AN: Alright, so from this point onward we'll be dealing with multiple different characters from multiple franchises. I've decided to give up on the spoiler tag at the beginning of each chapter, and I'll instead just warn you that the following chapters may contain spoilers for nearly every single franchise featured in Sm4sh. I figured it was a bit easier that way.

~Chapter Twenty-Six: Primary Colour Crew, Assemble!~

The rest of the Olympics passed by without incident. Slowly the members of Team Sonic began to forgive their leader, and by the end it was like nothing had ever changed between any of them. Well, Shadow was still a little bit pissed, but when wasn't he? Standing at the teleporters Sonic quickly hugged Tails before letting him go, looking him straight in the eye.

"Now, y'know what to do if Eggman happens to attack, right?"

Tails nodded. "Of course! And if we need extra help... I can transport Blaze over in an instant. Marine too!"

Sonic grinned and ruffled Tails' bangs. "Of course you'd wanna see Marine again," he teased, causing Tails to turn red.

"Sonic!" he cried, Sonic chuckling at the reaction he got.

"Aw, what's the matter buddy? A little shy, hm?"

"Shut up!" Tails squealed, shoving his big brother away in embarrassment. Sonic only laughed, before waving goodbye to his friends as they stepped into the teleporter. It felt strange that he wasn't going back with them this time, and Mario noticed how Sonic averted his eyes as the light enveloped the machine. Turning his head he found his own friends saying goodbye to Waluigi and Daisy, Peach and Luigi lamenting on how they wished Daisy would be coming with them. Waluigi meanwhile eyed Sonic distastefully, wondering how a blue rat had managed to get into the fabled Smash Mansion and not himself. He momentarily wondered if he could... "dispose of"... Sonic and sneak into the mansion wearing a Sonic costume.

...Probably not. Letting out a dejected "Wah..." he slunk into the teleporter with Daisy, who inched away from him thanks to past experiences with him. Mario patted Luigi's arm consolingly as the younger brother glanced away, trying not to let tears form in his eyes over being separated from Daisy once again.

With another whir and flash the Mushroom Kingdom and Sarasaland residents were gone as well, and the Mii tapped a few keys on her keyboard, readying the teleporter again.

"Well that's a new location..." she murmured to herself before motioning the soon-to-be Smashers inside the teleporter. "Alright guys, have fun... wherever you're going."

"Which is technically nowhere," Sonic muttered, Mario once again needing to bite his tongue in order to hold back his laughter. Sonic tilted his head towards Mario in amusement, Mario grinning right back. In a flash of light they were gone as well, all of them stepping out into the familiar lobby of the one in the void between dimensions.

"Ah good, you're all here!" the Mii exclaimed, grinning as the Smashers stepped out of the teleporter. "Kapp'n is waiting with the bus in order to bring you to the mansion, so have fun!"

One by one the Smashers filed out of the building and out into Smash Plaza, where they boarded the bus and were swiftly driven to the Smash Mansion. Well, swiftly for most of them, to Sonic it was still unbearably slow and he kept fidgeting, something that several of the other Smashers noticed. Thankfully the bus ride didn't take long at all, and soon enough they were back at the mansion for another round of beating each other up. As soon as the bus stopped Sonic immediately grabbed his bags and was the first one off of the bus, reveling in the fact that he was no longer confined. Mario was the next one off the bus, an eyebrow raised as he watched Sonic before shaking his head and heading in the direction of the mansion. Along the way he noticed several more new faces, some of which he vaguely recognized and others who he didn't. At some point Sonic had caught up with him, and they were casually chatting as they headed to the dormitories when a bullet whizzed between Sonic's ears, leaving a hole in the wall in front of them.

"Tch, so close," a new voice crooned, and Sonic's eyes went wide as he realized he recognized the voice. There was only one other person he knew besides Shadow who used a gun, and thickly swallowing he turned with a sheepish grin on his face.

"H-Hey Bayo. Didn't know you were here."

"Well, it seems someone recognized my talent, unlike you who wouldn't even invite me to go racing!" she threw back her head and let out a haughty laugh, before her gaze focused on Mario, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "And you must be the famous Mario. Bayonetta's the name, it's nice to meet you," she held her hand out for Mario to shake, and after a moments hesitation he did, looking between Sonic and Bayonetta.

"So... how do you two know each other?" Mario questioned, genuinely curious. Sonic laughed uncomfortably, running a hand through his quills.

"Uh... it's kinda a long story..."

"You boys better watch yourself on the battlefield. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go find that darling little angel."

With that she sauntered away, Mario blinking several times before turning to Sonic. "You sure do have some... interesting friends."

"I wouldn't necessarily call her a 'friend', an' from the sounds of it she's already terrorizing Pit," Sonic facepalmed, groaning. "She hunts angels an' demons, though I'm sure Master Hand won't let her harm another Smasher," he turned towards the still smouldering hole in the wall and grimaced. "Though that says otherwise."

"I didn't know you went racing," Mario admitted, continuing towards the dormitories with Sonic in tow. "I didn't even know you had a car; I figured you wouldn't need one with how fast you naturally are. Wouldn't it just be easier to race on foot?"

"Then that would be no fun!" Sonic protested. "Is it really that hard to believe that I like fair competition? You of all people should know that."

"True," Mario sighed, pushing open the door that led to the dormitories. As soon as they were outside the laughs of Toon Link, Ness and Lucas rang through the air as they played with eight unfamiliar looking children, all of them pausing in their activities as soon as they spotted the duo. One of the new children - a little girl who looked no more than six with pink hair - hurried up to Sonic with her eyes wide.

"Are you related to the Able Sisters?" she asked in a slight lisp thanks to missing a couple of teeth, Sonic being somewhat taken aback by her question.

"Uh..."

"That's Sonic the Hedgehog, Rose!" Toon Link exclaimed, addressing the girl by name. Rose giggled, gazing up at Sonic with adoration.

"You look so much like Mable, Sable and Label," she whispered in awe. "Will you be my friend? Will you come back to the Animal Forest with us?"

"So Kapp'n knows them," Mario mumbled while Sonic chuckled and ruffled Rose's hair.

"Aw kiddo, the Animal Forest is probably great, but I got things to do in my own world. But sure I'll be your friend!"

"Yay!" Rose cheered, bounding back over to her friends. "He said he'd be friends with us!"

"Don'tcha think they're a little too young to be Smashers?" Sonic whispered to Mario, who could only shrug.

"Master Hand must've had a reason to invite them here. He never invites someone here unless they have fighting potential. Though from what I've heard from Kapp'n, the Animal Forest is a peaceful place." he frowned, suddenly feeling a bit disturbed.

"They all have axes," Sonic whispered in horror as the eight newcomers brandished them, and while Toon Link and Ness seemed unfazed Lucas timidly hid behind Ness. "Nevermind what I said, let's get out of here."

"I'm sure the axes are just for chopping down trees," Mario started, before trailing off as he watched Rose and one of the other new children - a boy with a red shirt - swing their axes at each other as if having a swordfight. "I stand corrected apparently."

"Smash seems a little more... dysfunctional than last time." Sonic commented as him and Mario entered the dormitories. Mario raised an eyebrow.

"No, it's always been pretty dysfunctional, especially with Crazy Hand around. But I agree, it gets more hectic with each newcomer," he looked down at Sonic and smirked. "You should know that."

"Quiet, you."

"Mario! Sonic!"

The duo looked down the hallway and smiled as they saw Mega Man approaching, happily waving. A new Smasher trailed behind him, and at first neither Mario or Sonic knew who it was. It wasn't until they got closer did Mario's breath hitch and Sonic's eyes went wide.

"I made a new friend when you guys were gone!" Mega Man stated cheerfully. "Mario, Sonic, this is Pac-Man!"

"I can't believe it," Mario murmured, holding his hand out. "It's such an honor to meet you, Pac-Man."

Pac-Man made a few beeping sounds in response, Mega Man translating a moment later as, "It's an honor to meet you as well."

"Man, Master Hand is just full of surprises, isn't he?" Sonic spoke next, holding out his hand for Pac-Man to shake. "So you're the famous Pac-Man, huh? Great to meetcha too!"

"I was hoping the four of us could be really good friends," Mega Man murmured, glancing at the faces of his fellow Smashers. "I was hoping that if you two weren't busy... we could all get to know each other a bit better."

Sonic nudged Mario in the arm. "That sounds like what we did last tournament with Snake."

"Sì," Mario frowned upon hearing Snake's name. "Hey, has anyone by the name of Snake shown up at the mansion recently?"

"Or Red, for that matter," Sonic added.

Mega Man's eyes flashed, obviously checking his database before responding.

"No one by either of those names have shown up recently. I can tell you who has shown up recently though."

"No need," Mario stated. "We'll probably find out who is and isn't here soon enough."

"How 'bout me and Mar get settled into our rooms, an' we'll meet up in a hour in the games room, kay?" Sonic proposed, Mega Man and Pac-Man nodded.

"Sounds fun! See you guys then!" Mega Man happily chirped, wandering down the hallway with Pac-Man in tow.

"Wow... Pac-Man," Mario breathed as they stopped outside of his door. Pulling his key from his pocket he continued, "That's just incredible."

Sonic nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's totally awesome! Especially how Megs was able to befriend him so quickly," he looked down the hallway and clicked his tongue. "Anyway, I gotta head to my room an' unpack my things. See you in an hour!"

"With how ironically slow you are at unpacking, I highly doubt it!" Mario called after him. Sonic shot a glare over his shoulder, scoffing before continuing down the hallway with a hint of a smirk on his face.

/~/

As it turned out, Pac-Man was really easy to get along with. Mega Man translated his tales about how he'd run through the mazes collecting Power Pellets and fruits all while avoiding Pinky, Inky, Blinky and Clyde. Eventually though he'd settled down with his wife and had a child, something that shocked both Mario and Sonic. While they knew he had gotten married, they hadn't realized that he was a father as well.

When Pac-Man had finished telling of his adventures, Mega Man decided to share some of his stories of going toe-to-toe with Dr. Wily. Though the tales he seemed to enjoy telling the most were the ones when he was helping his father Dr. Light with his sister Roll and robot pets Rush and Beat. It wasn't that surprising though, Mega Man was initially designed as a housekeeping robot and volunteered to become a warrior after Dr. Wily had taken control of the Robot Masters. With this in mind it wasn't much of a surprise to learn that Mega Man disliked fighting, only accepting his invitation to Smash after some urging from Dr. Light.

Sonic decided to share his tales next, Mega Man being immensely impressed by how much the hedgehog had managed to do in such a short time span, while Pac-Man commended his athletic abilities.

Mario was last to share his adventures, though he didn't tell many, only the ones that really stuck out like the time he was forced to clean Isle Delfino after a misunderstanding and when the Shroob had invaded the Mushroom Kingdom. It was after this when Sonic snickered, the other three turning towards him curiously.

"Y'know, we should totally name ourselves something."

"Why?" Mario questioned, tilting his head.

"Well, 'cause we all get along so well, we should start a club or somethin'. An' every club needs a name, so what's it gonna be?"

"Hold up," Mario started, putting a hand up. "Who said that I wanted to be in a club with you?"

"I did." Sonic replied in a tone that indicated Mario really had no choice in the matter. Pac-Man gave Mega Man a questioning look, emitting a few low beeps only the robot could hear. Mega Man just shrugged in response, watching their two friends bicker with each other.

"But what if they don't want to join a club?!" Mario hissed, pointing at Mega Man and Pac-Man.

"Well let's find out," Sonic stated casually, looking over at them. "Hey guys, you wanna join a club with me and Mar?"

"For the record, I never actually said I'd join." Mario spoke up, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears as Mega Man pondered it for a moment, before nodding in confirmation.

"What about you, Pac?" Sonic questioned. Pac-Man considered it, before giving a thumbs-up.

"Great!" Sonic exclaimed, turning towards Mario. "Three against one, Mar, you're in this club whether you wanna be or not."

"Alright then," Mario sighed, Sonic smiling brightly.

"Okay, name time!" he clasped his hands together, eagerly looking at his new clubmates. "Anyone got any suggestions?"

"It should be something that represents all of us," Mega Man spoke. "Something unique to the four of us, and the four of us alone."

Pac-Man suddenly emitted a few beeps, Mario glancing over at him.

"What did he say?" Mario asked.

"Pac-Man suggested the name 'The Primary Colour Crew'." Mega Man translated, Sonic snickering at the title.

"That sounds so dumb," he started, before the largest grin spread across his face. "It's perfect! Now we just need a leader."

"Aren't you the leader?" Mario questioned, glancing over at Sonic. "After all, you're the one who wanted to start this club."

"No, I want you to be the leader, Mar."

The statement caught Mario by surprise, and for a moment he wondered if Sonic was joking. After all, they technically were still rivals and still liked to get the occasional rise out of the other. However after a few moments of silence, Mario realized Sonic was being sincere.

"Are you two alright with this?" he asked Mega Man and Pac-Man, who responded with a nod and thumbs-up, respectively. A short silence ensued before Mario laughed, placing his hand out in front of him.

"Then... I guess I should say 'Welcome to the club' or something like that."

Sonic chuckled, before rising from his seat and placing his hand atop Mario's. "That was so lame, o' great leader of ours."

Mario gave Sonic an exasperated look as Mega Man added his hand to the pile. Finally Pac-Man placed his hand on top of Mega Man's, and the newly form club grinned at each other, before removing their hands. Pac-Man began to speak, Mega Man translating as, "What's our first order of business, leader?"

Mario suddenly had three pairs of eyes on him, and he had a flashback of the first Smash tournament when he was elected as leader of the Smashers, with everyone looking to him not knowing what to do. It was a surreal moment, and it took a moment of thinking to realize what they could all do.

"How about a few rounds of Smash Run?"

"Oh heck yes!" Sonic cried, leaping up from his spot and grabbing Mario's arm. "Come on guys, I agree with Mar, let's go play Smash Run!"

"What about Smash Tour?" Mega Man questioned, Sonic giving the robot in question a cold stare.

"Nobody likes Smash Tour," Sonic replied in a flat voice as they all began to file out of the games room and towards the teleporters. As they did Mario noticed that Sonic was still holding onto his arm.

He didn't know how to feel about that.

Replies

TheGameNguyener: Yeah, we needed a nice, calm chapter before the storm that is the Smash Mansion. Plus, I really wanted to give Peach some time in the spotlight too, after all she is one of my favorite characters! Thank you for the review!

Guest: Aw darn, you figured out the entire subplot of this part of the story! In all seriousness though, your review made me laugh really hard, and yes, Mario had a moment where he felt stronger affections for Sonic. Thank you for the review!

CatbyShynie. EXE: Oh, this isn't going to start a love triangle in the slightest! While it is true that in this timeline Mario had feelings for Peach, they're probably long gone by this point in the story, and Peach never felt any sort of romantic feelings for Mario in the first place. I can't ignore their strong bond though - just like I can't ignore Mario's bond with Luigi or Sonic's bond with Tails. But I can assure you that no one is secretly jealous of the other, in fact, I imagine Peach and Sonic get along quite well! Thank you for the review!

AN: Yes, I'm fully aware that The Primary Colour Crew is a terrible name. But it's a step up from what I was calling them before, which was The Squad. Seriously, I love seeing these four portrayed as friends. :) And as a sidenote, no matter what the timeline these four will always bond to become The Primary Colour Crew in my stories.

~Steel