Ban Hammer

by GintaxAlvissForever

A sixteen man tournament is being hosted in the Witch Hunter Realm based on the votes of the fans, but the witch hunters want nothing to do with Bayonetta and ban her from being part of the tournament. Corrin is appalled with this attitude and declares that he'll make sure Bayonetta gets to participate in the tournament with surprising results.

Ban Hammer

Disclaimer: I do not own Super Smash Brothers. That goes to Nintendo. I also don't own Bayonetta as that franchise belongs to Platinum Games. The only characters I own are those from the Golden Land, angels from Skyworld including the royal bodyguards, Angel Assembly and archangels along with all the other angels and of course the witch hunters.

Summary: A sixteen man tournament is being hosted in the Witch Hunter Realm based on the votes of the fans, but the witch hunters want nothing to do with Bayonetta and ban her from being part of the tournament. Corrin is appalled with this attitude and declares that he'll make sure Bayonetta gets to participate in the tournament with surprising results. Meanwhile, Rob is trying to figure out why he was selected as one of the sixteen Smashers to participate and realizes it was best not to get too curious.

Pairing: Corrin/Bayonetta, Rob/Shulk, Ganondorf/Palutena, Fox/Sonic and implied Pit/Laharl

Rated: T (for Teen) or M (for Archive of Our Own)

Genre: Drama, Friendship, Humor, Romance with Horror and Suspense during the one creepy scene

Warning: Swearing, sexual situations, violence, one REALLY creepy scene and unintentional OOC

In which I can actually think of a plot to make fun of the people who demand to ban Bayonetta (and the nerfing). Enjoy the salt!

---

It's not every day that a Smash Brother tournament is hosted in a realm outside of the Smash Brothers Realm. Master Hand was always so uptight on where and when the tournaments were hosted. Crazy Hand would think he overreacted to these suggestions of a different stadium every now and then, but Master Hand would bring up that the location the tournament was held determined how much money he made as well as how many people could watch said tournament. The Smash Brothers Realm was the safest bet, but at times, things got repetitive in terms of the setting. The Smashers would still be stuck on the same legal tournament stages and wouldn't even be in the arena, but for the spectators, the seeding was everything.

Palutena wasn't exactly thrilled when she heard that her brother Ares was willing to let Master Hand use the Witch Hunter Realm for one tournament. Many witch hunters hopped on the idea and threw more suggestions Master Hand's way until the Seven Chosen Witch Hunters came together to allow a major tournament happen for real. They only asked for one thing from Master Hand. This rule that they told him was currently being explained to the Smashers who gathered around in the meeting room on the fifth floor. This was Master Hand's room. Normally, he would call in a few Smashers and that was it. When he needed everyone in one place, the room's appearance would chance looking like a place S.H.I.E.L.D. met up. Smashers were seated based on the chronological order faced in All-Star Mode from the veteran fighters to the newbies.

"Ares, a few others and I have talked about this. We have decided on a Witch Hunter tournament that will only allow sixteen fighters chosen by fans to participate." Master Hand has explained. He was in the middle of the room, so it was easier to project his voice in human form. "We have been planning this event since May. We have sent ballots to everyone in the universe to vote for their favorite fighter to participate. Now, it is June and I can finally tell you all this. Don't worry. This tournament will be on the last week of July. The fighters chosen will have almost two months to prepare for this tournament."

Master Hand had a bad habit of not telling the Smashers of these important tournaments. He expected everyone to be in top condition in the first place, so when he does announce a tournament that everyone will be ready. Crazy Hand thought he was a jerk not telling the Smashers who were going to participate in a tournament until the day of the tournament. This would leave those who weren't chosen annoyed that they trained for nothing and those who do get picked were worried about being exposed as a fraud fighter to the universe. At the very least, Master Hand was giving those a heads up.

"I will now list the winners based on the amount of votes."

The first Smasher picked surprised everyone including Master Hand (who did not read the results ahead of time). Perhaps it had to do with the memes going around on the internet, but the Smasher who won first seeding at the tournament would be Greninja. Calum gasped realizing that his Pokémon was considered the most popular Smasher in the entire universe and hugged his frog. Greninja just rolled his eyes thinking that the nerf jokes ended up working in his favor.

The second Smasher was so obvious. Fox McCloud, leader of Star Fox and the winner of the Melee tournament was chosen second place. The votes were actually neck and neck. If given more time to vote, Fox probably would have won. Fox just smirked being told that he was selected.

Third seeding was Meta Knight who had won the most tournaments during the Brawl era (but didn't win the most important one to his annoyance). Meta Knight chuckled knowing he was going to be picked.

Fourth seeding was surprisingly Ryu. Master Hand wasn't really nice to Ryu in terms of getting him into tournaments due to the random number generator. He had a huge fanbase though that extended past the Smash Brothers Realm. Master Hand knew that Cross Hand and Tech Hand played a huge role in getting Ryu to a high placing in this tournament.

Fifth seeding was Zero Suit Samus. The bounty hunter groaned realizing that her fans wanted her without her suit and to fight as her sexy self. She wanted to punch Falcon who was giving her two thumbs up.

Sixth seeding was Peach. She simply giggled at being chosen. The Mushroom Kingdom must have dumped all their votes on her to place that high. The same couldn't be said for someone like Rosalina who probably didn't get any votes due to how she angered so many people in Smash.

Seventh seeding was Falco. While it made sense for another Melee veteran to get in, his results weren't exactly stellar. Falco's fans were riding on the nostalgia to return. At the very least, Fox and Falco had the chance to meet in tournaments again.

Eighth seeding was K the Villager. There were eight Villagers and for the vote to count, their name had to be written along with "Villager". K remained stone face, but he was probably thinking something menacing.

Ninth seeding was Cloud…

"Hey, Master Hand…since I was chosen…can I go home?"

"No." Master Hand said firmly. "You haven't fulfilled your contract."

"Tch. How did I get the votes then?"

"Your world knows that you're participating. Enjoy this tournament, Cloudy."

Bayonetta could be heard snickering at the ex-SOLDIER's nickname. Cloud wanted to throw his buster sword over to the Umbra Witch for mocking him.

Tenth seeding was Captain Falcon. The F-Zero was starting to worry that he was considered a favorite anymore. He just needed to be patient. Falcon got on the table and started shouting, "YES!" He was ordered to settle down and to celebrate later.

Eleventh seeding was Marth. Pit groaned at how this was the fifth person from Melee that had been chosen. He expected Sheik to be called at this rate, but he would be surprised to know that the Sheikah wouldn't be considered a top sixteen contender.

Twelfth seed was Rob. His name being called caused him to jump out of his seat.

"Huh?! Are you sure that's me?!"

"Yes. I'm sure. Your name is not all capitalized here."

"B-But what about my sister?"

"It specifically lists you. Congrats."

Robin was just as speechless as her brother. Most of the Smashers in general didn't think the male tactician would get voted in, but when it came to the newcomers, their placing in general was bizarre.

Thirteenth seed was Ike. Despite being the winner of the Brawl tournament overall, the Radiant Hero was placed rather low. Being chosen should have been enough, but Ike thought he would score higher.

Fourteenth seed was Palutena. Pit popped off for her even though the Goddess of Light told Pit to calm down. Master Hand gave her a suspicious look. He looked at the name to make sure he was reading it correctly and sighed. Chances are that Palutena probably cheated her way in just so she could get into the Witch Hunter Realm without a fuss.

Fifteenth seed was Sonic. The blue wonder wasn't really pleased with his placing. He was second to last and despite his achievements this year, he was still looked down on. His longtime fans came through for him, but he wanted to have a better bracket to fight in. If his math was correct, he might have to fight Fox first and that was going to dampen his mood when the tournament finally came.

The last seeding went to Bayonetta. She was the one who won the ballot to get into Smash and now she won sixteenth seed. Again, Pit whined about the unfairness of the Umbra Witch getting in. It wasn't just the light angel that was complaining about her existence in this tournament. Falco backed Pit up, but he was a bigger jerk about it.

"So after a good list of fighters, you made it impossible to get hyped for."

"Aww, is the little pheasant scared to fight me in tournament?" Bayonetta hummed. "If you ask nicely, I'll make sure I don't destroy you in under a minute."

"What? If you weren't so cheap, then there wouldn't be a problem."

"It's called combos. You had those back when you were great."

Sonic was looking around hoping that one of the Smashers had a sign on them that said "BODIED" on it. Toon Link fortunately had it as he held that sign up. Lucario tried to get him to put it down, but Toon Link was advocating for a fight. Some of the other Smashers tried to hold back their laughter but Wario was the one that burst out laughing first.

"Falco, it's not really a good idea to fight now." Fox started but Falco was too angry to care that he was starting a scene in front of Master Hand.

"We'll see who is lame when the tournament happens. If we don't end up facing each other, I demand a money match!"

Bayonetta sighed as she took out a lollipop that in between her chest and placed the candy in her mouth. "Of all the flavors you gave me, it just had to be salt."

"Are you refusing my challenge?"

"Why would I? That's easy money I could use to buy another weapon from Rodin."

"Ahem!"

Master Hand was waiting for their childish banter to end before he continued. "As I was saying…despite the numbers, this tournament has a bigger pay for the top three placings. There are no top eight payouts, so I expect you Smashers chosen to give it your all. I forbid you from getting into any conflict that could damage your reputation. If a problem arises, be sure to report to me or my brother. If for whatever reason you cannot enter the tournament, the list will move down to the next person. For example, if any of you dropped out now, Corrin would take your place."

"Ehh? Me?" The dragon prince asked in confusion.

"Yes, you are listed right below Bayonetta. I'm too lazy to read the next five potential people, but please be ready to fight if an unforeseen event happens. That is all. I expect big things from you. Don't mess this up. DISMISSED!"

The Master Hand would warp his way out of his own room with Crazy Hand. They were probably waiting for the Smashers to clear out before they appeared again. What ended up happening was that they ended up warping to the Smash Arena to continue to discuss the tournament thus leaving the Smashers free to do whatever they wanted. Celebration was in order for the Smashers who got chosen as well as comforting those who didn't make it. Corrin noticed that Bayonetta wanted nothing to do with this and slipped away almost immediately after the dismissal. The young prince followed after the Umbra Witch without telling his sister where he was going.

---

Corrin didn't even get to congratulate Bayonetta until the two were away from the mansion. They had three options to go from the mansion to the metropolis. They could either take the Mii Bus there (which some Smashers were already getting on to celebrate in Smashopolis), they could walk to Smashopolis which would take an hour at least, or Corrin could transform into a dragon and allow Bayonetta to ride him to Smashopolis. Corrin happily turned into a dragon for her sake as he flew her over near Smash Arena. The dragon prince wanted to take her to Smash Gourmet and eat out with her, but he would have to wait for that.

"Congratulations Cere!" Corrin cheered as he reverted back to his human form once she got off of him. "I'm glad you made it in."

"Barely." She grumbled. Corrin noticed she wasn't looking too pleased.

"Cere? What's wrong?"

"Little Icarus has a point." Bayonetta began. "It was a fan vote, but most of the veterans made it in."

"Well…I heard Melee was a hype tournament. Wish I was there to see it."

"There's a lot of nostalgia involved in the votes, but it doesn't change the fact there a certain bird doesn't deserve his spot. If he was supposed to be so great back in the day and to see him never make it past the second round in any tournament, it's apparent he's carried by his fans." Bayonetta sighed realizing that she was just annoyed that nostalgia carried characters more than the win ratio. Falco was very precise with his attacks, but he was too slow to carry them out. People just want to see him be great again and would give him the chance instead of giving it to someone more deserving. Granted, Marth has improved since the beginning of the Shi tournament, so it wasn't a complete waste.

"But you got in. Rob got in. Palutena got in. I'm so happy for you guys."

"Rob…is an odd one." The Umbra Witch admitted. "Like he said, it should have been his sister that got chosen. We see the reaction whenever he's actually in the tournament. Perhaps his silent fanbase was a lot larger than anyone could imagine if he could beat that Goddess in terms of votes."

Bayonetta really wasn't happy with the results. Corrin didn't know what she was expecting though. He did know that both the competitors and the spectators complained whenever she won a match too quickly. Bayonetta easily shrugged it off, but unlike Palutena and Rosalina who lowered their power levels for tournament play, Bayonetta was still using most of her energy destroying the majority of the cast. Corrin had a good track record against her along with a few others who squeezed a win, but it was so far and between that he wished that the Umbra Witch would realize that she makes things dull because of her track record.

"…Hey Cere…before we head out to lunch, want to train in the arena?"

"Hmm? How odd for you to ask that. You usually avoid training."

Corrin scratched his head nervously wondering if she knew that he wanted the subject to change just slightly.

"W-Well, you made it in. A practice match against me wouldn't hurt. I mean…you have fun fighting against me, right?"

Of course she did. Corrin was perspective of how to fight her and it drove her up the wall how patient he was. Compared to Cory, had had a wall that prevented her from getting in…and he was the only Smasher who seemed to know how to get out of her zero to death combo with relative ease. It was why she enjoyed his presence out of all the Smashers in the mansion with Cloud being the other exception.

"Of course dear. You're my favorite training partner after all."

Corrin blinked before his cheeks turned slightly pink at the comment. Bayonetta was really good at embarrassing him. As if that wasn't bad enough, she grabbed his arm and pulled him close to her. She said something about how he was slow at walking, and that only irritated the younger Smasher. Corrin's face wasn't just hot now. Now his heart was beating too quickly for him. He ignored it in favor of keeping up the pace with the Umbra Witch.

Bayonetta couldn't help but smirk at how Corrin was allowing her to drag him around like this. People would think the two were dating with how close they were. The dragon prince was too oblivious for his own good. He had made it clear to her they were just friends, but if he wasn't going to resist, who was she to stop?

Of course, Master Hand would end up showing up and ruining whatever plans Bayonetta had with Corrin that day. Because he was in charge of the Smash Brothers Realm, he was able to warp to any person or location at will. Sometimes, he would project his image in front of them like it was a sci-fi movie taking place in the future.

"Bayonetta, Corrin, may I speak with you two?" He asked them. "Come to the office in Smash Arena. It is of dire importance."

At that moment, Bayonetta should have just ignored Master Hand. Corrin was interested in what the right hand had to say that would make him call them over so quickly.

The office room that Master Hand spoke of was the room where Count Black had his office. The vampire was far from pleased that Master Hand was using this room without his permission. If anything, it would have been easier to just use the meeting room instead, but Master Hand wanted to speak to his Smashers privately. Since they were outside of the arena, it wouldn't take long for them to show up in front of the door.

Once the two made it inside of the room, Master Hand gave them the bad news that neither of them wanted to hear.

"I have just received word about the votes." Master Hand started. In human form, he was able to speak clearer instead of project. Granted, his hand form wouldn't fit in Count Black's office, so it made sense to be his handsome human form. Bayonetta had teased that Master Hand had looked like a certain demon butler with his appearance, but he ignored her comparison. "Apparently there have been multiple problems occurring. Between voter fraud and miscounting the results for sixteenth seeding is inaccurate. The witch hunters were also complaining about you getting voted in Cereza. They won't listen to reason thinking that your fanbase has jeopardized the entire thing and demand that you be banned from the tournament."

"Don't say it as a hypothetical question, Michiko." The vampire told his old friend. "You already made the decision to ban her because of the massive complaints."

On the surface, Bayonetta didn't seem fazed. On the inside, she was rather shaken due to Master Hand going out of his way to do damage control concerning her seeding. Corrin however…

"What?! How can you make that decision so quickly?!" Corrin questioned. He tried to keep his voice down and temper under control but hearing that just set him off. "You had all that time to prevent these incidents from happening but only Cere is getting banned?!"

"Calm yourself, Corrin." Master Hand ordered causing the dragon prince to growl at his words. "The witch hunters tried to make sure that this wouldn't happen, but it was inevitable. The next time there is a fan voting tournament, this won't happen, but we cannot allow someone who might have gotten in due to the system being rigged in her favor."

"Do you honestly believe I have the power to control humans to do that?" Bayonetta asked. Her anger was starting to seethe through her words but kept her composure unlike Corrin.

"No. You cannot control your fans or voting fraud. However, there isn't much I can do to fix it. I have yet to announce who is going to be participating in the tournament, so I have time to fix it without any problems. Corrin, you will be taking Cereza's place. As long as you don't get yourself in trouble, you are set. Do not let me down."

"Do you think I care about that?!" Corrin questioned him. "That spot belongs to Cere! You're siding with those bias witch hunters who are judgmental to witches like Cere?! How is that fair?!"

"It's not just the voting system. It would probably do well for the overall tournament." Master Hand explained. "As much as Falco needs to work on his performance to even stand a chance, he has a point on how people have complained about how you make a tournament end too quickly. This Witch Hunter tournament is huge, and I cannot allow that. There is an entire list of why Bayonetta should not be in this tournament."

"But one tournament means that it won't stop you from banning her from all tournaments…"

"It depends. For now, this is my final decision. Unless you can find proof that proves otherwise, Bayonetta will lose the last seeding and it will go to you Corrin. Do not let me down."

Bayonetta didn't even get to have a say in this. Master Hand had dismissed both Smashers and proceeded to warp out of the room to god knows where. Count Black just snickered at Bayonetta's predicament.

"You tried. A witch will never get into anything where the witch hunters have all the power." The vampire mocked. "Better luck next time."

Corrin was the one that snarled at Black's comment and stormed out of the office. Bayonetta followed after the dragon prince.

---

Bayonetta was confused on why Corrin was upset. If anything, she should be the one angry at the sudden ban. The dragon prince was taking her place since he was right under her in terms of votes. He honestly deserved the spot more than her. Corrin was overshadowed by pretty much all the late arrivals. Mewtwo decided to step up his game and ended up a deadly opponent to fight against. Lucas still had some tricks up his sleeves. People enjoyed watching Roy on the battlefield especially since he matured physically (not mentally). Ryu was a surprised guest that forced everyone to change how they would fight. And then you got Cloud, Cory and her who all simply dominated the tournament scene until they had to fight the best of the best. Corrin was in everyone's shadow in comparison despite being a very fighter. The fact that he won more votes than his sister was a surprise and should be something to be proud of. The prince considered his sister to be the better fighter, so being chosen by fans should have made him happy.

But he wasn't. He refused to replace Bayonetta due to a rigged system. He wanted to fight, sure, but if it meant the Umbra Witch losing her spot, he would rather quit.

"Cere, why do those witch hunters get the final say in banning you from all tournaments?! How is that even fair?!"

"It's just one Corrin. They don't want a witch winning at a tournament they hosted."

"But if you're banned at one tournament, what's stopping them from banning you from all of them without you having any say in this? It's not fair!"

"Corrin…"

"They're not fighting you! The fans aren't the ones that have to deal with you! Why do people hate you? You're a really kind person!"

Bayonetta frowned when he said that. All of her life, she has been a pariah from the people in the Umbra clan to the modern day where no one would approach her. It didn't get better in Smash either. She was able to talk to the Smashers no problem, and while they didn't lock her behind bars, she saw the looks some of the Smashers gave her especially when she beat with relative ease.

"Corrin dear, it really isn't a big deal. It's not like Master Hand is going to go around declaring it. He'll simply tell everyone that he miscalculated the votes and it won't be a problem."

That was the ideal situation. However, this information in the hands of the press would have deadly consequences. Because Corrin was making a rather large scene about it, a certain commentator would hear about it and spread the word immediately. He was a wraith after all, so he could fade in, fade out and not be detected by the witch.

Because of Cosine, it did not take long for everyone in Smashopolis to learn that Bayonetta was banned at the recent Witch Hunter tournament. Bayonetta could feel her eye twitch at how fast the information spread. She really underestimated the networking system here in Smashopolis. It still wasn't a big deal to her since it was only one tournament. Even if Cosine got on the mic and declared what Corrin said, it wasn't the truth. Cosine and many of the other commentators enjoyed controversy like this to boost their ratings, so it was best to just ignore it. However, people would simply give looks to the Umbra Witch before turning away. She did hate how people were whispering about her right in front of her.

"Hey! Don't say that about Cere!" Corrin could be heard shouting to the two guys that had their backs turned to her. His ears twitched hearing the spiteful words that came out of their mouths. "Take that back!"

"Corrin, please!" Bayonetta hissed not liking attention being drawn to her. She did enjoy being the center of attention, but did not enjoy controversy that others started due to what was not said.

"But…"

"It's fine."

The raven haired witch may have said that, but she gave death glares to the two men that were giving her dirty looks. They were quick to flee without apologizing. Bayonetta sighed hearing the commentators continuing to talk smack over the air.

"Honestly, who saw this coming?" Cosine asked the dark elf that was next to him. "With how cheap Bayonetta was, it's no wonder the witch hunters didn't want anything to do with her."

The dark elf just laughed as a response. "But-but the DI! A-And the Smash DI! Bruh, what the fuck is that? We are coming up with terms for the fighters now? I like the idea of "quit Smash" more than anything else when fighting her."

"So much money wasted whenever she's in a tournament. The Witch Hunters made a great decision. Her fans just wanted to ruin it for everyone else."

Those words really stung, but what did they know? If the competition was weak, they would get destroyed. She wasn't at fault for making fan favorites lose in such brutal fashions.

Bayonetta would snap out of her thoughts hearing a familiar laugh. Her normally calm expression cracked hearing that man.

"Well, if it isn't sweet Cereza. How is that ban hammer for you?"

Corrin thought he knew who that voice belonged to. Bayonetta glared at the man that approached him.

"Dante…"

Dante was one of the guest commentators who show up every now and then. It was only ironic that he started popping up more when Bayonetta was declared a fighter. Dante was a very funny and attractive man. Most of the girls fawned over him when he was on commentary. He was very suave and his voice was smooth. He understood the rules of the tournament very well, but the problem was he was only bias when it concerned Bayonetta and not in the good way.

Corrin got a better look at the man and frowned. He was a tall man with short white hair, blue eyes and black stubble. His red coat stood out from everything else he wore. Corrin almost felt offended with his choice of attire with how sexualized he looked. The silver haired prince groaned to himself realizing that he was getting jealous of Dante's appearance for no real reason.

"I bet if you paid $5.99, the witch hunters would allow you back into the tournament."

For someone as calm as Bayonetta, she was quick to take her pistols out and attempted to shoot him for an insult like that. Corrin noted that was the quickest she drew weapons to someone.

"…You must not like this man." Corrin said as a matter of fact statement.

"Corrin dear, what makes you think that?" She asked sarcastically.

Dante finally noticed the dragon prince and laughed. At the same time, another giggle could be heard behind the half demon. Behind Dante was another commentator who also happened to be one of the angels from Skyworld. Corrin remembered his name better than the other commentators. His name was Ian and he was an adorable angel with large purple eyes and silver hair. He was the same height as the Robin twins but was probably around the same age as Corrin. You wouldn't know that from how he talked though. On one hand, he was very immature when he commentated while using baby words to describe what was going on with the match. On the other hand, he was very knowledgeable with what was going on and bounced well with the other commentators. He often surprised people when he stopped talking like a young child and decided to be serious. His music was also great as well as his puns and overall was just a good commentator overall. You had to question why the angels weren't really thrilled with him despite being a cute ball of fun. It might have to do with the little four tailed silver fox doll that he carried around.

"Careful where you aim those guns." Ian told the Umbra Witch happily. "I know you want to get into a fight with Dante, but your Witch Time doesn't work against Dante's Quicksilver style."

Bayonetta glanced over toward the music angel before facepalming at Ian's stupidity. "…That's not how his style works."

"But I can still stop time and ignore you stopping time." Dante brought up as a matter of fact statement.

"I seriously doubt you would be able to stop time for an entire fight. Perhaps you should do more research before making an assumption." She smiled evilly realizing that this was her chance. "Here, let me demonstrate how our fight would really go."

Normally, Corrin would be the one to tell Bayonetta not to get into pointless fights. He was going to let her engage in combat with Dante and mess up the Smash Arena. The dragon prince had goal today and he was going to achieve it. He needed to figure out how the Smash voting system worked and if there was a way to overrule the decision to ban the Umbra Witch.

"Cere, I'm going to get you unbanned. Please wait here while I go fix things."

"Don't take too long darling. This fight won't take long."

"There you go again underestimating me Cereza. Perhaps we should do a wager."

"Hmm?"

"Whoever wins gets something from the loser." Dante told her with his usual smirk. "I think you know what I want."

"And I think you know what I want." Bayonetta told him while licking her lips. Corrin had already left the building, so he wouldn't see the Umbra Witch in this state of mind. She was furious with the white haired half-demon, but she still wanted to have some fun before Corrin came back disappointed.

---

Rob should have been one of the happier Smashers. He thought he was unpopular in comparison to his sister, so if anyone would have been voted in, it would be her. Instead, he was shocked that he even had fans and that expectations were high now. His friends congratulated him on being chosen and wished for his success. The tactician really wasn't so sure that things were as happy as everyone made it out to be. A silent fanbase is one thing, but he felt like something was amiss for the past month. The mention of the tournament made him raise his eyebrows since he knew that the people chosen would be those who had already established his or herself in this tournament setting, yet here he was…Mr. Unpopular getting twelfth place in the voting.

The tactician was interested in finding the place where the voting took place to see if it was a miscalculation or if they assumed that the vote was to him and not to his sister or even R.O.B. the robot. He had the unfortunate name of being named after two Smashers in the mansion, that he wondered why he couldn't think of another creative name for himself.

Rob had told Shulk he would meet up with him later. He was going to walk around to clear his mind and then return to the mansion. Whatever plan that he had with Shulk they would surely do. In the back of the tactician's mind, he was hoping that the blond would take him out to dinner. It was too much to ask for seeing how oblivious the Monado Boy was to his feelings. He sighed in defeat realizing that he was better off just focusing on the friendship they had now.

As he continued to think about his roommate, Rob felt something ominous in the air. He had looked up to find himself in the Trade Center. Everyone had been looking up at the TV where Smash Arena was that was broadcasting breaking news. Rob wasn't really listening. He just heard something about Bayonetta getting banned and some mockery about it. Rob heard the complaint enough times to know that he shouldn't jump to conclusions. If he did that, he would set himself up for disappointment. Bayonetta not being at Witch Hunter tournament meant that anyone could win, but if she was there then they were all pretty much screwed without some sort of handicap.

As Rob continued to ponder about the decision to pick him for the tournament, he felt the presence of an evil person nearby. Rob couldn't pinpoint who or what it was, but he felt like he knew who this aura belong to.

The person that Rob could feel would have approached him in the crowd too had it not been for someone calling for the male tactician. Rob flinched hearing anger in the person's tone and thought he did something wrong. He was surprised to see it was just Corrin.

"Corrin, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Bayonetta?"

"I was just with her…and…" Corrin shook his head in annoyance recalling how rude the commentators were. "…Never mind. I need your help."

Rob gave him a puzzled look. "Hmm? What do you need help with?"

"You heard the news. Bayonetta was banned…the witch hunters said that the system was rigged in her favor and that it was best to just take her out due to the complaints. But…I know that's impossible. I know she won…I don't want to take her place in the tournament…so I need proof that the system was rigged against her."

"Woah, slow down! Do you have anything supporting your thesis?"

"…No…that's why I need you to come along with me. Help me get to the bottom of this."

In retrospect, it was killing two birds with one stone. Rob could find out how exactly he got voted in and Corrin would have someone as a witness to the voting system being rigged. The silver haired prince didn't even give Rob to say anything before he grabbed him by the wrist and started to drag him off to who knows where. Rob complained to the Nohrian prince to not be so rough.

The stalker was far from pleased with how he wasn't the one who approached the male magician. A small growl escaped his lips as he pursued the two Smashers in silence.

---

Since both Avatars were newcomers, they both realized that asking the veteran Smashers about the voting system would be their best bet. Not all the Smashers were in Smashopolis during the announcement, so it would make sense to go to the mansion and ask them. Corrin thought that would take too long and it would be easier to just walk around the metropolis and search for someone who could point them in the right way. Rob had suggested they go to the Smash Dome first since it was usually the place where most of the male Smashers hung out on their days off.

Rob wasn't fond of this place because it was always muscular men or pretty girls that were playing sports. Granted, this place had some Mario centric games that would end up making things chaotic, but the tactician felt like he didn't belong there. He opted for the library for peace and quiet and avoided places that could embarrass him like the plague.

Corrin was confused on why Rob trailed behind him. The magician had no problem using the dragon prince as a shield should a ball come flying their way. Corrin was strong, so something like that wouldn't faze him.

Inside the dome, Corrin could see Sonic from a distance. Being the only blue hedgehog around, it was easy to see him from anywhere. The blue blur was busy having a conversation with another mammal of some sorts while watching Fox and Falco play some ping-pong at the nearby ping-pong table. It was ways away from the courts inside the dome to prevent anyone from messing the game up. It was also next to the billiard table and card table.

Corrin had no idea what animal Sonic was sitting next to was. Rob recognized it as a bull of some sort judging from the large horns. He was a mammal that towered over Sonic. His dress code resembled that of Fox and Falco as he was wearing a black suit with a tie as well as some pants to cover himself up.

Rob didn't think that Sonic was the type to chatter with anyone when there was a competitive game in front of him. However, he seemed too engrossed in the bull talking to him to notice the cool tricks that Fox was trying to show him. It was annoying the leader of Star Fox greatly. Granted, Sonic would stop the conversation and cheer for Fox before going back toward talking to the giant in front of him. Despite the sophisticated aura surround the mammal, Rob warned Corrin to approach with caution.

"Sonic!" Corrin called out catching the blue hedgehog's attention.

"Ah! Corn! What's crackin'?"

Corrin growled as a response of being referred to as corn. The bull chuckled at the nickname given to the Nohrian prince.

"Care to introduce your friends Sonic?"

"They're just fighters in the tournament. Corn is Corrin. The short one behind him is Rob."

"Excuse me for being short…" Rob grumbled. "And who's the big guy?"

"My name is Steel, and I am a Minotaur." The Minotaur introduced. "I am currently visiting an old friend here, but I wanted to stop by and see if a certain angel was around."

"Angel? You mean Pit?" Rob asked.

"Yes. You see, Pit and I were rivals in the past and I still think he's bitter about his loss against me. If I were to see him again, I would set things straight. However, it appears that Pit isn't in Smashopolis. It is fortunate that I met one of Pit's friends to tell me his schedule ahead of time."

Rob nodded his head at the answer, but felt like something was off with the explanation. Sonic didn't notice a thing, so he must trust Steel to an extent.

"I…see…"

"What did you need me for, Corn?" Sonic questioned.

"I wish you wouldn't call me that. I wanted to know where the voting system was in Smashopolis. You have heard the announcement not too long ago, and I wanted to clear Cere's name."

"For what? Getting banned? Not much you can do there."

"Well…according to Master Hand, there was voting fraud…and I wanted to prove that her votes are genuine and she should compete. I refuse for underhanded tactics to be the reason why she was banned from the tournament."

"Ehh…I think you're overreacting." The blue hedgehog told him simply. "Cosine was probably exaggerating on the news to stir up some problems with the voting. If one person is accused of having cheating fans, then everyone will be suspected to it."

"What? There's voter suppression going on?" Steel wondered. "That is not good."

"I wouldn't be surprised." Sonic began. "Then again this probably happened in the past and I wouldn't know about it. I wasn't voted into the fan favorite Brawl tournament."

"Why?" Corrin asked confused.

"People just hate me." Sonic answered. "I'm used to these people complaining about my existence in this tournament. At the very least I didn't end up like Meta Knight who got banned."

"For how long?"

"Two weeks. Meta Knight's fans are crazy. They got Master Hand to change his mind and unbanned him…and then he ended up dominating many of the tournaments like we see with Bayonetta now." Sonic frowned when he mentioned her name. "I don't think her fans are going to save her. The argument this time is different in order to maintain the ban, but maybe finding proof that this system is rigged for who gets to go to these tournaments will help her."

"You talk a lot." Steel commented causing the blue hedgehog to blush at the statement.

"Hey, I do know a lot about this nonsense. I just ignore it."

Corrin didn't like that mentality Sonic had. How could he ignore something that hurt his friends? Wasn't he supposed to be a hero?

"If you want more information, I suggest you go find Palutena or Zelda? They can direct you in the right direction." Sonic turned toward Rob and smirked. "Maybe you'll find out why you got voted in instead of your sister."

"Geez…thanks…"

Again, Steel chuckled at the playful banner going on.

"If you happen to see Pit, tell him a friend wishes to see him again."

"Huh, wouldn't it be better to say it's you, Mr. Steel?" Corrin asked.

"I want him to be surprised."

While Steel was talking, Rob noticed things were heating up between Fox and Falco behind them. Fox had been winning the ping-pong game for the most part, but then they started shining each other instead of hitting the ball with the paddle. The ball ended up moving faster as a result until Fox eventually missed it due to being distracted by Sonic.

"Nice one, Foxie!" Falco taunted as he popped off after winning the game.

"Nice one Foxie…" Fox groaned as he ended up glaring at Sonic for messing him up.

Sonic gave him a puzzled look. "What?"

The moment Fox opened his mouth was the moment Rob knew they needed to leave before they were caught in the middle of Fox's long lectures to the blue hedgehog. Rob took Corrin by the arm and dragged him away from the dome. It was a miracle they didn't get hit by flying balls on the way out.

---

Palutena was actually easy to find. Zelda was probably at the mansion still, but the Goddess of Light decided she was going to be in Smashopolis today after being picked as one of the sixteen Smashers to participate in the Witch Hunter Smash Tournament. She was supposed to celebrate with either Pit or Rosalina, but both of them were missing. Rosalina was probably on the Comet Observatory going through her usual routine with zipping across the galaxy and checking if anything was out of the ordinary. Pit was simply missing after complaining about not getting into the tournament. Palutena would have asked Dark Pit to celebrate with, but he had some things to do at Smash Church. This left Ganondorf as the last person she could be with and she had to fight with him just to get him out to the Smash Gourmet. The King of Evil grumbled seeing as he was forced to pay for her meals too.

"I utterly detest you Goddess of Light when you do this to me."

"I love you too Ganny. Now, please let me order the huge lobster."

"Will you be able to eat the whole thing yourself?"

"Ganny, you underestimate me. Plus, you complained about the lowly meals. I would have wanted a burger and fries, but you said that wasn't classy."

"It is not. It is too fattening for you, and if you cannot afford to eat disgusting food like burgers and fries when you have a tournament to prepare for."

"I'll do fine, Ganny! Master Hand is allowing customs to be used in creative ways in these battles." The green haired Goddess hummed at the thought. "And since Bayonetta is banned, it's a free tournament for me."

"Your arrogance is going to cost you one day."

"Anyways, Ganny, we should eat the lobster today. You need to try out more things than just stew."

"…Excuse me?"

Before Palutena could answer the King of Evil, she heard someone calling out to her. She recognized Corrin's loud voice from a distance and looked in the direction he was in. She gave a small wave seeing him wave back to her. In the back of her mind, she was annoyed when she saw Corrin and Rob approach her and Ganondorf.

"I see even the old couple can get out and enjoy the sunshine every once in awhile." Rob could be heard snarking under his breath. Ganondorf gave him a menacing stare for his attitude problem.

"Palutena, can I ask you a question?"

"Hmm? What is it Corrin?"

"Do you know where the voting system? I want to see if the voting was rigged."

Corrin was so blunt about what he wanted from the Goddess of Light. She gave him an odd look as she considered her words carefully.

"…No…I don't think the voting was rigged…too much." She answered.

"Huh? Too much?"

"Hmm…I only say that because certain people didn't make the list." She smirked. "To be fair, I don't think the fans wanted to see Diddy or Rosalina again in a fan voted tournament. However, I expected Sheik to be higher than the place he was in…"

"Sheik's the only fighter that was a top contender of Melee not voted in." Ganondorf added. "In general, the fighters of Melee have a ridiculous score in comparison to everyone else."

"Ganny, you were like number twenty on the vote. No one would throw out your votes."

"Hmph."

So all Palutena could do was confirm the bias toward the Smashers who were around the Melee era. It must be their tournament seeing how most of them got voted in. Rob rolled his eyes at this information thinking they were wasting their time. As Palutena explained to Corrin that perhaps they should go to the library's archive to search, he felt eyes were watching him from the shadows. The tactician turned around to where he thought this ominous aura was coming from and saw nothing. However, when he looked around some more, he saw a mysterious figure in a black robe staring at him. The mysterious figure stood out like a sore thumb on this bright and sunny day. It sent shivers down Rob's spine seeing how he was the one that was being looked at. It made the magician cling to the dragon prince unintentionally.

"Hey, we should be heading to the library now." Rob told the dragon prince who was starting to get distracted when Palutena started talking about food. "Bayonetta is your main priority."

"R-Right. Sorry Palutena! We can't join you two."

"Oh, it's okay, Corrin. Just be careful out there. That information about the ban is going to have really consequences." The Goddess of Light hummed. "Also, if you see Pit, can you tell him to meet Ganny and me here? I know he's hanging out with a certain Overlord, but he doesn't want me to know he's trying to make it work."

Corrin had no idea what Palutena talking about but he nodded his head. Rob led the way into the crowd that had crowded the area. This way, it would be easy to lose the mysterious figure that Corrin failed to notice. Alas, that figure would continue to follow them, but the tactician would think he lost him after a certain amount of time.

---

Rob found it ironic how all the information needed was indeed in the library. Corrin was quick to ask the current librarian Snow White about where they could find this information. Snow White, like Rob's friend Gretel was a resident of Mel Fair Land. While Gretel traveled to Smashopolis to continue her business (as well as stay close to a certain witch in case a witch hunter like her was needed), Snow White the princess of the Apple Kingdom who had left for unknown reasons. Whatever her plan was, she settled in the library to observe the Smashers. She took an interest in Corrin seeing as how he was a single prince who had "similar" taste to hers. She may not like how naïve he was, but she could tolerate him enough to talk to him.

"The ballot votes take place in the basement." Snow White whispered to the dragon prince. "Do not ask me why that is the case. For this particular voting, it was in the basement in right hand corner over there behind those bookshelves. Please don't get caught. People will assume you're rigging the current votes that came out just now."

The two Smashers helped themselves to this information as no key was needed to get in as much as you needed to find where it was. This required the stereotypical, "Find a book on the bookshelf and search for a switch that would allow you to easily open the door." Rob was good at games like this and picked the green book on the shelf. It was a stereotype to assume that the book needed was on the top shelf, but Rob assumed there was more than one basement in this library.

With the switch found, Corrin was able to open the latch with relative ease. Looking around, the male tactician realized there weren't that many people in this section thus making it easy to get in without being noticed.

"It's funny." Rob started as he and Corrin were walking down into the basement. "I was aware of the secret room in the library that functioned as a quiet place, but I wasn't aware there was a basement that had a voting system close to it."

"Why do you think you didn't notice?"

"I was probably too invested in my books to see anyone use the secret entrance. You really need to read Dominion's Descent."

Rob had forced Corrin to take the lead again. The dragon prince felt like he was just being used as a shield all day, but if something popped up, he would probably have the faster reflexes.

The two made it to the bottom of the basement with relative ease. The first thing they noticed was that doushinji and pictures were scattered around as well as the ballot votes. The silver haired prince growled seeing how everything was just a mess and it would be difficult to get anything done if this was the environment of the fan favorite voting.

"Looks like a basement where losers hide in." Rob muttered as he covered his face. "It smells really bad."

Corrin agreed, but he wasn't going to let the stench bug him. They just needed to find proof that the voting was rigged and then leave. There was no need to get curious about anything else.

Curiosity killed the cat though. Rob noticed that a lot of the ballot papers had his name on it. This suggested he was even higher on the votes and his seeding was wrong. What drew his attention though was a doushinji with him on the cover. It appeared harmless on the surface, but upon grabbing it and opening it, the tactician would realize that was far from the case.

Rob paled the moment he grabbed one of the doushinji that was scattered around the floor. He opened the doushinji and saw a few of the pages and dropped it immediately. The tactician then backed away while trying to keep his breathing under control. Corrin was puzzled by Rob's sudden fright and looked over to see what scared him. His expression darkened seeing the pictures that were in the doushinji.

"What is this?"

Rob didn't have an answer seeing as it was right in front of them. These doushinji were drawn by fans of the male tactician…and they weren't just normal fans. These fanboys were obsessed with Rob. There were many pictures scattered around of the tactician in odd positions that could only be captured from inside the mansion. Some of these pictures included Rob in the shower, Rob getting dressed, Rob working out in the training room with Shulk (with noticeably being scribbled out in the picture) and even pictures of Rob sleeping. Then there are pictures of Rob in combat but emphasis was either on his face whenever he was injured or a zoomed in picture of his ass. Some photos had Rob hanging out with Shulk. The tactician recalled how he thought of these hang-outs as "dates" (even if Shulk didn't see it that way). In the pictures concerning Shulk, he was either scribbled out, had a huge red x on over him or dangerous words were written over him from "massive faggot" or "kill the SOB".

The doushinji that Rob dropped was someone who fantasized Rob in dangerous scenarios that resulted in him getting assaulted in weird places. This one in particular took place and some tournament. Rob was alone in a room waiting for his name to be called for an upcoming match. He doesn't get to leave the room because he's ambushed by some random men and kept in the room where he's raped and shamed. If Corrin were to continue to read the doushinji, he would see that Rob would submit to the pleasure despite begging them to let him go and how he doesn't want to have sex with them.

"…Rob…this is…"

Rob wanted to just forget everything he wanted to do and run away from this damned place. This was a hidden basement for a reason. What scared him was that whoever was in this basement was watching his every move, and it was more than one person. Heck, Rob went to the library on his spare time when he wasn't working. That gave these creeps plenty of time to stare at him from a distance without him realizing it.

"I have the worse luck…attracting pigs for a fanbase…" Rob muttered softly. "They only voted me in to act out their fantasies…just gross…"

It was funny how people who passed Rob down the street sometimes called the male tactician trash in comparison to his sister. If Shulk or Pit were standing by him, they would make sure the jerk got what was coming to him. However, even if Rob was considered "trash" they wanted to fuck him into next week because he appeared weak enough to be unable to fight back.

"I want to leave."

It wasn't a suggestion. It was an order. Corrin didn't blame him for wanting to leave. Anyone would want to leave if this basement was filled with fanboys who were obsessed with sex with one frail individual because they failed at getting girls their age due to their hobby.

"Let me just find some evidence that could help Cere and then we'll leave. Please wait a moment."

Rob had to back himself against the wall so he wouldn't collapse. He suddenly felt mentally exhausted and wanted to take a nap when he returned back to his room.

The more Corrin dug through the mess, the more resentment that started to build up. Fanbases were supposed to be a positive thing. They voted for the person they wanted to see fight. They defended the fighter when they could not defend themselves. They supported them on the sidelines and they bought merchandise based on them to show support (even if Corrin wasn't really thrilled that his image was sold for money). Now, he was being introduced to the negatives of a fanbase. This obsession with fighters could lead to them thinking horrible things that they would never say or do to the person they idolized…and the fact that they insulted those they didn't like showed that they cared for themselves rather than the fighter.

The Robin twins were known for having a lot of bad match ups in tournaments. No tactical planning could save them from fighting people like Sheik or Diddy. Bayonetta was worse simply because she showed the world that Robin wouldn't be able to do anything once she got hit by Witch Time. It showed a lot in some of the notes. The terrible things said about Bayonetta were evidence to Corrin that these people did rig the voting.

Many ballots that had Bayonetta voted were ripped to shreds. The ones that weren't had red marks written calling for another witch hunt. "Burn the witch", "Bayonetta is cancer", and "Bayonetta should have never been allowed into the tournament" were some of the things Corrin found and he was this close to tearing these horrible notes to shreds. Some of these notes went over the top too writing sexist things about her addressing her as a "whore" with how she was dressed, how she needed to cover up or no one would take her seriously and even the c word was thrown around in these tampered ballot votes. The dragon prince at this point wanted to stab the people with Yatogami who allowed this to happen.

"C-Corrin?"

Corrin didn't hear the scared tone that Rob took when glancing at Corrin. The silver haired prince was absolutely furious. He was this close to transforming just to destroy everything in the room. He almost did too with how he noticed how like with Rob and the doushinji, there were lists of ways on how to ruin the Umbra Witch. Assaulting Rob was one thing due to sexual fantasy, but these dark fantasies about breaking a strong woman and making her weak was absolutely sickening.

"…I hope this will be enough proof for Master Hand to reconsider that it was rigged…"

"…There seems to be a lot of votes thrown out in favor of others." Rob muttered. "Maybe…they rigged it in favor of me…I don't have that many fans…"

Corrin wanted to say otherwise, but the door opening from above and footsteps coming down caused them both to freeze up. If it was Snow White, then nothing would happen. Corrin could tell that it wasn't the young princess that was coming down to see them.

"My, my…and here I thought that the Smashers were incapable of rigging the system in their favor."

Corrin stood up with one of the books with proof of rigging in on hand. He issued Rob to get close to him not trusting the newcomer in the room. He was a tall man with blond hair and red eyes that glowed in the darkness. It was enough to cause the Nohrian prince to shiver, but he kept his composure in comparison to Rob who was shaking at the man's presence. His black tuxedo could barely be seen in the darkness of the basement but because it was so shiny, one could see it sparkle in said darkness. A creepy smile formed when his eyes locked onto the tactician behind Corrin.

"…Are you the one who rigged the system?" Corrin asked darkly. "Are you the one who wrote these horrible things?!"

The man laughed seeing how Corrin was already making accusatory statements toward him.

"My, my. Aren't you the short tempered one?" The blond man said in a taunting tone as he continued to approach them. "If you haven't noticed already, this is a place where fans with dark desires can be without being judged. The voting just happened to be in their…safe space. Even if there were many reliable people doing the counting, these fans had a little…too much fun with the votes."

Rob tugged on Corrin's arm in order to get on his attention. The dragon prince noticed how Rob refused to make eye contact with the man before him.

"…That man has been stalking us the entire time." Rob muttered. "He has his cloak tied around him…"

"Stalking? How rude. Is that how you treat a sophisticated man like me?"

Rob didn't believe it. A small shriek escaped his lips now that all eyes were on him.

"…I won't ask you again. Who are you and did you rig the system?"

"Acedia." The blond answered. "You best remember it…although…I don't expect you getting out of here alive…son of Anankos."

Corrin gasped. "H-Huh? How did you…"

Acedia simply snapped his fingers as a response. The bad feeling Rob had when he entered the basement had merit as people to be rising from the dead. On closer inspection, the basement was simply larger from what the two assumed. The library shelves went away revealing overweight men that had just awoken from their slumber.

"W-What? There were people here?!" Rob asked as he clung to Corrin's arm harder.

"You see these fans here? They tend to pull all-nighters with their fun hobbies. You can see they're thrilled seeing their favorite Smasher in here."

Acedia's words burned in Rob's mind. He couldn't see these "fans" well with how dark it was. The tactician just knew that the odor in the basement worsened when they woke up.

"Ace, is that who I think it is?"

"Is that our little bird?"

Acedia smirked. "Yes. While I do not need his friend, I need you to silence him. You can live out your fantasies with our little tactician."

Corrin's heart stopped hearing that. Was this man for real?

"W-What…no…"

Rob was a scared puppy at this point with the small noises he was making. If they didn't put fear into his heart early on, then he would have been able to stand his ground and fight them. Acedia's presence just froze him in place.

"Really? We can have him?"

"Sweet! I've been waiting all of my life for this."

Corrin needed to think of an idea fast if they wanted to get out of this place in one piece. The dragon prince had a great idea, but it would break Master Hand's rule of not causing a commotion before the Smash tournament. Not like Corrin had any intention of fighting in the tournament. He didn't deserve the sixteenth spot. He had the evidence right here that the voting was rigged.

"Rob…you got to hold this for me…" Corrin said in nearly a whisper as he turned around and shoved the book with the evidence into Rob's chest. The tactician was able to snap out of his stage fright to claim the book. "We're getting out here, but I need you to trust me. When I say duck, I want you to duck."

"W-What…" Rob stopped himself realizing that there was no point in asking questions. If his brain was working, he would have come up with an escape route…even though Acedia was intentionally blocking the only way to get out of the room.

"Whatever you come up with, you won't escape." Acedia said with a laugh. "These fanboys are thirsty for a good lay."

"…Not today." Corrin said simply as he suddenly shifted into his dragon form surprising everyone. "DUCK!"

Rob immediately dropped down to the floor as Corrin aimed toward the ceiling knowing very well that above could have very well been another portion of the library and fired a blast of water. No one could stop the dragon prince if he attacked so suddenly. Acedia wouldn't even have time to use his magic to stop the dragon prince.

"ROB, GET ON MY BACK, NOW! WE'RE GETTING OUT."

Rob wasted no time in obeying. He gave a quick glance to Acedia whose expression darkened at his plan being thrown out the window before getting on Corrin's back. He had the evidence in his robe and his arms around Corrin's neck. The dragon prince fired another blast at water in the same direction causing an earthquake to those who were in the library. Corrin wasted no time in spreading in wings and flying out. Besides Acedia, the fanboys wouldn't be able to chase them. The water attack was so strong that it indeed caused a hole in the floor of the library allowing Corrin to fly out. People in the library screamed at the sudden dragon flying out. The dragon ended up flying through the wall to get out of the library. If he went through the front, Snow White would be far from pleased with him.

---

Acedia should have expected that Corrin would be able to escape with Rob. The dragon prince was capable of flying away at top speed and not be touched by the otaku. They were slow, fat and lazy and unless their odor paralyzed the tactician, he wasn't going to stand in one place. It wasn't even a pretty sight to see a punch of fat men running out of the library trying to pursue a water dragon with wings. He was better off just asking his daughter to capture the tactician.

"Remember my child, if you fail, you will be punished."

Unlike her father, Alm was an adorable child. She could pass off as a young boy, but she was indeed a young girl. She didn't match her costume as she wore a witch's robe and a Viking helmet that could easily fall in front of her face and blind her. At the waist, she had a mini-skirt with checkered patterns along with dark purple boots and a crystal ball she wore as a brooch.

"Y-Yes father. I will do my best!"

Alm's powers involved controlling someone against their will. It had led to easy kills and forced suicides of the victim she controlled. In this instance, she would be using her mind controlling powers to try and bring her victim to her father. The problem was she needed to make eye contact for her magic to be effective. Her father used this and put her to the impossible task.

She attempted to use the crystal ball to create an image of Rob before attempting to send her magic through the crystal ball and hit Rob from wherever he was like a curse. It wasn't as effective as she wanted it to be given that they were already far away from the library for it to work correctly. Corrin was simply too fast and Acedia was aware of this.

Rob was still hit by the curse, but Alm's words weren't reaching his brain. He groaned feeling a headache come his way. Corrin couldn't check up on the tactician. His goal was to get back to Bayonetta and show the evidence. However, Rob's growling turned into pained cries as he clung to Corrin's neck tightly.

"WHAT'S WRONG?" Corrin asked him. Because he was in dragon form, his voice boomed causing Rob to nearly let go to cover his ears.

"My body…it's…guh…"

"ARE YOU SICK? DO YOU NEED ME TO LAND?"

"Stop…talking…you're too loud…"

Alm tried her best to control Rob. All she could do was control Rob's hand. She could try and get Rob to fall off Corrin, but that would risk actually killing him, so she decided it was best to get the dragon to land instead of accidentally killing her target.

"ROB, WHAT ARE YOU-GAHHHH!"

The tactician blushed realizing his hands moved on its own and let go of Corrin's neck…only to reach behind the tactician and smack Corrin in the rear area. It started Corrin so much that let out a surprised roar that caused the citizens of Smashopolis to look above and see the dragon prince flying.

Corrin's mind shut off though after the sudden smack. It might have been his dragon instincts reacting poorly to the sudden touch. His body was feeling incredibly hot and he had no idea why. Perhaps being smacked at the base of his tail caused his entire body to shut down due to sensitivity.

Rob regained control of his hands at the moment when Corrin lost control and started diving toward Smash Arena. This was a good and bad thing. The good news would be that Corrin would get to Bayonetta quickly with how fast he was flying. The bad news was with the velocity he was going, he might actually destroy parts of the arena if he had a crash landing.

Alm panicked thinking she messed up. Acedia chuckled evilly as he patted his daughter's helmet.

"Good girl. Leave everything else to Daddy."

Acedia opened a portal below him and simply vanished once he stepped on top of it. Not wanting to be alone, Alm did the same thing, but she didn't go to the same location as her father.

At the arena, Bayonetta effortlessly defeated Dante. No matter what others thought, the Umbra Witch was stronger than the half-demon. Dante was seeing stars especially when Bayonetta was stepping on his crotch with the heel portion of her shoe.

"And you thought your style could survive my Witch Time? My, you are a fool."

"U-Underhanded…"

"Now…what did you say about the wager? Ah, yes. The loser does whatever the winner wants. I think you know what I want."

Bayonetta never got to tell Dante she wanted due to a familiar dragon roar in the sky. She only needed to look up to see Corrin heading her way at blinding speed. The raven haired witch had no idea why the dragon prince was in dragon form, but she knew if he didn't slow down, he was going to cause a huge crater near the arena and potentially heard some bystanders.

This was where Bayonetta could joke about how Witch Time was "broken". She walked over to where she thought Corrin was heading and waited before activating Witch Time. Rob could have sworn that her range was farther than it was in the tournament. Because things were slowed down, Bayonetta was able to rush in and grab Rob from Corrin's back knowing that he wouldn't be able to handle a fall before stomping on Corrin's back so he would head straight down instead of diagonal toward the stadium before jumping away and ending Witch Time. Corrin let out a pathetic whine as he was sent downwards. He reverted back into his human form due to the immense pain he took in dragon form.

"My, my, you two sure had some fun while I was messing with that fool over there." Bayonetta said with a laugh.

Rob was far from pleased being held from Bayonetta. He wasn't strong enough to push her away, but the Umbra Witch simply dropped him after seeing he wasn't going to thank her.

"Uhh…my head…" The male tactician complained. Even if the sudden pain was gone, he still felt dizzy from how fast Corrin was going. "I wonder…did we lose them?"

"Lose who?" Bayonetta asked, but she would soon get her answer from who was chasing after the two Smashers.

"THERE HE IS!"

"GET HIM!"

Rob gasped hearing those voices. How were they able to get from one location to another so quickly? Did Acedia have a role in that? Bayonetta only stepped in front of him because when she heard "him" she assumed these people were after Corrin. Call her crazy, but she was certain that because of that first encounter she had with the dragon twins that they were targets to whoever was after them. She wasn't exactly pleased that these fat men were after the red eyed dragon prince though.

"Sorry boys, you're going to need to dance elsewhere." Bayonetta warned the fat fanboys coming her way. She had her pistols out ready to shoot them if they got any closer to her or Rob. Corrin wasn't that close to her, but he was starting to recover from the crash landing.

"Eek! It's the witch!"

"What do we do?!"

"This wasn't part of the script!"

"Run away!"

To show how sadistic she was, Bayonetta did indeed shoot at them and into the ground causing everyone to panic and run off in all directions. Rob felt this was overkill simply because it made her look bad even if she was chasing these perverted fanboys off. The magician sighed in relief thinking that it was over.

"CORRIN! BAYONETTA!"

Master Hand's voice suddenly caught everyone off guard. He was in his giant hand form and because he was in this form, no one could see how furious he was. Corrin shivered hearing Michiko scream his name. Rob was glad that he wasn't in trouble. Bayonetta didn't bother to face the giant hand, but a single drop of sweat did fall down her forehead realizing that she might have messed up somehow.

"I guess I will let you two handle the hand then…"

Bayonetta's eyes widened realizing that Dante was going to use this opportunity to flee with Ian. She wouldn't be able to Witch Time him without angering Master Hand more than he already was.

As the half-demon and angel companion made their escape, Acedia could be seen snickering in the shadows. If he couldn't have Rob right away, he would simply hinder Bayonetta in some shape or form. The tactician still had the evidence needed that would allow her back in the tournament, so he needed to force his hand if he wanted to get what he wanted. His expression faltered seeing there were some Smashers in the area and one of them happened to be the Monado Boy. He was quick to vanish before anyone saw him.

"CORRIN, I LEAVE YOU ALONE FOR A FEW HOURS AND I HEAR YOU DID DAMAGE TO THE LIBRARY?!" Master Hand screeched causing Corrin to cover his ears when his body was no longer in the ground. "AND YOU WERE IN THE BASEMENT WHERE THE VOTING TOOK PLACE?!"

"Ah…I…"

"YOU'RE COMING WITH ME, CORRIN! YOU TOO BAYONETTA! I DO NOT APPRECIATE YOU OPEN FIRING IN A CROWD OF CIVILIANS!"

Bayonetta really needed to stop doing things that would get her ridiculed in public. Rob glanced at the two in worry before looking over some of the Smashers who were observing from a distance. He saw Shulk and let out a sigh of relief. Corrin finally stood up and walked over to Rob. He was debating whether he would vouch for the dragon prince but the Nohrian prince just shook his head.

"Rob, go with Shulk and head back to the mansion. It's…been a rough day."

"But you're going to be…"

"I'll be fine. I'll explain what happened."

Rob didn't want to leave his friend hanging, so he made sure to hand Corrin the data he managed to snag that was proof of the system being rigged before he rushed toward Shulk who asked him where he had been and if he was okay. This would leave Corrin and Bayonetta at the mercy of the large hand that wanted the two to follow him back into the arena.

"Umm…Cere…"

"Don't say anything."

Corrin flinched at her icy tone. Maybe he shouldn't have had been rash with his decision after all…

---

After all that struggle of getting the proof needed to allow Bayonetta to participate in tournaments again, he was going to be casually dismissed of his concern. Master Hand did accept the evidence and looked over it. The evidence was damning enough for him to reconsider. However, the witch hunters immediately threw a fit of Master Hand going back on his word. It was frustrating to be in a huge meeting room where Corrin was outnumbered by the witch hunters who resembled the Knights of the Round Table. They were all vehemently against Bayonetta competing. The Umbra Witch found it pathetic they were having very little patience with one witch.

The other Hands (in human room) were more willing to listen than the witch hunters at the very least.

"…Acedia." Corrin spoke his name causing the witch hunters to flip out even more. "Was he involved in the counting? He attacked us when we tried to leave."

Master Hand wasn't pleased with this information. He wanted to talk it over with the others, but deep down, he knew the witch hunters would deny that one of their own possibly sabotaged the votes. If word got out, then there would accusation of bias and bribery to get into the Witch Hunter tournament.

"…Corrin…you are dismisses." Master Hand spoke simply.

"W-What…but…"

"Do not let me repeat myself. My patience with you is almost up. You destroyed a portion of the library and nearly injured others when you crash landed as a dragon. You are also pointing the finger to one of the most influential witch hunters in all the Witch Hunter Realm. Leave before you suffer heavy consequences."

"But Cere…"

The gray eyed witch patted the young prince on the back.

"I can handle this."

"But…"

"You did well. Let me handle the rest."

Corrin had no choice but to obey. Slowly, he tiptoed out of the meeting room with his tail in between his legs. He thought he failed Bayonetta but it was the exact opposite once Master Hand was certain the dragon prince was gone.

"Now that he's gone…Bayonetta…I am offering you a compromise."

"Compromise?"

"Since when have you compromised with anyone?" Cross Hand asked rather annoyed. "You give your fighters too much leeway."

Ignoring Cross, Master continued to speak.

"This information given to us is very damning on this whole tournament. The commentators have already spread misinformation concerning the voting. The ban was not finalized in any shape or form. However, you and Corrin have caused more trouble than what you are worth, which is why I'm giving you this alternative."

"…I'm listening."

"There were complaints of your fighting style. You end the match too quickly and people think they wasted time and money as a result. As strong and stylish as you are, you act like you're not part of the Smash tournament. You act like you're part of the Marvel tournament that Cross hosts."

Bayonetta really didn't want to be associated with a tournament that had Dante in it. She rolled her eyes but knew that he had a point.

"You need to show that you're working to get the kill. When you finish those quick combos, you don't break a sweat and no one wants to see that. I put my Smashers first before anyone else, but I'm still a business. There is no mansion, no Smashopolis or even a Smash Realm without money. This is why I demand that you change how your combo works."

"…What?"

"Witch twist? The opponent falls out of it. The angle of your dive kick? Change it so it can't be used to start combos anymore. Your dair needs less knockback as well although I doubt that will change much. Your witch time needs to be fixed to where you can't abuse it like you do in combat. And…"

"Wait…that is a lot to change…"

"This is the only alternative you get. Make changes to your fighting style or accept that you will never participate in another Smash tournament. Your friend is lucky that he got this evidence for your case."

"You have a lot of fans to the point that votes were ripped to shreds just so you could not even end up on the list fairly. By this evidence, the person who counted the votes resorted to cheating to remove you. I can clear this up, but you and Corrin have to pretend that this never happened."

"…Really now?"

"I can ask Count Black to get the commentators to clear up the misunderstanding. It has only been a few hours so it can be blamed on jumping the gun without that many consequences."

Bayonetta really hated being a political pawn to Master Hand. However, she had this nagging feeling that if she told Master Hand to "flock off", then Corrin would receive the blunt of her punishment. The last thing she wanted was for his tournament experience to be ruined because she was being rebellious.

"Also, when you enter the Witch Hunter Realm, your power will be cut in half."

"Excuse me?!"

"You are a very powerful witch, Bayonetta. No witch hunter wants you in their realm. The only way that you won't be given a hard time is if your power is cut in half."

"…Unbelievable."

"I will give you the item that limits your strength. It will not affect your performance in Smash in the same vein that reworking your combos will not affect your powers out of Smash." Master Hand noted the nasty look the Umbra Witch was giving him and sighed. "Look Bayonetta. There isn't much I can do about it. Unless you want to be here all night arguing with these hands without resorting to physical violence, you're not going to get what you want. You won't be able to walk around shooting pedestrians that annoy you nor will you be able to abuse your powers in said realm."

Bayonetta just shook her head as a response.

"This is a huge handicap, I know, but someone of your caliber will be able to handle it."

"You think a handicap will stop me from winning?" Bayonetta questioned him. "The witch hunters here will need to tie my body to weights and take away my powers before they even have a ghost of a chance of beating me."

The arrogance was still strong in this one. It was better than moping around at how unfair everything was turning out to be. Master Hand dismissed her once Bayonetta agreed to abide by his rules. If only Bayonetta was able to stick around, she would able to gather information on the political corruption going behind the scenes.

Corrin waited patiently for Bayonetta to leave the room. Once he heard her high heels click with the floor, he was quick to get in her face and ask her what Master Hand told her. Her confident words to Master Hand didn't reflect what she was feeling when she was explaining to Corrin what he told her. The dragon prince's mood dampened hearing that after all of his troubles, Master Hand was still complying with the masses instead of listening to what Bayonetta had to say.

"…I'm sorry I couldn't do anything for you Cere…" Corrin apologized weakly as he bowed his head in shame. "I thought Master Hand was willing to listen but I guess…his reputation was more important than how you felt…"

The Umbra Witch wasn't upset with Corrin. In fact, she was glad that Corrin one of the few people that didn't give the "tough luck" mentality to Master Hand the "nerf". It was endearing to see Corrin was upset for her when she simply would have just shrugged it off due to how Master Hand proved her point.

"Corrin dear, you don't need to be upset." She told him nicely as the two started to walk away from the door. "It's my problem. I'll simply deal with it."

"But…I failed to change anything…as a friend."

Her heart nearly shattered hearing that word again. On the surface, she simply groaned in frustration.

"You stopped me from getting banned at future tournaments. That should be a positive."

"Yes but at the cost of your performance having to be lowered for the sake of "fairness". There's no fairness in this Cere…it's just pandering to those fat bastards back there that wanted you gone."

"Corrin, there will always be people out there who hate me. Not everyone is going to like me…not everyone is going to like you or any of the other Smashers. That's how this business works."

Bayonetta referred to it as a business because that was all it was. This was like the entertainment industry except one where most of the contestants got along and no one was allowed to kill each other. It was still a contest to see who the strongest fighter in the universe was. Even with the complaints and the handicap, she would simply show everyone that they will be able to tie her down and judge her for what she does in the tournament.

"…I…"

"Corrin, not everything is a joy ride."

"I know that…"

"Then stop sulking. You know the two things I hate are cockroaches and crybabies."

"I'm not even crying!" Corrin nearly shouted. "I'm just…really disappointed in Master Hand…that's all. I had all the evidence that proved you were framed and he still did this…I…"

"Corrin. That's enough."

Bayonetta was getting a serious migraine at this point. She really hated how Corrin seemed to be taking this more seriously than she was. He should be looking to the positives of a situation like this.

"…You know…since I'm back in the tournament, why don't we go back to the mansion and announce my return."

Those words were enough to make Corrin not as moody. His smile started to return as he imagined how everyone would react. He was thinking everyone would be happy for the Umbra Witch when Bayonetta was ready to see the horrified looks the competitors had of the dreaded witch returning from her almost a day retirement.

Bayonetta noted that Corrin was walking too close to her when they left the area. She wondered if it was possible to push her luck. Slowly, she reached out toward Corrin's hand and brushed against it to see how the dragon prince would react. A faint blush appeared on his cheeks as he reached out toward her hand and grasped it. Bayonetta wasn't the type to show public display of affections, but given what just happened, she didn't mind holding Corrin's hands in her own. Despite being shorter than her, his hands were larger than she gave them credit her. Granted, he was a dragon, so his hands would be larger than what he appeared…but they fit well into her own.

The Umbra Witch noticed that Corrin had gone quiet. He refused to look her in the eye as they continued walking. Bayonetta could only smirk at how shy he was being when they were in the public eye.

"You know dear, when you make a move like this, it's almost like you want to be more than friends." She teased getting the reaction she wanted.

"I…uh…you're walking too fast. I-It's easier to walk by your side…w-when it's like this…"

In her mind, Bayonetta knew he was lying. Corrin knew it was a poor excuse, but she was still proving his point when her tall legs were forcing him to walk faster. She had slowed the pace not because she felt bad for him, but because she wanted this calming moment to last until they got to the mansion. Everyone was going to flip out at the news, but Corrin was going to stand by her side when the misunderstanding was cleared up.

That's all Bayonetta wanted from Corrin at the moment. Stability that would allow her to keep a clear mind…but unfortunately, the dragon prince was still too dense to realize that perhaps, the Umbra Witch had finally fallen for Corrin's charm after the two had sworn to be friends.

---

Me: Done with 15973 words.

Li: Working with the times.

Me: Always. The Fanfiction community doesn't always keep up with the Smash scene. Notes!

1. The Witch Hunter tournament takes inspiration from the Smash Summit of voting fan favorites in and major tournaments like CEO (and GOML).

2. The winners of the three past tournaments are Mario (64), Fox (Melee) and Ike (Brawl). This is to determine who is the strongest Smasher at that point of time and is considered the most important one, so wins in the past don't matter and neither does the tier list. The Brawl results were going to be implied in the Alluring Secret Sinless Accuser RP story but seeing as how I'm too lazy to fix the grammar, I don't think I'll end up updating anytime soon.

3. I make it seem like there are more fighters chosen from Melee instead of Smash 4, but there was only five fighters from Melee, seven from Smash 4 and then four from Brawl. I left Jigglypuff out because she's terrible in Smash 4 and no one wants to watch the once threatening puffball get last place. I didn't have Samus there because ZSS does everything better in Smash 4. Yoshi and Pikachu…I left them out mainly because of how they're not exactly good for writing in terms of stories (when all Pikachu can do is say its name and Yoshi is…Yoshi). Regardless, most of the Melee fighters aren't as good as they are in their prime, so the system could be considered rigged because of it.

4. I literally did research on how the styles work and how Death Battle wrote that Quicksilver Style cancelling Bayonetta's Witch Time is false. Like, you look at the Wiki and it literally says that it's a time manipulating ability. It doesn't tell you how Dante activates it. He simply does it. Also, Dante can't stop time forever. At some point, he's going to run out of magic points and not be able to use it again. Umbra Witches are established to be time manipulators so they can use it indefinitely. Additionally, you can't do anything once you're in Witch Time unless you're a time manipulator yourself. Dante would have to already be in Quicksilver Style before she uses Witch Time, but Witch Time is activated when on the offensive unless Bayonetta had ideas that would allow her to activate Witch Time at will (and even then, story wise they can do what they want).

I could go on how Screw Attack failed miserably at researching on both games and were bias, but that wasn't the point of this note as it's a jab at their inability to do learn simple things and not make shit up on the spot. They gave Bayonetta a huge handicap (not even giving her a 4th of the items she has in universe) while giving Dante everything he needs to beat her. Kamiya already wrote on Twitter that Bayonetta is stronger than Dante and called the Death Battle between them trash, so there's no arguing on who is stronger when the creator already said it.

5. Sonic picked up the nicknames up from Gaius and Riki concerning the Robin and Corrin twins. Gaius calls Robin "Bubbles" regardless of gender. Gurei in Fates calls the Corrin twins "Boss" since he thinks that calling them "Bubbles" was odd. For Sonic, he calls Robin "Bubbles", Cory "Boss", Corrin "Corn" (which is what Riki calls him) and calls Rob by what he wants to be called.

6. Yes, that's Steel again who is a villain and a reminder that Steel has a good reputation amongst demons and will not engage in combat, kidnapping or smuggling of any kind unless he has something to gain from it. He's a very rich and influential demon after all. I like the idea of Steel gaining the affection of some Smashers unaware of his past with Pit. It would be the most ironic to win Sonic's trust when Sonic's a friend of Pit.

7. Acedia is one of the few villains who can be killed that will remember previous timelines due to how his magic works. As a result, he has stalked Rob through multiple timelines and might be more dangerous than Diamond simply because he does not forget his mistakes that caused his death in the past. He is more cautious when handling his obsession, but it's obvious that he has gathered a lot of things about Rob from past timelines to obsess over. Also, like with slime monsters, Rob has a fear of Acedia due to what will eventually happen in the DLC Arc. If he freezes up around him, it's because of an incident I don't want to talk about yet.

That's it. Reviews are appreciated. Ja ne!