Even though Microsoft owns the IP, Banjo and Kazooie will always be Nintendo characters in my heart. And what better way to end the newcomer search than with the one that was thought to be impossible?
I've only played the original Banjo-Kazooie on the N64, so pardon the rudimentary knowledge of the games this time 'round.
Spiral Mountain...
"Hey! Wake up, Banjo!"
Groaning as he got out of bed, Banjo looked at his backpack, which contained his mouthy Breegull companion, Kazooie, and strung it over his shoulders before grabbing his Game Boy off the table. Being the new owner of Spiral Mountain was... interesting, to say the least. At least it was an easy job, as all he really needed to do was just occasionally check up on Gruntilda's wrecked lair to make sure that the witch didn't return.
And today was that day.
As the duo set off towards the ruined lair which was shaped like the head of the titular witch, a mysterious figure watched them from the shadows. As soon as they were out of his line of sight, Master Hand checked his briefcase for the envelope and pulled it out. How come these two were so hard to find compared to everyone else? Even Snake hadn't been that difficult to locate.
He vaguely remembered meeting the two roughly 10 years ago shortly after the end of the first tournament at the behest of Mario and Donkey Kong, but they then mysteriously vanished without a trace. Shame too, because they had seemed like a shoe-in for the next tournament. And now, he finally had a second shot at finding and recruiting them.
Master Hand spied a mailbox right in front of their house. Deciding that he could make up for the incident back in Vale, he quietly slipped the envelope into their mailbox, and decided to wait until the duo got back from whatever errand they were running.
Meanwhile, inside Gruntilda's lair, Banjo and Kazooie had split up and were doing a thorough search of the place to make sure that the old hag hadn't returned. Kazooie checked the interior of the head, while Banjo pulled his plane out of a compartment in Gruntilda's hat on the outside and decided to check the skies and the tower where he and Kazooie had first clashed against the witch. As Banjo took flight, he couldn't help but be reminded of that time where he, Diddy Kong, and that foul-mouthed squirrel had saved Timber's Island from Wizpig. He wondered what Diddy could possibly be doing right now, as he had last heard that Conker had become a king, but that was 8 years ago.
Meanwhile, at the Smash Mansion, Diddy Kong sneezed.
As Banjo began searching Spiral Mountain for Gruntilda, he looked down from his plane and saw a mysterious shadow watching his house. Concerned for Tooty's safety, he flew back to the large head and ran back in.
Right around the same time, Kazooie had finished her search of the castle, and she had found no trace of the witch, so she ran up to where she and Banjo had agreed to meet, only for the bear to crash right into her.
Before Kazooie could get too riled up, she heard Banjo say, "C'mon Kazooie, we gotta go! There's someone looking to break into our house!"
That got Kazooie's attention. Immediately hopping back into Banjo's backpack, she freed her legs and hightailed it out of there, with Banjo holding onto the straps for dear life.
Master Hand was starting to get bored waiting for the two, as he had a speech to give to the Smashers soon. Before he could snap his fingers and warp the duo over, however, he heard a bird start squawking louder and louder before coming to a screeching halt right at the door. Master Hand decided to remain hidden for a little bit longer.
"Banjo, are you sure that you saw someone around here?"
"Kazooie, I coulda sworn I saw 'em right there!"
Kazooie looked to where Banjo was pointing, only to find nothing. Lightly slapping Banjo on the back with her wing, she said, "Eh, what does it matter, you probably saw a really big lump, like 'ol Bottles or something! Whaddaya say that we relax for the rest of the day? After all, I found no trace of that hag in the castle."
Banjo gave a slightly more cheerful nod, and was right about to walk in until he noticed that he had mail. Opening the mailbox, he found a single envelope and nothing else. As Banjo opened the envelope, Kazooie peered over his shoulder to see what it said. The letter read;
To Banjo and Kazooie of Spiral Mountain,
Congratulations! The two of you have been selected to fight in the Super Smash Brothers tournament as a cohesive unit. Please look at the back of the letter for your Fighter Pass.
Sincerely,
Master Hand
P.S.: Welcome home.
Banjo turned the letter around and sure enough, the card the letter had mentioned was on the back, with a 73 engraved on it.
An unknown voice behind them said, "I suppose you want an explanation for this…"
The duo whirled around to see a large right hand floating right in front of them. Before either of them could say anything, the hand laughed, "So you're the people Diddy keeps talking about at the Mansion!"
The bird and bear exchanged touched glances. Diddy had remembered them, even after 13 years? Before they could dwell on it further, however, the hand continued, "To the two you, have you ever heard of the Super Smash Brothers tournament?"
Banjo, after a bit of thought, said, "There was that one time 10 years ago, but other than that, not really…"
"Spiral Mountain is a very hard place to find, Banjo. I imagine it's because of the witch's enchantments…"
Kazooie interrupted the two of them, saying, "Okay, finger-face, we've heard enough. How do we get to this tournament?"
Master Hand, a little irritated, curtly finished, "The portal's on your right. Once you step through, the final destination's on your right, it's the big building with 'For Newcomers' on the face of it."
Banjo and Kazooie stepped through the vortex, and Master Hand vanished back to the Mansion.
The duo followed the hand's directions, and found themselves in front of the building he had described. Scanning their pass on the door, the two walked in to see a batch of very unusual people.
There were two teenagers with the features of squids, a massive alien that looked like a mix between a zombie, a bat, and a dragon, a man in a leather outfit holding a whip, a comically obese crocodile wearing a crown (Banjo couldn't help but feel that he looked familiar), a small dog holding a checklist, a large red and black tiger with a fiery belt, a small puppet dressed in a blue cape and cap, and a blonde young man with a sword across his back growing a potted plant with some mysterious light.
Every person in the room regarded the two with confusion.
King K. Rool broke the silence by saying, "Why, it's been forever since I've seen the two of you! I can't help but wonder how that old hag Grunty's doing right now…"
Before Kazooie could say anything, she heard a threatening snarl come from the alien in the back.
"Oh yeah? Why don't you say it to my face, space-bat?"
As Ridley began to charge a ball of plasma in his mouth, a rough uppercut to his jaw from Simon stopped him from pursuing any further action. Turning to the bear, he said, "I'm Simon Belmont, nice to meet you."
Banjo shook the man's hand, saying, "Nice to meet you too, guh-huh!"
Before Isaac and Geno could say anything, the intercom sounded, "All newcomers, please report to the auditorium's backstage in the Smash Mansion."
One by one, the new Smashers filed out of the building.
This chapter took a while to write… stay tuned for the finale!