King Dedede slammed his hammer into Meta Knight full force, sending him flying. He kicked up dust when he landed at the base of a hill. Their enemy taken care of, the Primid assault force marched on to claim the Halberd as theirs. Dedede stood silent as his eyes rested on the swordsman's unconscious form.

"Sorry about that." He muttered under his breath. "But Master Hand told me that the only way to set things right was to take you to Subspace, and that there was a chance you would resist. It's nothing personal, really."

Nearby, the Halberd's engines roared to life, but Dedede took little notice. Meta Knight hadn't turned into a trophy as Master hand said, since he was outmatched; fighting against an entire army. Dedede hoped he hadn't done anything serious to him.

Turning back, the ruler of Dream Land watched as the Halberd rose into the sky, its course set for some kind of floating stadium. It would carry out its mission there.

Dedede turned back to Meta Knight, lying motionless at the hill. He closed his eyes, hoping for his ally to come to at some point. A bunch of Waddle Dees approached him, ones Master Hand had summoned from Dedede's own world. They stared at him, awaiting further orders.

"Let's move out. Master Hand wants us to wrap up anyone we can find." He ordered. One of the Waddle Dees pointed at Meta Knight, making Dedede sigh. "He's not a trophy. Wasn't a fair fight for him. Those Primid guys really did a number on him. Leave him there. He'll come to and someone else will get him."

Slinging his hammer over his shoulder, Dedede hoisted himself on top of his palanquin. Four Waddle Dees hurried forward and lifted it up, carrying him as they all marched out of the plain…

…

Some time later, back in Subspace, Dedede awaited his next orders from Master Hand. Apparently, he did not show for some time, leaving Dedede puzzled. His Waddle Dees were a short distance away, eying him.

His patience running out, Dedede sighed and walked across the realm of blackness. Master Hand had better have a good reason for this…

"You may control my actions, Tabuu, but you will never control my opinion on things!"

Dedede stopped. That voice…was it Master Hand? And who was this Tabuu guy? He crept closer to the sound, trying his best to stay hidden.

"Your opinion is nothing to me." A blue figure spoke, positioned directly in front of Master Hand. The white glove seemed to be struggling. "You are merely a puppet, and I pull the strings. Once all worlds have entered Subspace, the multiverse will be mine to command."

Dedede gulped upon realizing everything. He had been played. And his player had been played, by this being. He needed a new plan… and fast!

Cries of panic and fear filled the empty space, prompting Tabuu to turn. "Ah, our first successful raid." Dedede looked to see multicolored dinosaurs (Yoshis, if he was correct) struggling against their Primid captors. A yellow one was kicked in the knees, causing it to collapse.

Alongside the Yoshis were various types of animals, mostly small and medium-sized ones. They, too, attempted to break free. A red lizard blasted fire at one Primid's face, making it shriek in pain and drop the lizard. It scrambled away, only for another Primid to shoot it to the ground.

The animals, which Dedede now knew to be Pokémon that didn't reach their final evolution stage, were brought forward with the Yoshis. Some Yoshis held their arms up in surrender, realizing they were prisoners. A Snivy lashed out with its tail, attempting to strike at its captor. An Oshawott squirmed around in a Primid's grip but found no chance of escape. One unconscious Primid was covered in electric burns, with its captured Pikachu surrounded by three Big Primids. Its ears dropped in fear as it whined.

"Now, Master Hand…" Tabuu began. "Allow me to demonstrate my full power. I call it… Off Waves." He curled himself inwards, glowing with ethereal energy. The Pokémon and Yoshi captives stopped resisting against the Primids, gazing in awe. Two curved majestic, butterfly-like wings unfurled from Tabuu's back. His glowing body reached its maximum point… and Tabuu unleashed it.

Three red circular shockwaves were released from Tabuu, expanding greatly. As they passed over the Yoshis and Pokémon, screams of terror filled Dedede's ears. The captives flashed brightly…

…and collapsed to the ground as inanimate trophies.

Being a safe distance away, Dedede was spared from the attack. The Primids, being incarnations of Shadow Bugs, were also unaffected. Tabuu turned back to Master Hand as his wings vanished. "Do you see it now? I can defeat all of my enemies in just a single instant with this move. I am unstoppable, and not even you can deny me. As I said before, you are completely mine."

Dedede's eyes bulged and his jaw flew to the ground in shock. Thinking fast, he rushed off to his Waddle Dees as fast as he could.

"Waddle Dees!" he panted as he approached them. "There's been a change of plans! Get a portal open now!"

…

Hours later, Dedede had stumbled across a ruined castle while he and his Waddle Dees were trekking across the land. He decided to make it a headquarters in this world. It wasn't like his castle back in his world, but it would have to do.

Dedede paced down the castle's corridor, thinking all the while. That Tabuu guy's got an attack that can turn anyone into trophies. He pondered. And Master Hand's been telling me, Wario, Bowser and Ganondorf to hunt down these so-called "Smashers" and take them to Subspace. And Tabuu wants each and every dimension to enter Subspace by use of these Subspace Bombs. So… the only way the Smashers can get an advantage is…

He stopped, an idea forming. …is something to counter the effects of the Off Waves! Oh, Dedede, you're a genius! He rushed down the corridor to a secluded room, where a lone desk rested.

Dedede brushed the dust off and started his plan. I need to make something that can revive a trophy manually, rather than someone just walking up and touching it. And for the device to be tested, I'm gonna have to steal some trophies or do some hunting myself.

He grabbed a nearby pencil and paper, his brain still processing something. But what exactly will that device be?

He continued thinking for some time before he finally got it. That's it! Sketching out his idea, Dedede drew a small circle with his face on it. After the drawing was finished, he instantly thought up of the perfect name.

"Self-reviving device: Dedede Brooch." He stated triumphantly as he wrote the name below the drawing. Now comes the hard part: What I'm gonna need to make these. I've gotta make as many of them as I can before Tabuu's plan gets too far.

And then there's the Smashers. They're probably gonna think I'm working with the Subspace Army at first, but they'll know. Now… time to go to work!

Exiting the room with his drawing, Dedede entered the castle's throne room, where Waddle Dees stood at attention. One of their first tasks upon finding the castle was to restore it as best they could. But that order will have to wait.

"Waddle Dees!" Dedede announced. "Restorations need to be put on hold for a while. We've got some serious business ahead of us! I'm talking about a full-scale invasion!"

As the Waddle Dees looked at each other in confusion, Dedede continued. "You see, there's this Tabuu guy who can turn anyone in this world into a trophy with just a single move. He calls it 'Off Waves'. And if we're gonna stop this world from being consumed by Subspace, we need something to fight back against it. And I've got just the thing in mind!"

He held up his drawing for everyone to see. "Behold, the Dedede Brooch! We're gonna need as many of these as we can! Now, I want some of you to venture into the caves and find me some gold ore to craft these things out of! I want the rest of you to find an energy source powerful enough to counter the Off Waves' effects! Look high, look low and everywhere in between! Got it?"

The Waddle Dees nodded.

"Good! Now move out! We've got a lotta work to do!" Dedede shouted, pointing for the main entrance. As the Waddle Dees charged out of the castle to begin their search, Dedede smiled. The Subspace Army would meet their match soon enough…