"Welcome, one and all, to the fourth Official Smash Tournament!"

The great booming voice soared through the stadium, the cheer of the crowd rising with it.

And in this tournament, I, King Dedede, will also be participating" continued Dedede, sounding like a dj with a hint of a southern drawl.

"But not today, for in the preliminaries we have to fighters who are sure to tear up the place! In the red corner we have the visionary, the wielder of the Monado, the master of arts, SHULK!"

And right along with the introduction I was teleported out of my locker room (or rather an empty room with four white walls, since fighters need to be "focused". Dammint Dedede) and into the air a few feet above the stadium. I landed swiftly and looked around.

I was standing on a rectangular platform the size of a football field. The ground beneath me felt like an olympic track, but was blue rather than the standard black. On the edge of the field, there was a metal lining, and after that it just dropped away into a seemingly endless pit. I stared for a second longer before realizing I was atop a floating arena.

Before I had time to ponder that though, the crowd let out a barrage of laughter, directed towards some joke Dedede made. I flicked my head up and finally took in the stands.

About a hundred feet away from the battlefield, there was a rectangular border made of metal, with thousands upon thousands of cushioned seats. Imagine soccer stands on steroids. And in every single seat sat a spectator, coming in a variety of shapes, sizes, genders, races, species, and I even thought I saw a sunflower with a face.

And to make sure that everyone could see the fight were four screens the size of a two story house, positioned in the four corners of the seating, above all the fans. And currently the focus was on me.

I don't usually look at myself in the mirror, but I was affixed to the closest screen. I had worn red battle armour, which looked almost like normal clothes, bar the saiyan-like shoulder pads. My blonde hair was ruffled, as usual. And just stretching over my shoulder was the red handle to the Monado.

Having had enough self reflection, I tuned back into Dedede. I still couldn't quite figure out what he was, he looked like a really fat penguin, but with mittens and a japanese emperor's attire. He also had a large wooden mallet, taller than me, with a star on the the flat side. An emperor penguin maybe? But then there was a pause in the crowd's chatter, and I immediately became aware of Dedede's voice.

"... I'm kidding! Fighter won't really die if they fall of the stage. We have a MAWA! A motion-activated warp area down below, so fighter will just lose a stock. We also have a KAwa, so the fighters are free to wail on their opponents. Any lethal actions will only cause a stock loss and warping!"

I was still trying to wrap my head around that concept. Dedede had explained it to me a month ago, when he contacted me about the tournament,but getting stabbed and not dying was something that didn't happen. Except at Smash tournament, he told me.

"But enough about the rules" Dedede continued, "Now that the newcomer is prepared for what's ahead. Today he's pitted against everyone's favourite from the last tournament, the Wind Waking Warrior… TOOON LINK!"

And the crowd erupted. I watched as a as a flash of light appeared for a split second, and out dropped a boy. He looked to be about twelve, donned in a green tunic with a belt at the waist. he wore a matching green sock-like hat, and over his shoulder I could see a purple sword-hilt. He had blonde hair sticking out of his cap, brown boots on white pants.

His eyes, though, are what struck out. They were large and round and the most distinguishable part of his face. The way he stared at me made him look both kind and devilish at the same time.

Dedede raised his voice again "And now that introductions are out of the way, let the fourth Official Smash Tourney exhibition match commence!"

The audience burst into cheers, but after only a few seconds dropped it down to a whisper. Dedede looked around, and apparently satisfied with the silence, raised his hand.

"Three"

The audience went silent.

"Two"

Toon Link and I faced each other.

"One"

We both tensed.

"Begin!"

And with that we charged.

As we ran towards each other, I reached over my shoulder for the Monado, and Toon link likewise reached for his blade. But with it he pulled out a brown shield, akin to that of a knight's crest.

By now I had the Monado in my hand, but decided against activating were closing in on each other. Ten feet. Five feet.

At the very last moment, I jumped and raised my blade into the air. As I flew over him, I rolled and swung the Monado downwards. But Toon Link was smart, and had already raised his shield.

The Monado bounced of the shield with a metallic clang, and I twisted so I hit the ground facing Toon Link. He had his back turned, so I jabbed the Monado towards him, activating it. A blade of blue light sprang forth, almost doubling the length of the sword, and it was going straight at Toon Link's back.

But Toon Link whipped around with his sword making a horizontal light trail through the air. It clashed with the Monado's light blade and deflected the stab. He then launched several quick attacks at me, which I only barely had time to dodge. There was a split second pause that felt like an eternity, and we simultaneously jumped backwards.

'How did he stop the Monado's blade?" I wondered. I looked closely at his sword. Around the edges, there was a faint light. I realized it must be a magic sword.

Before I had time to ponder that thought, Toon link moved. In a split second his sword and shield had been returned to his back and he had knocked an arrow on a bow that had seemingly appeared in midair. He released it, and I instinctively dashed to the side. The arrow missed me by a foot, but it was only a setup for his next attack. A boomerang was already sailing towards me. Instead of dodging, I swung the Monado, causing the boomerang to soar out to the left. But, as if by magic, it still turned and flew back into his hands.

And then, once again out of nowhere, he took out a blue plant-like thing. It was spherical, and there was a sort-of string connected to it which was on fire and constantly burning shorter.

'It's a bomb!' I realized as he tossed it my way. I sprinted to the side, but still got caught by a few stray sparks. They left small burn marks in my armour.

'His arsenal is just ridiculous. I guess I'll have to use the Monado'

I focused on the Monado, and the glass symbol changed into the japanese kanji for "speed", and a similar blue glowing symbol appeared next to me.

And then the light shot down to my feet. My shoes glowed blue, and time seemed to slow down ever so slightly. I looked at Toon Link, who had knocked an arrow. He let it fly, but before it was even halfway to where I was standing I had dashed left. I charged at him, Monado at the ready. As soon as I was close enough, I launched a vicious series of attacks. I was coming at him from every angle, slashing and stabbing and dodging. All Toon Link could do was block and deflect my attacks. Then I faked a step to his left and ended up behind him. I pulled the same move from our first exchange, stabbing the Monado forward while unleashing the blade of light. This time it blade pierced his back.

He let out a muffled shout and then disappeared. In his stead rose a column of light reaching higher than the stands.

Dedede made some announcement about death, but I waited for Toon Link's return. Sure enough, a blue circular hovering platform appeared in a flash of light, with Toon Link atop it. Right about then, my I felt a small shock come from the Monado. That meant the speed boost was almost drained. I figured I should play defensively until it's recharged, so I repeated the process of summoning speed but rather than a blue symbol, the yellow kanji for "shield" appeared in the air above me. It sort of dispersed itself around me and I immediately felt it's effects. I was heavier, slower, but I knew I could take attacks much easier now.

Then Toon Link landed on the arena again. He pulled out his bow and knocked an arrow, but then almost dropped it as he flicked his boomerang at me.

And the battle raged on again. He shot every projectile he had, but I blocked and dodged them all. I tried to slowly push forward, but Toon Link was being weary, and the shield effect was slowing me down. After what seemed like forever, I felt another shock from the Monado, and knew I was done playing defense. I stretched the art as long as I could, and just when it ran out I activated speed again. The same thing as last time, I got in close and hacked and slashed until I got in a strike.

Once more, Toon Link descended from the platform, and I shielded until my speed was ready.

But This time, when I rushed him, he did something different. He took out what seemed to be a very ornate baton, and started conducting. Just as I was about to close in the last few feet, a small cyclone descended from the sky, and landed atop Toon Link.

I was knocked back, and when I looked up, Toon Link was gone. I spun around wildly, and then let out a yelp as I just barely dodged an incoming arrow.

Then I saw him. And by him, I mean the small boy dressed in green standing a few feet away from me holding a...spike on a chain?

Then the spike detached and flew straight at me! Speed was just wearing off, so I swung the Monado and tried to step left. But as soon as the projectile hit my sword, I was yanked towards Toon Link.

I saw that there was still a chain attached to the spike, and that the chain led to Toon Link's arm. He then spun and swung his arm around.

The next thing I knew, I was being thrown over Toon Link's shoulder, and landed twenty feet away, crashing to the ground.

I got up quickly, and saw Toon Link approaching cautiously.

'I need a way to beat him, and quickly. If that chain comes at me again, he might not be so forgiving.' I thought grimly.

Then an idea occurred to me. I focused on the Monado once more. The kanji for "jump" appeared, and shot down my legs.

I charged Toon Link. He unleashed a barrage of arrows, bombs, and the occasional boomerang, but I deflected all of them. Just as I'd finally gotten close, Toon Link took out his baton once more. He started conducting, and I jumped into the air.

And by jumped, I mean a Monado boosted jump 20 feet straight up. Just as I suspected, the cyclone hit Toon Link and raised him into the air… and right into my Monado. The Blade swung clean through his stomach, and in a column of light he was gone. I landed on the ground, my jump power softening the blow.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNDDD THE WINNER IS SHULK!" Dedede shouted, as the crowd burst into cheers.