A/N: Yes! I can finally get on to actually telling the story! Trying to make an entire chapter just containing one character's thoughts is exhausting. Now it's less exposition time and more story time. If you see any grammatical errors, inconsistencies, plot holes, or anything that could use a rewrite, please let me know. Enjoy!

Ever woken up with the sun in your eyes? Not the best feeling in the world. Ever felt like your feet are freezing? Also very uncomfortable. Has your aching body ever become so stiff that you can hear a creaking noise when you move your knees? I could hear it from my elbows.

I woke up today feeling like slime, and was immediately greeted by open blinds, my blanket not covering my feet, and the results of my exertion in the competition yesterday. I quickly brush my teeth, eat breakfast, and go back to bed. I was way too broken to do anything today.

And I didn't. I did, almost literally, nothing for the rest of the day. I played a bit of Smash Bros, but other than that, nothing exciting happened.

You're welcome to skip this part of my day, if you want.

Fast forward to around nine pm, I'm getting ready to head out. I had previously bought a smart camera to set up in my house just in case someone did break in. I checked to see if it worked, and sure enough, I could see myself in the living room just fine. I packed up my switch, some spare clothes, and bathroom supplies before I left. I decided to leave earlier to stakeout the location before I met up with whoever was picking me up. "If someone even is going to." I lock my front door behind me, head to my car, and start the drive to the meeting spot.

More than half an hour later, I'm sitting in my car, in front of what looks like an abandoned parking lot. As I look at the security footage from the camera, my mind starts wandering towards the invitation. Why would they choose me? The letter said that I was chosen because of my skills and abilities, but I'm just a normal person. It said that I'll be in 5th tournament, which should be Smash Bros Ultimate. Am I gonna be a Mii Brawler? It makes sense since I'm a fighter, but then I'll have to turn into a Mii, and I don't want to look like some weird bobble head doll or-

My phone starts ringing. Alarm for 9:59. I sit up and start looking around the parking lot. What should I expect? Some big shiny portal appearing out of nowhere? A warp pipe coming out of the ground? It said I'm being picked up, right? Maybe I'm going up in a spaceship or something. Maybe Samus or Fox will come and pick me up. No, that wouldn't make sense. Now that I think about it, who's gonna pick me up? I mean, if anyone does. It's already 10 o'clock, and nothing's happened yet. I start looking for my car keys to leave when suddenly, I see something bright move in the parking lot. I look up to see a someone in a pink sweater looking around. My heart stops.

"This is real. This is actually, really happening. Oh my god that's Little Mac. In real life."

It actually makes sense to see Little Mac over here. He's a professional fighter like me, and lives around this time period, I think. He looks down impatiently at what looks like his watch. I can't believe it. That is definitely him. I quickly grab my bag and leave, walking semi-cautiously towards him. He notices me and starts walking over with his gloves in his hoodie. "$?" he asks in a low voice. "Yeah, that's me." "Invitation?" I hand it over. After a quick check, he hands it back. "Everything checks out. Welcome to Smash Bros! Name's Little Mac." He points to himself with his thumb. "I'll be showing you around the mansion. But first things first, we gotta pay a little visit to Master Hand. Follow me." He then proceeds to walk forwards and disappear right before my eyes.

"This is going way, way too fast." I thought, utterly speechless.

I closed my eyes, smacked myself on the cheek, and found myself in the same place as before. Not dreaming. Little Mac pops his head back into existence, probably because he heard me smack myself. "First time jitters eh?" he asks with a smile. "I remember my first time. It'll get better once you've already spent a day. Come on." I swallowed up my anxiety, pulled myself together, and anxiously walked in behind him.

I was greeted with the most beautiful sight I've ever seen.

Beautiful green grass, perfectly cut under my feet. Huge, rolling hills in the distance. Clear, blue skies, almost cloudless above my head. I looked around and admired the scenery around me. I could see a huge waterfall, showering water over a beautiful lake underneath. I could see a forest behind it, stretching out around the entire clearing. In the distance I saw a mountain range, over viewing the entire area.

I took a breath of fresh air.

"How do you like it so far?" Little Mac asked me after a minute had gone by. "It's amazing" I breathed out. He smirked. "Wait till we get inside." He started walking ahead towards the towering mansion that stood in front of me. It was massive; the three huge floors probably had 50 rooms each. It looked like a hotel that wasn't exactly from the 21st century, but it still looked amazing either way. He walks up to the huge double doors in the front, opens one of them up, and gestures me inside. I walk in and see what was probably supposed to be the main lounge, however, what I saw before was befitting of another name.

A war zone.

The entire lounge was a mess. Flipped couches and tables were being propped up as shields. The pillows and cushions, scattered around everywhere on the floor. Tons and tons of blue and orange paint covering everything in the room. To my left, I saw the inkling girl throw out a splat bomb towards the opposite side, as well as Lucas doing chest compressions on an unconscious-looking Ness. To my right, I saw the inkling boy refueling his ink, a scared Nana hiding behind a coffee table, and Popo trying to get his paint blaster in the battlefield. As soon as the kids noticed us, the trench warfare stopped. Ness opened his eyes to see what was going on. Everyone was quiet. All of my instincts told me not to move. No one did or said anything at all.

Suddenly, Bowser Jr. jumps out of nowhere and splashes us with paint from his magic paintbrush. Everyone starts yelling. Both sides start spraying at us, ignoring each other and focusing all of their energy on the two unsuspecting victims. "RUN!" Little Mac yells to me, trying to make it to the door. I start running right behind him when suddenly, something grabs me by the back of my shirt and starts pulling me towards a flipped coffee table. As I got dropped off, I saw Toon Link cautiously looking around for anyone who might jump out at us, shield at the ready.

"You run, I'll cover you." He says seriously. "Go!"

I start making a mad dash towards the door, not caring about what just happened or what was going on around me. Luckily, the war had already turned into a free-for-all by now, so we weren't targeted as much. As I was running, Toon Link stayed by my side with his shield up, blocking any stray paint from reaching me. When we finally reached the door to the hallway, we quickly ran out and slammed the door shut behind us. A very paint-soaked Little Mac was angrily waiting for us outside.

"They got paint on my favorite hoodie!" He yelled. "Why I oughta beat the hell out of those kids for ruining my hoodie!" He started storming off, yelling something about why the kids shouldn't even be here messing around in the first place. I turn around and address Toon Link. "Thanks for the help, uh-" "Toon Link. But you can just call me Toon." He responds. I decide to play around for a bit and ask, "Why Toon? If you ask me, Link would be a way better nickname." He replies with a little bit of nervousness, "It's because, um, there are more Links around here. You'll get what I mean later." "Okay then, one question," I ask. "How did you pick me up and drag me over to that table?" Excitement starts lighting up his face. "Oh you mean this?" He eagerly pulls out his hookshot. "This is a hookshot. I can shoot it at something and it will pull whatever it is to me. Like this." He then proceeds to shoot it at a vase, causing it to break and scatter all over the floor. "Whoops..."

"Cmon, $! We're gonna be late to Master Hand's office!" Little Mac shouts. "Coming!" I turn to Toon Link. "Well, thanks again for saving me, Toon." He smiles. "Anytime, uh, $ right?" "Yeah." Having said my goodbyes, I turn around and follow Little Mac to Master Hand's office.

"Sorry about that mess." He apologized. "The rest of us aren't usually that chaotic." "It's okay," I reassured him. "I'm used to this kind of chaos. It's part of the job, isn't it?" He smiles. "Yeah, things in here can get kind of crazy. Now, if I'm not wrong, then that should be his office right there" He announced while looking ahead. I immediately spotted a door with a plaque reading "Master Hand's Office". "Yup this is the place." He stated, reading it right before I did. He proceeded to knock on the door and wait a little bit. The door opens up and he motions for me to go in.

"After you."

A/N: 1700+ words! Making progress! I might have gotten lazy at the beginning, but whatever. We are finally in! Before we start any actual fighting, would you guys prefer if I say the moves as a commentator (forward air, neutral special, down tilt, etc.), or would you guys prefer if I described their actions instead?