A/N: I own nothing. All rights go to Nintendo, and Sega, etc al.

The tournament had ended. The eternal plumber Mario had home the Melee trophy in victory. The contestants had gone home to nurse their wounds, train, and get ready for the next tournament.

They weren't the only ones getting ready. Master Hand, organizer of the Super Smash Brothers Melee tournament, was preparing for the next tournament. New contestants would have to be introduced, to keep the old ones on his toes, and replace the ones who would not be returning. He had already looked over the entries, and had made several additions, selecting a warrior named Solid Snake, and another from Fox's world called Falco.

He looked over his reports some more. There was a world he had chosen which had two promising specimens. However, he did not know who to choose. He could only choose one from this world, as his docket was already almost full.

He looked over the two candidates again. Both were hedgehogs from a world called Mobius. One was billed as the fastest thing alive, while the other called himself the ultimate life form. One had defeated a man named Eggman multiple times, while the other had almost singlehandedly defeated an alien invasion. Both used devices called the Chaos Emeralds to increase their power. He wasn't sure who to choose, since they both looked promising. He couldn't ask Crazy Hand. Crazy wasn't very useful in anything important for stuff like that.

He really was getting annoyed. He needed to figure this out so he could get to designing the new stages. They were both qualified, and he had no doubt either would prove tough competition.

Fed up, he made a decision. Instead of choosing, he would let fate decide. He rummaged around in his desk and pulled out a quarter. Heads would get one hedgehog, tails the other. With a mighty toss, he flipped it into the air. As it spun around, he wondered how it would land.

The time had come. Master Hand had issued another call for all the greatest fighters in the Multiverse to come and test their skills against each other. Some had already arrived and were settling into the mansion.

The hedgehog walked calmly through the forest that surrounded the mansion. He had received the call from Master Hand and had quickly accepted. He knew this was his chance to prove the label that had been given to him. Before he had left Mobius, he had made sure to pack up enough ammunition to outfit a small army. Now, he was sure to win.

He reached the entrance to the mansion. In front was a fountain surrounded by a garden, carefully tended by one of the occupants of the mansion, no doubt. He didn't really care about the decorations. He was there to win, and that was all there was to it. The mansion itself was impressive, multiple stories, white with red trim. He had no idea where the stadium was, but he supposed that would be answered in good time.

Reaching the door, he did not knock, but slammed it open with a heavy push, the sound reverberating throughout the mansion. He stepped inside without pausing, confident in his superiority, his gun swinging at his hip.

Inside, he found several warriors waiting in the main hall. One was a man with pointed ears in a green tunic. He looked strong, but not like he could keep up with the speed. Another was a princess with an umbrella, in a pink dress. She looked too delicate to be in this fight. There would be no trouble in crushing her. The third looked to be some sort of angel kid with a bow. It was doubtful if he could do what it was necessary to win. The fourth was a fox in a sort of military outfit. He looked agile, but probably not the strongest person here.

They all swiveled and looked at the newcomer as he entered the room. He was sure they were looking him over, seeing how much of a threat he would be, but he ignored them. He didn't care what they thought about him, he knew he could beat then.

"Hey, a new challenger," said the fox.

The elf walked up beside the hedgehog, but he kept walking. "Hey, I'm Link, from Hyrule. Nice to meet you."

"Sure, whatever," mumbled the Hedgehog, brushing Link aside..

As he walked by the lady in pink, she gave him a wink and a smile, but it merely brushed off on his cold shell. He wasn't here to make friends, he was here to win.

Link introduced the other people. "The one in pink is Princess Peach, the one with the angel wings is Pit, and the fox is, well, Fox."

"Nice to know," mumbled the hedgehog, picking up his pace to move away from Link.

He reached the main stairs that led higher up into the mansion. He planned on staking out a room so he could at least enjoy himself while crushing the competition. Then he would meet with this "Master Hand" and get ready to win the "Super Smash Brothers Brawl" trophy.

As he walked up the stairs, he heard Link call out, "Hey, we never got your name."

The hedgehog glanced back at the three fighters, his hand on his hip with his gun swinging at his side, his red and black spiked hair making him a striking figure.

"Shadow,' he said darkly, "Shadow the Hedgehog."