"This sucks," Waluigi said, staring out at the bar. "My cousin gets all the action in that damned Smash tournament, and I'm relegated to assists. What a load of bunk."

"Join the club, Mustache." That was Simon Belmont, one of several regular patrons. The famed demon slayer was leaning back in his chair, feet resting on a nearby table, a glass of mead waiting to be drunken. "Everyone here's got a sob story for why they ain't part of the fighting."

"Yeah, but I'm WALUIGI. I've been in a mountain of games. I DESERVE to be a full-fledged fighter at this point. I mean, for the love of Mushroom, they let Olimar in. OLIMAR! His only qualification is that he throws tiny plant people at you. How's that guy get invited and I'm left on the sidelines?"

Belmont scoffed. "Cause you're a sidekick, Wa-na-hawk-a-lugie. You play tennis and get overshadowed by Wario. You're hardly more well-known than Ecco the Dolphin."

"HEY!" Waluigi stood up, his face turning red. "DON'T YOU DARE COMPARE ME TO THAT FISH-CHOMPING BASTARD! Where's your invite, Belmont? I don't see Mario knockin' on your door, like he did with Mega Man and lil' screw-up Sonic. I thought you were as popular as them - turns out… hee-hee… you're their whipping boy! HA HA HA HA H-"

The next thing Waluigi knew, Simon had slammed his head onto the bar and was now pressing down with his arm. "Give me an excuse, Mustache. Give. Me. An. Excuse. Cause I'm more than eager to show my technique for dealing with ghouls."

"Won't be necessary, Si," the bar owner, Terra, said as she gently removed Simon's arm from atop Waluigi's head. "Why don't you sit back down and enjoy your drink? I'm sure the boy's learned his lesson. Haven't ya, Waluigi?"

"Yes, ma'am," Waluigi said in defeat. Apparently satisfied, Simon went back to his table.

"Now then," Terra said, returning to her conversation with Princess Daisy at the other end of the bar, "what was it you were saying about an empty castle?"

Daisy, seemingly entranced by the exchange that just ensued, suddenly shook her head as though returning to reality. "Yes… well, so to speak. A fort in Sarasaland was just evacuated due to some Boos haunting it. Even though I've had Luigi clear it out, the citizens don't want to return to it and its original owner fled. So now I'm stuck with land and no people to manage it."

"Maybe rent it out? I'm sure there's some hippies who'd pay top dollar for a place to put on concerts, or whatever it is that hippies do."

"Maybe," Daisy said, worriedly.

"If I may interject, ladies." Over to Terra and Daisy walked the Maverick hunter Zero, taking the seat next to Daisy. "I sense there may be an opportunity here to kill the proverbial two birds with one stone."

Daisy seemed intrigued, but Terra raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "What'd you have in mind, Z?"

"We host an anti-Smash tournament."

"WHAT!?" Daisy and Terra said at once.

Zero held his hands up in submissive fashion. "Hear me out. There's a lot of people at this bar - they want action, they wanna fight, but they're never picked to Smash. Hence, a need, which could be fulfilled by a real go-getter with a lotta spare land. AND - if we draw in the bar scene, that means some very thirsty, VERY profitable tournament goers. Get what I'm saying?"

Terra smirked at the thought of being able to expand her bar into a full-fledged chain. "I like the cut of your gib. And I do have some things I've always wanted to do…"

"That could be fun," Daisy interjected.

"Hey gents," Zero shouted to Waluigi and Belmont, "how badly do you wanna fight?"

Waluigi mumbled something about that "being a nice idea". Simon chuckled, before standing tall and proclaiming "My whip shall know the taste of a foe's flesh once more!"

"Well then," Zero turned back to Terra, "let's rock and roll."