Extra Chapter 9: Understanding Situation

It's a rather quiet day in the Nintendo megaverse. In every universe in it, white flowers are planted at nearly every location – in front of houses, at parks, at well-known location or landmarks, etc. The Smash world is no different. In fact, it's nearly empty, as most people there have temporarily gone back to their home universes, even the third-parties.

The only known exception there is King Dedede, as he's tasked to remain in Smash world just so it won't be too lifeless. He's The Great Creator's right-hand man, after all.

At first, he was confused at what's going on. He was overslept after eating too much food during dinner. But later, as more and more of his, well, pals, were leaving, Meta Knight told him one important thing that has to be taken seriously.

Satoru Iwata has passed away.

While he never got to actually meet him (apart from his Mii avatar), he actually felt as much sorrow as the others, video game character or real life people.

Right now, he's inside The Great Creator's Hall. Whether The Great Creator himself is there or not, Dedede still voices his sadness at the loss of a man who had helped many residents in the Nintendo megaverse.

"He helped you kickstarted Kirby's career... well, as well as mine. I can't believe that he had to leave so soon..."

It's silence as usual. But it's not clear now whether The Great Creator remains there or not.

"I don't know if you're still there, Sakurai, but..." Dedede gulped a bit, trying to keep his eyes from overflowing with tears.

"...I'm gonna admit, I can be a jerk at times, but I still can't help but feeling grateful. *sniff*"

After a long silence and thinking that The Great Creator might not be there after all, Dedede walks back in sadness and exits the hidden hall.

Once he's in the usual, Smash Castle corridor, a group of fighters approach him.

"Huh? Ness? Kirby? Pikachu? Pichu?! W-what are you doing here?" Dedede is surprised.

"Um... we would like to visit you. I think you're really lonely." the boy with the red cap replied.

"Yeah... thanks. But why are bringing Pichu with you? I thought..."

"For this time only, everyone who has been involved with the Smash tournaments, active fighter or not, is allowed to enter." Ness cut off what Dedede was trying to say.

"How did you know?"

"Master Hand, a.k.a. The Great Creator, told us before we went back here."

"I see. Um... other than that, what actually brings you here?"

"Pika, pika..." the Pikachu sadly pats the little Pichu's head. The latter is on the verge of crying.

Ness then tries to explain. "Well... Kirby is just as sad as you are, but you're obviously not alone."

"Alright... but why is it really important for you to tell me? Just to cheer me up?"

"Other than helping out you two, as well as the others from your universe, he helped me. Wait, not just me, but everyone in my universe. Especially the EarthBound universe where I made my debut. Without him, I wouldn't even exist. Not even my own Great Creator would help us survive at that point."

Dedede simply nods without any clear emotion. He's actually surprised that Ness and the universe he resides in would be doomed before it even properly exists if Iwata didn't help out.

"Now, about Pikachu and Pichu, though specifically about Pichu. While they're not too major, they're actually grateful that the world in Pichu's generation was really wide for the time compared to their expectations. Without his help, the world might as well be just half-done. And I can't imagine seeing that."

"I see." Dedede said.

"One more thing, we hadn't realized until recently that the same person also helped out with our very first Smash tournament as well as the second one. Isn't that right, you three?" Ness looks at Kirby, Pikachu and Pichu.

The three simply nod.

"Wow. He really was notable for helping many of us. Sure, we can thank this world's creator for everything related to Smash tournaments, but..." Dedede said in regret.

"No need to say that. It's just that we really expect Smash-related stuff coming from The Great Creator of this world that caused us to often forget that there are other people too. And once again, keep in mind there are more people who had received Mr. Iwata's help, not just us."

Dedede sighs a bit, then says, "Understandable."

"While he did have many glaring flaws, as no one is perfect, I still respect him highly... Thank you, Iwata." Dedede thought.

Author's Note: RIP Satoru Iwata (1959-2015). You will be dearly missed.