The Realm of Smash consisted of six territories; the Mushroom Kingdom, Koopa Kingdom, Kingdom of Hyrule, Dreamland, Gerudo Valley, and the Smash Territory, where the Smash Mansion was originally located. All these lands were their own sovereign nations, overlooked by Master Hand. However, one morning, a message was sent to the various royal families and governments; Master Hand was found dead. The killer remained a mystery, but soon after the death of Master Hand, the killer's identity became very clear: Ganondorf. He became the main suspect because, a few days after the death, Ganondorf seized power; he marched on the Smash Mansion, with his joint army of the Gerudo and Koopa, and crowned himself as the Protector of the Realm. Ganondorf, Prince of the Gerudo Valley, became Ganon, Sixth of His Name, King of the Realm of Smash. During the early days of his tyrannical rule, he denounced all the royal families and ruling governments in the six territories, consolidating all the power to himself. Also, he fortified the Smash Mansion into a city known as Smashville. In Smashville, he established a Small Council: Bowser, who became the Hand of the King, Mewtwo, Meta Knight, Lord-Commander of the King's Guard, and Dark Pit.
As for the rest of the Realm, all royalty was forced to bend the knee to the new throne: Princess Zelda became Zelda, Lady of Hyrule; King Dedede became Dedede, Warden of Dreamland; Princess Peach became Peach, Lady of the Mushroom Lands; and, Marth, he fled the Realm of Smash entirely—his whereabouts immediately after Ganondorf's rise to power, along with Lucina, Ike and Roy's, were unknown.
All the other former residents of the Smash Mansion were either forced into Ganon's own army, King's Guard or into ordinary lives among regular Toads in the north, Hylians in the middle of the Realm, Gerudo in the Gerudo Valley wedged southeast between Hyrule, the ocean and Dreamland, Koopas in the northeast, or Dreamland residents in the southwest.
In the dining hall of Peach's castle, Peach sat at the end of a long table that stretched nearly the length of the great hall. The hall must have been at least thirty feet in length and was only dimmed by various candles and a fire place directly behind Peach. On the table was a lavish meal that she had arranged to be prepared; she was hosting Zelda, and she always expected something of a show. Along with Zelda was Link, who always seemed to be joined at her hip, in his regular green tunic and matching green cap. Beside Link were the Mario Brothers, who ate their food with the rest in silence, listening closely to Peach and Zelda's conversation. Just as they finished their meal, a toad entered the large hall.
"Princess, Lord Sonic the Hedgehog has arrived from Green Hill Zone," the Toad announced loudly.
"It's not princess anymore," Peach reminded the toad with a heavy sigh, "I'm the Lady of the Mushroom Lands now…"
"Can't get used to the titles?" Sonic said upon entering the room.
"You can never get used to them," Zelda responded in the same elegant tone she always had, "We went from being Princesses to puppets for Ganon; we've lost everything within a few months."
"For His Grace," Mario muttered, mocking the titles and courtesies that Gannon enforced, "This whole situation is absurd; our King has put has back to the medieval times…"
"Well, it isn't all that terrible," Sonic suggested, trying to lighten the situation, "I mean, your armored Toads outside are in nice chainmail and have capable swords and shields—"
"But compared to what the world was before, this is… Less than ideal," Zelda interrupted, stirring her golden wine glass in her hand, "Well, now that everyone is here, I have an announcement."
"An announcement?" Luigi said, suddenly interested in what was going on. He looked at the only other person in green, Link, and asked, "Did you guys not just come here for a visit, or dinner?"
Link shrugged his shoulders and put his hands up, indicating he did not know what Zelda was talking about. Apparently, nobody else around the table knew either. "I have kept this a secret for months… The night after Ganondorf seized power, I started planning an uprising."
"An uprising?" Peach asked, leaning on the table to get closer, "Well, whatever you have planned, I'll have your back."
"Peach, think about this for a second," Luigi advised quickly. Unlike the Princess, Luigi was not as eager to commit to a call of treason, "Ganondorf is the most powerful man in the Realm right now. To go against him right now would be—"
"Justified," Mario finished suddenly while looking down at the table. Glancing up at the others, he said, "You have my support, Princess Zelda."
"Well, before we actually finalize anything, I need the support of everybody in this room," Zelda explained, "I know four of you are with me already, but I still need to hear from Luigi and Sonic."
"Anybody's loyalty could be bought with the right price," Sonic responded slyly.
"We can make that work, Lord Sonic," Zelda nodded gratefully. Now, everybody looked at Luigi.
"Well, what do you say, bro?" Mario asked.
Full of uncertainty, Luigi sighed. Soon, he came to an reluctant decision, but a decision nonetheless, "Alright. You have my support, Zelda. But, I need to know the kind of mess I'm getting myself into."
"We'll march eastwards through Hyrule Field, into the Gerudo Valley, then penetrate the Smash Territory to take over Smashville," Zelda explained, mimicking the would-be movements of the army on the wooden top of the table, "Once we dispose of Ganon, we'll install a new ruler who will act as a figurehead. Then, we can restore sovereignty to the Mushroom Kingdom, the Smash Territory, and the Hyrule Kingdom."
"What about Dreamland, the Gerudo Valley and the Koopa Kingdom?" asked Luigi, who seemed to be the only one thinking about the many things that could go wrong with beginning a rebellion.
"Well, since their leaders are open supporters, we'll annex the territories accordingly," Zelda answered, quite sure of herself and confident with her plan.
Her answer made Luigi shake his head, "Dedede doesn't support the King; he's neutral—"
"But, he still can't be trusted," Peach said, agreeing with Zelda, "Kirby's always at odds with him, is he not?"
"Still, we can't categorize people based on what they used to be," Luigi continued to contradict, "If you wish to overthrow a regime in the name of a new one, we have to consider how it affects everyone in the Realm. Besides, we can use Dedede and his territory; if we ally ourselves with him, we won't have to go through Gerudo Valley to get into Smashville. Also, we'd have a bigger army."
Link nodded silently in agreement. A few seconds of thinking later, Zelda spoke again, "Okay Luigi, you're a thinker; I like that. You should be the Hand of the King."
"The Hand of which King?" Luigi asked, still skeptical, "Are you naming yourself King... Or Queen?"
"No, no," Zelda shook her head with a slight smile, "We need somebody that the people can get behind; somebody who can symbolize light in the darkest of times… Somebody like Mario."
Surprised, Mario stood up quickly, silencing everybody else in the room. He was not overly excited at the idea of being a King; the whole notion of naming him, an Italian plumber, as the High King of the Realm, seemed ridiculous. "You want me to be a King?" he questioned, as if Zelda were crazy.
"Well, your name carries a lot of weight around the Realm," Sonic added, "You'd be the personification of our cause; people could rally behind you."
"Imagine that: Mario, First of His Name, Hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, Liberator of Hyrule and Dreamland, Protector of the Realm and the True High King of the Realm of Smash," Peach smiled, making up the figurative titles as she spoke.
"High King of the Smash," Sonic suggested, now also smiling.
A raven came flying down to the windowsill of Kirby's star shape house in the middle of Dreamland. The days away from the Smash Mansion were always slow and rather boring (unless Dedede tried to do anything that went against the people of Dreamland, which he did many times). So, when King Ganon took over, Kirby decided to stay in Dreamland and work for a just rule under Dedede, the Warden of Dreamland. Kirby took the letter from the raven and saw a mushroom imprint fused with the Triforce. Confused, Kirby opened the letter and read it carefully. The contents of the letter surprised him, and he ran outside, as fast as he little feet could take him. Outside his home was his vehicle of choice, the Warp Star. He hopped on it and flew directly towards Mt. Dedede, where the keep, Castle Dedede, stood. He landed outside of the large castle located the peak of the relatively small mountain. When he landed, the Waddle Dees and Doos, who guarded the castle, straightened up and remained still; they respected Kirby, and did not want him to think that they were threatening him. If Kirby felt threatened, he would begin to eat.
Kirby ran through the courtyard on the sunny afternoon and into the castle's main hall which also acted as the throne room. Several steps above Kirby sat Warden Dedede on his throne a Waddle Dee with a spear at his side.
"Ah, Kirby," he greeted as if he were happy to see the pink puffball, "How are you?"
"I just got a raven from High King Mario," Kirby explained, almost out of breath from his long walk, "He's began an uprising with the Mushroom Lands and Hyrule and his back. Mario wants us to support his effort as well."
Dedede's good mood quickly went away; now, he was furious. "How can I support anybody that Zelda does?" he asked Kirby rhetorically, "You know she probably put him up to this! I could see it now; she gave that poor plumber a roaring speech about his accomplishments, and that he should become King Mario to take back the Realm from a "tyrant" like Ganon. Well, I'll tell you something, Kirby—!"
"I really don't want a lecture. I'm just telling you that I received a raven—"
"—those Hylians are good-for-nothing imperials, that's what they are! All they did was brag about how they were the biggest, most powerful kingdom in all the land, then when a new regime arises, they decide to start an uprising! I say damn that imperialistic Lady Zelda, that's what I say! There's no way in hell that we'll support a puppet of her own creation!"
"Well, a war of Kings is upon us, Dedede—"
"That's my lord, Kirby. Show some respect."
Kirby groaned, "There's a war upon us now, My Lord. Now, you must choose somebody to back sooner or later, or I'm afraid that Dreamland will get caught up in the cross-fire."
"Well, if you're so keen on supporting one side of this conflict, I suggest you go help the rightful king of the Realm. I need to stay back and prepare Dreamland's army."
As Kirby left the castle, slightly disappointed that Dedede seemed to love the new way of life under King Ganon, he thought about Dedede's words. However, Kirby did not think there was a rightful king; it had been peaceful between countries with the occasional smash between a few of his friends at the Smash Mansion. Those conflicts sometimes were underlined by ongoing rivalries between governments, sure, but none had ever accumulated into a total war. The question was still on Kirby's mind: who was the rightful king of the realm?
Seeking answers, Kirby decided not to fly back to his house and enjoy the rest of his day doing nothing. Instead, he set out east, towards Smashville.
"Your Grace, there's an uprising in the North of the Realm!" Roy announced, nearing cheering. Assuming that Roy had received a raven from their spies in Smashville, Marth turned around from his view of the Orange Ocean; he knew that, hundreds of miles across that ocean, was the coast of Dreamland, more specifically the Ice Cream Islands. He turned back, towards the old withered coliseum that they stationed themselves out of temporarily.
"And…?" Marth asked, indicating that he wanted Roy to continue talking.
"And the Mushroom Lands and Hyrule named Mario the High King of the Realm. King Ganon has already sent his Lord-Hand Bowser to Hyrule Field to create a defensive line," Roy did not stop smiling at the news of unrest in the Realm.
"This is great news," Marth nodded, walking away from the wall he was leaning on, "Does Ike or Lucina know yet?"
"No, Your Grace," Roy responded, walking next to Marth, "The moment that I read our Little Bird's letter, I came to you. Nobody on this side of the Orange Ocean knows except for us."
They walked on the hard sandstone of the land they were on, Sarasa. As a kid, Marth had been told stories about the Sarasa of old; his ancestors from centuries ago emigrated to the Realm of Smash from Sarasa and established their own kingdoms. However, over the course of thousands of years, the landscape changed and, eventually, Marth's once royal family was powerless in the Smash Territory. However, Master Hand's death presented Marth with a great opportunity to restore his family's monarchy. But, Ganondorf beat him to the punch, and Marth exiled himself to avoid arrest or death, or both. Ike, Lucina and Roy joined him in exile because they supported his idea of re-institutionalizing a monarchy under Marth's name, not beginning a new one under Ganondorf.
"I expect you will break the news to them when convenient to you, yes?" Marth asked.
"They're meeting with several of our former housemates from the mansion as we speak," Roy nodded, "They want to fight for you."
"Well, we don't have to fight yet," Marth suggested. His suggestion made Roy stop walking and look at him with a confused look.
"Yet?"
"Well, let me explain it like this," Marth began, clearing his throat, "High King Mario and King Ganon are at war with each other now. Both have large armies at their disposal, right? So, we'll let them destroy each other in their own struggle. The time to invade the realm is immediately after the end of their war—maybe a week, ten days even, after either Ganon is overthrown, or Mario's rebellion is crushed. The victor will be weak; the fight will be easier if we invade then."
Roy nodded, thinking about Marth's plan in detail, "It's a good idea, but…"
"But what?"
"Well, why wait? After we get enough ships, our army can easily crush any other army in the Realm of Smash, whether they're at full strength or half-strength. Nobody can stop us now; there's no need to wait."
"We have to be patient."
"Well, if we wait too long, Your Grace, we might miss the opportunity to strike entirely."
