Hello everyone! This is my first fanfic ever! I wrote it in the fall of 2017, long before Smash Ultimate was announced. I hope you all enjoy the story

I do not own anything by Nintendo.

Prologue

Master Hand watched the other universes from his out of the way dimension with his brother Crazy Hand. They enjoyed watching the many sagas of heroes and villains throughout the ages. Like any siblings, they argued a lot. But their arguments mostly focused on who would win in a fight between their favorite characters. Being omnipotent beings with nothing else to do, they decided to settle their constant debates in as flashy a way as possible. Together, they created the World of Trophies, creating trophies of their favorite characters.

They infused the trophies –dubbed Smashers- with a limited life essence, mostly the ability to move at will but with nothing going on upstairs. They created various combat arenas with specialized rules to allow fighters equal footing. Then they made the various characters duke it out with each other in the form of a tournament. This was more for amusement than actual serious competition. They also enjoyed the occasional match with ridiculous variables, such as all fighters with Fans and Beam Swords with gravity at 1.5x.

The Hands had a great time with their new creations. But after a while, they felt it was getting stale and they could improve on what they had made. So, they put their beloved trophies in storage and set about making changes and improvements. They added more characters, stages, and items, tweaking rules and abilities of the Smashers. When all was ready to their satisfactions, they held a second tournament. Things were even better the second time around. They decided to record everything on camera so they could rewatch their favorite moments. They were happy with their new Smashers, and for a while were content. Still, their creations could always be improved, especially as they continued to watch the other dimensions unfold their histories. So they again put their trophies in storage.

For their third installment, they took a different approach. They made the usual adjustments and improvements, but created a script for the Smashers to act out. They wanted to try their hand (selves?) at creating their own epic story. They installed a villainous entity known as Tabuu and made him overpowered enough that they needed almost the entire roster to defeat him. Master Hand enjoyed himself immensely; he had so much fun as he played himself being controlled like a puppet. It was hard for him to control his giggling as he lay on the ground in the final scene, pretending to be dead. Crazy Hand did not have as much fun. He complained that he had no role in the story, but Master Hand had said it was ridiculous to have two giant floating hands in one tale. And besides, Crazy was just a horrible actor.

The story concluded, and the Hands stored their treasured Smashers in the Vault.

Then Master Hand had an idea.

He could market these creations to other dimensions. One dimension in particular loved to experience these characters in a medium known as "video games". They were dedicated fans, who would eagerly snap up anything related to them.

It would be something new and interesting and they could make, like, all of the money. Not that they needed any, they were omniscient after all. But it was a welcome challenge and frankly he wanted to see how much influence he could have over other dimensional beings. Crazy Hand immediately agreed and they began making preparations at once. Crazy had the idea to broadcast the tournament to the masses and they set out making everything as photogenic as possible. First, they created the new Smashers and gave them sentience and freer movements, since seeing stiffness on camera would be off-putting to many viewers. They gave everyone their allotted 'existential crisis time' of ten minutes to realize they weren't who they thought they were and then completely ignore that fact, and then ten more minutes to complain about their inability to use their favorite inherent items or abilities in the Tournament. Next, the Hands enlisted some of them to act in promotional videos to generate excitement in the audience. They would give updates often on the progress of the tournament, and even offered a poll to choose another contender.

But the coup d'grace was when they announced a collectible line of figures for each Smasher. Everyone would be able to collect their favorites, and fans were encouraged to complete the entire set. The audience lost their darn minds when they heard this announcement, and everyone clamored to the stores to purchase them.

And then Master Hand made them hard to find.

Yes, Master Hand was beyond pleased with himself.

….

The tournament was set to begin in a few weeks. Master Hand was excited, but something was on his mind.

He had to keep the Smashers from killing each other on camera for everyone to see. It was true there was nothing graphic or overtly violent about the matches, this was a civilized endeavor after all. The arenas were controlled magical fields where no one ever got hurt. Any grunts or squeals of pain were just for show. And he was certain most of the Smashers' personalities would prevent them from killing something unless absolutely necessary. Still, he didn't want to take any chances.

In an effort to beget camaraderie, he did two things. First, he created a large mansion to house them all, large enough that they could easily avoid anyone having a bad day. Everything was provided for and there were plenty of options for distractions and entertainment. Second, he called them all in for a meeting. They assembled in the main hall, waiting more or less patiently for their instructions.

"Attention everyone," said Master Hand. "I'm sure you're all eagerly awaiting the start of the tournament, but we are still a few weeks away. I want you all to take the day to get to know one another. I have scheduled you all to meet with everyone else. The meetings will not be more than an hour, but there will be plenty of occasion to get acquainted. Don't worry about the Mii Fighters, those will be computer generated contestants based on audience suggestions."

Crazy Hand had manipulated time to make the day last for 56 hours. Really they could've spread out the meetings over a few days, but they were both curious to see what would happen. Especially when everyone started getting tired.

"I'd like you all to discuss who you are, any adventures you've had, and anything else you'd like. If you already know someone, get to know him or her better. You are free to do what you wish during your rendezvous, but I will not tolerate fighting of any kind, even friendly sparring. You will have enough chances to do that during the Tournament. If Crazy or I catch anyone doing this, you will be put in Trophy State until we feel you can behave."

No one liked Trophy State. You were aware of everything but you were struck as your trophy form. Not fun at all.

"We have already planned your schedules, and Crazy will hand them out to you."

The left hand threw a stack of papers in the air. Each one softly floated down to its intended Smasher.

"I said hand them out, Crazy," Master Hand grumbled, somehow managing to send a glare to his brother.

"There is a picture and short description of everyone you will meet," the Hand continued to the room. "Feel free to use these as conversation starters if you wish. Enjoy your day and have fun everyone!" With that, the two hands poofed out of the room. The Smashers began dispersing to their various meeting places.