Part 2
In the Smash Mansion, there is a screening room, which serves not only as a movie theater-esque space where one can watch private or "local" matches (in other words, matches that aren't official Tournament matches or any other match that is broadcasted throughout the Smash 'verse and other Game 'verses that have access to the Internet or a similar equivalent) but also as a place where one can watch the Smashers demonstrate their skills in trials such as Classic Mode and All-Star Mode. However, unlike a typical screening room or movie theater, where there's normally a projection room for films there's instead what is usually called the "Other Announcing Box"—so-called to avoid confusion with the official Announcing Box in the Stadium not far from the Mansion—or, more commonly, the "Compartment." Though smaller than the overall screening room itself, it is still an unusually large room, especially for its purpose. On the Compartment's side closest to the projector screen is a machine with buttons and small screens, which detail damage percentages, stocks, the number of coins, and other vital pieces of information depending on the kind of battle that was taking place on the projector screen. It is also here that the Hands sometimes served as announcer and assistant announcer when they didn't let their automatically generated voice recordings do their jobs.
As Fox was battling a simulated version of Samus on the Norfair stage, Master Hand and Crazy Hand were in the Compartment observing his progress in his Classic Mode run. They were in their human forms, as Master Hand was rubbing his tie with his gloved fingers, his patience wearing thin as the match seemed to go on forever. Crazy Hand was sitting in another seat beside him, yawning and close to nodding off.
"Unbelievable, Fox," Master Hand thought to himself.
"Bro, can I just take a nap or teleport out of here?" Crazy Hand asked telepathically; he sounded bored.
Master Hand took his eyes off the projector screen and looked at his brother. "Of course, Crazy. Admittedly, I don't care too much about this specific match anyway. But I still need to oversee it in case Fox successfully defeats Samus and moves one step closer to fighting us."
"I don't know about that. He's already taken some serious damage, y'know."
It was true—one of the machine's screens displayed Fox's damage percentage to be at 138%, enough for Samus to launch him out of the stage with a well-aimed smash attack and make him lose one stock. Though Fox has built himself a reputation of being one of the best fighters, he wasn't infallible. Many knew that despite the persistence of boasts that make him out as such.
Master Hand was about to continue watching the ongoing match when another screen displayed "INCOMING TRANSMISSION FROM HC-01." He tapped on the screen, replacing the notification by a bluish-tinted hologram of Mario, who surprisingly looked very worried.
"Master Hand! Crazy Hand! I think we-a need your help!"
"What is it now, Mario? We're in the middle of a Classic Mode run here."
"Yeah, give us a good reason!"
"I'm-a very sorry, but something really bad happened."
"Like what?"
Another voice entered the chat, despite its owner not appearing on the screen.
"Sonic here. Pac-Man's gone missing, that's what happened."
Master Hand pressed a button on the machine labeled "Start/Pause," freezing the entire stage in place, including Fox and Samus as they were firing their weapons at each other while a giant wave of magma was about to crash down on them from the background. Fox could only scowl and barely move his muzzle as he yelled "Really?" behind clenched teeth.
"What?" Master Hand said angrily, removing and vanishing away his headset with a snap.
A Smasher that had a chance of being added to the roster despite being a bit late was nothing to worry about, but a Smasher that hasn't even decided to join the roster and has been declared missing the day they were supposed to receive their invitation to the Smash 'verse? That was a new one.
Sonic explained to him the details about Pac-Man's disappearance, from Professor Pac-Man's account of a shadowy being to the word "Arcadia." Normally, receiving this kind of news would mean serious trouble, but with the Hands being the Hands and the Smashers being the Smashers, it was simply another problem waiting to be solved. Or was it?
"Did you say something about the Mother Fairy not knowing or seeing where Pac-Man was recently in that 'verse, Sonic?"
"Yeah, Master Hand. She said she hadn't seen him in Fairy Land for a while, so Pac-Man probably didn't come here and pay her a visit. And when we asked her about Arcadia, she didn't even know who or what or where that is. I mean, heck, even WE don't know who or what or where Arcadia is!"
"Hm… well, then. My brother and I will provide you and the rest with some help, but only a little bit. Don't hang up just yet."
Master Hand turned to Crazy Hand again, who was wide awake and looked just as concerned as he was.
"They're really being serious, aren't they, bro?"
Master Hand nodded, turning toward the projector screen. He summoned his headset and spoke to Fox.
"I'm sorry for pausing your match, Fox, but understand that my brother and I have urgent business to attend to, so we'll have to reschedule your Classic Mode run. If anyone else asks you, tell them not to panic while we're gone and be prepared for anything in case we don't get back in time."
He held four buttons simultaneously—two with his gloved hand, two with his ungloved one—and teleported Fox out of the stage, earning him a brief angry look from the Smasher before the screen went dark. After switching the screening room and the Compartment's lights off, the Hands then snapped their gloved fingers and teleported themselves into their office.
When they arrived a few seconds later, they consulted the large blue screen on the wall Master Hand used earlier. But instead of the screen displaying only Mario, the rest of his group were there with him.
"So, you're having trouble finding this… Arcadia, hm?"
"Yeah, Master Hand," Sonic said.
"Beep, we've been thinking about it ever since we traveled all the way to Fairy Land," Game & Watch said. "But no one's got any idea as to what it could really be."
"Ook! I think it's gonna be a place where we can all get together and play some games!" Donkey Kong remarked, popping a banana into his mouth. "Er mearn, jurst thirnk aburt ert," he said through a mouthful, which he then swallowed.
Master Hand looked at Donkey Kong. "Repeat what you just said."
Donkey Kong pointed at himself. "Who? Me?"
"Yes."
"Said I think it's a place where we can all get together and play some games. Y'know, with the big old game boxes people used to put their money in and stuff. I mean, the Prof said he heard 'arcade' or 'Arcadia,' and I kept thinkin' about how weird it was for him to get 'arcade' from whatever the thing said before it went and took Pac-Man."
Master Hand slowly opened his mouth, which then turned into a smile as he looked at Crazy Hand. "Crazy, what do you make of this? I can already think of a few things."
"That's kind of obvious, bro. You're always thinking of something stupidly creative."
"The fact is, that's not exactly what I meant. What I really meant was, what sort of help should we provide them?"
"Oh. Uh, maybe look up stuff about Arcadia?"
"That's one part of it. What else?"
"There's more?"
"I'll do the 'looking stuff up' part, and you could be the one to enable the Holo Casters to collectively open a portal to Arcadia," Master Hand said. He turned to his hand form, then resized and moved the window displaying the Smashers. He tapped on a folder icon labeled "Universe Information," then selected a file that was simply labeled "A." A large list appeared, containing the names of people, worlds, and other miscellaneous items. For a few seconds, he scrolled down the list until he found—
"Arcadia," he muttered, tapping on it to bring up its entry.
"The Arcade 'verse, also known as Arcadia. Once a thriving amalgamation of 'verses filled with video game characters of all shapes and sizes. Nicknamed 'The Origin Point' because it is said to be where some of the current 'verses were before the event known as the Upgrading, it has fallen into hard times and has since been reduced to one world with a small capital city, which shares the 'verse's name. This city has few major landmarks, with the most notable one being the arcade building located in its center, which has been rumored to contain dark secrets behind one of its doors. Surrounding Arcadia (the city) is a large expanse of desert, which has been called Trinity Desert, Dog Days Desert, and the Pale Sands; similarly to the arcade, the desert has also been subject to rumors, with the most notable one claiming that an alleged burial site is located somewhere in its shifting sands, though as to what exactly is buried underneath varies from each account."
As Master Hand finished reading, a sudden ding echoed throughout the office. Below him, Crazy Hand was grinning and giving him a thumbs-up.
"All done, bro!" he said, pointing at a notification on the screen proclaiming the "Portal Creators are ready!" Master Hand minimized the entry and enlarged the Smashers' window. They looked mostly grateful, save for Sonic, who had his hands on his hips and was tapping his foot impatiently.
"Thank you so much, Master Hand and Crazy Hand," Mario said.
"Have you received the instructions for using the Portal Creators?" Master Hand asked.
"Beep, yep. It looks easy to use, even though it's good for one time before we have to contact you and Crazy Hand again to enable them for us."
"Tch! Big deal!" Sonic said, rolling his eyes. "It's not like we have to make another portal right after we make one to Arcadia, Game & Watch. Now let's get on with it and cross the beams so we can get Pac-Man back!"
The group turned their backs to the Hands and held up their Holo Casters, each firing a beam of light that coalesced into a single point, which expanded into a glowing portal that hovered a few inches from the flower-covered ground.
"Now, be careful out there, you four," Master Hand said, pointing at them. "It's not exactly—"
"Don't worry about it. We can totally do this! I mean, we're Smashers, right?"
Sonic looked at the rest of the group, who each gave him small smiles and nods. He walked into the portal and disappeared, followed by Mario, Game & Watch, and Donkey Kong.
Stepping out of a portal and going on one's merry way is one thing, but being hurled out of one and landing in an undignified heap was another. The idea of lying dazed for a long while after that, however, can be refuted if the ground was made out of hot sand.
"OW! Hot hot hot!" Mario yelped, jumping up almost immediately and wiping away the fine white grains off his face. Alongside him, Sonic did the same.
"Ugh! I think some of it got in my eyes!" he complained. "Also, remind me to never go through a portal like that one ever again."
Donkey Kong was slower to stand up, though he shook the stuff off of his fur and tie, while Game & Watch simply stood up and let the sand easily slide off his body. The four of them looked at their surroundings.
"Where the heck are we?" Donkey Kong asked.
"This must be the desert that was mentioned back there, beep," Game & Watch said. "Trinity Desert."
For what seemed like miles there was nothing but white sand, with a dune here and there to break up the monotony. It was nothing like the deserts they have seen before—as far as they can see, there weren't any obvious indicators of life besides themselves, while the sun beating down on them didn't help much to provide them comfort.
"Menu!" they wearily said altogether, summoning their Holo Casters into their hands and immediately choosing Inventory. When they were finished downing their own bottles of Fresh Water, they let out a relieved sigh. Mario looked at the Map option to scout out the area.
Several seconds passed, then Mario's eyes lit up with excitement. "I got it! We have to-a go north."
"And how long's that gonna take us?" Sonic asked.
"Not very long. There's a road called Route 78 that will-a help us get there."
"So all we have to do is find this Route 78?"
"Yep!"
Following Mario's lead, the group headed north, trudging along on the loose sand under the heat—even Sonic wasn't trying to run ahead this time. Minutes passed, but to them, it seemed like hours. And so they walked.
And walked.
And walked.
"Shouldn't've… snacked on… that… banan—ugh… "
Donkey Kong slumped forward, his head hitting on something hard and grey. As his eyes traced over the faded asphalt surface near him into the distance, he noticed something else as well.
"Is… that… it?"
At once, the others raised their weary heads and looked in the direction Donkey Kong was pointing. There was a sign that read "Route 78," and beyond that were a few buildings, including a lone skyscraper resembling a giant needle piercing the sky. What caught their attention the most, however, was a squarish building that had the word "ARCADE" in marquee lettering displayed above what looked to be its front doors.
As if the mere sight of the city invigorated them, they wasted no time getting there.
When the group entered the arcade building—which included a little trouble with the door due to Donkey Kong's size—the first thing they noticed was a huge room with many people either wandering around or being engrossed in a wide variety of games that were available there, with names such as Galaga and Tempest displayed on the sides of some of the arcade cabinets, along with more obscure ones they didn't recognize. The second was the sounds: all around them were rows of machines emitting classic beeps and pings mixed with a faint Dance Dance Revolution tune coming from somewhere, which suspiciously sounded similar to a certain song dedicated to Pikachu and Generation 1 Pokémon. Blaring above it all was an 80s rock song that got Mario to briefly tap to the beat.
"Hey, I think I-a heard this before. I think this is called 'Danger Zone,' but I could-a be wrong."
"Really? Huh, never heard of that kind of Zone before," Sonic commented. "I must've missed it."
"Okay, but what're we doin' here, guys? It looks like any old arcade to me," Donkey Kong said, looking all over the place while also trying to avoid the onlookers' stares.
"Maybe, beep, we should ask some of the people around here," Game & Watch suggested. "They look sort of friendly."
The others nodded, then followed Mario's lead as they walked throughout the floor of the arcade. Some of the patrons there ignored them, being too busy to stop and talk while they were playing, while others stared at them out of curiosity and confusion. The group wandered around for minutes, asking if any of them have seen anything suspicious in the arcade or the city in general, though most of their questions were answered by a simple "No" or a shrug of the shoulders.
Despite their efforts, their investigation turned up nothing, and they decided to leave. That was until something very unexpected happened.
As they turned to head to the front door, a man with glasses ran toward them and blocked their path. He was flailing his arms around as if to stop them, and from the look of his wide eyes darting around the room and his trembling lip, he seemed to be afraid of something as well.
"Hey… You're looking… for… Pac-Man, right?" he said, breathing rapidly as if he just ran a mile. "Look, listen… forget about it. Whatever you do, don't go to the back door, or else you guys… we're all—"
Before the man could say more, the entire room instantly darkened, and all the sounds and music stopped, save for terrified screams. Even the Smashers screamed and frantically tried to find each other in the pitch-dark arcade.
But as quickly as the room went dark, the lights and the usual arcade sounds came back, and they found each other again, heaving heavy sighs of relief.
"Mamma mia… what happened?"
"I don't know, Mario," Sonic said, looking around the room. "But I think it's just the four of us here."
Donkey Kong looked around the room as well, then scratched his head. "Huh? What do you mean, Sonic?"
"Oh beep, it's like everyone else just vanished into thin air. Like something almost straight out of a whodunnit!"
"Well, we shouldn't just stand here or leave this place," Sonic said. "And as much as I don't wanna get into another mystery, maybe we can start by trying to find everyone."
Donkey Kong snorted. "Good luck on that, little guy. I mean, we don't even know how the heck someone or somethin' can turn off everything and make everybody 'cept us disappear that quick."
"Donkey Kong is-a bit right, Sonic," Mario said, resting a gloved hand on his chin thoughtfully. "Hm… you know, what do you-a think about the guy that tried to stop us?"
"The one with glasses? Really weird, and maybe a bit insane."
"Yeah, but what I really meant was, what do you-a think about what he said?"
"What he said?"
"You know… 'the back door.'"
Sonic shrugged his shoulders. "Not sure if that's gonna help us a whole lot, but I guess we can look at that. Race you guys there!"
Not wanting to be outdone, the other Smashers ran after him, despite the futility of it. When they reached the back of the room, they stopped to catch their breath. In contrast to the front and middle, the back area of the arcade had few lights and many dim and dusty arcade cabinets whose screens flickered weakly, giving them a glitchy appearance. On the black wall before them was a similarly colored door, which had a faded sign that read "Restricted Area: Do Not Enter." Mario checked on the map of his Holo Caster.
"That's funny. The only door this map is showing is the one at the front. I don't-a understand it."
"Who cares about that? Besides, maybe that guy was being scared about nothing. I mean, watch." Sonic pulled the handle, then pushed it open. Beyond the door was a square room with single bright light bulb and an elevator. "See? We'll be fine. I'm betting this is just going into a storage room or something."
He walked through the door, then motioned the others to go through. Mario, Donkey Kong, and Game & Watch looked at each other, then went through the door. Behind them, it slammed with a mighty clang, making them jump; shortly after that, they heard a click, and all of them gulped. Game & Watch walked to the door and tried to turn the handle, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pull it open; similarly, Mario and Donkey Kong tried to set it on fire and punch through it, but to no avail.
"Ook… Guess we're not going back that way anytime soon," Donkey Kong said. "But who'd make that kind of door? It's stupid!"
"Or maybe it's smart," Game & Watch said. "If anyone was keeping something from coming into the arcade this way, I guess, but then again, beep, you're pretty right. That is a bit odd."
They turned their attention away from the locked door to the pristine grey elevator in front of them. Mario pressed a button on the side of the elevator, and after the sliding doors opened for them, they stepped inside. When Mario pressed the "Basement" button, the doors closed.
And the elevator began to descend.
*Automatically generated voice recordings, or how I attempted to solve the problem of why you can hear the announcer saying Master Hand's and Crazy Hand's names in Smash 4 and Ultimate, even though in my fics (and I'm guessing a few others), Master Hand IS the announcer. (Because when playing Classic Mode in games prior to those two games, you never hear the announcer mention that you're going to fight the Hands after the second-to-last fight. It immediately cuts to your chosen fighter appearing on Final Destination and the Hands suddenly appearing.)
*Goodness, the Compartment pun.
*L+R+A+Start/Pause to exit a match.
*Important words for the desert in Arcadia: "Alamogordo, New Mexico," "Trinity nuclear test," "Chihuahuan Desert," "White Sands National Monument," and "Atari video game burial."
*Space Invaders was released in 1978, which is usually considered the golden age of arcade games.
*A wild reference to "The Pikachu Song" appeared! (Based on a DDR song called "Butterfly.")
*And Mario probably knew the song "Danger Zone" because of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. (Which isn't exactly canon to my stories, but I couldn't resist being amused at the fact that the episode "Brooklyn Bound" of all things had this song. Oh, and did you know that Mario can apparently fly by flapping his arms like a bird after touching a Fire Flower? Because that's what happened in that episode. Again, not canon to any official depictions of Fire Flowers in the games.)