Thanks for sticking with this wild ride of a story, first off.
Secondly, while this may be the end of the main story, there will be an epilogue to set up the World of Light.
Finally, the DLC characters will be done over the course of the next year (I miscounted, counting Piranha Plant, there's 79 fighters to keep track of).
Enjoy!
Smash Mansion…
The auditorium was currently in a jovial state, with the Mario brothers cracking jokes with Red and Leaf, Young Link offering some Lon Lon Milk to Link, Pichu curling up in Snake's lap, who was currently shooting the breeze with Cloud, and Wolf and Wario, the latter of whom was unusually wearing his overalls, laughing over tales of their own exploits in the last three years (unbeknownst to Wolf, Wario had picked his pocket in the middle of his story about the Aparoids). A large crack resounded through the room, and every Smasher returned to their seats and fell silent.
Master Hand entered the room, and boomed out, "Smashers, welcome! Tell me, did you like the surprise I had planned?"
Cheers filled the room.
Chuckling, Master Hand continued, "I'm fairly sure you're eagerly awaiting the newcomers to this tournament, so without further ado, let us get started!"
All of the newcomers had heard the hand's announcement, and were anxiously waiting in the backstage area, with the exception of Ridley, who was lurking in some corner elsewhere.
"These newcomers come from an entirely new world, a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by sea creatures who hold contests called Turf Wars purely for sport. Please welcome... The Inklings!"
Meggy and Evan leaped out from behind the curtain and landed in a three-point stance, to raucous cheers from the audience. With their confidence increasing, the two of them reenacted a short Turf War skirmish, finishing with a flourish.
As Master Hand directed them to their seats, he cleared his throat. Samus wouldn't be too happy with this next one, but he stuck with his guns and proceeded with the next announcement.
"This newcomer was an incredibly popular request from the media and the public for the last decade or so. In the past, we've had to reject him because of his sheer size. But now that it's no longer an issue..."
Samus gaped in horror. He hadn't...
"Ladies and gentlemen... RIDLEY!"
A loud screech sounded throughout the auditorium, causing some Smashers to cover their ears, and Ridley swooped down from his hiding place onto the stage, to scarce applause coming from Bowser.
After letting out a triumphant screech, he turned to Samus with a smirk and hissed, "Not too big anymore!"
Samus buried her face in her hands as Ridley swooped over to the seat next to her. Master Hand then continued, "Our next newcomer is part of a bloodline who swore to fight against the dark forces of the night for eons. I present to you... Simon Belmont!"
Simon slid through the curtains and brandished his whip to massive applause, with the cheering from Mega Man and Pit being the loudest of all, with Snake applauding in a slightly more enthusiastic fashion than earlier.
As Simon took a seat next to Mega Man, who he regarded with a slight handshake, Master Hand continued the announcements.
"Another popular request for the last decade plus, the sworn enemy to the Kong clan... KING K. ROOL, ladies and gentlemen!"
The overweight Kremling king floated down from the rafters using his helicopter pack, and was met by reluctant applause from Bowser and Wario, and a mixture of shock and fury from the two Kongs. K. Rool proudly slapped his belly and sauntered off the stage to where Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong were sitting, both of whom met him with hostile glares as K. Rool laughed triumphantly.
Master Hand looked down at his paper, announcing, "This newcomer saw a sudden rise in popularity in the last few years, and she's actually helped us a ton in setting up for both this and the previous tournament. I present to you... Isabelle!"
Isabelle hopped from out behind the curtain to loud cheers and squeals of delight from most of the female Smashers, while Villager sat in his seat with a look of pride on his face, applauding all the while.
As Isabelle sat down next to the mayor, Master Hand continued, "This newcomer will give you a taste of his fiery fighting spirit... Incineroar!"
The Heel Pokémon burst through the curtains and triumphantly posed to the applause of the other Smashers in the audience, before running over to its seat next to Greninja and Lucario, the latter of whom he greeted with a fist bump. Greninja quietly shook Incineroar's hand afterwards.
A little Piranha Plant waddled onto the stage, and Master Hand looked at it before realizing that it was the plant he had tasked Isaac with growing. Among everyone's confusion, Master Hand announced, "This Piranha Plant is joining the battle as a surprise Smasher!"
The Original 12, save for Samus and Donkey Kong, who were both glaring daggers at their rivals, burst into raucous laughter, with Mario's laughter being the loudest of all. Bowser, in the middle of his applause, asked, "What's so funny, plumber?"
Piranha Plant waddled off the stage and jumped onto the seat next to Bowser and his son, both of whom greeted him with an awkward pat on the head.
After the last of the chuckles had subsided, Master Hand continued, "Hailing from Star Road... Geno!"
Mario and Bowser gave each other a high five as the puppet stepped onto the stage and fired some stars from inside his arm. Peach enthusiastically cheered for the puppet, elated to see him for the first time in many years.
Geno then took a seat next to Mario, who shook his hand, saying, "It's-a so good to see you again!"
As Geno smiled, Master Hand continued with the announcements, saying, "From Weyard, one of the eight warriors who was chosen to save the world by unleashing Alchemy through the Golden Sun, Isaac!"
The blonde Adept stepped onto the stage to modest applause (mostly from Mario), and cast a Clay Spire covered in Mad Growth before casting Ragnarok to destroy the construct. Only then did most of the others begin to applaud.
Master Hand, now at the closing part of the first part of his speech, finished, "Our last newcomer is remembered fondly by some of the veterans, but many of you may have never heard of them before this."
A drumroll sounded.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Smashers of all ages… BANJO AND KAZOOIE!"
The duo hopped out of the hole in the stage that Isaac had created with his powers and posed for the audience, playing a small ditty on their respective instruments. Cheers and applause came from Mario and Donkey Kong's groups, with Diddy Kong being the loudest of all.
As Banjo and Kazooie walked down the aisle, Diddy Kong ran up to the two. Banjo fist bumped the monkey before taking a seat next to Snake.
Master Hand then said, "Now, I understand that you're all anxious about going to eat something, but please listen for just a bit longer. Fighters like Lucina and Dark Pit have now been re-classified as Echo Fighters, which is to say, fighters that share many traits with another existing fighter on the roster."
A dark vortex opened behind Master Hand, who then said, "Please welcome the Phazon phantom, Dark Samus!"
Samus' dark doppelgänger floated over to Samus and Ridley, the latter of whom nervously scooted his chair away at the sight of the construct of Phazon, while Samus had a look of unbridled fury in her eyes.
Eager to announce the next Echo Fighter and subsequently diffuse the situation, Master Hand said, "Hailing from the far-away Sarasian Empire, Princess Daisy!"
Daisy leaped out from behind the curtain and struck a pose, exclaiming, "Oh yeah! Daisy's here to bust some heads!"
Most of Mario's group applauded, but Luigi was celebrating like he had just won the Striker Cup. Mario and Peach hugged Luigi, who had broke down sobbing in joy.
As Daisy ran down to join Mario, Peach, and Luigi, Master Hand continued, "The Exalt of Ylisse, Chrom!"
Chrom ran off the stage and met Lucina and Robin, who had jumped out of their seats in joy, all of them holding each other in a tight embrace. Marth meanwhile smiled widely, as it gave him pride to see yet another descendant of his in Smash, whilst Ike, Roy, and Corrin smiled politely.
Now that the three of them were seated, Master Hand said, "Now, please welcome one of the revered descendants of the Belmont clan, Richter!"
Simon looked up in surprise. He had a descendant?
On cue, Richter jumped onto the stage to polite applause. Simon stared long and hard at the whip in Richter's hand, confirming that it was indeed a Belmont Vampire Killer. Richter took a seat next to Simon, who he regarded with a handshake, saying, "It's nice to meet you... granddad?"
Simon gave a nod, and motioned for Richter to look up at the stage.
"One of Gouken's disciples and the master of the Assassination's Fist, Ken Masters!"
Ken jumped onto the stage and posed for the crowd, who gave him a thunderous round of applause, Ryu's being the loudest of all. Ken took a seat next to Ryu, and the two martial artists began to shoot the breeze.
Master Hand finished by announcing, "Finally, one of the eight Warriors of the Eclipse, the son of Isaac and Jenna, Matthew!"
A blonde teenager who looked incredibly similar to Isaac stepped out from behind the curtain. Matthew, decked out with the gear that he had stopped the Grave Eclipse in, nervously scanned his surroundings, pulled out the Sol Blade, and prepared to unleash a Megiddo before Master Hand whispered to him, "Please don't destroy the auditorium."
Matthew, flushing with embarrassment, sheathed the Sol Blade and put Flint, Brick, Magnet, Geyser, Torrent, Bolt, and Waft on standby before casting an Inferno. After the massive display of fire and a round of applause, Matthew went and sat in the only seat available, which was next to Isaac. Matthew awkwardly said, "Um, hi... dad."
Isaac shook his son's hand before asking, "You're my son? From the future?"
"Well... yeah. Thirty years after the Golden Sun phenomenon, in fact."
"How's it like for Weyard in the future?" Rubbing the back of his head awkwardly, Isaac blushed as he asked, "Also... how are things between your mother and I?"
Matthew shifted in his chair uncomfortably for a moment, however, he quickly put on a smile for his father, beginning to tell him stories of when he, Isaac, and Jenna stayed together before Tyrell had broken the Soarwing, taking time to explain the finer details to his father.
Master Hand finally said, "Now that the newcomers have been introduced, it's time for the feast! Smashers, to the dining hall!"
With Yoshi, Kirby, Dedede, and Wario leading the charge, the Smashers filed out of the auditorium to stuff their faces.
Master Hand chuckled with a twinge of pride.
At last, everyone was here.
Fin
And that's the main story done! Thanks to those who read the entirety of this fic. Some notes:
- Diddy and Banjo met during the events of Diddy Kong Racing and became fast friends many years before Spiral Mountain was cut off from Donkey Kong Island, and by extent, the Mushroom Kingdom, by Grunty's magic.
- K. Rool teamed up with Gruntilda once.
- Dark Samus manipulated the Space Pirates, Ridley included, in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, so that's why Ridley is unnerved by her.
- After the events of whatever Golden Sun 4 could potentially offer, Matthew began dating Sveta.
- Wario embraced his treasure hunting roots in the middle of the fourth tournament, so his moves, appearance, and demeanor in this AU will reflect Wario Land more than Warioware.
- Bowser cares for all minions of the Koopa Troop, and Piranha Plant is no exception.
I'll be seeing you guys in the World of Light.