The last few months of Gancena's life were absolutely saturated in restlessness. First there was the wait for the game version of Smash Ultimate, which she could at least count the days for. Then the day came and she found herself and her poor mother literally escaping into the World of Light. Then after the defeats of Galeem and Dharkon, Gancena made a decision to remain part of Smash. But she didn't actually leave home until after New Year's so that her mother would have peace of mind and some time with her.
At the moment, she was scrambling to grab all the last little items she wanted to bring to Smash Mansion, at least for the moment. Everyone was already there. She'd been bringing in bigger items day in and day out since before New Year's. And even though she'd let everyone know she'd be arriving after dark, Gancena felt like she was running late on her first day of work as the new general manager of Super Smash Brothers.
When it was time to go, after the two pups and the kitty were put to bed and her parents had come up to her room to see her off, Gancena pulled up the app on her phone that had started it all: the Multiverse Navigator.
It had simply appeared in there one day, when the pups were actual pups, and it had led her into an interdimensional adventure to find and rescue the cast of the first Super Smash Brothers game from a then-bored and unintentionally callous Master Hand. It was a masterwork, allowing Gancena to enter virtually any world connected to Super Smash Brothers with a few quick taps.
Gancena and Master Hand had struck a deal the day that they met, that Gancena would be responsible for the chosen fighters if they could each complete a set of trials. Of course, the fighters each triumphed, and under Gancena's care, they were granted their freedom.
But the deal had evolved by then to a mutual understanding: Master Hand learned why the people he'd roped in thought it wasn't okay of him to do so, and Gancena and the first twelve Smashers learned why Master Hand thought it was. All their time together concluded in a promise to someday reunite, and to invite more than twice as many people to become Smashers.
That promise would become Melee, then Brawl, then Sm4sh. And now the Ultimate era was about to begin.
There was already a well-used rip in Subspace that led to the office on the highest story of Smash Mansion. That office had belonged to Master Hand and Crazy Hand.
Now it was hers.
Before selecting the rip to go through it, Gancena glanced at her own light tan hands. Since the end of Sm4sh, Smash Brothers logos were forever marked on the palms and backs of her hands, accompanied by noticeable colored lines running from her fingertips to the middle of her biceps, like a set of opera gloves: red on the left, blue on the right. It was a manifestation of what had been left behind. She'd gained great power and greater responsibility when she'd let those marks be fused onto her hands, and both the power and the responsibility were ever-growing…
The office had needed renovation after its former occupants were gone, and Gancena had done so strategically. She didn't need all the space for an office, but she would need a bedroom of her own. So she built a wall and a doorway between them and, with great care, tugged the Subspace rip to sit squarely in her bedroom's area.
And so that was where she appeared. She sighed deeply once the transportation was complete.
It was fairly bare for the moment, basically having a bed, a closet, some shelves, and an attached bathroom ready to go. Gancena glanced down at all her cargo, slipped her phone back into a pocket, and began to lay it all down. The backpack went on the floor by the bed, the luggage was placed on its back, the toiletries bag went straight to the bathroom… but she'd actually unpack later.
She took a moment to undo and redo her short dark ponytail before checking the time on her phone. She wasn't late at all. She'd be able to give everything a once-over before—
She stopped upon opening the door, caught off-guard by the sight of adorable little Isabelle checking something off a clipboard. All she'd been expecting, really, was the Piranha Plant sitting atop the desk.
"Hey, there you are! You made it!" the Plant said.
Isabelle looked up then. "Oh! Ms. Manager! Good evening!"
"Hi," Gancena managed. "What're you doing up here, Isabelle—Is that my list?"
"Yes. You'd mentioned being worried about getting everything done on time, so I thought I'd go over the tasks you'd set up here!" Isabelle chirped. Then she stopped with a jolt. "But I should have asked permission first." She began to fidget in place. "I'm so sorry! Was it too much of me to do that?"
Gancena smiled, trying not to melt. Even when she was practically dancing in place with worry, she was precious. "No, that's fine. Actually, may I see what you've done?"
Isabelle paused and straightened up. "Yes, you may!" She trotted over, the bells in her hair jingling. She showed the clipboard. Almost everything was checked. Isabelle elaborated: "Everyone's rooms are just as they asked for, the facilities are in working order, and the Mii staff is ready to go! I even got volunteers to help test the SmashComms and the PA system. Everything's working like a charm!"
Gancena sighed. "Isabelle, this is wonderful! I think with all that in order, we can go ahead and finish it all off by having the opening meeting now!"
"That's great, Ms. Manager!"
"But, uh, one thing," Gancena said.
"Yes?"
"You don't have to call me 'Ms. Manager' or anything like that. You can still call me Gancena. I know you're used to doing minutia and being formal, but you're not my secretary. You're one of the fighters. And even more importantly, we're friends first and manager and fighter second."
"Oh! Then I'll keep that in mind… Gancena!" Isabelle said, beaming.
Gancena let a burst of joy bloom in her chest, watching that adorable face. "That being said, I really do appreciate that you did this. I feel like a lot of the remaining weight is off my shoulders. But from now on, I'd better learn to do all this myself. Thanks, Isabelle. Get to the conference room. The meeting will start as soon as everyone is there. You can leave the clipboard on my desk."
"All right, then!" Isabelle said, doing so. "I'll see you at the meeting!" she exclaimed.
Once she'd left the office, gently shutting the door behind her, Gancena turned to address the smiling Piranha Plant. "Petey II, did you have anything to do with this?"
Petey II shrugged. "Nah, but I didn't stop it, either. Isabelle wanted to help, so I let her help. I mean, I know you've been kind of stressing out about the move and opening the season and everything. Speaking of, how were Mom and Dad when you left?"
"They were good, thanks. I mean, you know. Relatively speaking. I mean, I just flew the nest, so."
"At least it isn't their first rodeo. Also, when're the pups coming? People have been asking."
"After the Exhibition. It'd be too chaotic to do it any sooner. I'll be back and forth between here and Mom and Dad's all day tomorrow, and part of that's just for setting up their space." Gancena briefly looked over a sheet of notes she'd made for the meeting. "What about you? Did you find your room okay?"
"Yes, I did. Though I'll probably still be spending some time up here—well, with permission, of course. I'm just real used to hanging around wherever you are."
"Yeah, I get it. It's fine as long as I'm not trying to discuss anything confidential with anyone. You'll know when to scoot, I think." Gancena then approached her desk and observed the PA panel: a spread of buttons and a microphone. She thought over her words and then held the biggest button down. Soft ascending chimes resonated throughout the entire space.
She leaned towards the microphone and said: "Hello, everyone, this is your manager Gancena speaking. I would like everyone to come to the conference room for our first meeting! We'll be going over basic rules for both fighting and living here, our new numbering system, and our first couple of events to kick off the New Year and a new season! I'll see you all real soon." She released the button and grabbed her notes, taking a deep breath as the chimes descended. "And you, Petey, are joining us."
"I'd better be!" said Petey II, hopping down from the desk. "So when's my special introduction anyway?"
"I don't know, other than February, the latest," she said, starting for the door. "The developers haven't given a specific date."
Petey II slightly tugged his flower pot up and toddled alongside her. "Always with the 'developers'... are you the manager or not?"
"I am! I just think there are some things I shouldn't try to force, is all. Plus, it's kinda fun to keep some things a mystery…"