Night had fallen on the Smash grounds. As the stars began to dot the night sky, all the participants of the Smash Brothers tournament began to call it a day. Within a couple of hours, the Smash Mansion hummed with the sound of dozing fighters. Not a single living creature was stirring.

Or so they thought.

Luigi was waddling towards the kitchen for a midnight snack (strawberry delight, a personal favorite of his). In his journey, he had wandered into one of the more disused and ominous corners of the mansion. The green man couldn't help but feel a bit unnerved by his surroundings. This hallway looked so old and decrepit, and the floor creaked with his every step. "Ohhh, mamma mia…" came his wavering voice. He began to sorely wish he'd brought his flashlight with him. Just as he was about to decide that his dessert was wasn't worth all this trouble, something caught his attention. An old, wooden door hung open, and a strange purple glow was emanating from within.

In all other cases, Luigi would have simply turned right around and marched back up to his room to get some sleep. But something about this door was strangely… enchanting. Hesitantly, Luigi reached towards the door. Was that humming he could hear from the other side? His trembling hands gripped the doorknob. Luigi was so entranced by what could be inside that he almost didn't notice the shadow that fell over him.

Luckily for him, he did.

Slowly, Luigi turned around to face what was behind him. His eyes widened as he beheld what he saw. He seemed a bit bigger than Luigi's last encounter with him, but there was no mistaking the imposing figure of the king of the Boos.

Luigi barely stifled a scream as he fell on his bottom and tried to back away. But as he did so, he felt a sickening cold on his back. Once again, Luigi slowly turned around to meet his newest assailant.

A tall, imposing, and all-too-familiar figure wielding a scythe, with black robes draping behind it, stood in front of Luigi. Its blue flaming eyes glared down at the plumber. In a deep, chilling voice, it hissed, "The candlelight of your soul shall be snuffed out tonight."

Luigi didn't give the specter time to raise its scythe. He screamed and fled the scene, pushing past King Boo and running as fast as his legs could carry him.

The two phantoms simply stood there, watching the plumber run away. Then, slowly, they flickered and began to fade, melting into thin air.

"Hnn hnn hnn hnn…"

An orb as dark as the night sky and dotted with pale yellow stars slowly rose from the floor. It pulsed and convulsed until it burst, revealing a gaunt-looking creature with spindly hands, a tornado-like core, and a ghastly grinning face.

"Perhaps that will teach you to pry, mortal."

And with that, the Nightmare Wizard drifted into the room, closing the door behind him.

It was a plain room, simply decorated with a long table and lamps lit with purple light bulbs in each corner of the room. Seated at the table was Ghirahim, looking lithe and cruel as usual. Across the table from him was a corpulent, winged blue demon with blank red eyes and horns that had dulled over the years. Next to the demon was a middle-aged man with balding gray hair, looking very uncomfortable between the two demons. And at the far side of the table, sitting in a glass case, was a gigantic brain with sharp metal barbs jutting out from the cerebrum. A single, staring eye gazed out from under the cerebral hemispheres.

"You're late, you know," smirked Ghirahim. "You know how Mother likes being on time."

"Yes, a thousand apologies," came the voice of Nightmare. "I had to make sure no one was spying on us."

The brain stared at Nightmare. "Very well," she intoned. "I expect you to be on time for our next meeting." When Nightmare sat down, she turned to face the rest of the group. "I suppose you are wondering why I have gathered you here tonight."

"Not particularly, no," said Ghirahim, resting his head in his hand.

Mother Brain glared at the demon. "I have called you forth to propose an… alliance."

The balding man and the blue demon seemed surprised, while Ghirahim simply arched an eyebrow. "Think of it. The four of you, led by me, the true successor of the Chozo and their greatest creation," she continued. "I have already convinced Nightmare to our side. Think of the possibilities…!"

The blue demon spoke first. "Do you mean to say that if I should join you, I would regain control of Devil World?"

"Devil World, and so much more," hissed Mother Brain. "Everything you wish, beyond your wildest dreams."

The Devil's eyes widened. Images of an underworld under his command flashed before his eyes, and his ears twitched at the sound of wailing souls. And his greatest triumph, that irksome dragon in the deepest, darkest, most hopeless pits of his realm…! A wicked smirk crept up his face. "Very well, O creature of flesh and steel," he intoned. "I shall assist you on your endeavors."

"Excellent," said Mother Brain, grinning as only a giant brain monster could grin. She turned to Ghirahim. "And you, demon lord. Would you join my side, the side of true power?"

Ghirahim simply sipped from a teacup that he had on his person for some reason. "Well, let's see," he hummed, tapping his chin. "It would get me out of that dingy old lounge room… And more opportunities for me to whet a certain… appetite…" He licked his lips, clearly savoring his thoughts. "I suppose I can lend my assistance to your cause," he drawled at last.

"Well, I, for one, will have to pass," huffed the middle-aged man sitting across from Ghirahim. "I've had too many bad experiences with alien supercomputers, thank you very much!"

Mother Brain scoffed. "Hmmm! I expected such a simple creature would reject such an offer out of hand. Would you truly give up a chance at glory, Wily?"

The mad doctor looked quite irritated. "S-simple?!" Off to the side, Ghirahim snickered. "I am Doctor Albert Wily! The world's greatest scientist! I'm a genius!"

Mother Brain leered down at Wily, clearly unimpressed. "And yet, you are brought to your knees time and time again. By a child, no less."

"Grk—!" This time, Ghirahim burst into full guffawing, with Devil following suit. Wily grit his teeth. "Why can't you just use one of your own generals to help you? What was that thing's name again? Dark Samus? She could—"

Mere mention of the name caused the room to darken, the lamps in the corner dimming slightly. Mother Brain turned to glare directly at Dr. Wily, a very effective tactic given her single bulging eye. Even Nightmare began to shift around uncomfortably. Dr. Wily seemed to realize his mistake, slowly shrinking into his chair.

"Let me make one thing clear, human," she hissed. "That usurping little worm is not one of my generals. I have not forgotten her exploits on the planet Aether, nor will I forgive her. The Space Pirates are mine and mine alone to command, and I will not tolerate her interference. Have I made myself clear, Albert?"

Wily made a soft choking noise and nodded.

"Can I trust that your army of robots will assist me?"

Wily swallowed and nodded again, averting his eyes.

"Good." She turned back to the rest of the group. "Are there any further questions?"

Devil raised his hand. "What, exactly, does this plan of yours entail?"

Mother Brain sneered at the demon. "Is it not obvious at this point? We are going to overthrow the tournament's organizers."

"You mean Master Hand?" asked Ghirahim lazily.

"Yes, both the Master and Crazy Hand," replied Mother Brain. "And all the other inferior lifeforms under their thrall."

The Devil stroked his chin, wicked glee spreading across his face. "We'll usurp the hands' power and bring this world to its knees! Excellent…"

"Then it is settled." declared Mother Brain. "I shall—"

"What about Ridley?"

All eyes turned to Nightmare, who had been silent up until that point. "Shall we inform Ridley of our endeavors?"

"Hmmm…" Mother Brain pondered on the phantom's words. "Geoform-187, my most loyal attack dog, shall be very instrumental in our plan. He'll keep the hunter and any other meddlers out of our hair. And yet… it is too dangerous to directly involve him just yet. It is best to keep him in the dark for now. I shall summon him when his time comes. Until then, keep this entire operation quiet. Understood?"

A general murmur of agreement went across the room. "Mum's the word," commented Ghirahim under his breath.

"Very good," said Mother Brain. "Perhaps there is intelligent life in this realm after all." She gazed impassively at the group from inside her glass case. "This meeting is now adjourned. I shall summon you all when it is time to take the next steps. Now go."

One by one, the miscreants filed out of the room, with Wily looking the most eager to leave. "Somehow," he remarked to Devil, "I feel like I'll regret this later…"

"Hmph. A human of your ilk would say that," growled the demon. "I will admit that I am not too sure of the flesh-and-steel creature's plan. But at the same time, I feel a great power coming from her. I am willing to tolerate her for the sake of my goals."

"...Oh, fine," Dr. Wily conceded at last. "I'll put up with her as long as I have control of my world when all's said and done. And," he added under his breath, "She'd better stay away from it once it's mine…"

The three villains walked off in different directions, leaving Mother Brain to plot her next move.

Author's Notes: The villains make their debut! I wonder how Mother Brain will pull this off...