Homes had been eradicated. Parks had been shredded to pieces. Once-brimming tourist hotspots had become a mere chassis of their former glory. Years of mindless fighting had taken its toll on the environment, and near enough the global population. Ever since the idea of beating up your closest friends became a way to settle scores, make big bucks or just have fun, the world seemed like a much more threatening place. Fortunately though, for the first time in decades, 'the Smash craze' was beginning to dwindle.
Whilst fast-paced, aggressive fights did still appear relatively commonplace on the streets, the entire perception of smashing had shifted. People were beginning to come to terms with the fact that barbaric brawling and sword battles weren't the only way to get what they wanted. People were starting to appear... sentient again.
Morality and respect hadn't found their way through to everyone though. Some grew even more hungry for destructive violence since it started becoming somewhat scarce. Whilst there were still thriving underground communities who partook in widespread activities of aggression, a particular group of veteran fighters had decided that that was quite simply not enough. Wario, an ex-champion of close combat brawling, found himself longing for more competition. Competition akin to that of six months ago when humanity couldn't get enough of action-packed smash tournaments. Together with his friends Ganondorf and Wolf, he campaigned long and hard to restore the star-studded appeal of partaking in ravenous clashes against those of their choosing.
Their efforts were largely in vain. On a good day, one or two new faces would get involved and find satisfaction from such behaviour. Though people were bucking the trend far more rapidly than newbies were picking it up.
The final nail in the coffin for Wario's hopes came eight months after the decline of smashing. Leaders from across the globe had unanimously agreed to consider the act of smashing a federal crime. No longer was anybody allowed to take part in pointless scraps due to the concern for citizen safety. It was over for Wario's campaigning... or so he thought.
A few weeks after the announcement of smash banning, Ganondorf and Wolf received a call from their yellow-clad, conniving partner in crime, who they hadn't heard from for nearly as long. He had arranged an 'urgent' meet-up between the three of them and an accomplice of his: the very well-known Meta Knight. A creature who was often on the run from authorities. Slightly befuddled by the request, both Ganondorf and Wolf agreed to the meeting. In just 48 hours, all four attendees were sitting around a table at Wario's residence.
"Alright! Reunited at last eh pal?" Wolf was somewhat relieved to see that Wario hadn't let himself go too much after weeks of isolation. "Now that we're here, what exactly did you want to discuss with us?"
Not a word was uttered by Ganondorf. He had always been the strong, silent type. During his smashing days he'd gained a reputation for dominating his opponents without making any noise. He would often just stare at them as he beat them to a pulp.
"Well..." Wario proceeded to explain his reasoning without hesitation. He detailed how he had spent the past weeks devising a plan to bring back the menacing fear that the group once wrought upon others. He explained how he had thought of new ways to wreak terror without facing life-changing consequences. After listing all of his drafted ideas and how they wouldn't quite bring the desired results, he assuredly landed at his conclusion.
"WHAT?!" Wolf spurted out in bewilderment. "You want us to be TICKLE TORTURERS?!" Even Ganondorf stood there in disbelief at what he'd just heard.
"Precisely." Wario turned to Meta Knight and together they dissected the seemingly laughable scenario. Tickling people was in no way against the law, yet it acted as a way to assert and display dominance unto others. Wario clearly desired power more than he ever had before. He explained that with the mixed skill set that the four powerful figures had, pulling off a mass tickle-torture operation would be a breeze. Wario's methodical, evil-genius mind, Ganondorf's brute force, Meta Knight's manoeuvrability and Wolf's speed would cover almost all bases when combined. It took the two unconvinced individuals some time to wrap their heads around the scheme, but the more Wario enthusiastically pitched the idea to them, the more invested they got.
"I mean... I do miss the days of being fearfully revered. Plus, my claws would make fantastic tickle weapons."
It wasn't until Wario uttered his next sentence that the entire group were fully sold.
"You can pick your first victim." He said with a look of smarmy pride covering his round face. Just like that, Wolf and Ganondorf were ready to become serious tickle fiends.
"... when do we start?" Ganondorf enquired blandly.
"I'm glad you asked!"
Homes had started being rebuilt. Parks were in the process of being reimagined. Newly-brimming tourist hotspots were rife with holidaymakers coming from far and wide to spend quality time with friends and loved ones. The world was a much brighter place now than it was just shy of a year ago. Respect and decency were commonplace on the streets, and kingdom upon kingdom embraced its new laws of morality. Despite all this though, trouble was brewing in the background. The only question was, who would become the first victim of the cruel and senseless fate that was surely imminent?