The thunderclouds in the night sky rumbled with thunder, pouring heavy rain upon the darkened city. The cobblestone streets seemed to be slightly flooded, with the waters draining into the sewers on the sides of the road. A mysterious cloaked figure was walking down the streets, their faces shielded in the darkness of their hood. The only thing revealed about them was their black boots and the ends of their black leather pants, which were getting soggy from trailing around in the muddy rain.

The unknown being kept walking around, not paying to mind about the heavy cloak weighting them down. Soon enough, as the thunderstorm hurled on, they began to hear the sounds of a young couple being chased on the other side of the street. They both sounded like they were in fear from the heavy pants in their breaths, according to the cloaked figure, and they were being chased not by someone… but by something. And that something followed them through the large doors that echoed loudly upon them opening it. The cloaked figure walked over to the noises, seeing that the building they entered to get away from the creature chasing them was a large cathedral with shattered stain-glass windows that once depicted the Holy Family and Mary, Queen of Heaven. It was a sure sign the place was abandoned just like the rest of the town, and for a good reason too.

Inside the cathedral, the young couple ran up the stairs to the floor where the choir boys would sing in worship of the One True God, taking the stairs to the bell towers. The creature chasing the man and the woman hid in the shadows, with only the lightning outside reflected on wings of gold and flashing hexagon scales. As the couple scaled up the spiraling stairs, the man tripped on one of the steps, spraining his ankle and scraping his kneecaps. As the woman came to comfort him, he simply reached into his pants' pocket and pulled out some sort of cloth. Inside the cloth was something glowing orange within the darkness of the cathedral.

"Listen to me: keep this thing away from that demon," the man told his girlfriend, placing the cloth with the hidden, hand-sized object inside the palms of her hands and clasping over them. "I don't know what he wants with this, but I'll hold him off while you hide upstairs. Trust me." The woman in tears nodded, leaning into his lips and kissing them. She held the kiss for a few seconds before she ran off, and the man weakly stood up.

"Hey! I'm over here!" the man shouted to the figure downstairs, waving his hands above his head and using himself as bait. As the woman of the couple ran upstairs, she did not look back upon the sound of her boyfriend's scream of help followed by a gush of blood that seemed to drown away all his cries for mercy. She knew the creature that attacked him would soon be coming for her head next and she made her way to the bells on top of the tower. Before she could even find a hiding spot, a powerful laser knocked her down onto the wooden floor, causing her to drop the cloth with the mystery item inside.

"You can't keep running from me," Marx's voice called out from the top of the stairs, his slit eyes glaring at the woman from the dark. That adorable jester was the monster chasing after the couple, his eyes set on the glistening object that fell from her hands. Marx teleported in front of the girl just as she was about to reach for the cloth, unleashing crescent-shaped blades in front of her and knocking her back closer to the open window. It lacked any of the metal frames that kept the glass that presented the religious imagery, and it was wide enough for the average human to fall through considering it was at the floor's level.

"Please… I just want to live," the woman wept, feeling like an idiot that she was backing away from such a cuddly creature like that. "You want it? It's yours. Just leave me and Francis alone!"

"Why would I snip the tether you and your loved one shared, Elisha?" Marx asked, dragging a bloody eyeball by its cord across the wooden floor. That woman knew from those stained talons and eyeball that something terrible happened to the love of her life. "All I ask is that you give me the object within the cloth. If you didn't run off like that, your precious Francis might have been still alive. Don't worry. You'll get to join him!" The jester teleported in front of Elisha, grabbing ahold of her hair by his claws and carrying her through the window via flight.

"Please!" Elisha screamed, her feet dangling multiple stories in the air as her crown was pulled on ever so roughly to the point any one of those hair strands will be torn off. "Just let me go!"

"Wish granted," Marx answered with a sharp-toothed grin on his face, letting go of Elisha's hair and watching her fall to her death while screaming bloody murder. The jester cackled at his own joke, warping back into the bell towers and catching eye of the brown cloth with the glowing-orange object hidden inside it. As soon as Marx picked up the cloth, he heard the sound of two gun clicks behind him.

"The fuck you doing here!?" a masculine voice asked. "Identify yourself! Who the fuck are you!?" Marx quickly glared behind himself to look at the cloaked figure who followed him here, pointing two semi-automatic guns of the M1911 type at the winged jester. The weapon in the stranger's right hand was a light color with the portrait of a fair-haired woman from the Victorian Era imprinted on its ivory wood grip, and the gun in his left hand looked similar in appearance but different in color: a darker shade mixed with a raven-haired Victorian woman.

"Hm… you must be the one named after that famous Italian poet. Kinda blanking on the name right now…" Marx noted, sensing the cloaked stranger's presence as he quickly slipped the cloth underneath his jester hat. "I can tell your smell isn't exactly human… but it's not really non-human either."

"Yeah, I get that all the time," the stranger answered. "Y'know, I've never seen a face like yours around. Monsters like you aren't doing mentally well when they murder a couple for no goddamn reason…"

"I had a reason why I attacked them!" Marx snapped, turning around to face the hooded figure behind him. "They found a precious relic which means everything to me, and it's the only one I collected so far."

"Finders-keepers, huh? Well, I guess while I'm here I should get comfortable…" the stranger sighed, pulling off his cloak to reveal his true identity. The mysterious guest wore a red jacket, which was patterned with buckles and zippers. He wore a belt and fingerless gloves, and he sported long white hair with bangs that accompanied his ravishing dark-blue eyes. He put his guns back in his coat, slowly approaching Marx.

"Now I remember!" Marx noted with realization. "So… you must be that Dante figure I've heard so much about around these parts. Anything tick you off lately?"

"Yeah…" the figure named Dante answered. "Just the fact that you look like the cutest thing ever." The Devil Hunter swept Marx off his feet, hugging the jester as though he was a plush toy.

"You just look so damn adorable like this!" Dante teased as Marx tried to struggle from his strong arms embracing him. "Who's a widdle guy? Who's a widdle guy?"

"Quit touching me, pal!" Marx roared, clawing Dante's face to the point where the half-demon began to bleed out of his blinded eye. The jester floated in the air in annoyance as he watched the son of Sparda simply shrug off his fatal wound as though it was just a scratch, which healed his quite attractive face back to normal.

"God! You're far worse than Byleth!" Marx snarled, the pupils in his violet eyes dilating.

"Woah, I'm sorry," Dante chuckled. "I didn't realize you had attitude. Quite a cute temper tantrum you've got there. Got any more tricks you can show me?"

"Y̷̤̒̾͊͋o̶͓̰͓͎̰͓̍͐͊̈u̸̘͓̝͔͋̾̃ͅ ̴̗̰̽̈́̋̐͑̚ų̶̨͕͙̯͈̎͝n̶͕̝͕̜̠̻̽̃̽g̴̘̈́̕r̸͚͍͈̙̂̓à̵͔̫͍̈́̿͝͝t̴̝̫̱̏́̅̕ë̷̤̮͍̔̒͘̚f̵̨̩͕̝̂͆̈́̚ų̶̭͈͎̤͆͆͠l̴̟͙̦̃̿̓ ̸̛̙̭̃b̴̤̉ą̸̤̤̂̽̌͌͂̓͜s̴̡̺͙̚͝t̴̝̪̘̮̎̑à̵̢̟̜r̵͙͚͇̈́̀͆̇̿d̸̺̟̟̦͉̲̈́͛!̴̫͔̟͍̱͗͌̌͊̑̚" Marx snarled in a more menacing tone, his fangs reflecting off on his inner rage. "D̸͉̈́̈ő̷̲̻͑͐n̵̨͈̬̓͂̂'̶̡̖̗̈́̚ẗ̵̠̟́̽̔ ̷̬̓y̶̎̈́̕͜o̴͎̞̘͌̄u̷̡͓̪̍͋̚ ̴̹̦͆k̶̙̙̒̏ǹ̸̗̐́ơ̸͓̆͝ẉ̸̜͝ ̴̯̣̫̂̔̕ẘ̵͈̹̻h̵͕̆̏ͅō̵̳͘ͅ ̵̯̰̟̍̆ŷ̵͉̼̂͆o̸̢̙̙̿̇͐u̵̧̺̐ ̸͖̳̐͠a̶̟̖̔̍̆r̸̡͊̍ͅḛ̵̼̃́ ̶͍̌̊͗ų̷̠͇͆̒͆p̷̪͗ ̵̭͖̌a̶̱͉͋g̷̛̤̐a̸͓̣̳͘ì̵̡̚n̸͇͇̿̆͘s̴̹̍t̷͙̼̲͂̆́!̸͎̲̤͆͘͠?̶̡̥̼̿ ̶̡̢̎Î̵̺̯̓̓ ̴͉̳̀̽̏a̸̧͖͑͜m̸͙̒ ̵͔̆̀̈́M̷͚͂́̿à̶̳̹̞̌̆r̵̺̖̂̅x̶̬̋,̸̫̙̄̃̇ ̵̘̗͚͛̽͛c̵̞͊o̷̭͆̈̓ǹ̵̨͊q̷̪̐ͅů̵̡̬͉̋͠ȅ̶̫̅̈́r̷̝͋ö̷̠̦́̋̔r̷̠̱̓ ̵̪̠͕́̈͝ó̸̟̅f̵̪̗͊͠ ̸̡̒̉̎ẇ̷̙̀o̵̧̮̯͠ȓ̶̟̬l̸̺͑͑͊d̴̼͌ś̴̞̄ ̷̰̣͖̌̍̕à̶͍̳̒n̵̯̎d̷̻̪̋̃̈ ̵̙̯͔́̏͝ď̸̝̤͚͝͝e̵̳̯͑̊͐s̷̙̈ṫ̸̺̯̇ŕ̴̞̰͂o̷͔̭̭̎ỳ̵̰͙̯͂͝e̶̢̩͓͆͂r̷̜̟̮̈́ ̵̻̚ơ̶͙͚̯f̴̖̺̅̓̊ ̸̜̼̲̉̑̊p̷͚̗͗̈l̶̟̹̐̈̚a̷͙̞̫͐͂n̵͚̺͎̂̉́è̶̤̤͈̄͠ṱ̸͓͝s̶̘͎̊̎͘!̵̦̀͠ ̸̙̯͖̔Ȧ̴̢͎l̸̯̍̚l̴̞̏̏ͅ ̸̮̌w̴͈̳̅͘̕í̶͚̺͆l̵̜̿̔̉ḷ̵̺̎ ̴̨̯͈̓b̸̩̙̦́͌͘o̵͎̔͒w̵̨͔̆̋ ̴̜͋̔b̵̺̈́͑̅e̶̦̟̯̾̈́̿ḟ̷̡́o̸̫͆̀͆r̶̦̤̈̃̄e̴̜̽͋̉ ̶̡͈͎͊m̷͔̐͆̍y̵̝͋ ̴̠͍̥́m̷̢̩̃̎ǐ̸͔̝̯g̴̥͋̀̀h̵̻̒͝͝ť̶̳y̶̢̙̜̔̈́ ̸̧̑̓̔p̷̥̑̈́͝o̸̝̓͋w̵̹̼̍ẽ̵̝̬̐͠r̵̺̈́̍͝,̷̮̹͌́͝ ̶͕̞̓͐̈́ạ̸͎̎͘ͅṇ̷̝̓͋̕d̸̝̥͋̓̔ ̶̧̞̹͘y̷̼͕̓o̶̥̼̽͝ų̷͝ ̵̨̏t̷̺̤͐́o̶̲̊̃o̵̧͙̝̔͝ ̴̳̥́̽͜w̶̲͙̖̑i̷̲̥͋l̶̛̘͑̆ĺ̶͎̉͗ͅ ̶͉̯̒t̸̛̻͜r̴̳̺̯͐͘e̷̹̞͔̅͆̐m̵̗͐̋b̷̥̠̔l̶̪̎̀͆ͅë̷̩́͐͝ ̴̮̜̓͗͝u̶̧͚̹͋́̚n̸̝͙̋̔̄d̵͕͓̽͛̆ẹ̴̙̦̽͂ŗ̴̭͇̅ ̵̗̣̎͋m̶̤̟͎͗̊y̶̠̙͇̍ ̵̧̭̘͑̓͠n̵͔͒a̷͒̿̓ͅm̴̮̭͈̓ě̶̘͙̀͒!̵͕͝" During that threat, Dante was mocking Marx's words, simply mouthing off what the jester said by using his hand like a puppet and flapping his fingers up and down in the motion of his own lips.

"Ooh, and you're named after the founder of communism too," Dante answered, still keeping his devil-may-care attitude and that smug look on his face. "Sorry, pal. The Soviet Union jokes are over. Go home."

"Oh, I will," Marx cackled in his normal voice, trying to control his temper in front of the Devil Hunter. "I will return to where I came from… right after I bring my master your head!" The jester swooped straight at Dante, unaware of what was about to happen next. The white-haired half-demon smirked as Marx flew closer with his fangs unfurled, and he simply stepped out of the way at an unnatural speed. Marx didn't have time to fathom what happened before he ascended into the air without even knowing and glided straight into a large brass bell, denting the instrument with great force. The jester slid down to the wooden floor, holding his head as he tried to recall what happened. His starry-filled eyes snapped back to reality as Dante jumped at a great height, pulling out some sort of double-edged sword from behind his red coat. He swung it straight at Marx upon landing as light as a feather, but the jester simply teleported out of the way.

Dante pulled out his guns, pulling the triggers and rapidly firing at the flying jester. Thanks to the Devil Hunter's keen marksmanship, Marx was hit the second he took off into the air. The wounded jester hit the floor, the cloth with the glowing object inside slipping out of his hat. The second Marx got up despite wincing from his bullet wounds, he spotted the object. He crawled towards it with the talons on his golden wings, but the second he was about to reach for the object he felt the hole of a cold metal pressed against his forehead. From the shadows, he could see the demonic eyes his opponent bore.

"Alright, kid," Dante spoke to a frightened Marx, the sound of his light-colored gun clicking as he gently squeezed his hand on the trigger though not quite enough so he doesn't fire his shot. "I'm gonna give you the count of three to get your dumb little bitch-ass face out of here or so God help me. And you're not leaving… with anything else." The half-demon grabbed ahold of the cloth on the floor with his free hand, glancing at the glowing object inside. Marx, in complete anger and barred teeth, warped his way out of the church. Dante placed the gun back inside his coat, watching the cute little jester fly off into the night sky completely wounded. He opened the cloth, finding a mysterious orange gem the size of his hand. The gem was cut into the shape of a crystal pillar and polished to the point where it sparkled like a galaxy, its orange glow revealing strange symbols. The largest one depicted two mountains, with a square-shaped gem sitting on its edge between the mountains. Underneath the symbol were five letters of an otherworldly alphabet. Was this the thing that Marx guy was after? Dante picked up his phone, dialing a number and placing it near his ear.

"Heya, Trish," Dante spoke, standing near the rim of the open window. "I'm gonna be heading back to Devil May Cry now. I found a demon, but… he seemed to have carried some strange jewel with him. See ya, babe." Dante put away his cellphone, dashing straight through the window with a great velocity and jumping high across the air from the window to the roof of a shorter building. Soon enough, the Devil Hunter began hopping from rooftop to rooftop as he made his way back to the sleepy little store with the neon words "Devil May Cry" blazing on top of the entrance on the far side of town.

Dante walked through the door of the shop, tossing his weapons the desk he approached. He turned on an electric fan with sticky notes stuck to it the moment he sat down, laying the glowing stone down in front of him. He gazed upon the glowing orange color on the gem, his fingers tapping on the wooden desk. There was a box of pizza topped with bacon bits, crumbled meatballs, Italian sausage slices, ham slices, and sun-dried tomatoes on top of marinara sauce and five different cheeses. Dante took a slice out and began eating it from the tip. Just then, the bell at the entrance rang and a woman walked in without proper introduction. For one thing, she had blond hair, blue eyes, and fair skin with black leather pants and high heels as well as a choker, a corset, two belts, and some kind of wrist accessory.

"Heya, Beatrice," Dante teased as the feminine demon walked up to him, reclining his boots on the desk as he finished the crust of his current pizza slice. "Sup?"

"I just came by to see how you were doing," the woman answered. In her hands, she held some the invitational letter with the Smash Ball emblem imprinted on the red wax. "Figured I'd never see you here after Vergil told me you were taking care of business down at Red Grave City."

"Watcha got there, Trish?" Dante asked, noticing the letter in her hands.

"Oh. This?" Trish responded, holding up the letter for the half-demon to see. "The letter said they were looking for recruits for something called a 'Smash World.' Figured they need you here in the hopes that you're one of these so-called… chosen ones." Dante sat up, taking the letter from Trish's hands.

"I'm the Son of Sparda," Dante answered. "It's gonna be pretty obvious that I would get recognized by some otherworldly force out there…" The Devil Hunter opened up the letter and read through it, the expression on his face changing from curious to the smug grin of winning a jackpot at a casino.

"Trish?" Dante asked, walking over to his female companion. "Would you be so kind as to hold this, please?" In slight annoyance and disgust, Trish did not bat an eye as she rolled her eyes up and looked away from the half-demon.

"Suit yourself," Dante answered for Trish, admitting that he still sucked hitting on women after all these years. He grabbed the cloth with the stone, walking over to his sword Rebellion and his guns Ebony and Ivory. He placed his guns and the stone in the insides of his coat along with other weapons he conveniently packed, placing the sword on his back.

"I'll probably see you when I get back," Dante told Trish, tapping the bold red word "return" on the open letter. "Save some demons for me, alright?"

"Can do, will do," Trish answered, giving a thumbs up to Dante. Shortly after, a flash of light blinded the shop, and the legendary Devil Hunter vanished without a trace.


Marx was sleeping in a nest made out of old newspaper and torn clothes, groaning as he began to move around. He opened his eyes to the faint light of the rising sun hidden behind streaks of clouds, his breathing snapping back to his senses. The jester shot up, looking down upon his round body and noticing that the bullet holes left on him seemed to have been cleaned and patched up.

What the…? Marx thought, unaware of the shadowy figure in front of him.

"Finally," a familiar voice spoke, alerting Marx. "I was beginning to wonder when you'd wake up." The cute jester looked up to see the figure Mephiles standing near the bed, his red sclera and green irises looking down as always.

"By the time you got back, you lost a lot of blood," Mephiles noted. "And you failed to bring the Earth Citrine back with you. What exactly happened?" Marx sighed in irritation, crossing his golden wings in front of his face.

"There was this guy that bumped into me," Marx answered. "I tried to leave no evidence of the victims I attacked, but he somehow tracked me down. His strength… was unlike anything I had ever seen. My own powers couldn't even harm him. It just seemed as though he knew my every move, and he took the stone without me getting another chance to go back and retrieve it… I'm sorry, Mephiles…"

"It's alright," Mephiles responded, still calm as ever and never daring to raise a hand to strike against his companion. "There are still nine other stones we have yet to collect. Your top priority for now is to follow this man to a world where champions with long, springy arms compete in tournaments."

"What?" Marx asked in confusion, wincing as he slowly climbed out of the bed. The small Insaniton Mephiles kept around appeared out of his crystalline quills, slithering up to his hands.

"You are aware of how determination works, right?" Mephiles asked. "On how it is the most cognitive element used to awaken true potential, and the Smash Balls are used to channel it throughout the link between body and soul? Well… our little pet has detected a strong abundance in that world." As Marx had noticed, the one-eyed slime gleamed a faint red instead of its usual pink hue, chirping in a language only Mephiles could understand.

"So, what you're saying is… another Smasher is located in that universe?" Marx asked, surprise gleaming in his violet eyes.

"We don't know who it is right now," Mephiles answered. "As far as we know, it could be any one of the champions there. Once you heal, your goal is to eradicate every single one of these champions and regain the Earth Citrine."

"Why can't you do it?" Marx asked.

"I have other business to attend to," the crystalline hedgehog responded. "The last footprint of my presence, the Forgotten Gatekeeper, has been eradicated by my worst enemy, and he has managed to unleash my followers from their prison cells without even knowing he did such an action killing my guardian. Rest for a while longer. I will reunite with you soon after you return from your mission." Marx returned to his nest, watching as Mephiles vanished with his Insaniton without a trace. The jester walked over to the hole where the sun shines through, feeling its morning warmth soothe his painful sounds hidden under tresses of bandages.

"Oh, Mephiles," Marx sighed, his tone filled with the knowledge that he knew something Mephiles didn't. "Mephiles, Mephiles, Mephiles. The Almighty Father has done a lot to your memory, hasn't He? You can't even remember the children you bore as the goddess herself. Shame. All you want to do is get back to your old wicked ways, huh? You may be holding the cards, but I'm the one peeking behind them. And soon… I'll be the one cheating from your hand." Marx also warped out of the abandoned sanctuary, leaving behind stained bandages behind on the wooden floor next to the nest.


Far off into the mountains, where the most exotic alien flowers bloomed, the golden-eyed general with the missing left wing sat in front of two tombstones laid next to each other: Lord Ceresor and Ultima, the previous rulers of Arcus. Sozo bowed his head in sorrow, his claws penetrating through the grass-filled earth thanks to his weight pressed against the ground.

"Hello, father," Sozo spoke to the tombstones. "Hello, my queen. I'm… sorry the graves we made for you two aren't the best, but… at least we tried to fix what was already broken. Anyway, things are going great here in Arcus. The transporter worked flawlessly, and we might be expecting more warriors from other realms soon, so… there's that. The other fighters are keeping their promise, and… maybe one day they might get their guidance from elsewhere. I hope you understand. Sometimes I just feel as though… one of the members of the Super Smash Brothers group has already made a breakthrough between realities. He's starting to uncover a bit about himself. I… suppose I could train him in the ways of the Dragosmo, just like he wanted when he first got them. It's bad enough that he was exposed to so much of the darkness's power…" The golden-eyed general pressed his head against his father's tombstone, then Ultima's, before he walked away with his white-silk tail trailing behind himself.

As Sozo took a few steps forward, he began to hear a choir of harmony echoing through his mind. Sozo shook his head, trying to clear himself of the thought that it somehow felt familiar. It began to ring with faith, the feeling grew greater inside him, giving way to a new hope that he had no idea existed after months until now.

DETERMINATION.

A Small Ball out there had just gathered enough determination for him to sense it, and where there's a Smash Ball, there's…

"Another fighter!" Sozo exclaimed, his right wing spreading itself apart in sheet excitement. "I have to tell the other Smashers about this!" He then looked back at the graves, knowing that whatever guidance remained from them was bestowed upon him.

"Thank you…" The dragon then transformed into his Master Hand form, snapping his fingers and teleporting out if the forest area.


In the city of Civiltatula, Little Mac was learning some yoga from the Wii Fit Trainer in one of the city's hotels, taking a small break from all of the boxing he used in all of his attacks. The small boxer was sitting on a mat in a gym-like room, sitting behind the yoga fighter and practicing some deep breathing.

"Now then, Little Mac," the Wii Fit Trainer told him without making eye contact, slowly lifting her hands to above her head. "Let's try some deep breathing before our warm-up exercises. That way, you can feel relaxed in both body and spirit." Little Mac followed behind the yoga warrior, copying her exact slow movements perfectly.

"Good," she continued. "Just breath in slowly and feel your chest rise from those relaxed muscles." Just then, Ganondorf walked into the room, taking care not to interrupt their private lesson as best as he could.

"Hello?" Ganondorf asked. "May I have a word with you two?" Little Mac looked back at the Demon King, not paying mind to his ongoing lesson.

"Sure," Little Mac responded. "What is it?"

"It's about… Sozo," Ganondorf answered. "He's found another fighter, and he's assigned me to assemble a team to head over there." The Wii Fit Trainer stopped the yoga lesson after catching on to what the Gerudian just said.

"…Did you say another fighter?" the Wii Fit Trainer asked. Ganondorf nodded at that question.

"We need to head back up to the Legacy and find out where we need to go," Ganondorf responded. "Follow me." The Demon King walked out of the room, with the small boxer and the yoga warrior walking behind him. The three fighters walked past another room in the place, where Banjo & Kazooie were comforting a terrified Steve with Joker, Hero, Mega Man, Mewtwo, and Sonic by his side.

The blocky player trembled as he hugged the bear tightly, unable to forget the horrors he had to witness. And he wasn't alone in the room. Every one of the fighters within that group was so traumatized by what happened that they weren't even sure how to approach the problem.

"They'll probably fix the way back into your realm," Kazooie cooed, placing her wings on the blocky head lovingly. "You can stay with us, in the meantime. We have plenty of activities to do. There's mall shopping, arcades, arenas, lots of things to expand your creativity. You can even find another universe to relax in."

"The Breegull does have a point," Mewtwo telepathized. "I've heard from the Villager and Isabelle that you can get your own private island with help from Tom Nook." Steve didn't really seem to care, and he just wanted to be alone after he pushed Banjo out of the hug. The bear fell back on the bed, almost crushing his best friend Kazooie in the blue backpack they shared. The group heard some footsteps coming their way, and the face of Dante himself passed by the room. He didn't really pay that much mind to the team until he noticed something off about the Smashers inside.

The Hero was the first one to spot him, and he grew rather curious about the stranger that just showed up on the face of the planet without any rhyme nor reason. He tugged on Joker's leather coat, alerting the Phantom Thief.

"Hey guys," Joker told the other fighters in the room. "Someone just passed us by. Perhaps we can greet him first?" Eleven and Joker ran out, following behind the stranger that entered the place.

"Hey! Wait up for us!" Sonic called out, speeding out of the room. Mega Man followed after him, and Kazooie wanted her and Banjo to follow. However, the bear was still comforting the blocky player, who was still traumatized and just wanted to be left alone as he laid on his bed. Banjo didn't know what to do. The memories of the one he considered a close friend outside of Kazooie, Tooty, and Bottles became nothing more than a twisted nightmare. Steve was captured by a creature exactly like that, and how was Steve going to fix this after what he had been trapped in?

"Uh… Banjo?" Kazooie asked. "You okay?" The bear moved his hand away from the player, knowing that Steve might not want to remember the trauma anymore. Soon enough, Banjo turned towards the only Pokémon in the room.

"Mewtwo?" Banjo asked. "You said you are the most powerful Pokémon in your world, right?"

"The only one all eight regions know about so far," Mewtwo telepathically answered.

"Then... can you erase Steve's memories of what happened?" the bear responded, getting up from the bed. "If he asks… or writes, thinks, whatever… why he's here, just tell him that one of the Players was foolish enough to spawn in a legion of Ender Dragons and Withers. Just lie to him that they're clearing out the place until the servers reconnect… just something to take his mind off things."

"I'll see what I can do," Mewtwo answered, his alien hands glowing with Psychic-type energy as he slowly stretched his padded fingers over Steve's head.

"Thank you," Kazooie thanked, hiding in Banjo's backpack as he dashed out the door towards the red-coated man.

Dante looked around the open gym room, walking inside and admiring how clean it smelled. He was expecting the scent to be rotten armpits, but the aroma of vanilla and lavender fragrance worked too. He grabbed a nearby dumbbell from a shelf, taking the heaviest one he could find and preformed curl-ups with the arm he grabbed it with.

"You don't probably realize I know when people are sneaking up on me," Dante spoke to the fighters who followed behind him, just waiting outside the door. They were Sonic, Banjo & Kazooie, Mega Man, Joker, and Hero.

"Who are you?" Joker asked. "We've never seen you around here before."

"Dante," the half-demon answered, tossing the dumbbell he was carrying into his empty hand before placing it back on the shelf. "That's what my pals call me… and a couple hundred thousand demons here and there…"

"Demons?" Ireburn pointed out, noticing the sword attached to Dante's back. "From what you're wielding, you would be a hunter, right?"

"You've got pretty keen eyesight," Dante responded. "Yeah. I'm a devil hunter."

"But… what are you doing here?" Mega Man asked.

"I was just called here by a project you guys made called Smash World," Dante continued. "They told me I would meet up here just so I could… 'travel to other worlds and protect the multiverse…' Emphasis on that quote. Oh: by the way, I found this strange gem while hunting for some demons." The Devil Hunter reached into his pocket, pulling out the glowing stone he carried along. Each eye of the fighters' widened in a mixed bag of relief and surprise, with Sonic snatching it from Dante's hand.

"That's the Earth Citrine!" Sonic exclaimed, holding the gem up high for the other Smashers to see. "We found it!"

"The what?" Dante asked, scratching his white locks.

"Oh. Since you're new here, we might as well get you familiar around here," Sonic responded, giving Mega Man the Earth Citrine. "My name's Sonic the Hedgehog, and these are my pals: Mega Man, Hero, Banjo & Kazooie, and Joker. What you have just found is one of the many stones that had created the Diamond of Universes and, as the name implies… I think… controls the earth…? I dunno. My memory's a little hazy…" As Rockman held the stone in his hand, he felt a strange energy buzzing around in his circuits. He then remembered the energy was at the exact same place as where he placed that USB drive of his for safekeeping. The android came to the realization that whatever was saved in that drive's files was trying to synchronize with that stone he was holding.

"Hey… guys?" Mega Man asked. "Is it fine if I borrow this? I just need to research the stone for a while, see if it's fine." He then walked out of the gym room.

"I'll go with him," Sonic responded, knowing about something fishy going on with Mega Man. "After all, he needs a partner to help him out with the check-up…" The blue hedgehog ran behind Rockman, disappearing from the room too.

"…Would you like to hang out here for a while?" Banjo asked. "We'll be happy to show you around…"

"I'd love to," Dante answered, placing his hands behind his head and just relaxing. "Just wanna take a break from hunting demons, is all. Though I kinda spotted three of your friends going somewhere. Perhaps I should follow them…"


Back on the Legacy, Sozo was resting on the clear floor far from the thousands of control panels operated by several Miis and Subspace Army troops. They were busy pushing buttons, flicking small switches, and tapping on holographic controls just to keep the ship flying and running. Ganondorf, Little Mac, and Wii Fit Trainer arrived in the room, approaching the golden-eyed general.

"We've been told to arrive here because you have discovered another fighter within another universe," Ganondorf spoke. "Mind clarifying us where we're going?" Sozo stood back onto his four feet, walking out of the control room towards the transporter. Along the way, he explained the synopsis of the world they were heading off to.

"The world I had managed to encounter through Ultima's guidance is… a peculiar one," Sozo explained. "Do you remember Spring Man?"

"Of course, we do," Little Mac responded. "I mean, I've been stuck in one of the capsules like the rest, so…"

"Why Spring Man?" Wii Fit Trainer asked. "Why would an Assist Trophy be the source of this… determination you've sensed?"

"I have no idea who the determination applies to, but I know it's from the universe we retrieved Spring Man from," Sozo answered, stopping in front of the transporter. "One thing you have to note is that under half of the population of humans in that universe… each have a peculiar birth defect."

"Birth defect?" Ganondorf asked.

"I haven't really learned much about Spring Man since his memories had been wiped out in those Assist Trophy capsules, so… mind filling out a little trivia?" Little Mac responded. Sozo was busy at the control room, adjusting the transporter a bit.

"From what knowledge I had gathered, these special humans have a mutated gene referred to as the Artificial Recoiling Mutation Symbiosis Gene, or the ARMS Gene, that gives them the ability to extend their arms and use different weapons at will," Sozo continued, using his claws to add the finishing touches to the adjustments. "The only way to identify ordinary humans from those who are born with ARMS is to look at their eyes. If by chance their eyes have swirls, then you've found one with the ARMS Gene. Another thing to not is that if they have those eyes, they will always wear masks to control their extendable arms."

"So… a world that has that particular gene?" the Wii Fit Trainer added.

"Of course," the golden-eyed general pointed out. "Keep in mind you three will be accompanied by Dark Samus and Isabelle due to the fact that they were also Assist Trophies before. Perhaps they too might be glad to reunite with a familiar face. See if he is one of the warriors you missed out on rescuing before the confrontation against Galeem and Phoenix…"

"I see…" Ganondorf added. Dark Samus floated into the room, keeping her calm growls low. Soon enough, Dante himself walked in with Isabelle sitting on his left shoulder.

"Why hello there, Dante," Sozo greeted. "I take it you're at least aquatinted with the Legacy and Arcus; I presume you're curious as to what lies beyond the stars…"

"Pretty much," Dante answered. "You must be the guy that runs the place, huh?"

"Alongside my brother," the golden-eyed general responded. "To be honest, I never really wondered when he would come back. He seems to be staying near the Pit of Ice and Fire, and he hasn't really come back here since. Anyway, I had been expecting your arrival and I was wondering if you would like to travel to another world…"

"Another world, huh?" Dante noted, placing Isabelle on Dark Samus's arm cannon. "Well, I've been meaning to try out a little challenge somewhere else. Consider signing me up."

"I'm sure you'll enjoy this one," Sozo chuckled at Dante's carefree attitude. "Just step in the machine and don't touch anyone, alright?" The Devil Hunter walked up to one of the platforms, feeling the light of the transporter envelope him. It wasn't long before Dante vanished in the transporter.

"You should go now," Sozo added. "The presence of the Earth Citrine was brought alongside Dante, and it's in safe hands with the rest of your friends. However, you are needed to find this warrior, wherever they may be…"

"We won't let you down, mister!" Isabelle spoke with a cheerful heart, dashing onto one of the platforms with the bell in the bun on her head jingling with the movements of her footsteps. Dark Samus floated to a platform next to Isabelle, and the two were warped off. It didn't take much convincing for Little Mac, Wii Fit Trainer, and Ganondorf to enter the machine to join the rest of their group in this world with the ARMS Gene.

"Perhaps it might be time to tell that blue rodent the truth," Sozo told himself, walking away from the transporter on his four legs. "He has gotten stronger, and it should be the right moment to talk to him about what powers had been sealed from him ever since he was experimented on by Phoenix…"


Mega Man re-entered his room, pulling out the USB drive he stored inside his robotic body. He placed the Earth Citrine on his desk, feeling the drive vibrate in his hand as it tried to synchronize with the stone. As Rockman sat down, the blue hedgehog that followed him entered the room.

"So… why do you need to borrow that thing?" Sonic asked. "You do realize that Earth Citrine has too great of a power over… earth." Mega Man got up from his seat, walking over to Sonic with the drive still vibrating.

"You see this thing?" Mega Man asked, holding up to USB drive for Sonic to see. "I managed to save it from my audio logs before the computer I used to replay it was destroyed by how corrupted it was."

"Corrupted?" Sonic responded, looking at the file in pure and utter confusion. "What? Like a… virus that destroys your binary code or something?"

"Okay okay okay… just listen," Mega Man uttered. "Do you remember that labyrinth we entered? In Dharkon's version of Hyrule? Where we met Bowser Jr. possessed by the Spirit of Kaos? He brought alongside that uncanny version of Steve? The other guy, not… the one we brought along with because his world is currently being repaired or however that works? Anyway: I had a theory. There had to be some otherworldly force out there that is somehow connected to the Stevepost. The computer and circuits in my brain have basically backed up several audio logs saved here, but I cannot really play or edit them to decode certain messages the creature spoke to us, so: the theory. If by chance you get some evidence of the secret force, whether it be photography or audio logs, then you just might have one of the pieces to unlocking the truth of our universes." The blue hedgehog stared at the bomber in complete bewilderment, lost in everything the robot just said.

"Are you sure your wires and fuses aren't burned out or something?" Sonic posed. "Because I had no idea what you just said…"

"Sorry… kinda got sidetracked there…" Mega Man apologized, rubbing his blue helmet. "To make a long story short: the secrets of this world are much bigger than we thought, and this USB drive that's saved the audio logs proves it. All we need to do is link it to that stone. Shouldn't really be that hard, right?" Mega Man walked back to the Earth Citrine and simply placed his vibrating drive inside the symbol engraved into the jewel. The two fighters stood back as the stone levitated into the air, crumbling the USB drive into dust and absorbing whatever binary code was inside it. The floating Earth Citrine blinked rapidly in an orange light, with words of so many languages across the universe flickering rapidly until a holographic message appeared. The stone dropped to the ground, and both Sonic and Mega Man could see that there was a message written in a strange language… the same alien language as the one written on Marx's horns. Most of the letters were completely different, but they seemed to be in some form of sentence they couldn't understand.

"Do you know what it says?" Sonic asked.

"I have no idea," Mega Man answered. "Outside of my knowledge of multiple languages across my world alongside a few alien tongues, I have never learned something so complex before. Perhaps this tiny piece of information might have just been from that nightmarish Stevepost from before…"

"Looks like we're gonna need Clementine for this one," the blue hedgehog noted.

"The Inkling?" Rockman asked.

"Yeah," Sonic responded. "Doesn't her kind know and understand all sorts of languages but never speak outside of their own dialect?"

"I guess so," Mega Man answered back. "You go look for her. Shouldn't take long…" Sonic the Hedgehog nodded, speeding out of the blue bomber's room in a streak of lightning. Rockman walked over to the glowing Earth Citrine, picking it up and feeling its energy. It was like a balanced, sturdy construction of the wisdom it stood for. The dust and particles that made the ground, the rocks, the mountains, the pebbles, the metals, the jewels… all of it was interlinked within the same matter that created the first stars.

Whatever evidence the Super Smash Brothers could find from that one audio log just might be connected to another web of secrets waiting to be unraveled, and this kind of setup might begin with a simple Easter egg hunt.