The group's journey led them to an ancient temple of some kind, which automatically opened for them as they approached. Mario took point, leading everyone inside the dark hallways. Summoning flame from his right palm, Mario held his hand out like a torch, guiding the other seven through a series of hallways. On the hallways' walls were…
Mario's eyes widened when he saw an 8-bit version of himself on the wall, jumping towards a green reptilian figure. His first battle with Bowser. Puzzled, he kept moving. There were others like that one. An 8-bit swordsman battling monsters, a red-white sphere with a button that intrigued the yellow creature, a floating puffball that the pink creature recognized, a spaceship that caught Fox's attention, an ape rolling barrels, a green dinosaur with Mario on its back and an 8-bit version of Samus fighting a strange dragon-like monster. Upon seeing this, Samus narrowed her eyes at it before turning away.
The hall ended in a large chamber with an empty pedestal in the center. Everyone piled into the chamber as Mario strode towards the pedestal, which held the same circle symbol as the ones on the banners. With his other hand, he touched the symbol, brushing some dust off. The moment he did so, the lines intersecting in the symbol suddenly lit up a bright blue, surprising everyone.
The chamber lit up and Mario extinguished the fire on his hand. Blue lights flooded the chamber and the pedestal opened, revealing a sphere with the same circular symbol. When the chamber was fully lit, a deep voice boomed out from the sphere.
"Welcome… to the world of SUPER SMMAAAAAAAASSSHHH BROTHEEEEEERRRRRRRRSSSSS!" Everyone covered their ears at the loud voice. "CONGRATULATIONS! You have been selected to participate in the greatest fighting tournament the multiverse has ever known!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Fox yelled out, waving both hands. "First off, we've got questions! What is this place? What fighting tournament? And who the heck are you supposed to be?"
"Ah, questions!" the sphere boomed again. "Allow me to properly explain." The sphere glowed, making the chamber fill with blurry images the group couldn't make out. "You have been chosen because of your unique talents and abilities that make you all heroes. But first, allow me to introduce you all."
The sphere shone a light on Mario and the images cleared up, revealing… footage from all of Mario's past adventures: his first journey through the Mushroom Kingdom, his kart races and sports tournaments, his time with the F.L.U.D.D., his adventures in space, his adventures with his brother, the time he met Cappy… everything.
"MARIO! Hero of the Mushroom Kingdom and legend to all in his world!" The sphere announced with pride as the images of the plumber's adventure continued before fading away into blurriness again. The light moved from him to the swordsman as the moving images came into focus again, depicting the swordsman fighting monsters and embarking on various quests to defeat a dark warlord.
"LINK! Wielder of the Triforce of Courage, hero of Hyrule and bane of darkness and the warlock Ganondorf!" The sphere announced again as Link stared at it in shock. The moving images blurred and changed again as the light moved to the yellow creature. This time, the images showed footage of the yellow creature fighting off other strange animals with lightning and electric attacks, all while a person with a blue jacket and a red hat shouted out commands.
"PIKACHU! The best-known Electric-type Pokémon and able to conjure lightning in battle while quick on his feet!" "Pika! Pika!" Pikachu shouted, joyful to see his trainer again along with the adventures he had been through. The images blurred again, bringing Pikachu's happiness to an end. As his ears drooped in sadness, the light moved onto the pink puffball next to it.
"KIRBY! Protector of Dream Land and resident of the planet Popstar, able to replicate the abilities of any foe he inhales through his mouth!" Kirby stared at the footage in awe, seeing his fights with King Dedede and Meta Knight, along with Magolor, himself made out of yarn, the Robobot armor and the foes he turned into friends. The light moved on, now covering the green dinosaur called Yoshi.
"YOSHI! Faithful ally to Mario and able to turn anything he devours with his tongue into spotted eggs!" Hearing this, Yoshi leapt upward and flutter-jumped with pride before spreading his arms. The light moved away again, this time covering DK entirely.
"DONKEY KONG! King of the jungle and extremely protective of his banana hoard, using his immense strength to outfight anything he comes across!" DK pounded his chest and gave the sphere a thumbs-up while smiling. The light moved away and shone on Fox, who held up an arm to shield his eyes.
"FOX! Leader of Star Fox and savior of the Lylat System, vanquisher of the mad scientist Andross and restoring peace on the planet Corneria!" "Whoa…" Fox whispered as he took in the sight of his Arwing gracefully dodging laser fire and spacecraft exploding to pieces from the ship's green lasers. Finally, the beam moved to Samus, who stared at the sphere in wonder.
"SAMUS! Raised by the Chozo race, well-trusted ally to the Galactic Federation, Metroid exterminator and bane to the scheming Space Pirates!" Samus was utterly speechless as memories were displayed all around her: her skirmishes with Ridley, battles with Space Pirates and the little Metroid who bonded with her… and gave its life for her.
The light vanished and the images blinked away as the sphere focused on them. It leaned towards them. "As for me, you may call me… THE ANNOUNCER! My role is to direct the upcoming battles you will find yourselves in. Although what you see before you is not my true state, but rather how I am communicating with you right now. I cannot speak to you in person until some point in the future."
"And what about those crystals that sent us here?" Samus asked the sphere. "What's their story?"
The sphere glanced downward slightly, as if hesitating. Turning back to Samus, it spoke again. "Those crystals are a source of incredible power, but I'm afraid you are not yet ready to know their true purpose. But the time will come."
Fox raised a hand, prompting the sphere to turn to him. "Earlier, you mentioned a 'multiverse'. So, does that mean there are other universes than our own? Will people from those universes be coming here?"
"Eventually, but I have received no signs of worthiness from those universes. But in time, new challengers will approach to face you, the Fateful Eight, in Smash. Now for the reason you have been brought here…"
The sphere levitated into the air and spun around, revealing numerous locations as arenas and items meant for battle. "The Super Smash Brothers tournament is meant to pit your skills against one another in a challenge to rise to the top. Worlds will collide and heroes will battle for dominance with one goal: to become the greatest warrior in the multiverse!"
"So… when do we get started?" Samus asked. The sphere glowed brightly in response. "There is just one more thing before you get started. Four more champions have arrived in this world. I will bring them to this temple. You must stay here until they arrive. Then… the games will begin."