(VG Central; Megamix Dome)
The sun was shining down on the bustling metropolis that was VG Central, a huge city-node found in the middle of every other node in existence. It was mainly used as a meeting place for people from different nodes to get together during off-time.
Somewhere in the middle of VG Central was a huge hotel-like structure that towered over everything around it. Attached to the hotel and about half as tall was what looked like a dome of some kind, which was still taller than a lot of the buildings around it.
By now, people knew what the dome was: It was the home of the Megamix Tournament, a huge tournament that brought hundreds of characters together for a massive tournament. The tournament had gone on for two years now and had seen two different champions. The host and owner of the tournament had recently decided to start things up again and have a third tournament, hoping to improve on the success of the previous one.
The lobby of the building was large, and served as the main connector between the dome and hotel. There were two sets of doors on the far wall, one set leading to the dome and the other to the hotel, with the receptionist's desk sitting in between.
Standing in the lobby of the hotel portion of the dome was a tall man with blonde hair, sideburns and a mustache. He appeared to be waiting for someone and was sitting in one of the chairs off in the corner of the lobby.
This was SSBFreak, the main host and owner of the tournament. Despite keeping himself busy in the year since the second tournament ended, he had started making preparations for the third as soon as he could.
The blonde man remained silent as he waited for the person he was waiting for. Suddenly hearing the door to the hotel open, SSBFreak stood up to see who had come in.
Standing in the doorway was a dark-skinned teenager with black hair and glasses. He looked around. "Boy. This place hasn't changed a bit since last year." He said.
"Hey, Tiny. Glad to see you could make it." SSBFreak said as he stood up.
This was Tinyrocket, one of SSBFreak's friends and a host from the last tournament. After getting the invitation to come back and host again, Tinyrocket was quick to accept and was soon on his way to VG Central.
"You think I'd pass up the chance to do this again?" Tinyrocket asked as he and SSBFreak shook hands. "I came as soon as I could."
"You didn't run into any hindrances on the way here, did you?"
"Well, a bunch of Goombas got into a fistfight with some Rabbids back on Main Street, but what else is new?" Tinyrocket shrugged.
"Goombas don't have fists."
"I know. It looked really weird." Tinyrocket said. "So what's new this year? Did I beat Unknown1 here or something?"
"Actually, Unknown1 declined the invitation." SSBFreak said.
"Seriously? Why?"
"I'll get to that. I had to get a third announcer, and thankfully, he wasn't that hard to get ahold of since I decided that I wasn't doing any fan-fighters this year." SSBFreak said. "He should be here by now."
"Man. I had no idea Goombas could fistfight like that."
The two turned and saw a new figure enter the hotel. They saw that he had brown hair and was wearing a blue shirt. Even though this was his first year as an announcer, he was no stranger to the dome.
"Hey, Blazeman. Glad to see you could make it." SSBFreak said as he walked over.
"Blazeman? Isn't he that Mystery Fighter from the first tournament?" Tinyrocket asked.
"That's right. Like I said, when I knew that I wouldn't be doing fan-fighters this time, Blazeman was one of my first choices for an announcer." SSBFreak said.
"I'd probably be watching from the stands anyway if I wasn't announcing." Blazeman shrugged. "But seriously, thanks for the opportunity, man. I've always wondered what announcing something like this would be like."
"No sweat, man. Always a pleasure to have you." SSBFreak nodded.
"Out of curiosity, what's the Security Force like this year?" Tinyrocket asked. "Anyone returning?"
"We managed to get two returnees this year. This is also one of the main reasons Unknown1 didn't want to come back." SSBFreak said.
"…Wait. You mean-"
"Oh, sugar! Doot-doot-doot-doot-doot-doot!"
"Oh, honey-honey! Doot-doot-doot-doot-doot-doot!"
The three turned around and saw several figures walking into the lobby. A familiar man with tattoos and dreadlocks and a familiar rabbit were leading the pack, singing and dancing.
"Psymon Stark and Max?" Tinyrocket asked.
"Seriously. This is the third tournament you've done, man." Blazeman said to Psymon. "Don't you have a LIFE or something?"
"Let's see…Life…Life…" Psymon said before smiling. "Nope!"
"This reminds me of that time Sam and I had to clear a hotel of deranged terrorist penguins while armed with nothing but a potato peeler and a roll of duct tape! Man! Penguins were heard screaming for hours after we arrived on the scene!" Max laughed.
"Well, they were indeed an effective duo." Tinyrocket noted. "So who else is there?"
"Well, Gumshoe made the recommendation of Maggey Byrde, and she was eager to come here to show what she could do." SSBFreak said. A short, dark-haired girl in a police uniform gave a smiling salute.
"I'll do what I can to maintain the peace here, sirs!" Maggey said determinedly.
Next was a tall man with short hair, also wearing a police uniform but looking more like riot gear, complete with a blue cap. "When I saw how much of an improvement he made on himself in the latest Mortal Kombat, I knew that Kurtis Stryker was a must."
Like Maggey, Stryker gave a salute, although his was more-refined. "I appreciate the trust you have in me. I'll do my best." He said.
Next to Stryker was a bulky man wearing a green shirt and red bandana. He looked almost like a pirate. "That's Gonzo, a strongman and one of the main members of Tetra's prate crew in the Legend of Zelda." SSBFreak said.
Gonzo folded his arms. "I doubt that there will be any major issues in the tournament." He admitted.
"You don't know this tournament very well, do you?" Psymon asked with a teasing smirk. Max was seen waving what looked like a script around.
Suddenly, a small man with sideburns and buckteeth appeared from behind Gonzo's shoulder. He wore a striped shirt and a blue bandana. "No, he doesn't. He don't listen to reason, this guy." The small pirate laughed.
SSBFreak did a double-take. "Niko? Where the heck did you come from?" He asked.
"Who's he?" Blazeman asked.
"Another of Tetra's pirates." SSBFreak said. "I don't recall inviting you onto the Security Force, Niko."
"I know. I just hitched a ride. You don't mind, do you?" Niko said.
SSBFreak sighed. "Fine. Just don't get in anyone's way." He said.
The last person was a teenage girl of average height. She had a ponytail and was wearing a backpack shaped like a teddy bear. She looked pretty uninterested. "And finally, that's Jo-Beth Casey, from Timesplitters. Believe me, when it comes to tough-as-nails fighters with attitude and ability, you don't get much better than her." SSBFreak said.
"Whatever." Jo-Beth said. "There won't be any zombies, will there?"
"Not that I know of."
"Well, six members this years." Tinyrocket noted.
"Seven." Niko piped in.
"…SIX members this year." Tinyrocket continued. "I think that's pretty good."
"I assume that you've sent the invitations to the fighters?" Blazeman asked SSBFreak.
"Yep. I got it all covered. They should be getting them by now." SSBFreak replied.
(Secluded Training Ground)
A familiar white-clad young man stood alone near a waterfall, sitting on a rock and in deep meditation. The water from the waterfall was the only sound being heard in the area, and it was helping to clear the young man's mind.
Ryu's eyes opened from the meditation as he glanced down at the invitation in his hand. He had gone to both of the previous tournaments in the past and he hadn't done as well as he would have liked. However, he had spent the majority of the past year training to prepare himself for the challenges ahead.
Over the past year, Ryu had also run into many challenging obstacles. Not only did he have to fight Bison and Akuma again, but now Seth had entered the picture as well. Not only that, but now his master Gouken was back in action and proving to Ryu that he needed more training.
"This tournament may be just what I need." Ryu said. "I need to prepare myself for the unexpected and this tournament will offer just that."
Ryu wasn't stupid. He knew that most, if not all, of the people from his node would also be getting invitations and he would likely run into them at the tournament. While he would look forward to seeing some, he told himself to be wary of others.
"Maybe Sakura has improved since last year." Ryu pondered. "She'll likely want to spar, but seeing as how she's the reigning champion, she may not let me back down…"
(Pao Pao Café)
The trio of Terry Bogard, his brother Andy and Joe Higashi sat at a corner table inside the lively club. They each fingered an invitation, showing that they had been invited to the Megamix Tournament again.
"So what do you guys think we'll expect?" Terry asked. "More of the same?"
"I hope not. The first year, I got pulled into this big plot Bison was doing and I had to save Lilly from a brainwashed Geese." Joe moaned. "I don't wanna go through that again."
"And I was pulled into a plot last year." A new voice said.
The trio looked and saw Blue Mary coming over, also holding an invitation. "So you got an invite as well, Mary?" Terry asked.
"Yeah. And I'm with KOF this time instead of Fatal Fury." Blue Mary explained. "The host is dropping the Fatal Fury node and a few of us are entering as KOF contestants."
"I guess that means Billy and Yamazaki are coming as well?" Andy folded his arms.
"So am I, man!" Another voice said. The group turned and saw Duck King bounding over with P-Chan, his pet duck, following behind. "Boy! We're gonna clean UP at the tournament!"
"Glad to see that you're sticking around Duck." Terry said with a smirk. "You think you can keep up with us this year?"
"Hey, dude. I eliminated SOLID SNAKE last year." Duck teased. "I don't think you should be throwing stones about keeping up."
"BRO! You got BURNED!" Joe laughed.
Andy couldn't help but chuckle as well. "You have to admit, that was a pretty good shot." He said.
Terry lowered the brim of his hat over his eyes in shame.
(X Mansion)
"We got invited back to this tournament thing?" Wolverine asked as he fingered the invitation in his hand.
"It would seem so. I want all of you be careful at this tournament." Professor X said as he wheeled around the four X-Men that had received invitations: Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm and Jubilee. "There is a high likelihood that Magneto and some of his followers were invited as well."
"We can count on support from the other heroes there, right?' Cyclops asked. "Didn't Cap call not too long ago?"
"Indeed. He also received an invite, as did some of the other Avengers." Professor X nodded. "However, we can also assume that some of the other villains were also invited. We won't know who until we get there."
"They aren't bringing us to the dome in the same train?" Storm asked, slightly surprised.
"No. There is far too much friction between good and evil in this case. The owner doesn't want any violence that will impede performance in the ring."
Wolverine leaned against the wall and folded his arms. "Works for me just as well, bub. If Sabretooth got an invite, I wanna make sure I'm ready for him."
"Man. You guys and your deep-rooted hatred for each other." Cyclops shook his head. "It's like two kids fighting over the last quarter at the arcade."
"Watch your mouth, pal. We don't want any 'unneeded violence' happening on our own train, do we?" Wolverine challenged as the claws on his left arm emerged from his knuckles.
"Logan, control your anger and focus it on the one that deserves it when you arrive." Professor X instructed. "If Magneto wins, it could spell disaster for mankind with how strong he may become."
"Like I can do much to hurt him in and arena." Wolverine rolled his eyes. "That creep could bend me like a pretzel."
(WVBA)
"Ah! The sweet smell of victory!" Super Macho Man laughed as he waved an invite around.
"You haven't won yet, buddy." Bear Hugger pointed out. "Heck, we ain't even started yet."
"Doesn't change a thing. I'll wipe the floor with everyone else there, including all of you!"
The other boxers tried their best to block out Super Macho Man's gloats of easy victory as they inspected their invitations. All in all, each of them had received invites to this tournament and they were having mixed reactions about this. Some were excited and confident, while others were unsure of their chances and remained hopeful that they would get a good draw.
Little Mac was looking at his invite when Doc Louis came over. "Mac, baby! You got this in the bag!" He said. "If you can topple guys like Macho and Sandman, imagine how easily some of these other fighters will go down!"
"Doc, a lot of these fighters are also capable of feats none of us can do." Little Mac pointed out. "Heck, a lot of them can throw fireballs."
"Don't let that discourage you, boy. You've got more determination that all of these other boxers put together." Doc said.
Little Mac smirked. "Well, except maybe Glass Joe." He said.
"Yeah. No one's more determined than he is." Doc Louis said with a laugh.
Glass Joe, standing to the side, had heard the exchange and glanced at the invite in his hands.
"What am I getting myself into?" Glass Joe thought as he sighed.
(VG Central; Megamix Dome)
"Anything else we need to know about?" Blazeman asked.
"Not much else other than a few minor additions to a few nodes." SSBFreak shrugged. "I decided to remove the Fatal Fury node altogether and merge some of the fighters with KOF."
"Makes sense, since more people know about KOF." Tinyrocket shrugged. "I also noticed that you're bringing back the Marvel Comics node."
"Yep, and I also invited the DC Comics characters to make things just as interesting." SSBFreak nodded. "I…Think that covers most of it."
"So when does the tournament start?" Tinyrocket asked.
"A few days. We need to make sure all of the fighters get here before we begin, and that means there's going to be a lot of counting: Over 370 fighters, not counting Mystery Fighters." SSBFreak said.
"Whoa! 370?"
"How the heck are we going to get the whole thing done in a single night?" Blazeman asked.
"We'll figure out a way." SSBFreak explained. "Now, I say we start making preparations. The first couple of nodes should be arriving shortly and we need to make sure their rooms in the hotel are prepared."
The three hosts walked off, going through the doors leading to the hotel portion of the large building. After preparations were done, the third Megamix Tournament would begin…