Section One

(The Arena)

The audience cheered wildly as the spotlight continued to shine on the curtain at the top of the entrance ramp, anticipating the first fighter. Once the first fighter made their entrance, the tournament would officially be underway and, with a pool of over four hundred fighters in the roster for this competition, the audience was on edge as they waited with baited breath to see who among the huge roster had drawn the first entry.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen…" SSBFreak announced. "…The fighter who drew number one…"

"Uh…And that's largely because he physically-DEMANDED to be given number one." Khall interjected. "Seriously, it was kinda scary…"

Background music started playing as the curtain was pushed aside, the first entrant emerging from within the Ready Room…

"SOLDIER!" (TF2)

Standing proudly at the top of the entrance ramp, and rocket launcher slung over his shoulder, the hardhat-wearing mercenary of TF2 gazed around at the cheering audience. Smirking to himself, Soldier gave a proud salute as TF2's trademark theme blared through the speaker system. After a few seconds of saluting to the audience, Soldier grabbed his rocket launcher and aimed in at his feet. The audience cheered wildly, knowing that Soldier was about to use his trademark rocket jump to make a grand entrance into the arena. As the audience continued to cheer him on, Soldier pointed his rocket launcher down, pulled the trigger…

…And promptly exploded into a hundred bloody chunks.

The audience's cheers came to a sudden halt as they stared at the place Soldier had just been standing as an empty hardhat landed on the ramp, rolling down it and falling off, into an elimination portal (and into Worms, which caused one side of the battle to mistake the falling hat as a declaration of war against them). Crickets could be heard chirping, though since it was coming from the speakers it was likely that the trio in the sound booth had set up the sound on purpose.

"…Uh…Please bear with me, ladies and gentlemen. Let's just…Give him a chance to respawn…" SSBFreak announced. "…And…make sure he remembers to equip the right gear this time."

After a few awkward seconds, Soldier reemerged from the curtain, looking furious. The audience's cheers resumed as Soldier begrudgingly trudged down to the arena and stepped in, grumbling to himself and realizing that he had blown his chance to make a grand entrance. As Soldier stepped into the arena, the background music changed to signify that the next competitor was about to enter the ring. Soldier turned his gaze up to the curtain he had just emerged from (twice, for that matter).

"And now, the person who drew number TWO…"

"ATHENA ASAMIYA!" (KOF)

The crowd cheered wildly as a cheerful, purple-haired pop star emerged from behind the curtain and started waving to the crowd energetically. One of Athena's pop songs was playing through the speakers as Athena cracked her knuckles, waved a few more times and ran down the ramp.

Standing in the arena, Soldier watched as Athena came down the ramp, waiting somewhat impatiently for her to arrive, and jumped back in surprise when Athena teleported into the arena when she got to the end of the ramp rather than jump in.

"Sweet land of liberty, lady!" Soldier shouted. "W-What kind of voodoo magic did you just do?!"

"Oh, that? It's all connected to my psycho abilities." Athena said brightly.

"What-now abilities?! Your wizard tricks won't work on me! Merasmus has been trying to read my mind for years and he's gotten nowhere!" Soldier laughed. "If you think you're going to mind control me with those psychic whatsits of yours then you've got another thing coming, lady!"

"Uh…That's…Not what they mean." Athena mentioned.

"Allow me to introduce you to my front line of mental defense against wizards!" Soldier said as he hoisted his rocket launched and pointed it right in Athena's face. "I call it 'Burning Napalm'!"

Athena was quick to lash out and fire a Psycho Ball into Soldier's rocket launcher, deflecting the insane mercenary's arm and causing him to fire a rocket into the air, causing it to fly out of the arena and explode against the forcefield keeping the audience safe.

"Hey! I was saving that for your face!" Soldier cried indignantly.

"Maybe you'll have to suffice with this!" Athena said with a smirk as she fired a second Psycho Ball into Soldier's face.

"ROY!" (SSB)

The red-haired swordsman of Smash stepped out onto the ramp and looked around at the cheering fangirls (and a small group of people beating a guy with a 'keep anime out of Smash' sign over the head with his own sign). Giving a nod and taking a breath, Roy held the hilt of his sword, drew it and raced down to the arena, hoping to step into the fight between Soldier and Athena before the former lost the last of his marbles.

"Hey! Back off with the explosives!" Roy shouted as he lashed out with his sword, causing Soldier to jump backwards. "You're going to kill someone!"

"Um…Roy, don't you cause an explosion of fire if you charge your sword up long enough?" Athena lifted an eyebrow.

Roy groaned. "Ms. Asamiya, I'm trying to diffuse a situation here." He mentioned.

Soldier laughed. "Diffuse?! What do I look like; Demoman?! Even then, that Scottish drunk doesn't diffuse a thing! He explodes everything regardless! Most of the time he doesn't even remember arming his bombs and he blows them up by accident!" He replied.

Roy held up his sword as Soldier fired another rocket, this time at him. Roy swung his sword and expertly sliced clean through the rocket, causing the two halves to explode behind him as they passed by him.

The redhead swordsman flashed a smirk as he looked up. "Your move-" He said before Soldier rushed up and clubbed him over the head with his rocket launcher.

"What is with you people making me waste my rockets?! Each and every one of those rockets is meant to tell a beautiful, meaningful story as it blows you up!" Soldier shouted as he repeatedly beat down on Roy with his rocket launcher.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Stop that! Ow! Hey! Ow! Come on! Ow!"

Athena watched the scene from afar and decided that she would probably be better off fighting whoever was coming out next. The pop star left Soldier and Roy to their…Uh…'Fight' as she glanced up at the entrance curtain.

"GRENINJA!" (PKMN)

(There's a man that lives a life of danger…)

(To everyone he meets, he stays a stranger…)

(With every move me makes, another chance he takes…)

(Odds are he won't live to see tomorrow…)

(Secret Agent Man! Secret Agent Man!)

(They've given you a number and taken away your name!)

Emerging from the curtain next (to what sounded like a version of the Secret Agent Man sung by the scratchy, off-key voice Meowth) was a familiar frog-ninja hybrid, crouching low and striking a trademark pose as the audience cheered. Greninja held up his hands and created some water spouts from his palms, and then shot them at the ground, propelling himself into the air with the force of the water jets from his hands. The audience cheered louder, seeing Greninja essentially pulling off the stunt that Soldier had failed spectacularly to do.

Luckily for Greninja, Soldier was still preoccupied with Roy or else he would have seen what he would have obviously called direct plagiarism. Instead, Greninja landed gracefully in front of Athena, seeing her without a fighting opponent for the time being.

"Ja!" Greninja greeted, getting back into a ninja-like stance.

"Oh, you look so cute! You'd be sure to bring in a lot of fans for my shows!" Athena said eagerly.

Greninja paused. "G-Gren?" He asked.

"And those water tricks of yours! It'll be like a circus act!" Athena said. "Come on! If we put on a show here and now for the crowd, then you'll get a head start on making the audience love you!"

Greninja, starting to panic, lashed out and threw a shuriken of water at Athena, whom teleported out of the way easily and showed off to the crowd for a seconds before looking at her opponent again. "Great! Let's keep doing this!" She urged. "We'll need to put the audience into a good mood for when they come see our show!"

Greninja suddenly realized he wished he was fighting Soldier…

"MENAT!" (SF5)

Rose's apprentice emerged from the curtain to a loud cheer, waving to the crowd as her crystal ball floated around her gracefully. Menat walked down the ramp, seemingly taking her time, as she scanned the arena, looking as though she was looking for someone specific.

"Hmm…I know Master Rose told me to watch for them to warn them of her vision, but I have no idea when they'll show up in the arena…" Menat muttered to herself. "I…Guess I'll just have to wait in the arena until they enter…"

Soldier looked up as he was continuing to bludgeon Roy with his rocket launcher in time to see Menat warp into the arena in a similar fashion to Athena. "Augh! Another wizard?! Where do these vermin keep coming from?!" Soldier said as he looked around. "Where are you, Merasmus?! I know you're pranking me again! I TOLD you I'd have your rent money on Thursday!...Oh, wait. It's Saturday, isn't it?"

"What in the world are you babbling about?" Menat lifted an eyebrow as she came over.

"Ha! I'm onto you, wizard! You think you'll wipe my mind and make me do crude things against my will so easily?! Well, the joke's on you! Merasmus tried doing that already!" Soldier laughed. "What do you have to say about THAT, foolish wizard lady?!"

Menat blinked a few times and blasted Soldier in the face with a shot of soul energy that fired from her levitating crystal ball, knocking the deranged mercenary off of Roy. Menat took the time to help Roy up. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"…M-My friends call me...'Moon Unit'…" Roy said, in a daze, as he struggled to stay on his feet. He was promptly brought back to reality by Menat backhanding him across the face. "A-Ah!...Oh…Um, thanks for that. I really wasn't expecting that guy to be so relentless…"

"I won't know until the arena is filled, but my aura readings told me he's the most-dangerous person in the arena so far." Menat explained. "It'd be real stupid to try and take him unprepared."

"Yeah, I…Know that now…" Roy rubbed his head painfully.

"SACKBOY!" (PSAS)

Emerging from the curtain next was a small doll-like figure, much smaller than anyone else thus far, waving cheerily to the audience for a few seconds before eagerly jogging down to the arena. On the way down, Sackboy brought up his menu and summoned something to help him clear the gap between the entrance ramp in the arena. Sackboy, mid-run, decided on a rocket, pulling it out of his menu and into reality as he jumped onto it and rode it into the air, soaring straight towards the arena.

Greninja looked up, saw Sackboy-riding-a-rocket flying towards the fight he was having with Athena and quickly ninja-teleported out of the way in a panic. Athena paused, looked back and saw Sackboy's rocket falling towards her. The pop idol yelped and teleported herself, causing Sackboy to hit the canvas of the arena and blow up his rocket, launching the cloth doll being forward several feet, landing awkwardly on his face but pushing himself to his feet with an expression that could only be joy.

Athena stood over Sackboy, having teleported out of range of his rocket's explosion, and folded her arms. "Hey! Someone could have gotten seriously hurt!" She scolded.

Sackboy stared up at Athena with a confused expression.

"Look, I won't deny that you made…Well, a spectacular entrance. In fact I'd say that you may just be something else my tour needs…" Athena mused. Greninja was seen slowly tiptoeing away behind her. "B-But I can't have you just endangering everyone around you like that!"

Sackboy tilted his head, stood in silence for a few seconds…And then threw a banana peel into Athena's face before running away with a childish grin on his face.

Athena ripped the banana peel off her face and narrowed her eyes. "Oh, you're going to get it, now!" She said as she tossed the banana peel behind her and rushed off after Sackboy.

"BOOM BOOM!" (SMB)

"Wait! Demoman told the guys in charge his college nickname?" Soldier suddenly looked up at the entrance ramp after recovering from another blast of soul power to his face. However, instead of seeing a familiar demolition expert drunkenly staggering down the ramp, he instead saw a huge turtle-like creature with huge fists charging down the ramp instead. "Huh…Demo kinda looks different…"

Boom Boom reached the end of the ramp and leapt into the air, huge arms flailing wildly as he soared into the arena and landed on the canvas with a loud crash. Setting his sights on Roy and Menat, Boom Boom narrowed his eyes and charged over, flattening Soldier as he ran over him. Running over to Roy and Menat, Boom Boom pulled a huge fist backwards, winding it up for a punch…

Roy quickly got in front of Menat and held up his sword to block. Boom Boom's fist made contact with Roy's blade and all of a sudden the redhead swordsman countered his attack, launching the huge, angry Koopa backwards, causing him to land shell-down beside Soldier.

"Ugh…King Bowser warned me about those anime swordsmen guys…" Boom Boom muttered to himself as he got back into a standing position. "Try that again, punk! It won't work on me a second time!"

Roy smirked. "YOU I know I can take. You're just a big meathead that thinks with his fists." He noted.

"And what's wrong with that?!" Boom Boom snapped. "You TRYING to make me mad?!"

Menat focused her mind on Boom Boom and lifted an eyebrow. "Strange…His mind seems…Different. It's almost as if he DOES use his actions think for him…" She noted. She was about to step forward and help Roy face the angry Boom Boom before she paused, sensing a strange, unfamiliar aura coming from the entrance ramp. She glanced towards the curtain, realizing that the next fighter was the source of the strange aura…

"ORION!" (BH)

Stepping out from the entrance curtain next was a fully-armoured figure wearing white and golden plating. However, rather than be greeted by cheers from the audience, Brawlhalla's resident mysterious spaceman was greeted by boos from most of the audience around him.

Orion looked around curiously. "Huh…Wasn't expecting that kind of reaction…" He mused as he started making his way down to the ring, though suddenly felt himself getting pelted with objects. Looking around again, he saw that the audience near the entrance ramp was hurling wheels of cheese at him. "…Okay. That reaction I guess I was expecting." He shrugged as he continued on, deciding to ignore the jeering and chalk it up as salty people.

Menat approached Orion as the mysterious knight landed in the ring. "Your aura…It's unlike anything I've seen before…" She noted. "It's just…Shrouded in a mysterious cloud I can't see behind."

Orion didn't seem fazed by Menat's comment and summoned a futuristic-looking spear into his hands. "Yeah. There are a lot of things you don't need to know about me." He mentioned.

Menat narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she got into a stance. "This is something I can't ignore…Master Rose wouldn't want me to sweep it under the rug, anyways." She shook her head.

Orion stoically got into a stance, the jet boosters on his back slowly coming to life. "You don't know what you're getting into…" He warned.

(Announcer's Booth)

Khall blinked in confusion. "Uh…Hey, boss-man? What's up with the people throwing all that cheese at the weird, edgy cyber-knight-guy?" He asked.

"You've…Obviously never faced Orion online in Brawlhalla before." SSBFreak gave a sigh.

"Why would I face Orion online? Does he play online?"

"That was a rhetorical question, Khall."

"What do rats have to do with this? Is it because they like cheese?"

"That's…" SSBFreak started before he stopped himself, realizing that he was fighting a losing battle. "Just…Hey, how about you try calling up the security team and make sure they've checked in? They need to start doing their rounds pretty soon."

"Oh! Sure thing!" Khall said as he grabbed at a phone on the desk and paused. "Um…What's their number, again?"

"Just push the big button on the phone that has Max's head on it." SSBFreak sighed.

(Sound Booth)

Astaroth gave a hard laugh. "Oh, I've missed doing this! It's just not the same when it's not in the original dome!" He admitted. "This is the most fun I have when not devouring a soul!"

"So why the heck did Meowth give you that CD, Shadow?" Aila asked as Shadow took a CD out of the sound system, having used it to play Greninja's opening theme.

"Honestly, I don't know. This whole CD is just covers of him singing other songs that he wants to use for the rest of the Pokemon crew." Shadow admitted. "Part of me thinks he wanted to troll the rest of them but another part thinks he just wants to show off his mixtape."

Astaroth scratched his head. "Why did that little cat thing speak, anyways? I thought the only one that could talk was that Mewtwo thing." He mentioned.

"Better question: When did he decide to try his hand at SINGING?" Shadow asked. "That voice was as grating as that green bird Sonic and his friends raced hoverboards with a few times."

Aila blinked. "Didn't Meowth have a cancelled game where he played a guitar?" She shrugged. "Maybe that's where he's getting it from?"

(Hotel; Restaurant)

"Okay! One salmon fillet, coming up!" The head chef of the restaurant, Chef Kawasaki from the Kirby franchise, said as he finished taking a customer's order. "Just head on over to your table and we'll have your order out shortly."

When SSBFreak looked to man the stores and eateries in the dome and hotel, he realized that he needed to look elsewhere for the talent and manpower to run things at least semi-professionally. For the restaurant, SSBFreak eventually found Chef Kawasaki and hired him on to be the head chef for the night while, at the same time, hiring a couple other well-known chefs to help out and prepare the food.

Chef Kawasaki turned to the back wall of the restaurant, where there was a hole cut into peeking into the kitchen. "Okay, Chef! One salmon fillet and the homestyle fries!" He called out.

Poking his head into view was a familiar humanoid dressed like a chef, with bushy eyebrows and a thick mustache. "Oh! Okie-dokie!" The chef said in a thick, barely-understandable Swedish accent. "Tater-taters wiff der fishie-fishe!"

Leaving the Swedish Chef to prepare the meal, Chef Kawasaki turned to the customer. "He'll bring it right out, but please give it time." He said. "You're not due to enter the arena for a while, are you?"

Standing at the counter, having just order his food, was a small, balding man dressed as a scientist, with black facial hair and a big N in the middle of his forehead. "No, I got a decent draw tonight." Dr. Cortex insisted with a handwave. "I can afford to treat myself to a decent meal before I enter the arena. May even put me in a good mood."

Chef Kawasaki. "Just checkin', sir. We don't want your food getting cold because you had to leave for the arena." He said while, behind him in the kitchen, the Swedish Chef held a knife above his head only for a live fish to jump up and slap him in the face with its tail.

Cortex gave a nod as he turned and walked over to a table that was already occupied by one other person: A man similarly balding and dressed as a scientist but with gray facial hair rather than black (in addition to being at least two feet taller than Cortex). He was sitting at the table and appeared to be checking something on a tablet of some kind.

"Checking in on your bumbling Robot Masters, Albert?" Cortex said with a smirk as he approached the table.

Dr. Wily shot Cortex a glare as the shorter scientist sat down at the table. "You know, that's rich coming from YOU considering the help YOU usually get." The older scientist retorted.

Cortex rolled his eyes. "Bumbling or not, at least they can get the job done and aren't weak to each other's weapons." He replied. "I believe you brought with you the one that's actually weak to his OWN weapon?"

"Can we PLEASE have a business conversation without devolving into petty insults?!" Wily complained. "I thought that was why we were here in the first place!"

"I know. I know. It's just that you've always been so much fun to rile up." Cortex chuckled. Wily grumbled as the shorter scientist continued. "Now, I assume that you got my memo before we arrived here?"

"I did, and I agree that this chance at that kind of power is too good to pass up." Wily nodded. "But…Here's the catch. We both know each other FAR too well. How do either of us trust the other to not try and take all the power for themselves?"

Cortex twirled his mustache in thought for a moment before giving a smirk. "Think of it this way: The power we could attain is FAR MORE than enough for either of us." He admitted. "We may be old rivals but we're still scientists at heart. It'd be, quite frankly, foolish to not divide everything up. There's a respect between us, isn't there?"

Wily stared flatly, making Cortex's smirk drop. He sighed. "Fine. Neither of us trusts the other. We can agree on that. But we both know we can't pull this off without each other, right?" He said. "We both have the brains, but you have the technology and I have the manpower."

"I have NINE loyal Robot Masters." Wily reminded.

"I have Koala Kong and Tiny Tiger. Each of them can bench-press half your scrap heap robots." Cortex countered.

Wily sighed. "Okay. I'll concede that you have a point, but I think we may need some additional help for something this big." He said. "Someone as intelligent as we are, perhaps."

Cortex pondered for a moment. "I wonder if we can track down Ivo." He mentioned. "We know the blue hedgehog is entering with the Smash fighters, so Ivo's probably not far behind with an army of his own."

Wily folded his arms. "I trust Eggman far less than I trust YOU." He said. "He's tried and failed to take over the world more times than either of us and has betrayed pretty much everyone that he's worked with."

"If we go into that with that mindset, then at least we'll know to expect it." Cortex reasoned. "Besides, do YOU know of anyone smart enough for us to enlist in a plan this big?"

Wily paused for a moment, then sighed. "No. No, I don't. It pains me to say this but perhaps Eggman IS our best bet." He admitted. "But that's assuming he's come here to begin with."

"I'll send my minions to search him out. He HAS to be here, though." Cortex shook his head. "There's no way he would pass up a chance to destroy his hedgehog enemy."

In the meantime, Kawasaki had just gotten off the phone with someone and scribbled down an order. "Okay. One caprice salad; shouldn't take too long to make…" He muttered as he turned towards the kitchen, where the Swedish Chef was heard screaming. "How's that salmon coming along, Chef?"

By this point, the salmon now had the Swedish Chef in a headlock as he was staring out from a corner of the kitchen window, looking like he was in pain. "Um…D-Der fishie-fishie's okie-dokie!" He said, trying to sound assured, but the sight of the salmon having him in a headlock was showing otherwise. The salmon quickly knocked him down, pushing him out of view from the bottom of the kitchen window. The salmon was seen standing up, and then jumped into the air, doing an elbow-drop down past the kitchen window. The Swedish Chef's shouts of pain continued.

"Um…Okay. I have a salad to make, so if you need help with that, let me know." Kawasaki said as he walked over to a prep counter.

(The Arena)

"YOUNG LINK!" (HW)

The first of the three Links emerged from the curtain, Keaton Mask on the side of his head and large sword at his side, though the Fierce Deity Mask hung around his belt, ready to be thrown on at a moment's notice. The child Link waved to the crowd before energetically running down to the ring with all the courage that came with being a Link, leaping in.

Soldier was in the process of firing more rockets everywhere, trying to hit Boom Boom in the back while the huge Koopa was dealing with Roy, only for the Boom Boom's shell to block all of the explosions, when he saw Young Link land in the ring. The deranged man gave a laugh as the small, young fighter came jogging over to him. "Son, I think you must have made a wrong turn! This is a fighting arena, where only the toughest, bravest warriors gather!" He said. "The playground must be somewhere back from where you came from!"

Young Link smirked and brandished his sword. "No, I'm right where I want to be." He insisted.

Soldier's response was to point his rocket launcher straight at Young Link's face. "Eh, I tried. You knew what you were getting into, son." He said simply.

Young Link's response was to grab the Fierce Deity Mask and throw it on, engulfing him in a bright light that, when faded, revealed that Young Link had transformed into a full-grown adult with glowing eyes, facial markings and an even-larger sword. The transformed Young Link lashed out with his sword and knocked Soldier's rocket launcher away.

"Oh, come on! How many of you filthy wizards did Merasmus hire, anyways?!" Soldier demanded as he pulled his shovel into view. "I TOLD him I'd get him his rent money!"

"PAHN!" (ST)

Standing outside the curtain next was a young, dark-haired monk (and one of Tir McDohl's inner circle of allies), ignoring the reaction the crowd around him was giving. He tried to not care what the audience thought of him, trying to push a few negative thoughts from his mind as he felt he was unworthy of praise in the first place.

Pahn stepped forward and marched down the entrance ramp after cracking his knuckles to prepare for battle. He didn't know when Tir, Gremio or Cleo entered the arena, but he told himself that he wanted to make sure he cleaned up as best as he could until one of them entered the arena.

(Here we come…Walking down the street…)

(We get the funniest looks from…Everyone we meet…)

Pahn froze, suddenly realizing that a song was playing despite him not requesting one.

(Hey! Hey! We're the Monk-ees!)

(And people say we Monk-ey around!)

(But we're too busy singin' to put anybody down!)

Sure enough, when Pahn glanced up at the Sound Booth, he saw Aila giving Shadow a high-five while Astaroth was already rearing back and laughing his head off. Pahn tried to ignore the mismatched trio trolling him from the Sound Booth as he continued on his way while the Monkees theme song continued to play over the speakers.

Pahn stepped into the arena and quickly ducked as a flying Greninja was thrown over him. Apparently, with Athena preoccupied with Sackboy, Greninja had taken it upon himself to try and help Roy with Boom Boom and was having problems. Pahn quickly helped the frog-ninja up.

"I see you're having trouble with the big guy." Pahn noted.

"Ja…" Greninja muttered, ashamed that he was having so much trouble with the large opponent.

"Here, let me help." Pahn offered as his fist started glowing, revealing that his Boar Rune was about to take effect as he turned towards Boom Boom.

Pahn suddenly shot past Roy and straight into Boom Boom's chest, delivering a powerful blow amplified by his rune's power. This was enough to launch Boom Boom flying far enough away to remove him from the fight for now, at least long enough for Roy to catch his breath.

Roy sighed in relief. "Thanks. He was starting to wear me down." He admitted.

"We can wear HIM down together. He's the biggest threat right now." Pahn suggested as Greninja stepped up beside him with another "Ja!".

Roy nodded and drew his sword again. "Agreed."

"MEITENKUN!" (KOF)

(By the way, by the way, by the way, I'm not okay!)

(By the way, by the way, by the way, I'm not okay!)

(By the way, by the way, by the way, I'm not okay!)

(To be awake is the only thing I want!)

(With you, I'm just walking in my sleep!)

(To be awake is the only thing I want!)

(With you, I'm just walking in my sleep!)

Standing outside the curtain and already half-asleep, Meitenkun clutched his pillow close to him and yawned. Seemingly oblivious to the cheers of the crowd around him, Meitenkun staggered down to the arena in a sleepy daze before reaching the end of the ramp and groggily stepping in.

As Meitenkun entered the arena, Sackboy rushed by with Athena still chasing him. If the small doll were capable of laughter, you could bet he'd be having the time of his life as he pulled a small piano out of his menu and dropped it behind him as he ran.

As Athena saw the piano hitting the canvas, she teleported through the obstacle in an attempt to get closer to Sackboy. He had proven to be slippery enough to keep himself from getting caught and, to be frank, it just felt like the cloth doll was toying with her at this point. Athena was even starting to doubt if it was even worth enlisting Sackboy into her tour.

Suddenly, Athena came to a stop as she saw Meitenkun laying on the canvas, curled up with his pillow, and holding onto Sackboy like a teddy bear. Sackboy glanced up at Athena, gave a cheeky grin and waved as best as he could while Meitenkun was holding onto him.

"Um…Mein? Can you maybe let him go?" Athena asked.

Meitenkun drowsily opened one eye and looked up at Athena. "…W-Whuh?…N…Nah, I need a nap and I needed a teddy bear…" He mumbled.

Athena paused, going over her options. She realized that she didn't want to deal with an awake Meitenkun and that meant that disturbing him by taking Sackboy was out of the question. "Looks like I'm going to have to find someone else for now…" She mused as she turned around and walked off.

Suddenly, the lights near the entrance curtain darkened and the spotlights shining on the curtain brightened. It was clear that the next competitor to come out was someone that the hosts were about to hype, and the audience seemed to know what was coming…

"Mystery…Fighter…" A robotic, droning voice said through the speakers. "…ONE…"

The curtain opened as all the lights suddenly returned to normal…

"LORD HATER!" (Wander Over Yonder)

Standing outside of the entrance curtain was a villainous-looking skeleton-like being in a cloak. He bore a menacing stance, laughed maniacally and lifted his hands to the sky and called down what looked to be electrical magic into his hands as the crowd erupted in cheers around him. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that he was wearing very-visible, colourful sneakers he may have been taken a bit more-seriously.

Lord Hater cackled in glee as he looked around at the cheering audience. "They love me! Oh, they really love me!" He said in surprise. "They're not even WAITING for me to take this planet over before they start cheering me on! Ha! This'll be easier than I thought!"

With a newfound confidence in his stride, Lord Hater marched down the ramp to the ring and leapt over the gap between the two before catching his foot on the top rope as he was entering, tumbling in awkwardly and landing on the mat canvas flat on his face. Lord Hater promptly pushed himself up and spun around to glare at the audience. "NO ONE SAW THAT!" He snapped.

Lord Hater set his sights on the big fight between Boom Boom and the trio of Greninja, Roy and Pahn. Lord Hater smirked and rushed over to join the fight, clambering on top of the huge Koopa's back and getting into a standing position.

"H-Hey! What gives?!" Boom Boom demanded.

"Listen up! I shall aid you in kicking those annoying good guys' butts in return for your allegiance when I take over this world!" Lord Hater instructed as he gathered up more magical lightning in his hands.

"Hey, I've already GOT a boss!" Boom Boom snapped.

"Well, maybe he and I can discuss a timeshare or something." Lord Hater shrugged. "Now ATTACK!"

Roy jumped backwards as Lord Hater rained down lightning at the canvas near his feet. Boom Boom seemed to relent that he could use the help as he rushed headlong into battle again with Hater on his back.

"KAYA!" (BH)

Dressed in her fur suit despite not needing it indoors, the dark-haired teenager adjusted the hood of her coat and waved at the audience as she summoned a spear into her hands much like Orion did not long ago. Kaya glanced around the arena as she made her way down the ramp, looking for someone to fight.

Kaya's first instinct was to go over to help Orion with Menat, but he seemed to be holding up well enough (thanks largely to his armour blocking and deflecting Menat's magic attacks. Kaya then noticed that Soldier was fighting Young Link, whom had transformed back into his regular form and thus was a kid again. Seeing Young Link as someone that needed help Kaya reached the end of the ramp and leapt in, using frost magic to coat the end of her spear in an icy wind as she went through the air.

Soldier saw Kaya coming over and snarled. "ANOTHER one?! How much did Merasmus PAY you people?!" He demanded. "At this point he's going to spend more money than I'm in debt to pay him for rent in the first place!"

Kaya glanced down at Young Link. "Uh…What's with him?" She asked.

"I guess he has a distaste for magic." Young Link shrugged.

"Ha! Distaste! No, I know for a fact that magic tastes faintly like lavender and burnt tree bark!" Soldier insisted. "I hate magic because Merasmus keeps trying to kill me with it! He should have learned after the first thirty times failed!"

"You looked like you could use some help." Kaya said to the smaller fighter.

"Yeah, I guess I could always use it, though considering what I've fought in the past I wouldn't exactly call THIS guy out of my league." Young Link smirked.

"I know you two are talking about me. I hate it when people talk about me…Unless they're saying flattering things about me." Soldier said, clutching his shovel tightly.

Kaya sighed as she spun her spear around to her side, creating what looked like a shield of arctic wind. "Well, that rocket launcher of his could prove to be tricky to deal with." She reasoned. "He needs to run out of ammo eventually."

"ABIGAIL!" (SF5)

The largest fighter by far at this point, the huge, muscled mountain of a man shoved his way through the entranceway that looked too small for him to fit through in the first place, roaring to the sky as the audience gave him a bit of a mixed reaction. Cracking his huge knuckles, Abigail charged down to the ring and leapt in with a roar, directing his attention to a similarly-large opponent that had already been getting a good amount of attention.

Boom Boom slammed a huge fist into Pahn's face, launching the monk backwards several feet, while Lord Hater remained perched on the huge Koopa's back, launching electric bolts at Roy. Roy couldn't counter the projectiles like he could Boom Boom's physical attacks so he was having a hard time getting close to Boom Boom with Hater perched on him.

All of a sudden, Abigail made his presence known, slamming his forearm into Boom Boom's face with a huge clothesline attack. Boom Boom recoiled backwards, making Lord Hater topple off of him, as he shook his head to see what had hit him.

"Hey! That was a cheap shot!" Boom Boom snapped.

Abigail laughed. "You think I care?! I may not be Mad Gear anymore but that don't mean I'm playing clean!" He mocked with a smirk.

Boom Boom narrowed his eyes. "Ohhhhh, you're makin' me MAD!" He roared. "It don't matter how big you are! I'll break you just the same! Come here, you!"

Abigail rotated his head as he got into a stance to intercept the oncoming Boom Boom. "Bring it on!" He called out.

As Boom Boom and Abigail clashed in a battle of muscle, Lord Hater slowly sat up, holding his head in pain from where he had fallen off his makeshift mount. "Ugh…W-What happened?" He asked aloud before looking up and seeing an angry trio of Roy, Greninja and Pahn staring down at him. Suddenly realizing that he had lost his high ground, Lord Hater sat in silence for a few seconds before giving a sheepish-looking grin. "Uh…Tag, anyone?"

"NEEDLE MAN!" (MM)

As Roy, Greninja and Pahn started comically chasing Lord Hater around the arena, a blue Robot Master armed to the non-existent teeth with spikes emerged from the curtain to a mixed reception. He paid the audience no mind as he made his way down to the arena.

"Dr. Wily gave me orders to focus on the big threats until he entered the ring." Needle Man mumbled to himself as he inspected his spiked arms to make sure he was fully-equipped. "Let's see who that is…"

Athena was on her way to help Menat with Orion when Needle Man spotted her. Sensing the pop idol's psychic power levels, Needle Man decided that Athena herself was likely the biggest threat currently in the ring. Needle Man quickly aimed his arm cannon at Athena and fired several spikes at her.

Hearing the spikes being fired, Athena yelped and stopped dead in her tracks as Needle Man's spiked projectiles shot past her (and into Soldier's backside; he didn't seem to notice). Athena put her hands on her hips and glared at Needle Man. "Hey! What is wrong with people today?! So many people acting so dangerously!" She accused.

"Call it a compliment, lady. I saw you as the biggest threat." Needle Man pointed out as he fired more spikes at Athena, only for the pop idol to teleport around them, leaving the blue Robot Master frustrated. "Ugh! Stay still!"

Athena materialized beside Needle Man and lifted herself into the air, striking Needle Man in the face with her fist as she did. This knocked Needle Man backwards but the Robot Master uprighted himself in midair, allowing him to land on his feet and dig his spikes into the canvas.

"Huh…Not a bad punch for a human." Needle Man noted as he cocked his arm cannons again. "But I'm on a mission to clear the ring of threats for Dr. Wily and I intend to follow through on it."

Athena got into her stance and started concentrating, gathering up some more psycho energy. "I've fought robots before, you know." She mentioned. "You look so basic compared to them!"

Needle Man narrowed his eyes. "THAT was a mistake, lady."

"META KNIGHT!" (SSB)

The audience cheered wildly as the only Edgelord on Popstar emerged from behind the curtain, staring out at the arena and looking for a foe while his cape wafted in the non-existent breeze. Drawing his trademark sword, Meta Knight shape-shifted his cape into a pair of wings as the masked, blue, ball-like creature flew into the arena at high speeds, making a beeline for his target.

Meta Knight flew in between Menat and Orion, clashing his sword against the golden knight's steel spear. This quickly started a power struggled between the two masked fighters before Meta Knight backed away from Orion, flipping into the air and landing on his feet beside Menat.

Menat blinked. "Um…It's kind of rude to interrupt someone else's fight." She supplied. "I was handling him fine on my own."

Meta Knight cast Menat a glance. "I can sense a powerful warrior in him." He said simply. "It has always been my goal to seek out the best opponents."

"Well, even so, I was still fighting him." Menat rolled her eyes.

Orion despawned his spear and summoned what looked to be a rocket-powered lance into his hands instead. "Hmph. I'm no stranger to fights with multiple people." He warned. "I'll gladly take the two of you on together."

"Very well! We shall duel like warriors!" Meta Knight said as he spread his wings and flew at Orion, whom activated the jet boosters on his back and flew at Meta Knight, rocket lance igniting and coming to life with energy.

Menat watched from the side as the two masked knights clashed over and over, even taking to the sky and flying around the arena, still clashing with each other to the sounds of massive audience approval. Menat sighed. "So much for me unlocking the golden one's mysterious aura…" She lamented as she folded her arms, her crystal ball floating beside her, and watched the two flying knights continue to clash weapons.

(Dome; Smash Bros. Locker Room)

Most of the gathered Smash fighters were watching the arena from a large screen on the wall, and everyone was watching with close attention. The only sounds anyone heard other than the muttering of people as fights were going on in the ring were the sounds of Steve using his pickaxe to harvest stone and iron from the tile flooring of the locker room.

"Wow. I didn't think Meta Knight would find an edgy rival so quickly." Ike noted. Captain Falcon was seen reluctantly handed Fox five bucks, having wagered it on how quickly Meta Knight would end up in a rival battle like the one he was currently in.

"Hey! I'm totally as edgy as he is!" Dark Pit retorted.

"You're edgy, but that guy's, like, SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG edgy." Ike replied.

"You say that like it's a GOOD thing." Samus added.

Ness looked around the locker room. "Boy, it sure feels…Weird, doesn't it?" He asked. "Like, we're entering with more fighters than ever before, but it just doesn't feel right when we're not sharing a room with Mario, Link and Pikachu…"

"I get what you're saying." Samus nodded. "You're wondering if we team up with them because we're nodal companions or if we fight them because they're technically our opponents."

"Yeah. I mean, say one of the reps that also represents Smash wins the tournament. Does that make Smash the champion node as well?" Ness asked. "These questions have been on my mind ever since we stepped onto the nodal train to come here."

"I say you're overthinking it, small psychic child." Simon Belmont laughed. "We face them in the arena all the time. We may be nodal companions but we're always still opponents. It's the same thing here, just on a grander scale!"

Ness shrugged. "Yeah. I guess you're right…" He admitted. "I still don't know what to do when we enter the ring with one of them, though. I was waiting to see what would happen in the ring and, while Roy and Greninja seem to be in an alliance, Meta Knight hasn't really acknowledged them so far."

"It's Meta Knight. The only thing that interests him is a good fight." Samus replied flatly, rolling her eyes behind her helmet.

"I guess that's also true…"

(Dome; Hallway)

"So Mishima needs my services, eh?" A white-haired man with scars and a creepy-looking smirk asked aloud as he flipped through a wad of bills he had been given. "Hey, I'm good to throw my skills behind him if he coughs up some dough and promises some skulls for me to crack."

Bryan Fury had gone to the washroom just before the tournament had begun and, while he was content to sit in the stands and watch the chaos and carnage from his seat, he was surprised when a certain representative of Heihachi Mishima had stopped him as he was leaving to return to his seat, cash in hand.

"Looks like it's all there." Bryan mused before glancing up at the messenger with a snide smirk. "Heh. Sorry about that. I just know you're liable to try and tuck some of my payment away in those grubby, furry paws of yours before I get paid."

The large brown bear gave a surprised grunt that sounded somehow indignant and snarled at Bryan, as if daring him to repeat himself. Bryan rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, you big sack of fleas. We both know you'd try to take over the Zaibatsu the instant Heihachi is either killed or indisposed." The thug reminded casually.

Kuma snorted and looked away, not bothering to answer Bryan and thus telling the maniac that he was right. Bryan gave a light cackle. "Yeah, I thought so. Look, the old man's probably in his room on the hotel side, right?" He asked, receiving a nod from Kuma. "Great. I'll go there to check in and officially join…Well, whatever it is he's got up his sleeve. He's probably got you doing other stuff, so I won't bother keeping you from doing them."

The brown bear stood in silence for a few seconds, staring Bryan down. The thug seemed to notice this and rolled his eyes. "Don't worry. I ain't gonna try to kill him or anything while you're gone. I know he'll mop the floor with me." He insisted. "Just go on and do…Whatever tasks the old man gave you. I'll go and report to him and let him know I'm on board."

This seemed to be enough to satisfy Kuma, at least for now, as the grizzly turned around and walked off, starting on two legs before having to go to four as he went off down the hallway. Bryan gave a sigh as he double-checked the wad of cash he had been given to make sure Kuma didn't lift any from him when he wasn't looking. "Mishima's lucky he pays good." He muttered to himself.

"Is that the sound of someone ELSE being offered ten grand for a job OTHER THAN ME?" A new voice called out from down the hallway in another direction, catching the hired maniac off guard.

Pausing, Bryan turned in place to see where the new voice had come from, seeing a familiar tall Yakuza thug dressed in black, with a unique, short hairstyle of blonde with black sides, a manic smirk and one hand in his pocket. Bryan, knowing who this newcomer was, narrowed his eyes. "What do YOU want, deadbeat?" He asked.

Ryuji Yamazaki gave a cold smirk. "Oh, nothing much. I'm just wondering why there's perfectly-good money being passed around and me not even getting thought about." He mused. "Seems kinda unfair, if you ask me."

"Buzz off, creep. They came to me first." Bryan retorted coldly. "You ain't stealing my gig THIS time."

Yamazaki approached Bryan, hand still in his pocket. "Now, that's where we run into a problem, you see?" He mentioned. "We both know you're a bit of a raging psychopath."

"And you AREN'T?"

"Eh, fair point, but at least I get the job DONE." Yamazaki taunted. "So, how about this? I take the job that you're about to take, take the payment as compensation and go on to wherever you were about to go and, in return…" His smirk suddenly turned crazed. …"I'll only PARTIALLY UN-ALIVE YOU."

"That's rich. How about you put your money where your mouth is?" Bryan asked with a smirk. "Oh, wait. I ALREADY HAVE THE MONEY, DON'T I?!"

Yamazaki laughed heavily. "Oh, it's going to be good giving you a good slashing, Fury! It'll be just like old times!" He cackled.

Bryan scoffed and got into a stance. "Just take your stupid knife out of your pocket and fight me, already." He taunted. "I got a job to get to and I don't need YOU holding me back."

The crazed Yakuza responded by pulling his hand from his pocket, revealing a sharp-looking knife. His smirk getting more-crazed by the second, Yamazaki stared holes into what soul Bryan had left. "Let's see if I can find a place to put a new scar!" He cackled as he leapt at Bryan, knife raised…

(The Arena)

"GREAT TIGER!" (PO!)

The crowd cheered for the Indian boxer as Great Tiger waved to the audience proudly. Staring down at the arena, Great Tiger folded his arms as the gem on his turban seemed to blink in the light. The master of magic suddenly vanished into a puff of smoke, reappearing just above the canvas in the arena, having teleported in just like a couple of the other fighters.

Great Tiger had to admit that he was originally tempted to go over and help Kaya and Young Link fight Soldier but decided against it: The crazed mercenary would no doubt mistake him for a wizard and Great Tiger knew he was in no mood for headaches this early in the tournament. The Indian man looked around as he made his way across the arena, wondering if there was a fight to be had with anyone else…

…He didn't get very far before he tripped over a sleeping Meitenkun, landing flat on his face. As Great Tiger pushed himself up, Meitenkun yawned as he rolled himself into a sitting position, rubbing his eyes. "Is it morning already?" He asked, still at least half-asleep. He didn't realize that he had let go of Sackboy in sitting up, allowing the cloth doll to scamper away merrily.

Great Tiger stared down at Meitenkun and sighed. "A fighting arena is no place for a nap, child." He scolded.

"W-Whuh? But I'm so tired…" Meitenkun insisted as he droopily stood up, still clutching his pillow.

"That's not my problem that you didn't get enough sleep last night. You had to have known that this tournament would be a night one." Great Tiger shook his head. "Now pull your head out of the clouds and show me what you've got!"

"Oh…Uh…Y-You dun really…Want that…" Meitenkun yawned.

"Why would I not want that?" Great Tiger challenged.

The Indian boxer didn't get an answer, as Meitenkun's head drooped down a bit and he dozed off standing up, holding his pillow close. Great Tiger sighed. He refused to throw a punch at the youth until he woke himself up. Just how heavy a sleeper was this kid?

"MIMIKYU!" (PKMN)

(You don't know me! But I know you!)

(I'm not one; Nor two; Nor three!)

(You can sing it right, but there's no more symphony!)

(I've got this army! Let's party!)

(This ink is all the same body!)

(All bark, no bite, no winnin' this fight!)

(You made me think I'm a clone but I Am Me!)

Meowth's scratchy voice came through the speakers again as a small, shadowy being crept out from behind the curtain, timidly shuffling down the ramp in what looked like a makeshift Pikachu costume. Reaching the end of the ramp, Mimikyu slowly looked out at the void between him and the ring before slowly floating into the arena like a paper bag, as if there wasn't anything occupying the costume.

The costume landed softly on the canvas, and Mimikyu popped back up to life, glancing around at the chaos around him to see where he should go first. Spotting his nodal companion Greninja tussling with Lord Hater, Mimikyu shuffled over in what looked like an attempt to help.

Lord Hater, in an attempt to keep away from Roy, Greninja and Pahn, ended up tripping over Mimikyu while he wasn't looking. The skeletal supervillain landed on his face and skidded forward a few feet as Mimikyu looked at him curiously.

"Oh! You got him to stop running!" Roy noted. "Thank you! We've been having a hard time catching up to him!"

Mimikyu stared up in awe at someone appreciating his help and realized that, in order to keep getting this stranger's approval, he needed to keep helping. Mimikyu slowly turned towards Lord Hater, who pushed himself to his feet.

Lord Hater brushed off his robes and raised his fists to the sky. "Fools! You know not what you're dealing with here!" He snapped. "You've let my rage simmer for far too long, and now I realize that if I want to conquer this stupid world then I need to obliterate you first!" With that, the supervillain held out his hands at the three others and started gathering his magic. "Now hold still while I smite your-"

The magic in Lord Hater's hands promptly dissipated when he felt something grab his leg. Lord Hater paused as he slowly looked downward, seeing that a shadowy, elastic hand was reaching out from underneath Mimikyu's cloak and had grabbed onto his ankle. Before Lord Hater had time to react, Mimikyu pulled him down and started pulling him under his cloak. Lord Hater screamed and clawed at the canvas as he was dragged into the blackness under Mimikyu's cloak.

All of a sudden, Mimikyu's cloak started moving around in every direction, the sounds of punching being heard from within accompanied by Lord Hater's screams of pain. Roy and Pahn glanced at each other wish uneasy expressions before looking to Greninja, only to see the frog-ninja slowly backing away from the scene.

"YASHIRO NANAKASE!" (KOF)

Ignoring the mixed reaction the crowd was giving him, the tall, muscular, white-haired man stepped out from behind the curtain and waved to the members of the crowd that were cheering him on. After a few seconds, he took the time to adjust his gloves as he gave a light smirk before charging down to the arena. He, Shermie and Chris were spread out a bit as far as draws went so he could probably rule out teaming up with one of them so he figured he may as well have a little fun while he was on his own.

Athena had just given Needle Man a kick to the face when she heard Yashiro's name. Seeing Yashiro jumping in, Athena blasted Needle Man in the face with a Psycho Ball as she turned and rushed over to face him.

"Well, look who it is. Miss Past-Her-Prime herself." Yashiro chuckled.

"I know you and your friends are planning something with Orochi, Nanakase!" Athena declared. "It's my duty to stop you before they come to fruition!"

"Oh, really? You're not trying to pick a fight with me because it'd be good publicity for you?" Yashiro smirked. "Seriously, we both know how much competition we've been for you in the music business ever since we came back."

Athena flushed in embarrassment. "S-Shut up, you! I'm going to stop any resurrection plan of yours so that Orochi doesn't invade this world again!" She said.

Yashiro laughed and held up his hands. "Kid, there's no way we could revive Orochi here even if we wanted to. Believe me; we've looked into it." He explained. "We're just here to enjoy the night and maybe promote our tour."

Needle Man chose this time to get between Athena and Yashiro and glare daggers at the pop idol. "Hey, lady! We were kind of in the middle of something before you decided to just up and leave the fight!" He accused.

"I have bigger fish to fry right now! Sorry!" Athena said as she grabbed Needle Man and threw him across the arena before turning her attention back to Yashiro. "Come on! We have a score to settle!"

"Whatever you say, kid." Yashiro said with a shrug as he got into a stance.

"PROPELLER KNIGHT!" (SN)

Stepping out from behind the curtain was a tall man wearing a knight helmet with a propeller attached to the top. Drawing a rapier, Propeller Knight posed stylishly and waved to the crowd as he made his way down the ramp and into the arena, using the propeller on his helmet to lift himself over the gap between the ramp and arena.

Propeller Knight touched the canvas and made his way over to Menat, whom was still looking up at the airborne clashes between Orion and Meta Knight. "Hail, milady! I can't help but notice that you are lacking a dancing partner. Perhaps I may bechance happen to be someone to fill that void?" He asked.

Menat turned to look at Propeller Knight briefly before looking up again. "I'm more-concerned about those two fighting up there." She mentioned. "Yeah, they're out of the way, but if they can spend the whole time fighting in the air it'll make it hard to deal with them later."

"Verily! I shall go see if I can perhaps convince those two ruffians to bring their battles closer to Earth, eh?" Propeller Knight declared. "After that, then maybe we shall have our duel!"

Activating his propeller, Propeller Knight took to the air again and floated upwards towards the fight between the two other masked fighters. Propeller Knight cleared his throat as the two airborne fighters continued to clash around him. "Listen up, you two-" That was as far as Propeller Knight got before Orion, in an attempt to strike Meta Knight, slammed the bottom of his rocket-powered lance into his back, igniting the jet engines and spiking the propeller-topped knight into the canvas again.

Menat looked down at the prone form of Propeller Knight. "Well…You tried." She said.

"I-Indeed…Ouch…" Propeller Knight coughed. "If…If it's alright with you I think…I may just lie here for a…F-Few minutes…"

In the air, Orion used his spear to block a swing from Meta Knight's sword and shoved him back. "You think you can out-cheese me, you brooding blue ball?" He challenged. "I am the KING of salt in Valhalla."

Meta Knight let out a mock-chuckle. "Fool. I've been cheeseing people in the arena when your game was still a lingering idea!" He taunted as he swung his sword and prepared to charge at Orion again.

Orion held his spear with both hands as he reared back and prepared to fly at his opponent, starting yet another midair battle. It seemed that neither of them had even realized Propeller Knight had been there at all.

All of a sudden, several rapid-fire gunshots rang out as multiple bullets deflected off of the back of Orion's helmet. That got the attention of Orion, Meta Knight and most of the gathered fighters in the ring. They had also noticed that the spotlight was shining on the entrance curtain again, much like it did for Lord Hater earlier. However, unlike him, the next fighter was already outside the curtain.

"Mystery…Fighter…" The robotic, automated voice announced. "…TWO…"

"BB HOOD!" (Darkstalkers)

Standing outside the curtain with a smoking Uzi in one hand was a familiar blonde girl dressed in Red Riding Hood cosplay. In her other hand was a stack of what looked like contracts, with Orion's mug plastered on the front one accompanied by a large number. Giving a smirk, BB Hood kept her eyes on Orion as she made her way down to the arena, but glanced up at the Announcer's Booth as she did, her smirk faltering when she saw SSBFreak giving her an "I'm watching you" gesture, obviously still remembering that BB Hood was part of the group responsible for the Megamix Dome being in such a state of disrepair for the past number of years. BB Hood quickly regained her composure, avoiding eye contact with the host, as she continued down to the ring.

"Get down here, golden boy!" BB Hood called out as she stepped into the arena, looking up at Orion. "I have a bounty I'm here to collect!"

Orion gave a sigh as he floated downwards, landing on the canvas. "What's this bounty about, then? Artemis usually comes after me herself, so it's obviously not from her." He noted.

"Nope. Some guy named…" BB Hood said as she quickly checked the contract. "…Uh…Some guy named 'Epicgamer33447'? Well, him and about forty other people but he's the one that put the bounty out."

Orion sighed. "Likely spurned by salt like all the others." He muttered.

"Look, I don't care what the reasons are as long as they pay." BB Hood reminded as she pointed her gun at the armoured knight again. "And someone is paying good money for me to frackin' ICE you."

Orion, unfazed, swatted BB Hood's arm away with his hand. "I don't have time for this." He said. "I'm dealing with another opponent right now."

"Indeed. He's fighting ME." Meta Knight informed as he fluttered down and landed near Orion.

"Oh! You! I think I'm got a bounty out on you, too!" BB Hood said as she flipped through her contracts. "For similar things as the golden guy, for that matter."

Meta Knight sighed and glanced up at Orion. "Shall we resume our deal after we deal with her?" He asked.

"Fine by me." Orion nodded.

BB Hood scoffed as Meta Knight and Orion got into stances and prepared to face her together. "Alright, then! I'm no stranger to fighting multiple targets at once!" She said as she drew a knife and held it up with her gun.

"CHRIS LIGHTFELLOW!" (ST)

Standing proudly outside of the entrance curtain was a silver-haired woman dressed in knight's armour, holding a one-handed sword. Chris, one of the three protagonists of Suikoden 3, glanced around at the audience reception she was getting for a few seconds before holding up her sword and charging down to the ring.

Taking care to step over Propeller Knight's still-prone form, Chris made her way over to the scuffle Young Link and Kaya were having with Soldier. Reaching the battle in a flash, Chris lashed out with the handle of her sword and struck Soldier in the back with it, making him stagger forward several steps.

Soldier spun around and found himself staring at Chris. "Ugh. Thanks for that, lady. I think you realigned my spine with that." He muttered. "But what gives?! I'm trying to have a good fight here without people ruining it for me!"

"You are attacking children. Take it from experience, no good comes from attacking children." Chris scolded, pointing her sword in Soldier's face.

"Ha! That's rich! Lady, these are no children but slimy wizards in disguise, here to rob me of my rent money!" Soldier insisted. "The short one even turned into an adult! I'm not convinced he's even a kid!"

"Well…Jury's out on that one." Young Link supplied. "I mean, TECHNICALLY I'm a kid, but due to some time-travel stuff I may actually be mentally older."

"See?! He's just admitted that he's a time-traveler!" Soldier insisted.

Kaya sighed and glanced at Chris. "We kinda think he's the biggest threat in the arena." She said.

"You DO realize that there's a child with a gun in the arena and Meta Knight entered about five minutes ago?" Chris asked flatly.

"We've spent the entire time trying to dodge rockets…"

"VOLKOV!" (BH)

A pale, silver-haired, pointy-eared vampire emerged from behind the curtain to a mixed reception, holding a goblet of red liquid in his hand that people next to the entrance curtain could only hope was red wine. Volkov looked around with a bored expression as he finished the drink in the goblet before chucking the empty drink holder into the crowd (where it bounced off an unsuspecting Gex's head) and floating down to the arena, hovering above the ground with what looked like bat-like shadows.

Volkov hovered into the arena and, arms behind his back, casually floated over to where Great Tiger and Meitenkun were, the former still waiting for the latter to fully wake up so that they could have a proper fight.

"You seem keen on wasting everyone's time doing nothing." Volkov sneered.

Great Tiger folded his arms. "I'm simply waiting for the child to wake up and take things seriously." He responded.

"…Uh…I'm…Getting' there…" Meitenkun rubbed his eyes. "Just…Having trouble…Mmm…Stayin' awake…"

Volkov rolled his blood-red eyes. "Any other fighter would have tossed the boy over the ropes and moved on by now." He replied.

"I would rather fight with SOME honour." Great Tiger narrowed his eyes.

"Fine…Allow me to make the choice FOR you." Volkov said before baring his fangs and flying at Meitenkun, aiming for the boy's neck.

Great Tiger's eyes snapped open as he made the attempt to lunge forward in an effort to save the boy. "NO!" He shouted.

Meitenkun's head suddenly shot up as he turned to face Volkov, suddenly fully-awake. Meitenkun tossed his pillow into the air and lashed out with a palm, striking Volkov in the chest and stunning him. Meitenkun followed up with a flurry of palm strikes and kicks, each looking to be aimed at a pressure point, before finishing the combo with a double-palm strike to the middle of Volkov's torso, launching the vampire backwards several feet.

Great Tiger looked stunned as Meitenkun caught his pillow and went right back to half-asleep. All of a sudden he had a feeling he didn't want to be facing Meitenkun fully-awake after all…

"PETE!" (PS)

A small, wooden doll emerged from the curtain, made to look like a boy wearing green clothes and a large backpack. Pete looked around and waved at the crowd, quickly checking to make sure he had his Smash Ball with him; the one he was told would give him access to his super form once before tucking it away and jogging down to the arena and leaping in headfirst.

Sackboy was in the process of picking up the large banana peel he had thrown earlier and putting it back in his menu (Abigail and Boom Boom had already slipped on it about five times each during their fight) as Pete came jogging over. Sackboy turned and smiled, giving a cheery wave.

"Hello to you, too!" Pete greeted as he came over, revealing that even the small, wooden doll was a head taller than Sackboy. "I can't help but notice that you can carry a lot of things in that menu of yours."

Sackboy gave a nod and demonstrated by cycling through his menu inventory, pulling out what looked like an anvil and levitating it in place for a few seconds before putting it back.

"That's so cool! I managed to sneak in a few Power Stone weapons myself!" Pete said as he took off his backpack and started rummaging around in it, pulling out a metal bat. "I was going to ask if you wanted to have a fight but I think we can have a little fun before we get to that, don't you think?"

Sackboy made a face that looked like he was laughing silently and gave a quick nod. Pete quickly pulled a pair of roller blades out of his backpack and handed them to Sackboy as the cloth doll pulled a ramp out of his inventory menu.

"Set up that ramp over there for now and put the skates on! I'll see what else I have in here…" Pete directed. Sackboy gave another nod as he grabbed the roller blades Pete had given him…

(Hotel; Lounge)

"Okay. Now that we've checked in and officially clocked in for the night, we can begin our rounds." Psymon said as he walked into a large, open room on the hotel side of the building. The room was built like a large lounge area close to the lobby, with several pieces of furniture and a large fireplace on the wall. "Essentially, our job is to keep the peace here because…Um…Spoiler alert: Things never really stay peaceful for very long when one of these tournaments get going."

Scorch held up his hand. "Hey. When do we set people on fire?" He asked.

Estel narrowed her eyes at the plastic pyromaniac. "We DON'T." She scolded.

"Yeah, what we do is answer calls to break up a fight and maybe take someone in for interrogation." Psymon admitted.

Max lifted a finger eagerly. "And THEN we set people on fire." He said simply.

"There will be NO setting ANYTHING on fire!" Estel urged.

Lucia lifted a hand. "Um…What happens when the people don't want to come peacefully if we need to interrogate them?" She asked.

"Well, usually some of us get personally involved and try to beat the ne'er-do-well into submission." Psymon admitted.

"Psymon, never say 'ne'er-do-well' again." Max supplied flatly.

"It's just that…Well, two of us don't have any combat experience." Lucia reminded. "I mean, I'm eager to prove myself to you guys and all, but…I mean, we have HIM…"

Everyone looked to where Lucia was pointing and saw Homsar floating around in midair, seemingly aimlessly. "AaAaAaAaAaAaAh! I ordered mah burger basket extra-crispy!" He said, as if proving Lucia's point.

"Eh. He'll be fine." Max shrugged.

"I'm more-surprised that YOU have any combat experience, Psymon." Estel folded her arms and lifted an eyebrow. "You're a snowboarder. What kind of combat experience could someone like YOU have?"

Psymon draped an arm around Estel's shoulder. "Estel, I've been around this block two-and-a-half times in the past. Yeah, I may not have seen a lot of action in the first tournament, but after that I got into a scuffle here and there." He explained casually. "And, before you ask, the answer is yes. It DID hurt. That's what made me want to get up and start a whole new fight! Usually the only kind of pain I get is when I take a tumble down a mountain and crash head-first through a glass pane before landing on top of a log buried in a snow-bank. But here? You can get tossed through walls by ten-foot giants! Have a fireball thrown into your face! Get slammed by a hammer the size of your body!"

"Receive impromptu acupuncture by way of magic ice shards!" Max happily joined in.

"See? Max gets it!" Psymon exclaimed.

"You two LITERALLY share a brain cell." Estel said flatly.

"Eh, maybe. But, for now, until we get a call to go somewhere specific, our job if pretty much to wander the dome and hotel and make sure none of the fighters are doing anything sinister." Psymon admitted. "I mean, usually some of them are but we mostly leave that kind of stuff to a hero group that ends up forming. It's kind of the norm in these things."

Suddenly, everyone heard a ringing noise coming from Max. "Oh! That must be the doorman!" The rabbity thing said as he reached behind his back and pulled a walkie-talkie from his hammerspace. Max quickly pushed a button to answer the call. "Yo-yo, my man! What's the deal callin' the Max-line this early?" He asked in a voice that sounded like he was trying to sound cool.

"I apologize, sir, but we've got a 'Code Monochrome' out front." A deadpan voice replied from the other end of the line.

"A Code Monochrome already?! Yeesh, I wasn't expecting that little rodent to show up for at LEAST another three or four sections!" Max exclaimed.

Lucia blinked and turned to Psymon. "Uh…What's happening? I don't remember being told about any of this." She said. "What's a 'Code Monochrome'?"

"Eh, nothing too much to worry about. Just some guy that we've been warned about is trying to get in." Psymon informed. "Don't worry, though. While Max takes care of it, we've got someone he knows PERSONALLY standing guard outside to make sure he doesn't get in. Apparently, the guy has been known for being particularly difficult to pass."

(Outside)

"I'm sorry, sir, but I have my orders." A dark-haired man dressed in a black suit with a pair of shades, said in a professional, borderline-emotionless tone as he stood at attention just outside the main gates leading into the dome's property.

Standing before the bouncer was a short, bear-like creature that was white on one side, black on the other and with a sinister-looking red eye on the black side. He looked angry. "And I'M sayin' it's a crime I wasn't invited in the first place!" Monokuma insisted. "Come on! Let me in! There's so much chaos to be had in there!"

"I'm aware of that, sir, but orders are orders." The agent shook his head.

"How about this, then?" Monokuma said as his red eye glowed bright and he pulled a huge chainsaw into view. "You let me in and I won't carve your face!"

"That's still a negative, sir. Threats will not do you any good."

Monokuma stared in silence. "H-How is this not causing you despair or fear?! I'm literally waving a revving chainsaw in your face!" He demanded.

"That's classified information, sir."

"Okay, Superball, I'll take it from here!" Max's voice added through an intercom on a pillar next to the agent. "Sorry for the wait. I just needed to get to the console."

"Not a problem, sir. I apologize wholeheartedly for not driving him away on my own." The bouncer, one Agent Superball from Max's home node, replied casually and professionally. "I accept full responsibility for not being able to deal with him without you, sir."

"Not a problem, Superball!" Max's voice said as a camera attached to the intercom turned to stare down the angry-looking Monokuma. "Listen here, you little rodent. You ain't on the list, so you ain't gettin' in!"

"Come on! You know Danganronpa is just as much a Playstation franchise as any of the others in that node!" Monokuma demanded. "It's honestly a shock that you didn't even INVITE me! I'm the friggin' FACE of that franchise!"

"Dude, did you SERIOUSLY think that, after the multitude of crap you pulled back in the Tournament of Kikai, the host of this shindig here would want you ANYWHERE within a fifty mile radius of this building?" Max asked.

"I saw the fight card! He's got Sephiroth, Nemesis AND Pyramid Head entering as part of the Playstation node and NOT ME!" Monokuma shouted.

"THEY didn't try to use the tournament to spread despair or whatever that basic plan of yours was."

"BASIC?!" Monokuma snapped. "Oh, when I get my hands on-"

"So then, now that that's out of the way…" Max said as a panel underneath the camera opened up as a huge cannon, one that looked far too long to fit inside the pillar to begin with, emerged from within, pointing down and square at Monokuma. "Please hold still while I remove your non-existent genitals from your crotch."

Monokuma stared, seemingly in a stunned daze, clearly not expecting this. "…Uh…"

The cannon tilted downwards ever so slightly. "Say cheese!" Max's voice said cheerily.

"WaitwaitwaitwaitWAI-"

*KA-BOOM!*

When the smoke cleared, all that sat in front of Superball was a smoldering crater in the street. Superball, unfazed, brushed a small bit of debris off his suit as the camera on the pillar turned to look at him again.

"Great job keeping him busy until I could handle that, Superball!" Max said brightly. "You never cease to impress with your ability to keep people from entering places they shouldn't!"

"Thank you, sir. Your approval means the world to me." Superball said, still professionally and emotionlessly. "I pride myself on being a good doorman."

"Well, he'll probably try again. That nuisance is nothing if not persistent, after all." Max informed. "The next time you see him come within fifty feet on you, let me know, okay? Keep up the good work!"

"Very good, sir." Superball said, flashing a light smile.

(The Arena)

"RIPTIDE!" (EC)

A brunette pirate woman emerged from the curtain with a green bandana in her hand, which she quickly tied around her head. Riptide drew her dagger, inspected it briefly and spun it in her hand a few times and shoved it back into its holster as she charged down to the arena accompanied by the cheering audience.

Riptide landed in the arena and the first thing that caught her eyes was the sight of Sackboy and Pete doing roller skate tricks off a couple of ramps Sackboy had placed around the arena. Weaving her way around the two smaller fighters to avoid getting hit, Riptide suddenly caught sight of a shuriken coming at her out of the corner of her eye. Riptide quickly ducked under the projectile as he flew overhead and slammed into the back of Boom Boom, whom didn't seem to notice it as he continued to tussle with Abigail, revealing that the shuriken had been made of water.

Looking at the thrower of the projectile, Riptide saw Greninja landing on the canvas, crouching low in his ninja pose. Riptide narrowed her eyes and drew her dagger again. "You know, if you were wanting a fight, you simply had to ASK." She mentioned.

"Ja!" Greninja pointed out, pointing at the fight between Boom Boom and Abigail, making Riptide realize that the two giants were Greninja's actual target and she had unwittingly stepped in the path of his projectile by accident.

"Oh…Ugh, I told myself I'd watch where I was going in this thing." Riptide sighed. "Well, I was looking for a fight when I got into the arena, so unless you were doing something, how about you?"

"Gren?" Greninja asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Come on. Pirate vs. ninja? The audience would eat it up, at least." Riptide smirked.

This seemed to be enough to convince Greninja, who got into his stance again and started generating another water shuriken. Riptide, in the meantime, held up a hand and started forming a ball of water above her head…

"BLANKA!" (SF5)

As the sound of jungle music blared through the speakers, a familiar green skinned figure emerged from behind the curtain and gave a roar of excitement, banging his chest a few times to get the audience riled up. As the audience cheered, Blanka crouched down and propelled himself forward in a cannonball, flying over the gap between the ramp and arena and launching himself into the ring.

Blanka landed gracefully on his feet and, seeing Boom Boom struggling with Abigail, jogged over to aid the huge Koopa in taking down the literal mountain of man. Blanka leapt into the air, landed on Abigail's back and activated his electric powers, sending a huge jolt through Abigail while Blanka was attached to him.

Abigail roared in pain as he threw his arms back, throwing Blanka off of him. Abigail looked over his shoulder. "Stay outta this!" He snapped. "I got enough going' on without you tryin' ta tickle me!"

"No way! You're hard enough to fight one-on-one!" Blanka shouted.

Boom Boom grunted as he rotated his arms. "Ugh…Wasn't really expecting any help after that skeleton-wizard thing got thrown off my back." He mentioned. "Wonder what happened to him, anyways…"

Blanka rushed over to stand beside Boom Boom. "He gets even-stronger when he gets angry!" He warned. "We gotta take him out before he gets to that point!"

"I think he's already there." Boom Boom slapped a fist into his palm. "But fine. How about a little tag-team?"

Blanka nodded. "Fine by me!" He agreed.

Boom Boom's response was to pick up Blanka and hurl him straight at Abigail. In midair, Blanka curled into a ball and electrified himself so that when he hit the huge man head-on the attack would be more-powerful. As Abigail shouted in pain from an electrified Blanka latching onto his face, Boom Boom cracked his knuckles and rushed over.

"PYRA!" (SSB)

A redhead woman armed with a futuristic-looking sword emerged from behind the curtain to an array of cheers. Pyra gave a friendly wave, though inwardly felt a little weird knowing that she was going into this without Mythra. The two had spent so long in Smash fighting as one that it seemed odd to be fighting apart from each other, after all. Still, Pyra made note to not worry about this: Mythra was just as capable of handling herself as she was.

Pyra stepped into the arena and set her sights on Volkov, whom was standing off to the side and looking like he was still recovering from the surprise beatdown he had been given from Meitenkun. Pyra gave a smirk and drew her sword, preparing to clash with the vampire as she walked over.

Volkov saw Pyra coming over and narrowed his eyes. "Begone unless you wish to have your blood drained." He hissed. "I'm in no mood for nuisances."

"Well, then it's a good thing I'm not technically human, right?" Pyra smirked.

Volkov narrowed his eyes and summoned a sinister-looking scythe into his hands. "Let's see if you bleed like a human, then." He said, baring his fangs.

Pyra held up her sword on instinct as Volkov flew at her, swinging his scythe several times in an attempt to get through her defenses. Pyra quickly ignited her sword while it was in her hands and swung at Volkov once she found an opening in his attacks, striking the vampire with flames and making him recoil in pain.

"Augh!" Volkov shouted as he inspected his hand. "Ugh. I'd nearly forgotten what being burned feels like…" He muttered before glaring back at Pyra with blood-red eyes. "Very well, you whelp. You have my attention. Enjoy it while you still live!"

Pyra smirked. "You think a vampire is gonna scare me? The Smash Mansion has TWO vampire hunters living there AND one Kirby!" She taunted.

Volkov stepped back and held up his scythe, engulfing it in what looked like blood magic. "I shall enjoy tearing you apart…" He hissed.

"RAIDEN!" (PAS)

(Buy It, Use It, Break It, Fix It)

(Trash It, Change It, Mail-Upgrade It)

(Charge It, Point It, Zoom It, Press It)

(Snap It, Work It, Quick-Erase It)

(Write It, Cut It, Paste It, Save It)

(Load It, Check It, Quick-Rewrite It)

(Plug It, Play It, Burn It, Rip It)

(Drag & Drop It, Zip-Unzip It)

Metal Gear's resident cyborg ninja emerged from behind the curtain, strangely wearing his sombrero and poncho disguise. It took a few seconds, but Raiden removed the cheap disguise in a single move as he drew his blade, his eye flashing red as he did. Raiden flashed a dark smirk as he tore down the ramp at high speeds and leapt into the arena accompanied by cheers.

Raiden landed in the arena with a metallic thud and rushed headfirst at Roy, seeing him without a dancing partner and swinging his sword the instant he got close enough. Roy, however, was quick to notice Raiden coming at him and held up his own sword to parry Raiden's attack, managing to hold the cyborg ninja at bay, though the resulting power struggle looked like it was quickly putting strain on Roy.

"Heh. What's the matter, redhead? Not used to fighting a killer?" Raiden whispered in a manic tone, showing that his Ripper persona was currently in play.

"Ugh…You'd be surprised…" Roy said through clenched teeth before pushing Raiden back and swinging his sword down, causing an explosion of fire once it struck the canvas, striking Raiden with enough force to propel him backwards. Raiden backflipped through the air and landed on his feet again, annoyingly swinging his sword to extinguish a flame that had sparked on it in the explosion.

"Well, now. Isn't this a surprise…" Raiden chuckled.

"I've heard from Snake that you're a good guy, Raiden." Roy said, eyes narrowed. "Why are you acting so unhinged?!"

Raiden chuckled again, this time darker. "There's a bit more to me than the old man lets on." He admitted before his red eye flashed again. "I guess I'm more-surprised that your sword stopped mine. Not many things can do that, you know?"

Roy got into a stance and readied himself, knowing full-well that Raiden wouldn't be holding back. Even with everything Snake had mentioned to everyone about him Roy had a feeling he still knew nothing about Raiden. "I'm fully-capable of taking you on, Raiden. If you want a duel, you just need to say so." He said.

"A duel? You make it sound so formal." Raiden chuckled darkly. "But fine. Let's…Play it YOUR way for a while…"

"DARUNIA!" (HW)

Coming out to an orchestral version of Saria's Song, the huge Goron chief laughed heartily as he slung the Megaton Hammer over his shoulder, gazing around at the cheering crowd. After waving to the crowd for a moment, Darunia jogged down the ramp, creating a loud thud with every step he took, and jumped headfirst into the ring without a second thought.

Darunia's first instinct was to go help Young Link (aka his 'little brother') with Soldier, but saw that the small Link already had people helping him, at least for now. However, this left Darunia unsure as to who to fight first. He wandered forward, stopping only briefly as Sackboy and Pete were continuing to skate around the arena, and caught sight of Athena and Yashiro, still having their fight. However, what caught Darunia's attention was Needle Man, whom looked to be attempting to interfere with the fight by winding up his cannon to fire some more spikes at the two humans.

Charging over, Darunia got in the way of Needle Man's spikes, turning his back to the projectiles as they bounced uselessly off his rock-hard shell. Needle Man looked furious. "Stay out of this! My beef is with the human girl!" He snapped.

"Friend, she's already preoccupied." Darunia explained simply, putting on a frown.

"She was occupied with me first before she moved on to fight that other guy!" Needle Man insisted. "You think I'm just going to take such disrespect?!"

Darunia scratched his head and shrugged. "I mean…I happens? It's not like there aren't thirty other people in the ring you could fight instead." He reasoned.

"SHE disrespected me!" Needle Man reminded angrily. "But you know what? If you're so insistent on making this your problem, I guess I'll just oblige!"

"That's the spirit!" Darunia laughed as he held his hammer.

"Don't complain when I perforate you!" Needle Man snapped.

"Good luck with that, friend." Darunia winked. "You'll have a hard time killing someone as tough as a Goron with a simple spike."

Needle Man narrowed his eyes and cocked his arm cannon again. "Maybe I'll enjoy this more than I thought…"

"And now," SSBFreak's voice echoed through the sound system. "The final fighter of this section…"

"MARIO MARIO!" (SMB)

The fans went wild as gaming's biggest icon emerged from the curtain and waved to the crowd with a big smile as he made his way down the ramp. However, Mario suddenly stopped when he heard a familiar tune starting up through the sound system, one he knew all too well.

(Do the Mario!)

(Swing your arms from side to side!)

(Come on, it's time to go!)

(Do the Mario!)

(Take one step and then again!)

(Let's to the Mario! All together now!)

Mario cast a flat stare up at the Sound Booth as his infamous song continued to play. All he could see from where he was standing was Astaroth, of all people, going along with the lyrics of the song and doing the motions that they entailed. Mario gave a sigh as he continued on to the ring.

Boom Boom's eyes widened when he saw Mario hit the canvas. "Mario?! He's entered already?!" He asked. "Lemme at him! Lemme at him!"

Blanka held Boom Boom back. "We gotta deal with the big guy first, remember?!" He queried, gesturing towards the angry-looking Abigail.

"But…B-But I wanna prove to my boss that I can take him!"

With Boom Boom occupied and unable to challenge him, Mario made his way around a few fighters, stepping over Propeller Knight's form and seemingly-ignoring Lord Hater's comical screams as the skeletal being continued to struggle to get away from Mimikyu. Mario eventually spotted Pahn, whom was sitting aside, seemingly in meditation to conserve energy now that Lord Hater was being dealt with for the time being.

"You a-look like you need a-something to do!" Mario said cheerily. "How about a a-fight to keep a-you occupied?"

Pahn opened his eyes and stood up. "Well, this is a surprise. I wasn't expecting you, of all people, to want to fight someone like me…" He mentioned.

Mario gave a shrug. "Eh. You were a-looking bored and a-everyone else looks to be a-in a fight already." He replied. "I a-saw you fighting Boom Boom earlier, though. Anyone that a-can keep up with a-him is a good in my book!"

Pahn looked surprised and quickly gave the shorter fighter a respectful bow. "Thank you, sir. I don't think I deserve them, but your comment means a lot to me." He said.

Mario laughed. "Ah, don't a-worry! Now, let a-me see what you have! No holding a-back!" He directed.

"Yes, sir!" Pahn said as he got into a stance…