Bowser's Castle

Super Mario dimension

"C'mon, c'mon… what am I missing here?"

Bowser Jr. paced back and forth throughout one of the castle's hallways, a hand to his chin. Normally in his father's absence, he would battle against Captain Goomba and his squad for his own entertainment. But some serious stuff was going down, and he intended to find out what.

"Dad couldn't have just up and vanished just like that." He muttered. "Maybe there's somewhere we haven't checked yet? Or maybe he's… no, no, no, he'd never go down that easy!"

"Oh, great," Larry's nearby voice interrupted, cutting off his thoughts. "He's doing it again."

"Seriously?!" Iggy groaned. "This is the sixth time this week! And the… the… uh, how long has he been doing this overall?"

"Who cares?" Ludwig spoke up. "The only way to truly fix this is to bring Bowser back!"

"But he got all zapped and poofed!" Lemmy shouted. "Even he might not know where he is!"

"You guys are just lettin' this all get to ya!" Roy snapped. "Don't you all know who we're talkin' about here? This is Bowser, and he knows how to punch his way out of a situation!"

"Perhaps this issue needs more than just punching to resolve it," Wendy suggested. "After all, not all problems require sheer force… unlike some people who believe otherwise." There was a mere silence before it was broken.

"Why look at Morton like that? Does Morton have something on face?"

Bowser Jr. only rolled his eyes. Back during the blorb infestation, he would have irritated the Koopalings with his bratty behavior. But after Morton got brainwashed and threw him into that lake, he had realized the error of his ways and vowed to treat them with more respect.

He appreciated their assistance in tracking down his dad… even if they came up with nothing.

Speaking of nothing, that was each and every result the searches came up with. No sign of Bowser anywhere… like he vanished off the face of the very planet.

Perhaps he was sent to another corner of the galaxy, maybe?

"My prince! My prince!"

A breathless Koopa Paratroopa came flying around the corner and stopped right before he could collide with Bowser Jr. His wings beat in an exhausted manner.

"What is it?" Bowser Jr. snapped. "And make it quick, you made me lose my train of thought!"

"A thousand apologies, my prince!" the Paratroopa gasped. "But we have something you might want to see! We… we believe it is related to Lord Bowser's disappearance!"

Later, Bowser Jr. and the seven Koopalings were standing at the edge of a crater with Clown Cars in tow. All of them peered down to what lay within.

"That crystal…" The Koopa prince whispered. "It looks like the same one that whisked Dad off to who-knows-where."

"There's only one thing left to do now," Larry began, but before he could bring up his suggestion…

"MORTON SMASH SHINY THING!"

"NO, Morton, you imbecile!" Larry snapped, smacking Morton in the face. "If a crystal just like this one sent Lord Bowser away, we can use this one to follow him to wherever he went! It's simple!"

"Are you sure about that?" Roy asked nervously. "I'm already having bad feeling as to where we'll end up."

"This is the only thing that'll lead us to Lord Bowser," Ludwig said. "We have no other choice."

"Ludwig's right." Larry backed him up. "We'll find him in no time now!"

"And I've been waiting a long time for an answer," Bowser Jr. replied. "So, I don't know about you guys… but I'm going in!"

Without a second word, he leaped into his Clown Car and hopped down into the crater. As the Koopalings followed after him, he stared at his reflection in the glowing surface of the crystal.

"Alright, weird crystal thing of unknown origin," he announced with a pointed finger. "Take me to my dad!" At the end of his sentence, he placed an open palm against the crystal…

…which began to shine brightly and vibrate.

Arcs of lightning exploded outward from the crystal, striking all eight figures near it… and vanished from the world.

As reality warped in all around him, the world was replaced by a blue tunnel flashing with light and swirling patterns. As Bowser Jr. fought against dizziness and tried to keep his Clown Car stable, he heard the voices of the other Koopalings from somewhere nearby.

"WHEEEEE!" Iggy laughed maniacally. "BEST RIDE EVER!"

"Oooh, Morton gonna be sick!"

"AGH! Why is this place so bright?" Ludwig hissed.

"WOOOOHAHAHAHA!" Lemmy giggled in delight.

The rest of the Koopalings were shouting in surprise, thrill, or terror alike as the eight of them soared down the tunnel…

…and found themselves falling.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

They all collapsed onto the rocky ground with an "OOF!", a dust cloud forming on the site of impact. As it cleared, they all remained motionless with a groan or two being the only sounds from them.

"I… I don't ever want to do that again." Roy moaned.

"You tell me… my head's still spinning just thinking about it." Wendy added.

"Ow… Morton break brain."

"You've already broken it, ya dimwit…" Iggy wheezed.

Shaking his head and righting himself, Bowser Jr. hoisted his Clown Car upright and climbed back in. "Ugh… where are we?" he mumbled, clutching his forehead.

The first thing he noticed was the massive moon in the sky, lighting up a vast canyon-filled plateau that they were right in the middle of. It looked so huge… what if they got lost?

"Holy cow… would you look at this place?" Larry muttered. "Lord Bowser could be anywhere."

"So… where exactly do we start, boss?" Roy asked. Larry only shook his head. "Honestly, I ain't got the faintest idea."

"Perhaps an overhead search would suffice," Ludwig offered. "These things can fly, you know."

"Not a bad idea," Bowser Jr. agreed. "Maybe we could split up and meet back here when… huh?"

A lone figure moving through the chasms below caught his eye. A figure… with a mustache and a red cap.

"Well, would ya look at that!" Iggy giggled. "Plumber boy's here!"

"Mario… here?" Wendy questioned. "But what is he…"

"Why ask something when you already know the answer!" Roy snapped. "He's definitely involved in all this!"

Bowser Jr. narrowed his eyes. "Nobody needs to ask me twice…"

Firing up the propeller on his Clown Car, he flew off towards the chasms before the Koopalings could say anything. Flying low across the ground, he raced across the valley, closing in on his father's archenemy…

He weaved his way past rock formations, never losing sight of the jumping figure… until he was in the open.

Hopping and braking to a stop, the Clown Car's mouth opened to reveal a large cannon. Bowser Jr. watched as Mario approached several figures, glanced behind him and whirled around in surprise as…

BLAM!

The cannonball zoomed forth, exploding against the ground and sending Mario and some of the figures flying back, one of them the prince recognized as that spacewoman Rosalina. Increasing his altitude, Bowser Jr. released one of the Clown Car's wrecking balls… and swung it towards his enemy.

"MARIOOOO!" he yelled as the wrecking ball plowed into the ground. The hero of the Mushroom Kingdom jumped out of the way as a figure in green leaped in the opposite direction. Continuing to drag it along the ground with a shrill scream, Bowser Jr. noticed a small pink creature, a guy in blue armor and an orange figure with a helmet run and evade the ball's destructive path.

Dragging to a stop as he landed, Mario broke into a sprint right for Bowser Jr. Lowering to the ground with a sneer as he retracted the wrecking ball, the Koopa prince slammed a fist down on a button…

…causing twin drills to pop out from the sides of the Clown Car, buzzing for action.

Eyes wide, Mario grit his teeth as he dug his boots into the ground. Flying forward with another yell, Bowser Jr. thrust the drills forward as Mario raised his arms…

…causing the drills to connect with a blue shield surrounding Mario's body. As they dug against the shield, spinning at full power, Bowser Jr. couldn't help but be surprised.

What the… how is he doing that?

Shoving the question aside, he growled. "WHERE'S MY PAPA?!" he shouted at the plumber. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HIM?!"

Mario's only reply was a grunt of effort, struggling to maintain his defense. Shaking with anger, Bowser Jr. kept up the drill's onslaught on the shield. They spun and buzzed against the crippling shield as it shrank in size…

BANG! The shield broke and the drills sent Mario hurtling into the air.

"FINE! Be that way!" Bowser Jr. snarled. "I'll just beat it out of you and your pathetic buddies!" Punching another button on the Clown Car's main console, he sat back and gripped a steering wheel that popped up from the controls.

The lower halves of the Car were replaced with wheels. A metal plate with his symbol emerged from the back, followed by green tailpipes. When his vehicle hit the ground, Bowser Jr. slammed his foot down on an accelerator pedal.

VROOM! VROOM!

Blue flames sputtered out from the tailpipes as the wheels screeched against the ground. The Clown Kart blasted off with rocket speed, speeding straight for a startled Mario and the guy in blue.

Mario tried to scramble to his feet, only to be rammed by the Kart when Bowser Jr. sharply turned the steering wheel to the right while braking. The guy in blue opened fire with his arm cannon, but his shots missed as the Kart finished its drift.

"OH, YOU WANT SOME TOO, BLUE BOY?!"

As Bowser Jr. slammed down on the gas again, he watched as the blue figure's eyes go wide. He turned and tried to run for it…

"AGH!"

…only for him to get rammed by the speeding Kart. Bowser Jr. pumped a fist in triumph as he raced past.

"Yeah! Can't follow the rules of the road if there is no road! Not that I would anyway!"

"Bowser Junior!" Rosalina called out, her wand pointed at him in an accusing manner as her Luma floated close by. "Cease this recklessness at once!"

"Not until I found out what you've done to my dad, space-lady!" he yelled back, skidding against the ground and driving towards her full-speed. "And my Clown Car's got a few tricks to it since my last tango with Mario!"

Rosalina sharply floated out of the way as Bowser Jr. roared past. Performing a doughnut to halt himself, Bowser Jr. heard the tires screech as he reverted back to the Clown Car's normal form. The pink figure dashed in next with a battle cry of its own. Upon seeing it, the Koopa prince sneered.

"Hey, pinky! Prepare to get pummeled!"

Boxing gloves extended from the Clown Car and started whaling on the pink creature before it could react. Jabbing one fist outward, he sent the pink creature tumbling to a halt.

The green swordsman moved in next, but his sword met the Clown Car's mouth buzz saw. One shower of sparks later, a pitchfork poked the green warrior back. Bowser Jr. laughed in a taunting manner as his enemy stumbled. "What's the matter? Did you come across a FORK in the road? Hahaha!"

"Stop!" the blue figure shouted, readying his arm cannon again. "Deactivate your weapons! I don't want to hurt you!"

"How unfortunate… because I DEFINITELY WANT TO HURT YOU!" Bowser Jr. screeched, flying forth and dodging a blast of blue energy. Opening a hatch, he pointed a finger out the blue figure. "Mechakoopas, ATTACK!"

As the mechanical toy-like minions emerged and charged at the figure, he set his blaster on them and started shooting. One by one, they all blew up as the shots connected.

Seeing Mario out of the corner of his eye, Bowser Jr. fired off a claw that connected around the plumber's chest. Mario yelled out as the claw reeled him in like a winch… until he was face-to-face with Bowser Jr.

"Now, I'm gonna ask you one more time, plumber boy…" he growled, grabbing a red Eekhammer. "Where! Is! My! Papa!" Whacking the plumber on the head with each word, all Bowser Jr. got was a dazed groan.

"Grrr! Extra punishment for you, then!" he shouted, tossing Mario aside. As the man in red tumbled to the ground, he readied his cannon again…

…only for the orange figure to fire an energy blast right at it.

"GYAH!" he yelped as the resulting explosion nearly sent him flying from his seat. "How DARE you!"

"You're a stubborn one, I'll give you that. Now… what else is in that contraption of yours?"

"So eager to find out, huh? Well, I don't I give you a quick rundo-WHOA!"

Before Bowser Jr. could finish, he felt a strong wind pulling him back. Turning behind him, he saw the pink creature with its mouth wide open, a small whirlwind drawing him towards it.

"You again?! If you're so hungry, why don't you chew on THIS?!" Releasing another Mechakoopa and flying out from the whirlwind, Bowser Jr. watched as the Mechakoopa was sucked up into the creature's mouth. Just as the creature closed its mouth… its body rocked with an explosion and it started coughing up smoke.

"Aw, did that hurt?" he cooed in mock sympathy. "Why don't I help you lick your wounds!" The Clown Car's mouth opened again, extending out a large tongue that slapped the creature back and forth.

Mario jumped off a large boulder, and Bowser Jr. turned to meet him. Extending a wrecking ball and swinging the Car around, he slammed the ball against Mario and sent him crashing against a rock wall. "HAHA! That's right!" he taunted as his foe bounced off the wall and collapsed to the ground, his four allies quickly surrounding him. "Can't spell Bowser Junior without 'OW'!"

"Bowser… Junior?" the figure in orange muttered.

"What's the matter? Never heard of me?" The Koopa prince taunted, hovering back up to a cliff. "Too bad! Because I have some friends that are just eager to meet you!"

Putting two fingers to his mouth, he gave out a loud, sharp whistle… which was followed by sinister, maniacal laughter.

"So, you found yourself some new friends, Mario?" Bowser Jr. mocked. "Well, good thing I have mine! Koopalings… let's show these bozos how we do it! Hahahahaha!"

"Well… it appears there's been a little misunderstanding," Rosalina muttered. "Perhaps we could tell him about his father to settle this…"

"Why don't we find out how strong they are first?" the orange figure asked. "They might have some useful teamwork… if they have any."

"What was that?! He calling us weak?!" Iggy screeched at the figure's first statement. Bowser Jr. only narrowed his eyes.

"So what if that stupid Mario beat us one at a time… many times? There's no way he and his new buddies can beat us all at once! Besides, we outnumber them!"

"Uh…" Morton mumbled, lazily counting between them. "Five, twenty, a million…"

"Shut your trap, Mort!" Larry snapped. "And enough dawdling around! Let's get 'em!"

"Yeah! Mess 'em up, guys!" Bowser Jr. laughed. The Koopalings launched off from the cliff as Mario and his allies jumped up to meet them…

…both sides clashed in midair. Bowser Jr. slammed a boxing glove against Mario, sending them both to the ground. Iggy and Lemmy chased after the pink creature, blasting their cannons and howling with laughter as the creature scrambled to get away. Morton and Wendy released Mechakoopas at the orange and blue figures, who went to work at blasting them. Ludwig and Roy surrounded the green warrior, a drill arm from the latter scraping against the shield. Larry activated kart mode once he reached ground level and raced at Rosalina, the cosmic woman sending Luma after him.

"AAAH! Get offa me, ya little yellow twerp!" Larry shrieked as Luma flew around him, trying to disorient the Koopaling while he swatted at Luma like a mosquito. Floating in front, Rosalina fired off three Star Bits from her wand, which struck at the front wheels of Larry's kart. The vehicle hit them like pebbles and was sent flying while Larry hit the ground face-first.

Mario jumped in an effort to stomp Bowser Jr., only for the Koopa prince to be ready. Flipping around to a handstand position, he fired up the propellers and sent them spinning full throttle. Alarmed, Mario desperately tried to change direction from the whirling blades…

…before a plasma whip lassoed around him and yanked him out of harm's way. Bowser Jr. fumed angrily as the orange figure retracted the beam.

"INCOMING!" Roy boomed, extending a drill from the bottom of his Clown Car and pointing it at the green swordsman. Gasping, the figure raised his shield to block the drill, causing another shower of sparks to rain down from the force of the drill on the shield. Transforming his Clown Car into a Clown Kart, Ludwig zoomed towards the swordsman… who got an idea.

Striking Roy's Car with his sword to weaken him, he rolled back as Roy plunged into the ground drill-first, digging into the rocky ground. When the two Koopalings saw each other, it was too late for Roy to stop the drill or for Ludwig to brake or steer out of the way.

"AAAAAAAH!"

CRASH!

The two Clown Cars slammed into each other, Ludwig's transforming back as they tumbled to the ground. Thrown out from their vehicles with Roy's drill slowing down, the two Koopalings lay dazed. With a victorious smirk, the swordsman holstered his weapon.

The pink creature had nowhere to go as Iggy and Lemmy circled around him like vultures. From his Clown Car, Iggy giggled maniacally.

"Mwahahahahaha! You're mine to finish, you little squishy blob!"

"HEY!" Lemmy yelled. "Why do you always have to do it! I wanna do it!"

"Buzz off! I saw him first!"

"But I fired first!"

"Why I oughta- you wanna get smart with me, punk!"

Before Lemmy could retort, Iggy noticed an unknown force pulling on his Clown Car. Yelping, he tried to fly away… only to get sucked in.

"WWAAAAAAUUUGGHH!"

Iggy vanished inside the creature's mouth… and popped back out shortly. "Ugh…" he moaned before shaking his head and turning back to the creature with a pointed finger. "Awright, ya little pipsqueak! I'm through goin' all soft on ya! I'm gonna enjoy taking you… you… you…"

Lemmy saw it too. The pink creature had a determined expression on its face… along with a bandana just like Bowser Jr.'s on its head.

"Uh… where did he get that?" Lemmy asked, scratching his head. Before Iggy could answer, the creature opened its mouth again… revealing a large cannon.

"Uuuh oooh…"

KA-BLAM!

A cannonball rocketed out, striking the Clown Cars and sending them soaring across the open plain. Both Koopalings yelled as they flew and crashed against the ground.

"RAAAGH! MORTON CRUSH YOU!" Morton howled, zeroing in on the orange and blue figures as Wendy followed him. Breaking off, she fired cannon blast after cannon blast at the orange one. The figure nimbly rolled and dodged the explosions, infuriating the female Koopaling. "Rrrgh! Stand still, you feisty little-huh?"

A plasma beam latched around her Car, followed by it slamming her to the ground as the figure yanked her cannon downward. "OW! You coulda chipped something! And you're lucky I forgot my wand at the castle!"

"You mess with Small Bowser and friends, you mess with Morton!" the brawny Koopaling boasted as he flew around the blue figure's shots. "Now Morton pound you into dirt like bug!"

Extending both boxing gloves and pounding them together, he zeroed in on the blue figure… who reached out with both arms and caught the Clown Car. Grunting in effort, he raised it above his head with tremendous strength.

"Huh? Hey! What you doing?! Put Morton down!"

"What's that? You want me to put you down?" the blue figure replied as the Clown Car flailed its arms. "Okay! HEE-YAH!"

The blue figure threw the Clown Car right at Wendy's own, smashing them against each other as Morton wailed in surprise. When the dust cleared, both Koopalings groaned.

"Morton head feel funny…"

Nearby, Bowser Jr. revved up his Clown Kart as Mario stared him down in a ready stance. With a yell, Bowser Jr. floored it and raced towards him. Turning and dashing off in the other direction, Mario sprinted ahead of him while occasionally glancing back.

"No getting away this time!" Bowser Jr. roared. "And you don't have that stupid green brother of yours to help out here!" Picking up speed, the Clown Kart hit full throttle as it closed in on the running plumber…

…but before Bowser Jr. could run Mario over, the mustached hero jumped into the air and out of his line of sight.

"Huh?" The Koopa prince gasped, looking around for any sign of Mario. He didn't seem to be anywhere in sight.

Something tapped against Bowser Jr.'s shoulder, prompting the prince to look behind him…

…and see Mario standing on the Kart's rim right behind him. With a quick wave hello, he started landing one gloved punch after another on Bowser Jr.

"OW! OW! OUCH!" he yelped, letting go of the steering wheel in a desperate move to protect himself. Without any steering, the tires of the Clown Kart screeched as it began to spin out of control.

"NO, NO, NO! STOP IT! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!"

Surprisingly, Mario obeyed. After one final punch, he flipped off the spinning Clown Kart with Bowser Jr. still inside.

"WAAAAAAAAAGH!"

Unable to stop the vehicle in time, Bowser Jr. was flung to the ground as his kart struck a large boulder. The vehicle careened off with a metallic smash and landed on its side, wheels still rolling and tailpipes sputtering smoke. Lying on his front, Bowser Jr. moaned in pain.

Two large boots stepped into view, and the prince glanced up. Above him, Mario stood with arms crossed as his friends surrounded him. The other Koopalings were defeated, their Clown Cars toppled over and one of Roy's eye headlights having gone out. Bowser Jr. closed his eyes… and began to shake.

"NYYYYYAAAAAAAAAHH!" he wailed, leaping into the air while flailing like a child throwing a tantrum. Grabbing a hammer and lunging at Mario, he readied to swing at the plumber's stupid face…

…only to stop in midair. He found himself floating and tried to scramble away but was helpless as Rosalina pinned him in place gravitationally.

"I suppose we tell the little brat about his father now?" she asked the others. The figure in orange nodded and approached the defeated prince.

"Bowser… Junior, is it?" the figure asked, its voice revealing it to be female. Instead of a verbal reply, Bowser Jr. yelled out again and swung his hammer wildly. After several wild swings, he grew tired and dropped the hammer with a sigh.

"Yeah… that's me."

"My name is Samus… and I must say, even your father has a temper to behold. Unlike you."

He looked up at her with confused eyes. "You… know my dad?"

"Indeed we do. He's with us."

"Lord Bowser… with you?" Ludwig asked as the Koopalings approached them. "We've been looking forever!"

"Well, why didn't you say so earlier?!" Roy snapped with a frustrated huff.

"I don't know, maybe because you attacked first instead of asking questions?" the blue guy said sarcastically.

"Morton hit first. Morton ask question later… uh, what question Morton asking?"

Ignoring the dumb Koopaling's words, Wendy stepped forth. "Lord Bowser is with you… does this mean you can take us to him?"

Samus nodded. "You all must know Mario and Rosalina from your world, by the sound of things. The others are Link, Kirby, and Mega Man. And you would be…?"

Larry shoved past everyone until he reached the front of the crowd. "Name's Larry, and I'm the boss of these Koopalings!" he introduced proudly before gesturing to each one of them. "Ludwig, Wendy, Iggy, Lemmy, Morton, and Roy."

Samus looked confused. "Roy, you say?"

"What, you got a problem with that?" the Koopaling shot back, adjusting his glasses.

"No, no problem at all." She replied. "My ship is close by. Get your flying face things and follow if you can. We'll take you back to HQ and get you all acquainted with the other Smash Brothers. That includes you too, Mega Man."

The blue boy nodded as Samus' ship flew in for pickup. The Koopalings each gathered their Clown Cars and assessed the damage before firing up the propellers. As he climbed in, Bowser Jr. turned to the distance and smirked.

"Here comes Junior, Papa."

The orange gunship soared through the sky as all eight Clown Cars followed after it. On approach to Smash HQ's hangar, the gunship beeped with an incoming transmission. Putting it through, Samus saw a broadcast of Fox appear.

"Fox," the bounty hunter addressed him. "I'm en route with some new members. Nine of them."

"Nine?" the mercenary leader replied. "Well, that's a coincidence because… uh, long story short, we've just received five more. They're already inside, but still a little confused."

"Copy. We'll be there soon to get them all to speed. Is there anything particular about them?"

"Well, one of them is from a dimension we know of. The other four… uh, I don't know what to say about them. Other than they're all blue."

The transmission cut as the flying vehicles came in for a landing. The Clown Cars hovered a short distance above the ground, joining the others when they exited. Mega Man took point with Samus by his side. Moving through the hallway that led to the main lobby, the group entered the main lobby as the doors slid open…

…and stopped when they saw what waited for them.

"Uh…" Mega Man managed to say. "This… has got to be the weirdest thing I ever saw."

Already inside the lobby were four blue robots, each with their own arm cannon. They all looked around in bewilderment as one of them tried to contact somebody.

"Alia? Alia, are you there? Zero? Do you read me, Zero? Hello? Ugh, still nothing."

"You…" Mega Man realized as the others spread out. "You're all like me."

"I wouldn't remember being so tiny," said the one without a helmet.

"They all appeared right outside our perimeter," Fox explained. "They may seem similar, but they hardly know each other. Falco had to break them up before they started blasting each other. And if I have to guess, they come from other realities parallel to that guy's." He pointed a thumb at the confused Mega Man.

The robot who had attempted a contact noticed something about Mega Man and knelt before him. "There's… there's something about you that looks familiar," he said while the Smasher group checked out the other three. "Did… did Dr. Light make you?"

Mega Man gasped. "You know Dr. Light?!"

"Of course I know him." the taller robot replied. "He made me, after all."

"No way! He made me too!"

"You? You look rather short for a Reploid…"

"Huh? Reploid?"

The other robot looked confused. "You don't know what Reploids are? They're robots with free will, and I was one of the first. They live alongside humans where I'm from."

"Robots… living alongside humans?" Mega Man gasped. "That… that was Dr. Light's dream. Wait… where are you from?"

"Abel City, 21XX," the robot replied. "Why?"

Mega Man couldn't believe it. "That's… that's a hundred years from now. How could Dr. Light have…"

"I was his final creation," the robot explained. "But I was also dangerous, so I was sealed away for a whole century. I was found by archaeologist Dr. Cain, who replicated me to create the Reploids. But some of them rebelled against society. We called them Mavericks. My job was to hunt them down."

"So… you were built for combat."

"You weren't?"

"No. I was initially intended for lab work, not copying weapon data."

"So, what happened?"

"Dr. Wily happened," Mega Man said sadly.

"I'm sorry, who?" the other robot asked.

"Of course you wouldn't know him," Mega Man realized before continuing. "He used to be my father's partner, but he grew jealous and stole their creations, the Robot Masters, for his own wicked plans. I volunteered to stop him… and I became Mega Man."

"Well, whoever he is…" the other robot says. "He seems like an ant compared to Sigma."

"Sigma?"

"My old commander who became a Maverick," the other robot explained. "He became their leader… and my friend-turned-enemy. He's a complete tyrant, turning Maverick Hunters to his side and waging war. Every time we fought, it was for the future of everything."

"Well… the future and the city you're from needs you." Mega Man replied. "Just like my city needs me. And just like me, you've been sent here for a purpose. I don't know what that purpose is yet, but it's something everyone here has to fulfill. And if I had to guess, we're fighting for not only our homes and worlds… but for all worlds."

"As crazy as that sounds…" said the figure with a visor. "You might have a point."

"I guess that means we're in, then." Said the taller robot. "Mega Man, is it?"

"Yeah. And you are…?"

The robot extended a hand. "X."

Mega Man took the hand in his own. "Nice to meet you."

As X rose to his feet, the other three robots gathered around, hearing the introduction.

"MegaMan.EXE," said a robot with yellow shoulder pads and helmet lines among blue armor. "On my world, networking flourishes, and I'm a NetNavi belonging to student Lan Nikari. But I'm really Lan's twin brother, Hub, put into a NetNavi's data. The two of us have never lost a NetBattle, and we've defeated our world's Dr. Wily and his son, Dr. Regal, time after time."

The figure with the visor approached next. "Geo Stelar, but you can call me Star Force Mega Man," he spoke. "I got this form by fusing with Omega-Xis, also known as Mega, from Planet FM. We met when I was on the run from aliens and he said he knew my father, who had vanished in a space station incident three years prior. When we fused, I became an EM being like him. With this power, we fought against EM viruses and other FM-ians… while keeping my identity a secret."

Last up was the helmetless robot. "Mega Man Volnutt," he said. "I was found by a Digger named Barrell Casket that took me in and raised me. His granddaughter named me Volnutt after her favorite video game character. My wide arsenal helps me out to fight the Reaverbots and the Tronnes, a family of pirates."

"Hold on a moment, Fox," Samus said with a tone of realization. "You said there were five newcomers here. I only see four."

"Well, that's because number five is a little on the… small side."

"Hello?" a voice called out. "What is this place?"

From nearby, Olimar perked up at the sound of the voice. Hopping to his feet, he ran towards the sound as the fifth figure made his way through the Mega Men. "Captain Olimar? Is… is that you?"

"Alph!" Olimar shouted, his Pikmin checking out the young crew member's own. "I haven't seen you since you and the other Drake crew members freed me from the Plasm Wraith! How did you get here?"

"Some kind of invitation," Alph replied. "I followed what it said and I somehow got here. And… where is here, exactly?"

"Quite a long story. I'll fill you in later."

Fox turned back to Samus as Olimar and Mega Man continued talking with Alph and the four Mega Men. "Alph over there is supposed to be a fighter, but the other four… they're something else. They're not registered as either fighters nor Assist Trophies. I'm not sure they're even supposed to be here."

"Well…" Samus thought. "Maybe they can assist Mega Man in a way."

"How so?" Fox asked her.

"During our arrival, he went through his weapon data and told us something about… he called it a 'Black Hole Bomb'."

"So… if he traps an opponent inside…" Fox mumbled. "Yeah… that could work."

"Indeed. If the Announcer approves of it," Samus agreed.

"JUNIOR!" a voice boomed, startling nearly everyone in the room. "HAHA! About time you got here!"

"DAD! Thank goodness you're okay!" Bowser Jr. laughed, hopping out of his Clown Car and running up to his father. As the two of them reunited, the other Koopalings joined in and celebrated Bowser's return to them.

"As for them…" Samus continued. "They can be quite a handful in the battlefield…"

"I'm with you there," Fox chuckled. "After all… I'm looking forward to see who else will be added to our ranks for the new tournament!"

(A/N: I can't recall who, but I believe somebody asked me about whether or not I would include Alph. I surely didn't want to miss him, so I had to add in him at some point. I figured now would be the proper moment, along with the Mega Legends. So scratch eight- or in this case, thirteen- characters off the roster. Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings are accounted for! I've been thinking about who should go next, and I think I have it.

So, I'm sure you all know of the coronavirus predicament we're having. I told myself I wanted my senior year to be memorable… but this is definitely not what I had in mind. Not that I'm complaining, as this could allow me to catch up on writing… if my stupid laziness wouldn't get in the way. It's really important that we don't get it, so stay safe, guys. I hope this will all clear up eventually.)