Disclaimer: Super Smash Bros. belongs to Nintendo, Hal Labs, Sora Ltd., Bandai Namco, Masahiro Sakurai, or whomever it belongs to these days. The characters in it belong to various companies which I won't mention because the list would be too long, but a quick Google search should tell you who belongs to whom. This fanfic is solely for entertainment purposes, yada yada yada, you know it.

Master Hand is late for the Direct.

And he knows it. He knows what a horrible thing that is. Missing a Direct is a terrible crime and even a sin in the Nintendo multiverse. Still, he can't help it, since he's late on deadlines and has to report a thousand things back to the Nintendo HQ to aid in the development of Smash Ultimate. This information is essential and the game could possibly be delayed if he doesn't deliver it on time.

It's information on gameplay, code, characters, graphics, glitches… Stuff that needs to be fixed urgently so that the game is absolutely perfect. Doing this job, Master Hand doesn't feel like the king of the World of Trophies, but as a video game tester. Not that it's that bad, because he likes testing, but it's tiring at times. He hasn't had to do it since the release of the final DLC wave of Smash 4. Which isn't too long ago.

Master Hand sighs. He wishes he could take a break, but Nintendo is probably going to release DLC for Ultimate, so the hand doesn't see his vacation anywhere near.

Anyways, Master Hand has been hearing the excited screams, shouts, gasps, and laughs coming from the auditorium where the Smashers, Assist Trophies, and other characters are watching the Direct. He can't make out what they're saying (thankfully), but it's obvious they're asking questions, celebrating, and commenting on the content. Master Hand's job can't end soon enough.

Now the screams are getting harsher and louder. The Direct must be close to its end. Master Hand looks at the time on the round clock hanging from the wall of his office, opposite to his desk. Indeed, it's been almost forty minutes. The Direct must be coming to an end.

Master Hand finishes typing up his report on the computer, attaches the document to an email, and sends it to the devs and the big people at Nintendo. Once he presses the blue 'Send' button, the screams outside die out. And what follows is just a prolonged, eerie silence. All of a sudden, the noises and the emotions have come to a stop. How weird…

Master Hand gets out of his chair, ready to go meet his Smashers at the auditorium. However, a piercing screech breaks the ice.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD?!" Ridley barks. "IS THIS WHAT I CAME HERE FOR?"

A chorus of annoyed voices rise up along with Ridley, but what they say is undecipherable since they all speak at the same time. They are discussing. Darn… Master Hand wondered… what could have happened?

Master Hand hurries up and leaves his office. Flying down the hallway, he reaches the auditorium, and he opens the door carefully. Everyone shuts up and looks at him. His mere presence, as the leader of the Smashverse, is enough to calm down all of the commotion.

"Hey, guys!" Master Hand greets with his usual charisma. "Sorry for being late. I was caught up on work and it couldn't wait. But here I am! So, how was the Direct?"

He notices that every fighter, from their seat, is staring at him in silence. They gawk at the hand, blinking blankly, without stirring in the very least. Everyone is paralyzed, eyes open wide and mouth shut. The only one that moves is Crazy Hand, who, as expected, floats in the place while opening and closing his fingers in a crooked movement. The screen in which everyone was watching the Direct is pitch black and silenced, with everyone sitting on makeshift plastic chairs in front of it.

"Um…" Master Hand chuckles nervously. "I know, right? Who does a Nintendo Direct during working hours?"

The Smashers keep staring at Master Hand with eyes open as plates and expression as stiff as statues. The silence continues. Then it dawns on him: either something very bad or very impactful has happened. And he isn't aware of it.

"Guessing by the weird looks on your faces," Master Hand says. "the Grinch leak was real. Am I right?"

The Smashers don't respond right away, but Snake and Sonic look at each other. Then, Sonic shrugs.

"No." He says plainly.

"HAHHAHAH" Crazy Hand bursts out. "They couldn't fool me! YoU'rE a FAkE OnE miSTeR GrinCH."

There goes Crazy Hand acting stupid again, Master Hand thinks. He would roll his eyes if he had them. Either way, Snake is now staring even more intently at the hand, giving him a stern, suspicious frown, and the rest of the roster hasn't gotten their eyes off him. Master Hand's fingers tense up, he fidgets in the place, and he starts feeling drops of hot sweat dripping through his glove. Can somebody answer him what's going on?

The silence reigns once again. Master Hand decides to speak up, awkwardly, but surely. "So… how was Spirits mode?"

"It was… strange." Snake says, a tinge of reservation in his voice.

"Yeah… you should've seen it." Sonic adds. It's rare to see him hesitate, so Master Hand knows this situation is worth worrying about.

Master Hand, unsatisfied with this answer, turns towards Crazy Hand to look for an explanation, but all he finds is… well, Crazy Hand.

"DUuuUDe, you SHOULD've seen it, bro." Crazy Hand says, floating towards him. "It was AwESomE, like, MiNDblOwInGlY cOOl, bro. As in, SO many new things cool, man. YOu'LL NeVeR sEE iT ComINg."

"Wow, that's great." Master Hand isn't convinced. He still thinks this is all too outlandish to be normal and so he's trying to understand what's going on.

As Crazy Hand flies towards the doorway, he passes next to Master Hand, and with a voice that seems like a dark prediction coming from the very undead, Crazy Hand grumbles in a deep murmur:

"I feel sorry for you, bro. You truly are in it for a big surprise. I hope you get out of this one with your life."

There's a lump in Master Hand's throat as he hears these words. What does he mean… 'get out of this one with your life'? What did he miss? Crazy Hand exits without any further word, leaving Master Hand behind, trembling, sweating, and with a headache. The Assist Trophies, eyeing the fighters discreetly, leave after Crazy Hand quietly, one by one. Master Hand's alone with the Smashers now. Just the leader and his protégés.

Almost immediately, he spots two new faces in the crowd: Ken and Incineroar. But that's not what matters the most to Master Hand now. He wants to solve this mystery for once and for all. Well, he has everything to his advantage, because now that the Assist Trophies and Crazy Hand are gone, he can have a bit of privacy with his Smashers.

At once, all Smashers begin complaining.

"I wasn't Falcon expecting that!" Says Captain Falcon.

"Oh, what a plot twist!" Says Marth.

"Infinity war!" Says Pac-man.

"Pika pi kakaka chu!" Says you-know-who.

"Yoshi!"

"I don't understand!" Cries Peach.

"Where's Waluigi?" Daisy says. "Seriously, a freaking plant?!"

That's when Master Hand notices the Piranha Plant peacefully sitting in a corner, grooving to the rhythm of an imaginary music. Huh. And all this time he has thought that it was part of the decoration.

"Well, it was about time we got a Plants vs. Zombies rep." Dark Pit says sarcastically.

"Overall, that was a disappointing Direct." K. Rool grumbles.

"Of course not!" Villager says. "All of you were just expecting too much."

"Exactly. Y'all wanted the Grinch leak to be real." Ike says with a frown, crossing his arms.

"No, I didn't!" K. Rool says.

Mustering all his energy, Master Hand shouts: "SIIIILENCE!" Once the chaos has subsided, he continues speaking. "Can somebody explain to me what happened? Please don't tell me you didn't like the Direct."

"No, the Direct was fine." Ganondorf says. "Toy Story 4 is looking great."

"Yeah!" Ness says, joining in the joke. "Besides, now that Ken is in, everyone is here."

Ken furrows his brows and is about to protest, but Falco interrupts him. "Everyone is here? More like everyone is dead."

"Not everyone!" Kirby chirps in, jumping on his seat.

"Infinity war!" Pac-man says.

Jigglypuff stands up, puffs her cheeks, and frowns at Kirby. "Jigs Jigs Jigglypuff puff puff!"

Master Hand isn't very adept at the Pokémon language, but he can pick up something along the lines of 'favoritism' and 'Sakurai bias'.

"NO, I'm NOT the favorite son!" Kirby rebuts. "I'm just inarguably the strongest Smasher out there. And I'm not spoiled!"

"Jiggly Jigglypuff!"

Kirby frowns skeptically. "I'm made out of Dark Matter, the most powerful substance in the known multiverse. I'm like god-like invincible. It's just that you haven't studied your Kirby lore."

"Uh-huh, but Meta Knight is the same species as you, so, by that logic, he should have survived too." Samus says.

Kirby looks at Meta Knight, who is sitting by his side, and he looks back at Samus with disinterest. "Yeah, but he's ugly."

Meta Knight raises one brow skeptically, but it seems like he couldn't care less. "That argument is so lame. Galaxia is a powerful sword; only thanks to it being by my side I should've been able to get out alright."

"If you survived, that would have made one survivor too many." Kirby huffs. "I can save the universe on my own."

"Woah, watch that attitude, Kirbs." Daisy says.

"Infinity war!" Pac-man repeats.

Inkling girl stands up and raises her arms in the air. "I should've survived. I might not be able to save the whole universe on my own, but I'm pretty strong, so I should've survived the lasers. It's as easy as Super Jumping."

"Your main weapon is paint." Fox sneers. "How would you have survived, of all people?"

Inkling chuckles confidently, putting her hand on her hips. "Paint can be intoxicating. Besides, if you've ever fought me, you know how evasive I can be. Spoilers for Splatoon 2."

Master Hand looks from one Smasher to the other, listening intently to their dissertations, but no one gives him the explanation he so desperately needs. That is, until Shulk looks at him and, noting the confusion in his non-existent eyes, says:

"We just saw a vision of the ultimate future. And it's not good. At all." It pains Shulk to say it. Master Hand notices because he leans forward, he closes his eyes, and he massages his forehead with one hand.

"What? It was awesome!" Kirby says. "We finally got Subspace Emissary back!"

"What was so good about that… Subspace Emissary, anyways?" Dark Pit says, arms crossed.

"We all died, Kirby. It's not all just fun and games." Lucina adds. "It was a global crisis and… this changes everything."

"Hey, you stole that quote from Marina!" Inkling Boy complains.

"Like the fact that we're all toys made to satisfied Master Hand's sadistic tendencies!" Wolf growls.

"Woah, woah, woah, what?!" Master Hand blurts out. He is familiar enough with the theory that argues that all Smashers are toys, but… that isn't confirmed, is it? Also, sadistic tendencies? What is he talking about?

"Well, if you were here for Smash 64 or you ever played the game," Ness says. "You always knew we were toys."

"Yeah, wake up, Buzz Lightyear." Captain Falcon says.

"This new development does change everything…" Olimar says, patting his helmet where his chin would be if he could take it off. "But it's the not the toys detail that impacted me the most. It's… about a certain hand."

Master Hand gulps. What could the Direct have possibly revealed about him that had his Smashers all shaken up?

"Yes… I feel… betrayed." Link admits. "We've trusted him for so long and, now…"

"I feel backstabbed!" Captain Falcon says dramatically.

"Y-you're not t-talking about me, right, guys?" Master Hand says, voice quavering. "I-I would never betray you. Even when we fight in Classic Mode, it's all in good spirits."

"DROP THE FACADE!" Dark Pit demands, jumping out of his seat and pointing towards the hand with his bow. "We all know what you're hiding. You act so innocent and all that, but you're simply waiting to turn our back to us and destroy us with legions of other creatures like you!"

"W-what?" Master Hand stutters. He has no idea what Dark Pit is talking about and yet… he can't help but being afraid that it might come true. He shivers.

"You traitor!" Lucina follows, standing up with her hand poised on her seathed Falchion. "Even now in the moment of truth, you refuse to open up to us? We know you must have your army hidden somewhere!"

Robin, who was sitting next to Lucina, stands up and puts a hand on her shoulder, probably remembering his own experience with betrayal in his home universe. "Lucina, please. Everything we know as of now appeared in a brief teaser. We don't have any further information. We just have an image without context. Please, let's wait before jumping to conclusions."

"Jumping to conclusions?" Falco says. "I think everything is pretty clear."

"Uh-huh." Samus says. "I looked closely and I didn't see Crazy Hand or Tabuu anywhere. I blame the catastrophe on Master Hand."

"Yeah!" Dark Pit nods enthusiastically. "I say we annihilate him and everyone from his species before they can destroy our world!"

"I agree." Samus gives her approval. She has killed swarms of Metroids before, so it's no wonder she would be up to annihilation once more.

"Mewtwo." Mewtwo says through telepathy, because all Pokémon like puns, especially the ones from the localized anime.

"Let's smash him to bits." Ganondorf makes a fist with one hand and presses it against his other palm, making a hitting motion.

"But, guys, wait!" Marth says with his newfound English voice, standing up and turning around to face the crowd. "I know very well how much betrayal hurts, but if we… murder Master Hand… Who's going to lead us?"

"Wait, I'm not letting myself be murde-" Master Hand begins, but Mario interrupts him.

"Why, it's-a gonna be me, of course-a. I'm-a already the mascot, so I might as well-a be the leader of the Smashverse."

Luigi gasps at his brother's arrogance and frowns. "You cannot-a be the leader. You're-a dead!"

"Shut up, you're-a dead too!"

"But you were-a dead first!" Luigi replies.

"But I'm-a not dead now because at least-a I was in the trailer!" Mario retorts.

"I'm-a gonna be leader and end of the discussion!" Dr. Mario says.

"I should be the leader because we need more third-party representation." Sonic argues. "We're tired of Nintendo's oppression!"

"No, we're not!" Young Link answers in his childlike voice. "This is supposed to be Nintendo All-Stars! Not Sega All-Stars or videogame All-Stars."

"Enough!" Ridley says. "It doesn't matter the company. It just matters how much did the people want you to be in Smash. So I should be king!"

"No! People wanted me to be in Smash much more than they wanted you! That's why they announced you first!" K. Rool says.

"... Why isn't Geno in…" Toon Link laments himself.

"... Or Bandana Dee…" Says Dedede.

"... Or Banjo Kazooie…" Says Mega Man.

"... Or Goku…" Says Bowser Jr.

"GUYS, STOP!" Master Hand yells at the top of his lungs. "Nobody is gonna be killed, nobody is gonna be dethroned, and Goku is never gonna be in Smash. If you dare trying to destroy me outside of battle, then I will NOT hesitate to retaliate."

"See? You're threatening us." Popo says. "You must be evil."

"I don't want you to hurt us." Nana whimpers. "Please. I'm scared."

"The Ice Climbers are right." Lucina says. "Aren't you supposed to protect us at all costs, as the leader of the Smashverse?"

"Of course I'll do anything to protect you." Master Hand says. "You're my Smashers, you're my friends, and you're my responsibility. We've gone through so much together and I wouldn't bear to have to hurt you outside of a match. But… I do have a right to self-protection, you know."

"Well, so if you know you're gonna hurt us in the future, then why don't you let us destroy you so that nobody will be hurt?" Lucina says.

Master Hand can almost see a pop-up flashing in front of his eyes:

[Accept Lucina's judgement?]

[Yes] or [No]

"What?" He says. Unlike Robin, he is having none of this crap. "No! Of course not! That's stupid! I don't even have any proof of that betrayal."

"Well, that's why you don't miss Nintendo Directs." She retorts.

Chrom sighs heavily. "Lucina, not this tomfoolery again, please."

"There should be another Smash Direct just for World of Light." Corrin says. "Then we would be able to clear up this misunderstanding."

"We'll have to wait until the game releases." Wii Fit Trainer shrugs.

"And let our world be destroyed?" Pokémon Trainer gasps. "No way!"

"It's the only thing we can do." Rosalina says. "We're subject to what Nintendo decides to do with us."

"Yes… This future, we cannot change." Shulk agrees.

"Yeah, it's a future in development. We'll do stuff when the time comes, but for now…" Villager takes a notepad and pencil out of his pocket. "I'll write a fanfiction about how I actually survived when the teaser says otherwise!"

"Hmph." Ganondorf huffs. "I still think we should take down Master Hand. But whatever."

It's been an hour now, since the Nintendo Direct aired. The Smashers have left the auditorium, still discussing the Direct in the way out. Master Hand wants to catch up on the information, so he's about to start the video again, even though he had had tons of spoilers and he knows that his favorite contender, Chorus Kids, is not getting in. Anyways, he wants to see everything he's heard with his own imaginary eyes. However, when he is close to clicking on the video to see it, he hesitates. Darn it, he thinks. The punishment for missing a Nintendo Direct is way harsher than he thought.

Well, we will have to wait for release. Meanwhile, all questions will stay unanswered.

A/N: Hi there! Here's a new one-shot based on the 1.11.2018 Smash Direct. I hope it turned out okay because it was little bit rushed (since I wanted it to be relevant enough) and because I'm not used to writing in present tense. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading!

I'm excited for World of Light :)

Edit: I just noticed I misspelled Tabuu as Taboo. Oops.