(VG Central; Streets)

VG Central was a bustling metropolis tucked away in its own world in the middle point of the video game multiverse. Here, it was an easy commute for characters and fans of all types of fiction, though largely from video games, to act as a central hub of activity and events for characters to enjoy their downtime and for fans to see what their favourite characters did when they weren't working. Currently, it was a sunny, summer day as the denizens of VG Central, locals and tourists alike, went about their day. A couple of Sly Cooper thugs were seen fleeing in terror from a few screaming Rabbids wearing police hats and waving around batons; BD Joe from Crazy Taxi was seen in the middle of a traffic jam, honking his horn at the demonic-looking ice cream truck that was currently stopping traffic (the driver, one Needles Kane from Twisted Metal, simply looked back at him with an icy glare to get him to back off); a few ice-based Robot Masters were seen operating a lemonade stand as a few Fortnite characters were seen trying to pay for their lemonade with V-Bucks (they were promptly chased away by an angry Freeze Man).

All in all, an average summer day.

In the middle of the bustle, two distinctive figures were seen walking down a sidewalk together, apparently in conversation; one human and one anthro. The human was a tall, blonde man with a short moustache, wearing a red sweater, a burgundy vest over it and a pair of black pants. The anthro was a blue wolf with light blue hair, wearing a pair of glasses, a purple jacket over a striped shirt and a pair of white pants.

"…And that's why I think it's unfair to call the Rabbids the 'Minions of video games' when, in all fairness, the Rabbids technically came first." The human said, seemingly finishing a conversation.

The wolf paused for a moment. "…How did we get to this point? I thought we were talking about Mario Kart." He queried.

"…Yeah. We probably were."

The wolf looked around a bit as the two walked. "Man. This sure brings back memories. It feels like we haven't been here in years, SSB." He admitted.

"I know, Tiny. We've both been so busy with other stuff lately that we just kind of stopped coming here." The human nodded.

SSBFreak and Tinyhammer, the human and wolf respectively, were no strangers to VG Central. For a while, they actually had come to this world quite often for events, some of them hosted by the two themselves. However, that was over a decade ago at this point and it seemed that the two friends were in VG Central this day mainly to reminisce about days gone by.

"So when are we going to get to where you tell me why you invited me here, SSB?" Tinyhammer gave a smirk as the two continued to walk. "I mean, it's fun to reminisce but there has to be a point to us walking around a world that neither of us have set foot in for literal YEARS."

SSBFreak paused, and then gave a sigh. "There's…Something I need to run by you." He mentioned.

"What is it?"

"Just follow me. We're almost there."

"…I think I remember this route we're taking, SSB. I think I may know what this is about…"

A few more minutes of walking later and the two friends arrived at a blocked-off site housing the ruins of what looked to be an old, decrepit dome with a ruined, run-down hotel connected to it. To say that the site had seen better days was an understatement; Stone was crumbling all around the buildings, windows were smashed and shattered, graffiti had littered the ruins in various spots on the crumbling walls and moss had started to grow due to neglect. And that said nothing about the huge vines that creeped up around the buildings and hung out the windows or the huge crystals that protruded from the walls, creating huge holes in the structure. In all honesty, it almost looked like the huge crystals were the only things keeping the tall, ruined building from collapsing in on itself.

Tinyhammer sighed as he looked up at the ruins. "Man. It makes me sad to see the dome in such a state." He lamented.

"Yeah. We put so much work into the building and this is how it looks after all this time." SSBFreak shook his head.

The ruins were all that was left of a complex called the Megamix Dome, a building that, a decade ago, had housed a multiversal fighting competition called the Megamix Tournament. SSBFreak had seen the success of a similar tournament called the Ultimate Video Rumble and, long ago, created the dome as a means to host his own spinoff of the tournament. Tinyhammer had hosted with him for it and had even hosted his own spinoff, the Battle of the Luminaries, in the dome to much success. After two successful Megamix Tournaments and one Battle of the Luminaries, it seemed that things were looking promising for the dome and the people that ran the tournaments there.

Then things started happening. Midway through the third Megamix Tournament, the power had been unexpectedly cut, shorting out all the power in a five block radius from the dome. Because the loss of power shut down the technology used to operate the tournament, the third Megamix Tournament needed to be cancelled. However, during the second Battle of the Luminaries, something more-devastating happened that, in the end, created massive vines and huge crystals that destroyed most of the dome and hotel. The tournament obviously needed to be cancelled and, because the two cancellations had taken a huge financial toll on both SSBFreak and Tinyhammer, neither of the two could really afford to pay to have the damages fixed. The two had taken huge losses in having to cancel the tournaments in the first place. Since then, the dome and hotel had sat dormant, with no events going on inside, causing the buildings to slowly fall into decay under the passage of time.

"Why are we here, SSB?" Tinyhammer asked. "I know you don't like thinking back to then."

SSBFreak paused, hands in his pockets. "Tiny, I know you've been planning a revitalization of the Battle of the Luminaries in Fictograph City." He mentioned.

Tinyhammer shrugged. "Yeah, I guess seeing Orange's Tournament of Kikai there kind of brought back some desire to stage a comeback." He admitted. "I figured Fictograph was more of a fit for me because…Well, I guess I'd have more reach with non-video game players in a more-generalized node."

"Yeah, and I get that. But…That means that you may know what I can do in the situation I'm in now since you're getting back into the tournament business."

"What do you mean?"

SSBFreak sighed. "I…Got an offer to rent the Megamix Dome out for a new tournament." He replied.

Tinyhammer did a double-take. "W-Wait, WHAT?!" He asked.

"I know. You know GreyRaine, right?"

"Yeah, he was a big supporter of our tournaments." Tinyhammer nodded. "You mean he wants to rent out the Megamix Dome for his own tournament or something?"

"I think so, yeah."

"Dude, you SEE the sorry state this place is in!" Tinyhammer reminded, waving his hand at the ruined dome and hotel in front of the pair.

"I know!"

"You can't, in good conscience, seriously think about renting the place out to him in this state!"

"I KNOW!" SSBFreak insisted. "Maybe he doesn't know that the dome and hotel are still in this state! I mean, that 'cleanup crew' we got to fix the place up after the second Battle of the Luminaries got shot kind of bailed after a few days so maybe he doesn't know that nothing's been done about it!"

Tinyhammer paused, and then sighed. "Look, I know how much this place means to you, and I get that renting the place out would breathe some new life into it again after so long, but…Be honest with me: Do you have the funds to pay for professional repairs so that it'd be ready for Grey?"

"Heck no, man. I lost a lot of money cancelling the third Megamix Tournament and have been relying on my Survivor series to keep me afloat financially." SSBFreak shook his head. "I would LOVE to see the dome get used again but…Well, I just can't afford to fix the damages."

Tinyhammer sighed. "I'm sorry, SSB, but…I don't really have anything I can say to help you." He admitted. "I know you want to see this place up and running again and I know you want to help Grey get his tournament off the ground but…Well, look at this place. It'd need a MIRACLE to get this place up and running again at ALL."

SSBFreak sighed and looked down. "I know. To be honest, that's kind of what hurts me the most." He admitted. "I guess I just…Thought I'd run everything by you and see what you thought about it."

"I understand, man. I'm just…Sorry that things are turning out the way they are." Tinyhammer shrugged, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"…Me too, Tiny."

After a moment of silence, Tinyhammer glanced at his watch and saw that time. "Uh…Look, SSB. This has been fun to catch up but I need to get going." He admitted. "I…Still have a lot of planning to do and not a lot of time to do it."

"Yeah, for sure. I'm glad we got the chance to visit, anyways." SSBFreak shrugged.

After exchanging a few more words for their goodbyes, Tinyhammer walked off, though not before apologizing to his friend again for not being able to help him in the way he may have wanted. As Tinyhammer walked off, this left SSBFreak alone again, standing in front of the wrecked ruins of the Megamix Dome. The blonde man looked at the ruins again, reminiscing about old times silently and wishing that there was more that he could realistically do…

"A shame, ain't it?"

SSBFreak's eyes widened as he spun around, finding himself looking to his right and seeing a new, unfamiliar man standing near him, staring at the ruined dome himself. He was an older man with gray hair and a goatee, dressed in a black suit and holding a decorative walking cane in his hands.

"Um…Excuse me?" SSBFreak asked.

The newcomer turned his head to look at the blonde man. "This place here, boyo. I can tell that it means a lot to you but even I can tell it's seen better days." He lamented. "What was it called again? The Megamix Dome or something like that?"

"…Yeah? Can I help you?"

"Look, sonny. Just call me a fan or entertainment. I couldn't help but overhear your plight and I figured that…Well, maybe I can help." The old man smirked. "Allow me to introduce myself: Shawn O. Gorman."

SSBFreak paused, staring suspiciously for a few seconds before staring flatly. "Yeah, no. I'm not buying that." He said.

The man gave an innocent smirk. "Whatever do you mean, my friend? I'm just a humble entertainment enthusiast." He insisted.

"Look, maybe that guise would work on other people, but not someone who's started more than TEN new games of Skyrim." SSBFreak said flatly, arms crossed. "You didn't even disguise your face. Plus, come on: 'Shawn O. Gorman'? Are you even TRYING, Sheogorath?"

The man paused for a moment before giving a loud cackle, his black tuxedo disintegrating into thin air and replaced by a half-orange-half-purple suit jacket, shedding the disguise he was using. "Ah, I knew I shoulda tried a little harder than to hide myself from someone who knows about me!" He admitted. "But, then again, it makes it SO MUCH FUN when the people know who they're dealing with!"

SSBFreak sighed. "Well, now that we've established who you are, what do you want with me?" He asked. "Or, I guess the question is what do you want with the DOME?"

Sheogorath laughed. "Why would you think I have ulterior motives, friend?" He asked.

"You're the LITERAL Daedric Prince of MADNESS." SSBFreak reminded.

The mad god approached the blonde man and gave him a hard slap on the back. "Tell ya what! How about we discuss business over lunch? I have LOTS of good business details to go over with you!" He said.

"I haven't agreed to anything yet!" SSBFreak insisted as Sheogorath led him away.

"You will."

(VG Central; Pub)

SSBFreak sat at a table across from the mad god as Sheogorath indulged himself with a variety of cheesy foods he had ordered, seemingly engrossed in it all. The two had been at this pub for a good while now and the mad god had yet to bring up any sort of business talk he had previously mentioned; he was simply content to ramble on about cheese.

"I swear I had no idea people were capable of doing so many things with cheese! Sometimes this mortal race makes me proud! I mean, look at this!" Sheogorath said as he excitedly held up a piece of cheese pizza. "This combination of dough, cheese and sauce is delightful! And then I hear that these pizza things are so customizable that you can get pretty much anything on them! Oh, maybe next time I'll throw a few pineapple chunks on it! I'm sure that'll be a combination no one will have any problems with! No, sir!"

SSBFreak sighed and sat back as Sheogorath continued. "Oh, and those poutine things! Whoever decided that it was a good idea to throw cheese curds on shaven potatoes deserves a spot in my personal pantheon back on the Shivering Isles!" The mad god giddily rambled on as he reached for a side dish he had ordered and held up a mozzarella stick. "And THESE! All they are is just battered, fried cheese, and they're still so HEAVENLY! I need to remember the recipes for these dishes for back home! May even get me a few thousand new followers, eh?"

Holding onto his head, SSBFreak finally decided to speak up. "Can we get to the point?" He asked.

"Eh?"

"Look, you said that you wanted to help me with the dome, right?" SSBFreak asked.

"Yeah, I believe I did…Though, my memory's been a little spotty since I also remember you having a third ear when I mentioned that." Sheogorath shrugged as bit off half the cheese stick in his hand.

"…WHY?"

Sheogorath gave a playful smirk. "Whatever do you mean?" He asked innocently.

"You're the Daedric Prince of MADNESS. You live to meddle with the affairs of mortals because it gives you your kicks." SSBFreak pointed out. "So WHY do you suddenly want to help me revitalize the Megamix Dome?"

"Whoever said anything about HELPING?" Sheogorath quizzed. "I'm offering to fix up the dome and hotel for you MYSELF. One snap of the fingers and the whole thing is back to normal, polished and refreshed as if nothing had happened to it in the first place!"

"…And what do YOU get out of it?" SSBFreak folded his arms.

Sheogorath laughed. "Ah, I just LOVE it when the people realize that there's a catch!" He said. "Don't worry; I'm not going to ask for your firstborn or eternal servitude or anything."

"…Then what DO you want?"

Sheogorath leaned forward as a dark smirk floated across his maniacal face. "I want in." He said simply.

"…What?"

"Look, Imma cut to the chase. These tournaments bring in chaos every time one of them happens. It's just accepted that these multiversal fighting tournaments attract the type of people that make the night so fun and interesting that I get a year's worth of kicks just from watching it for ONE NIGHT!" Sheogorath exclaimed. "I LIVE for the type of chaos that these tournaments bring in! So, here's my offer: I fix up the dome for you, completely free of charge, and in return I want in on the action itself. The next time you do a tournament, I want a reserved slot as a Mystery Fighter."

"Wait. I haven't even thought about doing a tournament myself! I have too much going on!" SSBFreak insisted.

"Oh, I know. But when you DO decide that you wanna do another tournament, keep me on speed dial." Sheogorath said.

SSBFreak paused in thought. He knew Sheogorath was very-capable of rebuilding the dome and hotel by himself if he wanted to and it seemed like he genuinely wanted to at this point. The blonde man knew right off the bat that he had no plans to restart the Megamix Tournament in the foreseeable future, but he also knew that this could potentially be the best way to get the dome back up and running again for when Grey wanted to rent out the place for his own tournament. The blonde man tussled with his inner thoughts for a moment, trying to come up with a decision on what to do.

After a moment, SSBFreak sighed and opened his eyes, staring at Sheogorath again. He had a feeling he was going to regret this. "Fine. BUT I have a few stipulations." He said.

"That's fine. Hope you don't mind that I have a few of my own." Sheogorath shrugged as he reached into his coat and pulled out a scroll. He unrolled the scroll as SSBFreak watched the bottom of the parchment hit the floor, roll along the ground, over a confused-looking Goomba, snaking about for about twenty feet before finally coming to a rest near a table occupied by some of the skaters from Jet Grind Radio.

"Uh…What's that?" SSBFreak asked.

"My list of counter-stipulations, my friend." Sheogorath said. "Every time you bring up a condition, I'll counter with one of my own. Sound fair?"

SSBFreak paused, and then sighed again. "Fine. For starters, I'll be renting out the place to someone else so that they can host their own tournament at the Megamix Dome." He said. "I don't want you interfering with his tournament in ANY WAY."

"Do I look like the kind of insane madman that would do something like that?" Sheogorath smirked.

"First chance you'd get."

"Eh, fair enough. Okay, I'll keep my nose out of his business but, in return, I want a private booth in your tournament." Sheogorath explained. "So when I'm not in the arena I can still watch the chaos of the tournament away from the crowds of my adoring fans."

"That's…Fine. You can throw in a private booth if you wanted." SSBFreak sighed. "Okay. Next condition: When you're in the ring, you play FAIR. You put a limit on how much you'll use your otherworldly powers."

"Fine, fine. I suppose that makes sense. Can't have me decimating people with a snap of the finger or unravelling their faces with a spin of the hand, after all." Sheogorath shrugged as he went over his list a bit. "Okay…Here's my counter: I want the ability to pick TWO additional Mystery Fighters."

SSBFreak bit his lip, knowing that giving Sheogorath free reign over a choice like that was just asking for trouble with his sense of humour. "…Okay. BUT make sure that you get people from outside your franchise. I want to keep Mystery Fighters at one per franchise still. So none of your other all-powerful Daedric Prince friends." He said.

"Eh, not that the other Daedric Princes would really consider me a FRIEND." Sheogorath admitted as he went down his list. "Okay. Next one: The security team that you always hire for these things? I want you to hire back the two funny ones." He said.

SSBFreak's eyes snapped open. "PSYMON STARK and MAX?!" He demanded. "They caused not only me but everyone involved with the security teams no end of headaches!"

"Exactly! The funny ones!"

Psymon Stark was a resident of the SSX node, and the only person present on the security team for all three of SSBFreak's tournaments, and Max, whom had come from the Sam & Max node, was present in the latter two. They had proven themselves to be insane, attracting and causing chaos everywhere they went, more-interested in looking for fun things to do to keep themselves occupied rather than actually doing any security work. The only reason SSBFreak invited them back so many times was that they offered to work for free.

Now one of Sheogorath's conditions was that he bring the two BACK? SSBFreak feared the headaches that the two would surely bring. One was a psychotic, pain-seeking snowboarder that talked and argued with his own tattoos and the other…Well, the other was Max from Sam & Max.

SSBFreak wrestled with inner turmoil again for what seemed like minutes before finally glancing at Sheogorath. "…Fine." He said.

"Oh, goody! Those two were always so fun to watch!" Sheogorath laughed. "What's the next condition, then? This is fun!"

The two went back and forth several times, each with their own stipulation and counter-condition. Every time SSBFreak thought of something to tell Sheogorath NOT to do, the mad god countered with another condition from his long, long list of stipulations himself. Finally, after what must have been thirty minutes of the two going back and forth with conditions and counter-conditions, SSBFreak had run out of things to add, though he noticed that Sheogorath had barely gone through his list.

Still, the mad god seemed satisfied as he rolled the long parchment back up into a scroll format, taking several minutes to do so. "Well, if you're done, then I suppose I'm done." Sheogorath admitted. "I'm glad we could come to an agreement that we're both satisfied with."

"Well, I guess I'm as satisfied as I CAN be when dealing with someone like YOU." SSBFreak rolled his eyes. "So I guess this means you'll rebuild the dome and hotel and fix all the damage done to it?"

"Oh, that? I did that while we were eating." Sheogorath replied, pointing over SSBFreak's shoulder.

SSBFreak's eyes widened as he spun around in his seat, looking out the window at where the ruined dome was across the street. The dome and hotel were fully-rebuilt and all the vine, crystal and time-worn damage had been completely-reversed. It looked like the dome and hotel had been freshly-constructed and ready to start the next tournament all anew as if nothing had happened to it in the first place.

"W-What?...When did you…" SSBFreak said as he turned around again, only to stop himself when he saw Sheogorath's seat empty. The mad god had vanished completely, as if into thin air, leaving nothing but empty plates with bits of dried cheese stuck to them.

SSBFreak looked around the pub and, when the realization set in, he gave a frustrated sigh. "Looks like I'm paying his tab…" He muttered to himself.

(VG Central; Café; Six Months Later)

Winter had fallen on VG Central, and the bustling metropolis was no less-full of life than it had been during the summer. SSBFreak had come back to visit this node today to do some major planning on a project of his, and had gone to a local café to sit and scribble down some plans in solitude.

Grey's tournament, the Okron Tournament, had been declared a resounding success when it had been hosted in the newly-refurbished Megamix Dome. Obviously, he had made a few altercations to some sections of the dome to better-suit his tournament, but all in all things seemed to pass by smoothly. At the same time, Tinyhammer's revived Battle of the Luminaries had been met with acclaim when it had been hosted in the neighbouring hub of Fictograph City.

Seeing those two tournaments flourish, in addition to seeing the success and attention drawn in by the Tournament of Kikai, hosted by another of his friends, SSBFreak suddenly found himself with an urge to host another Megamix Tournament. He had already scribbled down some ideas for potential fighters and promotional materials for the event that, at the time, may or may not even happen. However, as time passed on, SSBFreak found himself coming up with more and more ideas. He even had a goal in mind to start up a potential reboot of the Megamix Tournament by the summer.

For the first time in years, SSBFreak was getting excited about the Megamix Tournament again.

"Here's your order! Sorry for the wait!" A barista said as they placed SSBFreak's hot chocolate on the countertop.

"Oh! Great!" SSBFreak said as he took his drink and went back to his table. "Thanks!"

SSBFreak returned to his table, sat down and prepared to scribble down more ideas. However, before he could start, he glanced at his cup and noticed something was off: Instead of his name, the barista had scribbled "Shawn O. Gorman" on the front. SSBFreak's eyes snapped open as he turned to look at the counter and, more specifically, the staff working behind it.

Sheogorath stood behind the counter, dressed as a barista. Seeing SSBFreak looking at him, the mad god gave a sly smirk, winked at the blonde man and gave a knowing wave.

SSBFreak sat in silence, staring at the mad god incredulously. He looked down at his list of ideas and paused for a moment, pondering what he should do. After a while, the blonde man gave a sigh, hoping that he would live to regret this choice he was about to make.

Reaching for the page for potential Mystery Fighters, SSBFreak scribbled down "SHEOGORATH" on it amongst the others he had already put down, and jotted down a "+2" beside it…