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Chapter Text

Wolf dangled off the edge of the fighting stage, his claws digging deeply into the stone of the levitating platform. He snarled with clenched teeth at the fact that he was only a few mess-ups away from being defeated. He had been doing incredibly well throughout the match, having only taken a tiny number of damage. Things changed about halfway through this, however, when his opponent fought back twice as hard, with Wolf barely able to shield himself from the attacks he had been dealt.

As he hung off the edge, his eyes darted over to the scoreboard. Both of their damage percentages were quite high, with his being 110% and his opponent's being 101%. Very rarely did he get defeated, and he had quite a reputation for how flawlessly he fought.

He was not going to let this be the day that he had his behind handed to him by this fighter that he was battling. Nope, he was definitely not going to let that happen.

Kirby came running towards the middle of the stage, where a ray gun had appeared. "Poyo!" he proclaimed as he picked it up.

"Dammit," Wolf growled through clenched teeth. "I'm not losing to this blob."

The gray wolf hoisted himself back onto the stage, ready to face Kirby once again. He darted forward, jumping into the air to avoid the oncoming blast from the ray gun. He landed on the platform that hovered above the main one.

He jumped down from the height and fired his own blaster at his opponent from behind. This was then followed by a jump kick that successfully hit Kirby multiple times. The attack had temporarily pushed him off the stage and made him drop the ray gun he had collected, but it was not enough to secure a sure victory. Kirby was flung away into the distance for a few seconds, but he managed to fly upward to get himself back over to the edge of the platform.

Wolf flipped in the air once more and got to the higher surface; he would be safer for a brief moment here until his rival attempted to knock him off the stage for good. His attention darted back to the humongous scoreboard. Their total damage amounts were off by only one percent.

"This is getting tricky," he said to himself in the heat of the moment.

What was displayed on the screen changed, being replaced by an image of those that were watching him battle. The others, some of them having already participated in earlier battles, could be seen talking with one another. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that some were remarking about how he hadn't been doing well right now.

In the very middle of what the screen showed, a certain yellow dog applauded with more enthusiasm than anybody else that was watching. Though there was no sound coming through the projection, he was able to read Isabelle's lips when she started to say something.

"Go, Wolf!" she appeared to be cheering. "You can do it!"

The lupine grinned slightly, having more determination than he already had. If there was anybody that could provide someone with a needed dash of positivity in an uncertain situation, it was Isabelle. She was pretty much bursting with it at any given time of day, and seeing her applause was all he needed to see. He absolutely hated it when this happened, but it seemed like the others were right: He did have a bit of a crush on her.

Just then, he saw an object drop onto the platform to his left in the corner of his vision. He turned around to see that it was a Super Mushroom. Now was the perfect chance to ensure victory!

He ran forward and jumped to the adjacent platform, just as Kirby was flying upward in an attempt to get it for himself. "Not on my watch," he snarled as he approached the item.

Wolf, upon touching the Super Mushroom, suddenly felt himself growing taller, giving him an advantage. While he was floating in the air, he executed a sudden kick towards Kirby, sending him falling down to the bottom of the stage. The gray wolf quickly dropped down and flung his opponent far away from the stage with one last swipe of his claws. He watched as he disappeared in a flash of light and celebrated with his signature piercing howl. No need to worry anymore about his winning streak being in jeopardy.

The effects of the mushroom wore off suddenly, and he returned back to his normal size. As he stood there and caught his breath, he knew he had something that he had to do now that the battle was finished. Given his normally bitter demeanor, this wasn't something that he normally he did. Matter of fact, he couldn't recall too many moments in which he did this sort of thing. But for this specific occasion, he would be making an exception.

It was sometime after the fight concluded, and Isabelle was relaxing in one of the comfy chairs that made up the lounge in Smash Mansion. It had just been her occupying the room for awhile now, as most of the commotion was coming from the main hallway, but someone eventually started to walk in.

Closing the sliding door that led to the outside of the mansion, Wolf strolled into the empty lounge, his boots click-clacking against the hard flooring. Upon seeing him walk towards her, Isabelle lifted her back and sat up straight.

"Hi, Wolf," she said a bit hesitantly. She found Wolf to be quite handsome, and she was pretty sure that she was blushing right now.

"Isabelle," Wolf replied. "Just who I wanted to see."

"Y-You need anything?" the dog inquired.

The gray lupine was silent for a brief moment before realizing she had asked him that question. "Oh, nothing," he answered awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. "I, uh, came by to, uh..." Wolf cursed himself for his current state of awkwardness. Why does she have to be so damn cute?

"Yes?" Isabelle said.

"I wanted to say..." It was a bit hard to get the words he wanted to say to come out, as it wasn't exactly a phrase that he used on the daily. "Th-Thank you... for cheering me on."

"You're welcome, Wolf." The smile that was pretty much her trademark appeared on her face.

Her smile was clearly contagious, as a small grin started to take form on Wolf's muzzle. "I appreciate it a lot," he replied, now finding the words that he wanted to say to her. "I couldn't have won without your optimism. I-I think your positivity gave me extra strength."

Isabelle's eyes lit up upon hearing this from Wolf. Her words helped her favorite fighter in the tournament achieve victory? Now she was really blushing. "Really?" she asked.

"Yeah," Wolf responded. "You ever hear how positive words have the power to change things?"

The yellow dog shook her head. "No. Never heard about that."

"Well, it's true. Very true." There was a long pause in which the two were completely silent. A few seconds went by, and Wolf finally said, "Well, I guess I'll see you around."

As he walked away and made his way back outside, Isabelle smiled back at him.

Meanwhile, over towards the space that led to the main hall, Bowser and King K. Rool stood silently. The two, unbeknownst to Wolf, had overheard the conversation, including when he was acting all nervous.

"I told you," King K. Rool said, feeling proud of himself at the moment. "I told you he has a total crush on her."

"You were right," Boswer replied

The obese crocodile turned around to who was standing beside him, outstretching a scaly hand with a wide grin. "I believe we had a bet on this matter, King Koopa. You remember the wager, don't you?"

Remembering what he was pertaining to, Bowser rolled his eyes and heavily sighed. "Yes, I remember," he grunted.

Chapter Text

"Typical," Wolf muttered under his breath. "That's just typical."

The spacious dining hall was packed as everybody in Smash Mansion got themselves breakfast. He had been waiting awhile to get the fuel he needed for the upcoming battles, but a majority of the food that had been prepared had disappeared by the time he got up to the long-stretching counter. He cursed at his rotten luck, wishing that he had gotten here a little bit earlier so he could breakfast before the rush of people woke up.

Most of the metal trays that stretched in a line, filled to the brim with food some time ago, were close to being empty. But that was thanks to folks like Bowser that overflowed their plate, not even thinking about saving something for everybody else. There was also Little Mac as well, who always said he carbo-loaded before doing major athletic training. And not to mention the other people that sometimes got themselves a second or third helping of something.

With a heavy sigh, Wolf strolled over to the end of the counter, over towards where the sweeter foods and utensils normally were. It was a good thing they still had one of the muffins with the crunch topping on it he always liked left. It wasn't hot like they were when they were fresh from the oven, but that was quite alright. This would just have to suffice for right now.

Better than nothing, he thought.

He grabbed it and put it on his tray, making his way over to one of the tables in the dining hall that wasn't occupied. Just as he was walking into that section of the mansion, he heard barking and someone sprinting towards him. It was the Duck Hunt duo.

"What do you want?" Wolf snapped as he turned his body around.

The brown dog responded with several barks, his tail starting to wag eagerly.

The gray wolf quickly realized that he was eyeing up the muffin he had resting on his tray. He uttered a laugh under his breath. "I don't think so, pup. You ever hear the old saying 'first come, first served?'"

The dog stuck its tongue and let out a bark that was louder than the ones before it.

The tall lupine just shook his head in response. "Look," he said, "don't you have any buried bones you need to retrieve or something? There's barely anything left to eat by the time I get up here, and I just want to enjoy my meal in peace. You understand?"

The dog looked at the duck that was right beside him, exchanging looks that appeared to be of disappointment. He then looked back over at Wolf with wide and sad-looking eyes, and he started to whimper loudly as he held a front paw up in the act of begging.

The people seated a short distance from the breakfast bar overheard the whimpering, and they started to look back and see what was going on.

With others now looking over at him, Wolf rolled his eyes and grunted. He didn't need somebody going hungry this morning on his conscience, so it was best he just gave what he had on the tray to him. Tearing the wrapper off the muffin, he threw it onto the ground where the dog and duck were. "Here," he sighed. "I'm sure this is a lot tastier than whatever you normally. Enjoy."

The begging suddenly seized. The dog walked off happily, holding the muffin in his mouth. His duck companion followed his steps shortly afterwards.

The duo happily strolled out of Smash Mansion. Once the two were outside, the two sneakily made their way down the stone steps and over towards their spot.

The brown-furred pup dropped the muffin onto the ground, holding a paw over his mouth to cover up his laughter. The duck that followed him cane waddling from behind a moment later, and the two looked at what food they managed to receive this morning.

There was a small pile of breakfast food sitting in front of them. Among the items they received was several strips of bacon, two links of sausage, toast (which would be for the duck), and the muffin that they just got from Wolf. In short, they got quite a load of food today.

They started to score loads like this through a sly tactic that they devised, the one that worked not only on Wolf but on several others that managed to fall for it. It was a matter of simply approaching somebody with a piece of food that looked good and cutely begging for it. If it wasn't an immediate success, the puppy dog eyes, his secret weapon, had people fall for it every time.

No one could just turn their back on the puppy dog eyes. It was a known fact.

With their morning mission accomplished, the duo started to dig into what they wanted out of the array of food laying out before them.

Chapter Text

He started to feel really close to giving up, ready to give the core muscles that he was using a much-needed break. He continued to push through the exercise regimen, though, as he was determined to do so.

His arms outstretched behind him, King K. Rool continued on with the jackknife exercise routine, a combination of a leg lift and a crunch, that he had been doing for a short time now. He brought his legs from off of the floor, bringing his arms up and over his head so they were parallel to them at the same time. In a slow, controlled manner, he lowered his arms and legs back down to their starting position.

So much for this being one of the simpler exercises, he thought. If this was tiring him out this much, then he hated to know what some of the harder strength training was. For now, though, he was just going to focus on getting through the last few reps of this exercise.

"You got this," Wii Fit Trainer said with motivation. "Only ten more left. Feel those muscles working."

"Oh, I can feel them working," King K. Rool complained as he continued to do exactly as she was doing.

Being as strong and fit as she was, the trainer dressed in blue made this look super simple. He almost felt a bit embarrassed that he was struggling through this and the previous few exercises, when she was barely breaking a sweat.

The large crocodile did what she had suggested to do, and that was to try counting out loud. He did so alongside her, pushing through the last five reps. When he reached the very last one, he laid where he was exhaustedly for a brief moment. He then got up and grabbed one of the water bottles that sat over towards where the yoga mats were located, downing half of it in one large gulp.

Wii Fit Trainer got up a moment later and approached him, clapping her hands together with a proud smile. "That was a great workout," she applauded. "You did a good job."

King K. Rool nodded his head and let out a large sigh. "I'm going to be tired tonight," he remarked in reply.

"Keep at that everyday," the trainer replied informatively, "and you'll start to achieve a more well-toned body."

"I'm not exactly trying to tone up, though." The obese crocodile patted a hand upon his large, gold-plated belly. "This stomach of mine is actually the weapon I use in the tournament. I just wanted to get a bit stronger so I can end the losing streak I've had. That's why I came to you to see how I could do that."

Wii Fit Trainer nodded understandingly. "Trust me," she responded. "If you continue to do some of the exercises that we just did today, you'll get much stronger in preparation for next week's upcoming battles." She held up her hand. "Will you join me at the same time tomorrow?"

King K. Rool high-fived her with his scaly hand, a grin taking shape on his face. "You got it."

"Will be doing the same regimen tomorrow," she informed, "plus a few yoga stretches that I think will really beneficial."

"Yoga?" the crocodile inquired. "I'm not sure I have the strongest liking for that."

"That's quite okay," Wii Fit Trainer replied. "I can assure you, though, that these poses are very simple. Not only will they improve your posture, but I think they'll help with that pain in your sides you mentioned before."

The portly reptilian grabbed his water and started to walk out of the green-colored room. After giving himself a much-needed break that lasted a few minutes, he walked over to another thing that was on his agenda.

The next thing he needed to do was go and see Little Mac over where he trained. If there was anybody that could help him out with learning how to throw better jabs and the like in battle, it was him.

Chapter Text

"So what do you think this new fighter is gonna be like?" Bowser Jr. asked.

The yellow rodent-like Pokemon, short and plump in appearance, simply nodded his head at the question being asked to him. "Pichu!" he proclaimed, presumably with a sense of excitement.

"Yeah, same here," replied the Koopa Troopa, though he wasn't exactly sure what he had meant when he said that. In complete honesty, he was never quite sure what he meant when he talked, as everything he said sounded similar when he spoke.

Bowser Jr. turned his attention to the main entrance to Smash Mansion, which was even more embellished than it typically was. While every room within the humongous construction was extravagantly decorated, some new additions were temporarily placed around the area in preparation for what was happening. Master Hand had announced the most recent recipient of the invitations he had sent had been accepted, and from that moment on some of the Smashers busily worked on getting the place ready for the arrival.

Looking in the direction of the large entryway, he saw the strands of slowly blinking lights had been strung around the massive doors. Near the hallway that lead to where the staircase was located, several banners hung from above with the word "Welcome" in bright red letters. As soon as this person stepped through the entrance and into Smash Mansion, they were going to know right away that they were receiving a humble welcome here.

The last banner was being put up in the large dining area by Villager, who was standing carefully on the top step of a tall ladder as he did so. From where she stood a short distance away, Isabelle used her handy slingshot to send another clip up to where he stood.

"I certainly hope whoever's coming is nice," Zelda chimed in as she walked over to where Bowser Jr. and a majority of the other Smashers had congregated.

"That's all we can do for now, Princess," Marth, who had been standing silently along with the group gathered behind him, said to her, now joining in on the conversation.

A chuckle arose from Wolf, who was over by the other villainous members of Smash Mansion. "Better hope for your sake it's not your greatest archenemy or something," he remarked. "Never have I seen Cloud get upset 'til that Sephiroth fella with one wing showed up." Quietly under his breath, he added, "So much for all that bravery of his."

The blond-hair swordsman, having overheard the comment made him, grunted and sagged his head. It was true that he hadn't been the same since his worst enemy had appeared, and a good majority of the Smashers knew that for a fact. Sephiroth was best described as being cold and undeniably ruthless, and that showed considering that he showed no form of positivity towards any of the other residents of Smash Mansion. In fact, he was the only one that wasn't around to see who would be joining the other fighters.

"You don't know the experiences Cloud has had with him, Wolf," Marth said in response to snark.

The gray-furred lupine shrugged his shoulders as he carried on with the conversation, even though no one was actually asking him for his opinion on the matter right now. "I mean," he continued, "Sephiroth doesn't seem all that bad to me."

Zelda shook her head before turning her attention towards him, pointing at him sternly. "When he takes you away, I don't think you'll thinking that about him anymore," she replied.

Wolf was taken aback for moment, and he held his paws up. "Well, excuse me, Princess…" he snapped in reply. "I don't think you remember that you're talking to someone with a villainous background."

"The big difference between you and that guy is that he's a lot better of a villain," Ridley, who was standing to the left of him, remarked. "Just how many times has McCloud defeated you in the past, not counting the times you fought him during the tournament?"

"Hey!" Wolf snapped back, turning around and pointing a claw up at the extraterrestrial. He was starting to feel pretty embarrassed having that brought up, even if what what was being said about him was the truth. "I'd shut the hell up if I were you. I don't care how much taller you are compared to me. I will still kick your behind in battle."

"We shall see..." Ridley muttered, flapping his wings slightly as he turned his attention in the opposite direction.

"I think the new guest should be here any a-moment now," Mario announced happily, walking in from the other room.

About a minute after he told everybody that, the highly-anticipated sound of the doorbell chiming sounded around the Smashers. Everyone suddenly quieted down, with only a few whispering back and forth to one another, as Mario walked up to the front door and opened it.

The moment he did so, revealing the newest guest to the mansion, everybody exclaimed "Welcome!" in unison. A short second after that, Bowser Jr. pulled the string of a party popper he was holding, releasing a tiny a bit of colored confetti to the floor below him.

Standing outside on the front steps of the mansion was a girl with a red hair. She wore short armor that was colored red and black, with ornamentations of gold and green, as well as what appeared to be a tiara on her head.

The instant she saw everybody giving her such a warm welcome, the girl held a hand to her chest and started to smile widely. "This place is prettier than I imagined," she said, gazing inside of the Smash Mansion in awe from where she stood. "Still can't believe I got the invitation to join all of you."

Just as the girl stepped inside and closed the door behind her, Master Hand came from down the spiral staircase that led to the second floor. "I am glad to know that you have arrived safely," he said to her. "Why don't you introduce yourself to the others?"

"Of course," she replied. Looking around at the menagerie of fighters surrounding her, she said to them, "My name is Pyra, and I can't wait to join in on the upcoming tournament. My protector Rex really wanted to be in the tournament as well, but for now he'll just have to leave to me and root for me as I go." At that last remark, she let out a small laugh before bowing.

"Now then," Master Hand said to everyone, "would anyone be kind enough to show Pyra around here?"

"I'd be happy to, sir," Isabelle responded, waving over at him as she ran up to where the girl stood. Looking up at her, she said, "Allow me to give you a tour of the mansion."

Pyra looked down at who was speaking to her, feeling a bit surprised. She would have never thought she would be getting a tour around such a grand construction by a yellow dog that could talk and wore green-colored plaid. But she was in Smash now, and that meant that she would be meeting some new people from many different places that were unfamiliar to her. "Sure," she said to the canine.

Some Time Later...

"Wonder how powerful she'll be in battle," Link muttered to himself as he stood near the counter, taking his plate up after enjoying the hearty supper they had to welcome the newest guest. "I could probably defeat-"

"I wouldn't make assumptions so soon," snarled Ganondorf, who was conveniently walking over to where he was standing. "You know what they say about counting your chickens before they hatch."

Link grunted under his breath, feeling as if that remark mentioning chickens was made to him on purpose, considering that everybody knew that chickens were his bane. "I don't believe I asked what you thought about it," he said back.

The ruthless Gerudo simply grinned at the boy as he set his own plate down on the nearby counter. "That new girl seems to be quite a skilled fighter to me," he responded. "From what I heard over the meal, she's an Aegis."

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean, Ganondorf?" Link snapped.

"It means that she is a legendary blade," was the response he received. "So she's not just a sword-fighter; she is a fighting sword. Time will tell if you're even capable of lasting a minute in the tournament before she knocks you off the stage." With a chuckle, Ganondorf started to add, "Perhaps the Princess could help-"

"Hey!" Pit chimed in as he approached the space. "Why don't you go pick on somebody else for once, huh?"

Ganondorf held his hands up and slowly retraced his steps. "I am just saying what is sure to come. But when that announcer says it's time for battle and you're in a match against her, don't say you weren't given a fair warning."

After the Gerudo walked away from where they were standing, Link looked over at Pit and said, "You didn't have to stand up for me. I was capable of handling his words. Those words don't hurt me in the slightest."

"I know that," replied the young angel. "People that always try to bring others down when they weren't asked to speak are just irritating, though."

"That they are," Link agreed. "That they are."

The Very Next Day...

Ganondorf turned out to be right when he said that the new girl was going to be skilled with fighting, much to Pit's dismay. It was a very rare occurance for him to be correct about something, as he was always sprouting out lies when under different circumstances, but turns out this was just one of those times. He wondered as if he had it set up for this to happen.

"Flame Nova!" Pyra cried. She spun her sword in a large circle, drawing her rival closer to her.

A brief burst of flame encircled her, and Pit, upon being drawn close to her attack, was sent flying to the opposite side of the stage. He quickly landed back on his feet, luckily saving himself from falling off the edge of the platform. Not only was he facing the girl that was turning out be a powerful fighter, but having to fight at Warioware Inc., his least favorite stage of the tournament, didn't make things any easier for him.

Just then, the coveted Smash Ball started to float around to the right. As soon as it was within her vision, Pyra leaped up and flipped in the air, slashing at the levitating sphere in an upward motion as quick as she could.

Pit's eyes widened in that moment, and felt himself become stiff with trepidation. He had already taken a great bit of damage, and the end of the match would come a lot sooner if he ended up taking too much more.

"Oh no..." he muttered to himself, gripping harder onto the short swords he held in each hand.

As soon as she hit the Smash Ball, the girl had that glowing aura surrounding her body. And Pit knew right then and there what was going to happen next.

Chapter Text

It was in aftermath of the tag team battle he lost that he approached Palutena, who stood outside as she looked out at the beautiful sky. After he caused them to lose with an unintelligent move, he felt conscience-stricken throughout the remainder of the day. Apologizing, though he was uncertain of what she would say in response, would be the most effective measure to relieve his currently guilt-ridden self.

"Uh, Lady Palutena?" he said to her hesitantly as he approached her.

The green-haired goddess turned her attention away from the sights of golden hour and looked over at him. "Yes?"

The angel responded, "Look… About what happened during the fight. I-I really that was a real Smash Ball, but I didn't even take a second to see that it looked different. It's my fault we lost the battle, and I feel so guilty about it."

"It's okay, Pit," Palutena replied with a smile.

He was uncertain, however, about her response. "But by saying that it's okay, do you mean 'I'm upset and going to remember your mistake for a long time?'"

The goddess giggled at his inquiry. "No," she said, "I mean that it's really okay. I know it wasn't your intention to slash at a fake Smash Ball on purpose."

"It was in the heat of the moment," replied Pit, his head sagging despondently.

"Consider it nothing more than a happy accident. Everybody makes them," Palutena said.

Her voice had a tone of reassurance, which eased the guilt that he had been carrying him for awhile. Pit was now starting to feel a tad silly for overthinking how she took what happened during the battle. That was all thanks to his tendency to continuously dwell on stuff like that, attempting to steer him into believing that she was truly upset with him. Worrying amounted to nothing, but it seemed that he never fully received that memo.

"Yeah, sorry," was what Pit said to her after a momentary pause.

Lady Palutena simply continued to smile back at him. "There's no longer a need to apologize." Pointing a finger at him, she added, "But next time we're selected to participate in a battle, I won't be giving you any powers."

Pit nodded his head. "Understood."

Now that he had finished discussing that with her, he suddenly started to remember something else that he previously want to talk about. With the events that had occurred earlier, however, what he was going to say was completely forgotten. He just stood where he was for a short moment, tapping a finger against the side of his face as he tried to remember.

"Something else on your mind, Pit?" Palutena asked, noticing that he was in a deep state of thought.

"There's something else I wanted to say, but I can't remember…" he muttered.

Pit just looked out at what surrounded him, noticing a figure that was starting to walk to the front steps of the mansion from the opposite side. He heard footsteps as whoever was strolling forward crunched through the grass.

He turned his attention in the direction it was coming from, looking over to see Toon Link walking around before coming to a stop, presumably to get a glimpse of the sunset as well. It was upon seeing this fighter in a green tunic that Pit suddenly remembered the other thing that he wanted to talk to Lady Palutena about. He smiled widely in that moment; if lightbulbs ever did appear over people's heads when an idea came to them, one would have certainly been hovering above him right now.

"That's it!" he exclaimed loudly, catching the goddess standing near him a bit off guard.

"Why such excitement?" she inquired.

Turning her attention back to her, he beamed with a great amount of enthusiasm. "I've been thinking-"

"Which can sometimes be a scary thing, Pit," Palutena interrupted.

Pit paused a moment and let out a small laugh before carrying on with what he just recalled. "Anyway, you know how there's three Links here at the mansion?"

"Link, Toon Link, and Young Link," the goddess stated as she counted them on her fingers. "Yes, I am aware of this. As are all of the other fighters here."

"Well…" Pit replied, rubbing a finger against his chin. "I was wondering what it might be like if I had a counterpart like he did. You know, someone in my likeness. Someone that'll be in aid in battle, and not like that dark clone of me."

"And I assume you want me to help make your idea become reality?" was Palutena's response.

"Absolutely." The brown-haired angel nodded his head eagerly.

"I didn't think you would bring something like this up if you didn't wish for it." The goddess gripped her magical staff with both hands and looked at it. "But… I'm afraid that I'm uncertain that I'm capable of fulfilling your request. The only thing the orb of my staff has been able to conjure here was black holes when in battle. Creating another version of you would be something that hasn't been attempted before."

In that moment, Pit got down on his knees and put his hands together the way somebody would when praying. "Please, Lady Palutena!" he begged her. "Just give your staff a chance and see what happens. Please…"

Palutena shook her head, internally questioning whether this was going to be a good idea or not. There was no use trying to convince him to abandon his proposition, so she was now under the obligation to make the idea he had conceived come true.

"Alright, alright," she said to him. "I'll give it a shot."

"Thank you," Pit replied with a sigh, getting up from off of his knees and standing back up again.

"I cannot make you any promises that it will happen, though," Palutena warned. "It could not work at all."

"But we'll never know unless we give it a go," the angel standing near her replied understandingly, crossing his fingers.

"Here goes nothing…"

With that, Lady Palutena made a twirling motion as she tightly held onto her staff. The orb on the top of it illuminated brightly as she prepared herself to attempt and grant Pit's wish.

One Hour Later…

Pit entered the spacious living room on the right wing of the mansion, the widest smile plastered across his face. As he walked over to where a few of the Smashers were sitting together with a skip in his step, they looked over at him and wondered what was going on.

"Someone's clearly in a good mood," Falco said from his seat on the dark-colored couch.

"Never seem him with a smile that big before," added Marth, who was in a chair some distance away from the couch.

In the left corner of the room stood Dark Pit, his arms crossed and that ever-so-serious look on his face. "What's his deal?" he snapped.

"Lady Palutena just blessed me with something that you're all gonna want to see for yourselves," Pit replied, still optimistic despite his rival being present.

"And what could the goddess have done for you that's so amazing?" Dark Pit asked mockingly.

"Oh, just a fighter in my image that will become real useful in the tournament," was the reply he received. Pointing a finger in his direction, Pit added, "A better fighter than you could ever be, to say the least."

"Well, don't keep this room waiting," Falco said. "Tell us what it is."

"I will, but I need to Link to see it as well," the angel replied.

"I'm here," Link said as he appeared from the other side of the room. "What do you want to tell me about?"

Pit placed his crunched-up hands on his hips and said, "Turns out you're no longer the only one that has multiple of you running around the mansion.

The boy in the green tunic looked over at him quizzically. "What are you going on about?"

"Everybody…" Pit held his arms out wide as he took a few steps to the right. "Meet Toon Pit!"

Behind where he had been standing was another figure. It looked just like Pit and was wearing the same outfit as him, but was much shorter and had eyes that were bit bigger.

"The fight is on!" cried Toon Pit, his voice like that of a young child.

Everybody that was in the room just sat there in surprise, looking at one another with their mouths hanging wide open. There was a moment of silence that encompassed the space, broken by Lucina when she walked over to see who had been introduced.

"Oh my gosh, he is adorable!" she squealed, hardly capable of containing herself in that moment. Her reaction drew the attention of the others around her.

"He might look like that," Pit remarked, "but he'll be pretty powerful in combat."

"I can't believe this is actually real," Lucina continued. She looked over at Math and then back at who she was speaking to and asked, "Do you think Lady Palutena could make both of us a counterpart like that?"

"That's quite possible?" Pit responded, his words coming out more like a question than an actual answer.

"Yeah," Falco chimed in, "that'd actually be quite interesting to have on my side." The blue bird turned his head to the left and said, "What do you say, Fox?"

The vulpine he was talking to stood next to a nearby foosball table, nodding his head in agreement with him. "I think that would be something different," he said. "A miniature Fox McCloud fighting alongside the real thing."

Pit was starting to get a little bit nervous. He didn't by him having this new counterpart that everybody was going to think about wanting their own. And if there was anything he knew about some of the Smashers and their personalities, it was that there was convincing them otherwise when their hearts were set upon something.

What am I gonna tell Lady Palutena now? he pondered apprehensively.

However, there was no need for him to break anything to the goddess regarding such a thing, for she already knew about this. She stood near the main hall by the spiral staircase, listening in on the conversation that was continuing in that room. After successfully granting the wishes of Pit, she had a hunch in the back of her mind that something of this sort would come to pass. And just like she had perceived that possibility became actuality.

"Why didn't I see this coming?" Palutena said to herself, shaking her head.