her as Lucky Chloe. 

Another screen showed some unwelcome faces. Samus and Captain Falcon were fighting their way through the base, tearing apart humanoid robots that stood in their way. “What are those guys doing here?” James questioned.

There was also another screen showing yet another intruder, whose name was helpfully labeled by the camera’s recognition software. On the other end of the video feed was Heihachi Mishima, who radiated the aura only an aspect of Dharkon had. He looked right into the camera, making it clear he wanted to be spotted.

A dark portal opened in front of Heihachi. James and Rundas stepped out of it. Enderman listened through them. “So, you’re one of us, aren’t you?” James asked.

“Dharkon also fused with me. And now I have a fight to continue, one that won’t end until one of us is dead. Don’t bother me with your own.” Heihachi crossed his arms.

“How about we help you with yours, then you help us. Who are you after?”

“My son.” Heihaci walked past James. James had no response, aside from his fingers curling around his holstered blaster.

“Don’t,” Rundas whispered. He turned his attention to Heihachi. “And if we help, will you do the thing you’re supposed to do? You know, unify all worlds within the world of darkness while destroying Galeem and all that.”

Heihachi thought for a few seconds, then nodded. “Once we’re done here, there’s another corporation for me to take over.” Heihachi walked ahead like he had been appointed leader. 

“You, looking through the cameras, where is Kazuya?” Enderman was startled by the sudden intrusion into his mind, complete with a mental picture of the person in question. Kazuya was nowhere on the video feed.

“[Apologies for sleeping through the start of this. I see we found our newest comrade already. I’ll hack into their systems now.]” Gaster didn’t show on any of the cameras. However, one of them showed various monitors turning on and off. Gaster appeared for a second, then wasn’t there. “Kazuya isn’t here. He’s off meeting with the Space Pirates in another world. But I found how he got there. Subspace.”

“Subspace, wasn’t that destroyed after that whole thing with Tabuu?” James asked.

“It’s the space between worlds, it’ll only be destroyed when all worlds become one. We’ve acquired what we require, now return to base,” Dark Emperor said.

“No. While Kazuya is away, I’ll destroy everything he might use against me. You two, destroy everything here. I’ll handle the people coming our way.” Heihachi entered a fighting stance. James and Rundas sighed in unison before deciding to go along with Heihachi’s order. They left shortly before Samus and Captain Falcon walked into the room. 

“You’re one of them, aren’t you?” Captain Falcon asked. In response a dark aura manifested itself around Heihachi. Captain Falcon and Samus exchanged a nod. 

Samus readied her arm cannon, already charging up a shot. Captain Falcon executed a falcon kick while shouting the attack’s name. Heihachi intercepted it with a punch that cackled with electricity, launching Captain Falcon into the air. It was followed up with rapid kicks that propelled Heihachi upwards like a helicopter. The movement looked out of place on him, lacking the refined brutality of the prior attack. Regardless Captain Falcon was sent crashing to the ground while Heihachi had a smooth landing. 

Samus responded with a fully charged shot that sent Heihachi into the wall. Then she grabbed him with her grapple beam and slammed him into the ground. Captain Falcon leapt over Heihachi and kicked down right as Heihachi began to rise. Samus grappled him again as Captain Falcon’s fist ignited. A point blank Falcon Punch struck Heihachi in the chest, who merely winced. A sweeping kick attack knocked both Samus and Captain Falcon to the ground. Heihachi summoned a shotput ball and dropped it on Samus. Both Samus and Captain Falcon immediately rolled to opposite sides of the room.

Instead of getting close again, Captain Falcon took out his gun and fired. Heihachi ducked under the laser, but not the missile from Samus. “Enderman, assist Heihachi. The others are all occupied now,” Dark Emperor ordered.

Enderman looked away from the camera showing the fight. Going out where he could be seen scared him. Abra nuzzled up next to him, reducing some of the fear. And it was clear that there needed to be something to even the odds. 

In a blink, Abra and Enderman teleported into the battle. They were right behind Samus, so Enderman announced his presence by swinging a sword at her. Samus stumbled forward from the blow, then spun around and lashed out with the grapple beam. Enderman was thrown off his feet and into Samus’s grasp. The eyes he saw behind the visor were vicious, like a predator. Then Abra teleported her away.

Samus reappeared up in the air. She swung her arm downwards at Heihachi, who had just stepped out of reach of a falcon punch. Abra teleported Samus away again before her strike could connect. 

While Abra harassed Samus with constant teleportation, Enderman decided to help Heihachi with Captain Falcon. He summoned a mine cart and rode it right into Captain Falcon. The impact knocked Captain Falcon into the wall, where he was quickly subjected to an electrically charged punch from Heihachi. Enderman summoned dynamite and lit it. 

A beam of energy pulled Captain Falcon away from the explosion. Samus tossed Captain Falcon up into the air, where he brought his knee against Abra’s face. Enderman quickly recalled Abra into her Pokéball. Heihachi ran right at Samus. Unfortunately, Samus had already fully charged her next attack.

“Get out now!” Dark Emperor ordered. Darkness swallowed both Enderman and Heihachi. Samus’s Zero Laser made a hole in the wall behind them and kept going.

Enderman found the emptiness of the World of Darkness refreshing after the chaos he had just been part of. Heihachi made a dismissive sound as he surveyed it. “What a pitiful base.”

“Hey, it’s our pitiful base. Once we start absorbing worlds we can get something with actual substance to it,” Rundas said.

“Once my world is absorbed, it will be mine. None of you are to interfere with it, or the rest of my domain.” Heihachi walked over to an empty spot and began meditating. The rest of the Dharkons exchanged various expressions. Enderman didn’t understand most of them. He looked down at Abra’s Pokéball. As strange and contradictory to his nature as it was, he was starting to enjoy being around others.

“Well, with how things seem to work,  I wonder who the Galeems just added to their ranks,” James pondered. 

Chapter Text

Radiant colors encircled the newly reborn Sephiroth. He felt warm, like he was in the tender embrace of a parent. Around him was light and only light. His mind flooded with contrasting sets of memories. Falling into the lifestream. Fighting for Chaos. A boy with a key. There was one even more different than the rest, where he was called Galeem.

“I understand, father. So this is my purpose, to build your world.” The world around Sephiroth shifted. It turned into a barren brown land, defined by rocks and volcanos. Above was a dark red sky. Sephiroth knew the planet’s name, Venom. And in spite of everything about it, Sephiroth had already decided its fate.

The roaring sound of engines disrupted Sephiroth’s quiet scheming. He rose up into the sky, extending his singular wing. It was a simple matter to follow the noises, and to perch on a nearby mountain unnoticed. The battle was located in a valley, specifically the air above it.

Sephiroth recognized one of the larger ships from Galeem’s memory, the Great Fox. It was accompanied by the usual assortment of smaller ships. Opposing it was a far more bizarre faction he also recognized, The Forces of Nature, a strange collection of plant like monsters. Both of them would be obstacles to his plans. He surveyed the battle, calculating how to most efficiently eradicate both sides. 

He announced his presence with one long cut. A skeletal fish like monster fell apart, and one of the Arwings lost a wing, immediately spinning downwards. Another Arwing immediately moved to rescue the pilot of the disabled one, apparently named Peppy based on the desperate shouting.

“What the- Sephiroth?!” Viridi exclaimed. The voice of the goddess was omnipresent, even though she wasn’t anywhere on the planet. Sephiroth ignored her and cast Gigaflare, annihilating a solid percentage of the Forces of Nature.

“Don’t think that being a goddess means I can’t kill you. Now leave this planet, or have your forces be eradicated as I claim it for my father,” Sephiroth said. 

“Huh, everyone knows you have mommy issues, not daddy issues. What, did the latest remake swap Jenova’s gender or something?” Viridi’s response changed nothing about Sephiroth, mainly because he couldn’t understand the second part of it, nor did he want to.

Sephiroth’s next target was another Arwing. He landed on top of it and cut off both wings before his sword could even be seen moving. Then he leapt off and into the sky, leaving the anthropomorphic dog pilot to spin out towards the ground. 

“Hold on Dash!” Another Arwing swooped in, and the pilot leapt onto its wing. Sephiroth was about to cut it apart too, then took a charged shot from yet another Arwing to the chest. A group of small chestnut like monsters swarmed around him and bombarded him with magical energy. A single spin attack eliminated all of them.

A quick descent let Sephiroth dodge an attempted ramming attack from another Arwing. He caught a glimpse of the toad piloting it and went in pursuit. After a small charge, he lazily sent a Gigaflare into its path. A spin of the Arwing deflected it. Sephiroth couldn’t deny his surprise, but he didn’t let it stop him from swooping in for a direct attack.

“Haha, got you!” The toad pilot said. Sephiroth felt something behind him. He turned and saw that the Great Fox had just finished charging up a shot from its main cannon. There was no time to dodge, but time for Sephiroth to deploy a barrier. Some of it still hurt, but no more than a weak punch. The beam stayed on him, and still failed to break through the barrier. Then something occurred to him, it wasn’t like him to concentrate on an insignificant enemy to the point that he’d get tunnel vision.

“Everyone now!” Fox shouted. While Sephiroth was blocking the cannons, the Arwings had moved into formation around him. All of them fired smart bombs simultaneously. And Sephiroth couldn’t afford to stop blocking the Great Fox’s assault. Pain seared through his body as the various bombs impacted and overlapped. A large cloud of smoke formed around him.

“Let’s see mister edgelord survive this,” Viridi boasted despite her lack of involvement. Sephiroth took pleasure in rising out of the smoke to wipe the smile off her face. “Wait no, I didn’t mean that literally, you were supposed to die for real this time! Gameplay logic isn’t supposed to apply to scenes like this.”

Sephiroth scanned the valley once more. One of the Arwings was strangely motionless and out of formation. He felt a psychic power coming from it. The kind of psychic power that had kept him from noticing the trap he flew into. He lobbed a Gigaflare towards it. The other Arwings moved as one to shoot it down. 

While the Arwings were distracted, Sephiroth approached the Great Fox. A battle was already taking place on its wings. Dark Pit fired an arrow at Falco, who kicked his reflector into it and sent it back at Dark Pit. With a ‘hmph’ Dark Pit dashed out of the path of the Dark Arrow and right into Sephiroth’s fist. The impact sent Dark Pit into the top fin of the Great Fox, where he left a dent.

“Hey guys, Sephiroth is literally on top of the Great Fox!” Falco shouted into his communicator. He fired shots from his blaster at Sephiroth, who stepped out of the way. In response Falco leapt back over the top fin of the Great Fox. 

A new threat appeared behind Sephiroth. He turned around and blocked the incoming swing of a staff. A facsimile of Viridi stood before him, clearly not the real thing, but in her likeness and under her control. “Ha, what do you think of my Mii? Sure was nice of them to make a Mii costume for me.”

“Yeah, makes me think of all the temper tantrums people will do if you become a real fighter, like that’d ever happen.” Dark Pit rose back to a standing position.

“Well I’m sure you’d know with all the Ridley and K. Rool stans who had meltdowns over you showing up, as a clone character.”

“Will you two shut up! Nobody knows what the fuck you’re even talking about, so stop talking,” Falco shouted from the top of the Great Fox’s central fin. He pulled out a dark green cannon.

“A cracker launcher, why is the author pulling out an item from Brawl?” Viridi jumped and swung her staff at Sephiroth.

“Falco is right, shut up.” Sephiroth cut through the staff. A new one appeared in Viridi’s hands as she swung it at Sephiroth. He barely felt the staff connect. What he felt was an explosive connect with him and send him into the air. Falco spread his fire across all three of the intruders on the Great Fox. Sephiroth was able to evade one and retaliate with a Gigaflare.

While Falco was busy dodging and presumably getting ammo, Sephiroth went to work on his other opponents. Viridi was able to parry a few attacks, but her avatar couldn’t keep up and was split apart by the Masamune, vanishing with a glowing light. Viridi complained, but Sephiroth tuned her out. 

“Take this you one winged freak.” Dark Pit leapt at Sephiroth, blades in hand, and found both of them meeting Sephiroth’s. 

“I was wondering why you’d serve someone so weak, but now I see. There’s nothing more pathetic than an angel who can’t fly.” Sephiroth ascended into the air, just past Dark Pit’s reach. He dropped a Gigaflare onto Dark Pit, who deflected it with glowing shields. 

“I don’t need to fly to beat you. And I don’t serve anyone but myself!” Dark Pit fired as many arrows as he could at Sephiroth, most of which found their mark. In a flash Sephiroth was behind Dark Pit. Then Dark Pit was immediately thrown to the edge of the Great Fox’s wing.

“You already know you’re lying.” Sephiroth pointed the Masamune at Dark Pit’s neck. On a whim, he decided to change plans. He lifted up Dark Pit with one hand. “Never forget how weak you are.” Sephiroth punctuated the statement by throwing Dark Pit off the Great Fox. Dark Pit screamed as he fell down into the valley, though Sephiroth didn’t think enough of him to bother watching.

Sephiroth’s next opponent was standing at the other end of the wing. Falco had a hand on his blaster, still in its holster. With all the chaos of the battle, Sephiroth knew he needed to be more careful. At the same time, he doubted some lowly mercenary would be capable of defeating him even as weakened as he was. 

Both of them moved at the same time. Sephiroth sent out a Gigaflare that easily passed through and destroyed the laser from Falco’s blaster. In response Falco reflected it. Sephiroth cut apart the rogue Gigaflare. The burst of magical energy made it difficult to see. Falco dashed through the energy and fired with his blaster again.

Sephiroth shifted his footing to avoid the laser. He noticed too late that Falco’s other hand also held a blaster. Its laser connected with him, leaving him briefly paralyzed. The paralysis lasted long enough for Falco to take a nut out of his pocket and toss it. The flash it made upon colliding with Sephiroth dazed him. 

As he fought through the haze, Sephiroth could barely make out a glowing light. Then he realized what it was, a Super Scope charging up. He recovered his senses too late. The Super Scope’s shot hit its mark and sent Sephiroth blasting off into Venom’s sky, far from the Great Fox.

Eventually Sephiroth crashed into the shore, red sand getting caught in his long hair. He lay there, recovering his strength. Losing to a mere band of mercenaries enraged him. In a direct fight none of them would have stood a chance, but their tricks had all added up to more than the sum of their parts. Next time he’d be sure to destroy them first.

“Careful, the water here is acidic.” Someone offered their hand to Sephiroth. He knew before looking that it was an ally, another ‘child’ of Galeem.

“I don’t need your hand.” Sephiroth forced himself back onto his feet. King Daphnes maintained a neutral expression. “Now, let’s go carry out our father’s will.”

“So that’s how you think of Galeem. From what I can tell, it looks like both Star Fox and the Forces of Nature have left this planet for now. We should regroup with the others as well.”

Sephiroth smirked, letting out a small smug cackle. “I have a better idea.” He pierced the ground with Masamune. Light gathered around him as he recalled one of the greatest powers he had acquired, Meteor. A bright ball of light appeared in the sky, as bright as a sun. It began to crash towards Venom.

In a mere minute, Venom had vanished from the Lylat System. From the surface the ground and water didn’t look different, but the blindingly bright sky revealed that it now belonged to the World of Light. Despite accomplishing what he set out to do, Sephiroth was unable to get the bitter taste of defeat out of his mouth.

“Impressive. Come, let me introduce yourself to the rest of us. I’m sure they’ll be pleased to meet you now.” Daphnes started walking. 

After a moment, Sephiroth followed. He had to admit that between his original plan to use Meteor and the recent battle, it was never truly a one on one battle. He had always lost to a team, it wasn’t Cloud who had stopped Meteor with Holy, Aerith had cast it. Which meant that if he responded in kind with a team of his own, there’d be no more last second counters to his power. The thought reminded him of two long lost comrades.

“Yes, allies wouldn’t be the worst thing to have, if they’re competent,” Sephiroth muttered to himself. “But when I face you again, it will just be the two of us, Cloud.”

Chapter Text

Something had happened in Midgard. Pyra, Mythra, and Rex could tell the moment they stepped through the portal into the city. Smoke was rising, and not from a smoke stack. Rex took a moment to orient himself based on the directions he’d been given. The smoke was rising around the area where Seventh Heaven was. “Oh no, you don’t think…” Rex trailed off.

“Let’s go!” Mythra took off running, sword in hand. Pyra and Rex followed closely behind. There was no time to take in the sights of the recovering city.

Exactly as feared, the smoke was coming from Seventh Heaven, but whatever happened had already concluded. Part of the wall was blown off, with fires in the process of being extinguished. Tifa and Cloud were sitting by where a door used to be, Cloud was helping her dress one of her wounds. Ike and Shulk were having a discreet conversation off to the side, with a third person on the other end of a phone.

“What happened here?” Pyra asked. She and Mythra unsummoned their swords. The trio walked up to Cloud and Tifa.

“Oh, you must be Mythra, Pyra, and Rex. I’m sorry you guys had to walk in on this.” Tifa offered a resistant smile, then winced a little as Cloud finished wrapping a bandage. 

“I’m sorry we didn’t show up sooner so we could help. What happened here?”

“Space Pirates. They attacked while I was out, but Tifa, Ike, and Shulk were able to hold them off. By the time I got back they already retreated.” Cloud put a hand on his Buster Sword. “Dark Samus was leading them. And she was using phazon.”

“Phazon? Didn’t the real Samus destroy all of it?” Pyra asked.

“It’s not really phazon.” Ike and Shulk walked over to join the others. “I just got done talking to some of the other Smashers. Dark Samus was using the power of subspace to generate her phazon. It’s not real phazon, it vanishes the moment she’s done using it. But we don’t know where she got this power.”

“Subspace, that’s where that Tabuu guy was from, right?” Mythra asked.

“Exactly. And we think she stole his power somehow. She was using some of his attacks, Ike recognized them, and Samus said Dark Samus has never used anything like that before.”

“It’s more than that. She was making sure I saw them, she even used his strongest attack when it was easy for us to disrupt, like she cared more about us seeing that she could do it than actually doing it.” Ike surveyed the nearby area, like he was looking for something. “I spoke to a friend from my world, a tactician. He thinks this was nothing more than an attempt to provoke us.”

“Well they did that.” Cloud clenched his fist.

“Why do they want to provoke us? We’re already enemies aren’t we?” Rex asked.

“I don’t know, but for some reason part of whatever they’re planning must depend on Cloud. But we’re not sure if this was meant to threaten him, or to get him to come after them. Considering what we heard about, well…” Shulk looked at Cloud.

“You can say his name, I’m not afraid of Sephiroth,” Cloud said. He stood up, holding his buster sword. “Normally I wouldn’t take this kind of bait. But killing Sephiroth again is my responsibility. I’m not going to rush in blindly, but when we take him on, leave it to me.”

“So do we go for revenge or not?” Mythra asked.

“First we need to learn where they are. Until then we should stay here and help fix the place up.” Ike said. The last of the lingering flames had been extinguished from Seventh Heaven.

“Right.” Mythra’s eyes wandered. “Hey I’m uh, going to go see if anyone else can help, I’ll be right back.” She took off before anyone could ask what she was covering up.

After a few wrong turns, Mythra was able to track down her target. “Lucario, I can sense you here. Stop running or I’ll tell everyone else.”

Lucario stepped out from the shadows. ”I was on my way to help fend off the Space Pirates, but just like you it was over too quickly for me to help. You don’t need to worry about me helping the Galeems. I can’t fight for or against them. So get back to the others and leave me be.“

“You know, when we got the invitation to become full time Smashers, you were the one I was looking forward to seeing again the most.” Mythra took a step forward. “I don’t know what I’d do if it was Addam in Sir Aaron’s place, if I had to pick between him and Rex. But I’d probably want your help. So let us help. There’s plenty of guys other than Sir Aaron to fight right now.” 

“It’s only half Sir Aaron, I can see it in his aura. Even then…” Lucario closed his eyes. “There’s another reason I left. I noticed something. The aura of the hands are similar. They’re as similar to each other as the aspects of Galeem and Dharkon are to each other. I needed time to determine that, but now I’m sure. Master Hand and Crazy Hand are hands, it’s time we thought about whose hands they are.”

“Huh? You know I never thought about that. But they’re on our side so if they’re someone’s hands, they’d be on our side too, right?”

“Or are we on their side? They’ve been connecting all of our worlds, changing them, making new timelines. Galeem and Dharkon wanted to merge all worlds into one, but the Hands are making their borders matter less and less. Why? They’ve never given a complete answer for why they made the Smashers.”

Mythra was at a loss for words. She saw Lucario’s logic, but the hands hadn’t given her a bad feeling the way certain others had. 

“Lucario, Mythra, look out!” Shulk shouted. Immediately Mythra leapt up into the air, a club slammed into the ground she had just been standing on, held at the end of a long mechanical arm. Lucario had similarly dodged a blast from a cannon, landing on a roof. They both looked at their attacker.

Up on the roofs was Dark Pit, with a strange helmet that had four arms extending out of it. Dark Pit had his usual silver bow in his hands, while a cannon, club, staff, and a blade were in the four robotic arms. “What is that?!” Lucario shouted.

“It’s Hedlok.” Pyra, Rex, and Ike ran into the alley. “Min Min told me about it, that thing must be controlling Dark Pit. If we hit it hard enough we should be able to free Dark Pit from it..”

“Mythra! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine Rex.” In a flash Mythra was armed, her sword pointed at Hedlok. Before Hedlok could fire off another attack, Rex’s anchor shot connected, wrapped around one of Dark Pit’s legs. Rex struggled to pull Hedlok down, but Pyra, Shulk, and Ike all grabbed Rex and added their own force. 

As Hedlok fell, it charged up its club and sent out a powerful whirlwind. Mythra was able to speed past it, but the others by the mouth of the alley got caught up in it and blown upwards. Then Lucario leapt down, landing directly on Hedlok and digging his spikes into Hedlok. That didn’t stop the staff and cannon from firing at the launcher Smashers. 

With a flick of her hand Pyra summoned a wave of fire to block the cannon shot aimed at her. Ike similarly deflected the staff shot using Ragnell. None of that changed their crash to the hard pavement. 
Mythra went for a direct assault, her sword matching Dark Pit’s twin swords. The blade and club on the robotic arms wrapped around to target Mythra, she sped past them and cut at Hedlok. All she left were scratches. Next the blade went towards Lucario, forcing a retreat from the assault.

“What is that thing made of?!” Rex shouted. He pulled Pyra up from the floor. Shulk said something to the others that Mythra couldn’t make out. 

Lucario rushed back in at Hedlok, which opened its mouth and spat a fireball at him. The direct hit blasted Lucario into a wall. Then another swing of the ore club unleashed a whirlwind that sucked in Lucario and spat him out into the sky. Ridley flew in and snatched Lucario in his claws. Shulk called out to Lucario, but it had all happened too quickly to do anything about.

“I thought you turned tail and fled with the others,” Ike mocked.

“It’s called a hit and run, like I’m doing right now. If you survive Hedlok, come fight us at Final Destination, the real one, not the Hands’ simulations of it. We’ve even invited the Dharkons and Galeems.” Ridley spat out a ball of fire, then flew through a portal in the air that closed behind him.

 “Cover me.” Ike held up Ragnell, its blade pointed at the ground. The ball of fire flew slowly towards him. Hedlok turned its attention to Mythra, who kept slashing at it and darting back. Shulk landed an attack on Hedlok from behind. Ike drove his sword into the ground, flames sprouted up that overtook the ball of fire, nullifying it.

Hedlok swung its club at Ike, who nimbly dodged it. Rex’s anchor shot landed on the club. He and Pyra pulled to keep the mechanical arm extended, even as Hedlok fought to retract it. “Ike now!”

“Aether!” Ike tossed Ragnell up into the air and leapt after it, then cloaked the sword in flames and brought it down. The arm was severed in the impact. 

“Nice one, let’s keep the momentum going.” Rex tossed Pyra’s sword forward, narrowly missing Hedlok and coming back to him. That gave Mythra an opening to slash at Hedlok again.  

An engine roared throughout the alley. Cloud drifted into the alley and leapt from his motorcycle. Blue energy gathered around him as he zeroed in on Hedlok. With a swing of his sword a small tornado enveloped Hedlok, forcing it off of Dark Pit’s head and into the sky. When it was pulled back down by gravity, Rex and Pyra were waiting. Rex drove Pyra’s sword into the ground, a pillar of flames erupted and melted Hedlok.

Ike picked up the unconscious Dark Pit from the ground. “Come on, we need to get back to base.”

Back in Smash Fortress, the group from Midgard had gathered in the command room with the hands. “Final Destination? They can’t possibly mean that. Though I suppose Viridi would know about it…” Master Hand trailed off, sorting through files on the table.

“I mean it’s just some platform in the middle of space, right?” Rex asked.

“Didn’t you say it was just something you created for your simulations?” Ike wasn’t frowning, but his expression wasn’t kind either. 

“Our stage is based on it. The real thing is… something a bit more complicated.”

“Alright I’m just going to come out and say it. Master Hand, Crazy Hand, what are you two really? Whose hands are you?” Mythra put her hands on her hips. She had enough of pretending not to know what was really going on from her adventure with Rex.

Master Hand sighed. “With how things have escalated, I guess it has to come out. We are aspects of an entity known as Nintendo, the source from which all of your worlds sprung, the energy behind their rises and falls. Being part of that energy, we wanted to create, to see what happens when impossible meetings take place. And now it has spiraled out of control due to our greed, to reaching well beyond our domain. We should have never started down this path.”

“Hey, we all got to meet because of you, so it’s not all bad,” Rex said. “So, what’s the deal with Final Destination?”

“Within Final Destination is a force known as Odnetnin, our opposite, stagnation and sterility. Tabuu, Galeem, and Dharkon all sprung from it. Final Destination, despite its name, is where everything began. It was the primordial emptiness before Nintendo filled it with worlds and connected them with subspace. Nothing exists there, not even time. Which means nothing good can come from picking a fight in the real thing.”

“What choice do we have?” Cloud asked. “They have Lucario, Sephiroth is on his way there. All of our enemies are in one place.”

“I don’t like it, but Cloud is right. If they make their base there, we’ll need to reach it eventually. And I don’t think letting them have free reign of Final Destination will end any better than not taking the bait.” Shulk steadied his hand on the Monado.

“Very well then. I’ll rally together all of the Smashers. And then it’s off to Final Destination.”

Chapter Text

Kazuya kept his narrowed eyes on Dark Samus. When it came to interdimensional alliances, those who could actually travel between worlds were the most important. Obviously Kazuya was already looking into taking that power for himself. Dark Samus had been able to absorb energy directly from Subspace, the how was a tightly kept secret he hadn’t pried open yet. The same applied for the Dragon Lord’s rift opening Rathalos, and Maleficent’s darkness based travel.

That wasn’t the only thing distracting him from the meeting of the strange alliance. His resurrected father’s gaze right into the security cameras had made the challenge clear. Kazuya didn’t acknowledge the possibility of losing to Heihachi, at least on a conscious level. He’d kill the old man as many times as it took to erase all evidence of his past weakness.

“Honestly, Venom kind of sucks. Is anyone even going to miss it?” K. Rool asked.

“I had a nice series of Reset Bombs all lined up to make it not a total shithole, I just needed to make sure nobody was going to get in the way first,” Viridi complained. “And those Galeem and Dharkon aspect freaks are definitely going to be a problem, right Kazuya.”

“Leave Heihachi to me.” The others looked to Kazuya for further comments, but found none. He wasn’t one to be distracted from his goals. 

“I wish they stayed dead,” Ridley said. Viridi burst out laughing.

“Said the banged up kettle to the pot.”

“She kind of got you there.”

“Rool, shut up if you know what’s good for you,” Ridley said. Dark Samus mimed a mocking laugh.

Maleficent slammed her staff against the floor, calling all to attention. “Lose sight of the grander picture, and you will lose everything. I propose we narrow the scope and clean the board.”

“By…” Kazuya made a rolling motion with his hand.

“Since you seem incapable of comprehending things others than kinslaying, I’ll explain. The heartless can only truly be defeated by a keyblade, which does not exist in this layer of reality yet. The keyblade is sure to make its appearance eventually, and if the likes of the Hands discover the heartless are involved, they will bring it themselves. We must gather all our opponents and turn the heartless on them before the keyblade appears.”

“So a slaughter. Now you’re talking my language. But don’t think I’m letting some shadowy globs steal my kills,” Ridley said.

The Dragon Lord stroked his chin, examining the entire room. “Kazuya, you set the battlefield. We all know Heihachi is incapable of denying your challenge. Some minor terrorism in the Mushroom Kingdom and other countries will bait the main group of Smashers. It is the fragments of Galeem who still need a lure.” To Kazuya, that was permission to ignore the discussion and focus on where to kill Heihachi next.

“Sephiroth is obsessed with that Cloud guy isn’t here, can we get them to fight it out where we want them to? Maybe kidnap one, and then the other comes after them because they’re the only ones allowed to beat each other?” K. Rool asked. Viridi muttered something under her breath about fanfic.

“Cloud proved unreliable last time he was used in my plans. If he was an unwilling participant however…” Maleficent let the question hang in the air.

Dark Samus touched the monitor on the table and brought up a picture of Tifa with the coordinates of Seventh Heaven. The implication was clear. Meanwhile Kazuya had settled on a location of his own.

“Use the girlfriend to lure Cloud to lure Sephiroth? Too many steps with too much risk, she helped defeat Sephiroth too. But if we get those children of theirs…” Ridley evaded a punch from Kazuya.

“I thought ‘the cunning god of death’ would be more impressive than preying on kids. Kidnapping is too much work. Attack the bar to lure Cloud out, then get him to follow us to Final Destination, no need to overcomplicate this.” Electricity still cackled around Kazuya’s fists.

“Final Destination? It may have final in the name, but you have to be crazy to go there outside a simulation that compresses it to some boring platform. When they call it the primordial realm of shadow and fire, what they mean is that it’s really messed up. It’s barely a world, more like a used up tube of paint.” Viridi sounded more dismissive than concerned.

“Meaning they won’t be prepared for the real thing. Meeting adjourned.” Kazuya stood up from his chair and walked out.

Kazuya intended to simply walk to the transporter room of the space pirate ship, but found himself stopping at the med bay. He punched the door to undo the odd round seal on it, then walked in. 

There was only one patient at the moment, Dark Pit. The Space Pirates had fully automated their medical equipment and systems, which depressingly had proven more reliable than the medical bureaucracy Kazuya sometimes endured. Dark Pit was locked onto bed while a healing fluid flowed into him through a wire. He had only been recovered from Venom moments before it was sucked into the World of Light. Hearing about the part of the incident where Dark Pit was thrown off the Great Fox had stirred irritating feelings within Kazuya.

“This is what you get for depending on another,” Kazuya said.

“Has anyone ever told you your bedside manner fucking sucks? It’s not my fault I can’t fly, blame it on Pit, it’s how I was born.”

“The only one you have to blame or rely on is yourself. If you’re going to blame others, you’re of no use to me or anyone else. Viridi could have prevented your fall, now I see why she didn’t.” 

“I figured Sephiroth killing her Mii blocked her powers or something.”

“No, it was her choice, to keep you in your place. So long as you rely on someone else, you’ll be a victim of their whims. I’ll only give you this one piece of advice, claim the power of flight for yourself at any cost. That’s the only way you’ll truly stand a chance.” Kazuya turned around and walked out. When he opened the door, Doctor Coyle was on the other side. The green haired scientist gave Kazuya a nod, got one in return, and she walked in as he walked out.

When the door closed, curiosity got the better of Kazuya. He paused and focused with his ears. “Here to lecture me on why I suck?” Dark Pit asked.

“What, no, what kind of insensitive jerk do you take me for, Kazuya? He has the privilege of possessing the devil gene, he’ll never understand you the way I do. I’ve heard about your and your issues with flying. Our bodies can only do so much, while theirs can do so much more. Genetics are the ultimate inequality.”

Kazuya suppressed a laugh. The devil gene was far from a privilege when it led to his own father throwing him off a cliff. He would have triumphed without it just as he had triumphed with it. Dark Pit appeared to have his own skepticism. “Theirs?”

“People with the devil gene, the ARMS gene, holy blood, you know the like. Ever since I was a girl, I loved watching ARMS League matches. The fighters were my heroes, I wanted to be like them. Everyday I’d hope to learn I had the ARMS gene, until reality said otherwise. So I used science and machines to give myself what should have already been mine. And I can do the same for you. Give you flight that can’t be taken away.”

There was a silence. “I’m in,” Dark Pit said. Kazuya took off towards his original destination. He didn’t care to learn the details of Dark Pit becoming a lab rat for whatever experiment Coyle needed a manipulatable test subject for. If anything the time he had wasted lecturing Dark Pit concerned Kazuya more, it was unlike him. 

Kazuya shoved it and all other doubts aside. It was time to go to Final Destination and prepare. All that mattered was ensuring Heihachi wouldn’t be left standing at the end of their next battle.

As planned, a full scale battle had begun in Final Destination, all four factions fighting to destroy the others. Kazuya watched from his perch on top of a space pirate ship, which was trading blows with the Great Fox. With no geography around him, and distant flames for illumination, it was easy to keep an eye on the fighters, no matter how many fanciful attacks came out. At last, he spotted his target. 

“Heihachi Mishima, today you die once again.” Kazuya transformed into his devil form and flew from the space pirate ship to join the battle. Heihachi was fighting against Bowser and Chrom, maneuvering around their claws and slashes. While Heihachi was in the middle of dodging, Kazuya fired off a laser beam that struck Heihachi in the chest and blew him back.

“There you are, Kazuya.” Heihachi picked himself up from the ground quickly. “I’ve been waiting to introduce you to someone. Come forth, Only Son.” Heihachi tossed up a dark Pokéball, from it emerged a Pikachu. Everyone stopped fighting to look at Heihachi. The Dark Emperor facepalmed.

“If you think that childish insult means anything to me you’ve already gone senile.” Kazuya dashed back as Only Son did a quick attack into an electric wind god fist. “First a bear, now a rat. You should be a circus ringmaster.”

“Oh I can actually kind of see it, you could-” Pit got shushed by Simon and Palutena simultaneously.

“You know I think I saw that ‘only son’ joke in a cartoon once,” Terry said. “I didn’t know Heihachi watched Disney Channel.”

“I don’t.”

“If I had a nickel-” Ness stopped mid sentence to bring out his baseball bat and knock a missile back at a space pirate. “Fine I’ll get back to fighting.”

Kazuya grabbed Only Son by the tail and threw it deep into the chaos of the battle. “No more distractions.”

The two Mishima charged at each other, their fists colliding. Kazuya fired off a laser beam and got punched in the throat, retaliating with a throw. Heihachi recovered immediately and threw a shot put ball at Kazuya, followed by coming in for an electric wind god fist that was narrowly avoided.

Around them, the shadows began to take form. The heartless had arrived. They stayed away from the battle of the Mishimas, who in turn hardly noticed them. Even as the wider battle fell into even greater chaos, the Mishimas didn’t notice, too busy exchanging jabs. 

Once again Kazuya was able to grab Heihachi and knock him down. From the ground Heihachi did a kick that brought Kazuya down as well. Kazuya took advantage of that and directed his full weight at the prone Heihachi.

Stuck on the ground together, they kept attacking each other. Like crabs in a bucket they didn’t give the other a moment to return upright. Not even when something went horrifically wrong, with the fires of Final Destination extinguishing themselves. They didn’t give the other even a single moment to notice what had happened, as everyone around them became lifeless trophies. Heihachi and Kazuya became trophies as well, locked into a hateful embrace. The world was motionless.

Chapter Text

“Hey wake up.” Technically Sora was awake, but he felt too sleepy to respond. He needed more rest. “I said wake up.” Whoever was speaking to him had started shaking him. 

“Ten more minutes.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you. This is the keyblade’s chosen?!” This time the unknown person kicked Sora. That finally got Sora to open his eyes. He was on a beach, one that reminded him of home. The rude person was an angel with black wings, accompanied by two floating disembodied hands. 

“Dark Pit that was rude,” one of the hands criticized.

“It was funny though,” the other said.

“Ow, did you have to kick me so hard. Wait, where am I?” Sora rubbed his head. Last thing he remembered was his battle against Yozora, a hard fought victory. 

“Another side of reality, beyond the worlds you know,” one of the hands said. “My name is Master Hand, this is Crazy Hand and Dark Pit. And we know all about you, Sora of Destiny Isles, and your journey.”

“Do you know how I can get back then?” Sora was fully alert now, on his feet and leaning in to make sure he didn’t miss anything.

“Yes, but it won’t be easy. Crazy and I, we’ve watched over the myriad worlds for a long time. Then we decided to bring them together, to see their heroes meet. But it got out of control, we were too excited to link together new worlds. And now, aside from this small sanctuary, the world has lost all animation, there’s no movement, everything is still. All the greatest heroes and villains were gathered at the place where creation began, and now they’re trapped there as lifeless trophies.”

“Except for me, because I made the mistake of trusting some mad scientist bitch and got knocked out before everything went wrong.” Dark Pit tapped a foot against the ground impatiently. “We need you to use your keysword thing and get us to Final Destination so we can get them back and kick some villain ass.”

“I don’t really get what’s going on, but if people need my help, then I’m going to help.”

“And we should be able to help you in return if we can get this under control.” Master Hand snapped his fingers and created a door. “The way to Final Destination is locked, but now we have a key.”

Sora summoned his keyblade and held it out.The keyblade shot out a ray of light that opened the door.

“The rest of this is going to be a lot harder, isn’t it?” Sora asked, already knowing the answer.

“It better be.” Dark Pit marched through the door. Sora followed.

“Hey, aren’t you coming?”

“We aren’t meant to get any more involved than this. Good luck Sora,” Master Hand said.

“I was going to start a betting pool on if you’d succeed or not, but we both believe in you,” Crazy Hand added.

“Um, thanks I guess.” Sora walked through the door, letting it close behind him.

On the other side of the door was a rocky and steep cliff. Water stretched out as far as the eye could see. And in the sky was a black x, floating like a stationary cloud. “Oh of course. We need to get there to get to Final Destination.” Dark Pit pointed to the black x. 

“Well we can fly there,” Sora said.

“You can fly?!”

“You can’t? But you have wings.”

“Don’t remind me.” Dark Pit crossed his arms and looked away. “Back in the day I could fly whenever and wherever I felt like it, but then I lost that power. Where the hell did someone like you get that power?”

“I met someone who taught me how to fly. All you need is faith, trust, and pixie dust. Come on, I’ll show you.” Sora grabbed Dark Pit’s hand.

“If we fall I’m kicking you again.”

“We won’t if you just believe.” Sora and Dark Pit jumped off the cliff. And then they were flying. Dark Pit let go of Sora’s hand and continued flying.

“I can fly! I can fly again! This is amazing, I haven’t felt this free in some long.” Dark Pit shouted. Then he remembered himself. “Don’t tell any of the other Smashers I just acted like that.”

“Got a reputation to keep?”

“Exactly. But, if anyone gives you trouble, you just tell me. I owe you one for this.”

The two of them flew through the dark x. Within was a large solitary platform floating in space. Dark Pit identified it to Sora as the Final Destination the Smashers usually fought on. They landed on it and looked around for a sign of where to go next.

Dark Pit’s shadow grew, reaching beyond the bounds of the platform. From it a Heartless emerged, humanoid in shape, with a sword in each hand, a long tail, white hot flames on its feet, and horns around its head like a crown. It announced its presence with a slash at Dark Pit, who barely dodged in time. “What is that thing?”

“A Dark Inferno?! That’s a tough Heartless, but we can take it.” Sora called down a row of lightning on his enemy. Dark Pit put his blades together into a bow and fired a dark arrow, then leapt out of the way of another attack.

With a shout Sora dashed at the Dark Inferno, slicing with his keyblade, he did another two, ascending up into the air. Dark Pit saw his opening and summoned a large cannon. He fired it. The shot connected. Sora followed it up with a flurry of strikes. 

In retaliation the Dark Inferno let loose a burst of red energy, knocking both Sora and Dark Pit up into the air. Orbs of white light appeared around them and flew towards like them darts, striking repeatedly. The Dark Inferno appeared in front of them and brought its swords down, but Sora and Dark Pit blocked a sword each with their own. The assault of orbs ended. 

Sora thrust his keyblade forward into the Dark Inferno, driving it and himself down to the platform with a drilling motion. Up above Dark Pit pulled out his staff and aimed. Once Sora’s keyblade stopped spinning, he leapt up and flew back to Dark Pit, holding out his keyblade next to the staff. A shot of energy pierced the Dark Inferno’s chest. It faded into shadows that scattered. 

“Not bad.” Dark Pit touched back down on the platform. “Now where do we go from here?” In response a white door appeared on the platform. Dark Pit ran up to it, it was locked. “Come on, open, stupid door.”

“Leave this to me.” Sora took out his keyblade and tapped the door. It still didn’t open. “What?! It must be locked from the other side or something.”

“But there’s nobody left on the other side. Damn it.” Dark Pit punched the door for good measure. “Ow.”

While Dark Pit clutched his hand, Sora tried to focus. He knew what he needed to do. Everyone was connected, through Dark Pit and the Hands, he was connected to the other Smashers. He let his heart travel those connections, a wave of emotions and memories coming over him. One person in particular appeared in his mind’s eye, a man in blue overalls and a red hat. Sora’s keyblade vanished.

A short while later, the door opened. Sora jumped through it. Beyond was another world of shadows, but beneath him, he could see people. He flew around, eventually coming to a stop in front of Mario.

“This is yours, isn’t it?” Mario handed Sora his keyblade back. “Thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it, the Hands sent me to help.” Now that he was on firm ground, Sora looked around. All of the Smashers had gathered around him, Dark Pit had landed near his counterpart. In the distance was a staircase that led to a bright light, like a miniature sun. Flames erupted further off into the distance.

Then from the light, shadows appeared. A horde of heartless appeared around the Smashers. Everyone prepared for battle. Master Hand and Crazy Hand made their entrance. “We need one of you to make it to that light if we want to fix things.”

“Everyone, cover us. Sora, let’s a go.” 

Mario started running with Sora close behind. Whenever the Heartless started to converge on them, another Smasher would clear the way. They ran until they reached the staircase and ascended until they met Master Hand and Crazy Hand at the top.

“What do we do now?” Sora asked.

“That’s what I want to know,” Crazy Hand said.

“What happens next is up to you,” Master Hand said. “We could reset everything. Redivide the worlds, make it as though even the first tournament I hosted never happened. Or you could merge all worlds into one. Whatever you wish for, the world will become it.”

“Well, I just got here. Mario, it’s your choice.”

Mario tugged on his cap. “I don’t really want either of those to happen. Things have gotten crazy, but it’s been fun, and we’d lose so much if it never happened. So here’s my wish, I want the Galeems and Dharkons to have a world of their own each without needing to steal from others, and for the rest of us, let’s just get back home.”

A blinding light filled Final Destination, banishing the Heartless. When it faded the world around them was awash with color, a dazzling rainbow. Sora felt something lift him and Mario up into the air. Then they were flying once again.

The scenery below changed as they flew. They flew over the Mushroom Kingdom, Hyrule, Sinnoh, Corneria, PNF 404, Inkopolis, even through space. They flew through the world of Dharkon, through the world of Galeem. At last they arrived at Smash Fortress, hovering over a city the Smashers had once visited in their first fight with Galeem. The two of them touched down on the floating island.

“What will you do now Sora?”

“I’ve got somewhere I need to return to. But I can stay here for a while. And then I’ll come back with all of my friends.”

“Then let me show you around.”

Sora and Mario were about to enter the fortress, but then they stopped, and turned to face a new arrival. The character the reader most wants to see become a Smash Bros fighter had arrived. “Oh hey, are you new here? Guess I’m not the new kid anymore,” Sora said. He offered his hand.

“Come on in,” Mario said. “Everyone is welcome.”