Questions. Lots and lots of questions. Questions that pertains to Al's sudden retirement. His answers stewed within him as he dozed calmfully in his queen sized bed. Utter shock spurred from the press as they ask the now former UFC fighter the one inquiry: why? He basically answered every single question in various ways but they all had the same meaning: every fight he accepted would have been his last if he was careless. He proven to be formidable even without his right hand but he felt like he was risking it all for a paycheck. ...Although the payout is very hefty.
As he slept through the night, the voices in his head feud over if the hasty retirement was even worth attempting. Sure, he had money to last him for a few years..if he doesn't go spending all willy-nilly. Now, the new situation unfolds: how is he going to make ends meet when the money pile dries up. Actually, the voices in his head are getting louder. Too loud for comfort. He covered his head with his pillow to drown out the excessive noise.
"Now, Crazy. I want you to be on your best behavior and TRY, and I MEAN TRY, not to pull anyone of you shenanigans," One baritone voice with a reverb warned. The voice had mature but annoyed tone as if he dealt with whoever he is talking to often.
"Come on, bro, I just wanna know if the guy likes waffles. Which reminds me...do you like waffles?" A second tenor voice with a similar reverb effect. This one, weirdly named Crazy, had more, well, a crazed tone like this question is something you asked on a regular basis.
Baritone sighed in annoyance, "Crazy."
"ANSWER! THE QUESTION!" Crazy barked in anger.
Baritone sighed again, "Yes, I like waffles."
"Do you like pancakes?" Crazy followed up.
"Yes, I like pancakes," Baritone replied flatly.
"Do you like french toast?"
"Crazy..."
"SAY IT, MASTER!" Crazy screamed, anger returning at breakneck speed. Did he just call the other guy...master? What the fuck is going on?!
"Yes..I like french toast." Master answered as if he said it through clenched teeth.
"DODODO, CAN'T WAIT TO GET A MOUTH-"
Growling angrily, Al tossed the pillow away, which knocked over a lamp. This foolishness has to stop! This is his first time off since a month ago, and these ninnies are screwing up his sleep?! This ain't it, chief! "YO, SHUT THE FUCK Uhhhhhhhh!?" Finally, getting a look to the two numbskulls, he found something very, and I mean, VERY pecuilar about them. Right in front of the former kickboxer, were two, giant, floating, white hands! ...This has to be a fuckin' dream. One hand had a calm demeanor about him...her...it!? The other one...well it was spazzing about everywhere, looking like it was about to have a stroke at any given second. "Who...or...what are you two!?" Al spoke cautiously, fearing for his life.
"I'll answer your question with my own. Are you Alphonse Starks?" The calm hand questioned, inching forward to Al, which he nodded. "Good, I am called Master Hand." He does a presenting gesture to the other chaotic hand. "This is my younger twin brother, Crazy Hand."
"HIIIIIIIIIIYA!" Crazy greeted, waving energetically.
Utterly dumbfounded, Al gave himself a mighty fierce pinch to wake himself, which wasn't helpful since he already was. "Ow! Now, here's my second question. Why are you here?"
"We are here for you, Alphonse. We've been looking for a representative for the human beings for a month now. Now, we could just look for someone else athletically gifted but your stories that the internet published about your trials are simply marvelous to me!" Master Hand praised, jutting a thumbs up.
"Well, uh, thank you. A bit creepy but I appreciate it nonetheless. Now, what this rep you need me for anyhow?" Al pried, scratching his goatee curiously.
"The Smash Brothers Tournament, ya boob!" Crazy exclaimed, fist pumping excitedly.
"Enough, Crazy! Yes, the fifth Smash Bros. tournament is beginning in December. Warriors, swordsmen, bounty hunters, beasts small and big come together in epic brawl to take him the gold AND the glory. Crazy and I are the overseers of the event," Master informed, displaying past footage of the fourth tourney through a energy ball.
Al gazed through ball to see a short and stocky mustached man in red holding...an ape wearing a tie by his feet as he swung, swung like a hammer toss before flinging said ape away like he wasn't nothing. ...Well then. "Ooooookay."
"Now, I know this is something entire new for you but there are other humans in the tourney as well. For instance, Little Mac is a world champion boxer right here in the Bronx but his willpower had saw him through some very sticky situations," Master retorted assuringly.
"Then there's Ryu who goes all, 'HADOKEN!' and 'SHORYUKEN!' It's seriously awesome when he nails a moron with it!" Crazy vouched, imitating the hand motions of the wandering warrior.
"Uhhh, huh. Look, this is a lot to take in. Is there anyway I can experience this on a lower scale?" Al wondered, unsure about how many participants that are in the championship.
"The newcomer meet and greet! Bro, tell him about it!" Crazy urged, jittering even moreso than usual.
Master nodded, "Yes, the newcomer meet and greet is where the rookie Smashers come and socialize with one another before their eventual bouts. Only first year Smashers are allowed to attend. Crazy and I thought it will be better for the veterans to experience the newcomers themselves. In total, there are nine combatants. You can do that if you like?"
"Now, that's better! So when is it?" Al pried, getting out of bed to stretch.
"Tonight, bucko! Be there or be a total square!" Crazy responded, while performing figure eights in the air. How is he able to do that in a tightly confided room is beyond me.
Al yawned, "Be there I shall. Now, mind leaving? I need my maximum sleep time."
"Very well. Come, Crazy, we'll return tonight to pick you up, Alphonse," Master instructed, opening a portal on the ceiling. He floated upward, disappearing into the portal.
"See ya, Alleyway!" Crazy waved before zipping after Master. The portal closed instantly as Al flopped back to his bed.
"Oh, Lord, what have I got myself into?" Al asked to himself, shaking his head before going back ro sleep.
Ten hours later...
The moonlight assisted the multitude of city lights in lighting the numerous pathways in New York. Al's apartment just so happens to dimly lit with a old lightbulb. The man in question was sitting on the steps in a white hooded sweatshirt with matching white sweatpants. He also wore black Nike Air Forces along with a white skully to protect himself against the brisk autumn weather. "HEEERRRRRRE'S CRAZY!" Crazy popped in front of Al's face scaring him.
"Crazy, do you mind?! My apologies, Alphonse. Are you ready to go?" Master hovered over Al.
Al took a deep breath to calm his nerves, "Yeah. Let's go." But before they could, a thought came up, "Wait, are there anyone around here? What if you get spotted?"
"You act like this is the first time we've recruited a fighter, Alphonse. Everytime we travel to a new dimension, I use a invisibility spell so that only those that are recruited can see us," Master explained before opening a portal. "We must make haste. The others are already there!" He zipped through the portal.
"Last one there is a rotten egg! Which is you!" Crazy joked before following Master. Al smirked before following them as well.
Thirty seconds later...
The exit portal opens up and the three emerged from it into a well lit foyer. It had carpet flooring along with a long couch and a banner that says 'WELCOME NEW SMASHERS!' There was huge double door made of pure oak at the end of the foyer. "Welcome to our universe, Alphose. The SMASH UNIVERSE!" Master announced happily.
"Make yourself at home. Also, wipe your feet. You weren't raised in a barn!" Crazy ordered.
"Now, Crazy and I have some business to attend to. Alphonse, you go ahead through those doors and mingle with everyone," Master prodded before teleporting away.
"Yeah, what he said," Crazy added before leaving too.
"Well, lucky for those, mingling is my specialty!" Al boasted, making his way to the doors. He gave them a big push to open up the way. "Now, this doesn't sound too ba-what the FUCK!?" He saw a crocodile with an insanely large golden belly, a red, tattered cape, and golden crown trotting on all fours after a purple space dragon who has a huge turkey leg in its mouth. He looked up from the weirdness to find even more off the wall shit: eight teens that had colorful tentacles for hair were talking to a yellow female dog in comfortable clothes and a red, fire-oriented cat with the look of a wrestler. A disconcerting person in a dark blue futuristic suit of armor with a cannon for a right arm floated in one place, gazing ominously at the other party goers. A blue haired man in white regal clothing is casually speaking to a female brunette on a couch, who was dressing in an elegant orange and yellow dress with a nifty crown akin to a princess.
A blond male in a red gi was joking with another brunette, who is a male with a white headband and blue clothing while a another blond male stood close by in clothing that'll fit right in Conan the Barbarian; he had a stern face that clearly said that he would rather be somewhere else. Finally taking all the zaniness of the scenario in, Al took a deep breath, "Ok, fam. You're clearly not in Kansas anymore." He eyed the buffet table, which has been somewhat ransacked by the two hulking brutes of the room; however, there was some food still available. "There! Thankfully, something that'll calm my ass down," Al praised, wiping the surprising amount of sweat from his forehead with his left hand. He headed over to the table, scanning the top of the furniture for something edible. Luckily, there was two slices of an extra large pepperoni pizza left along with one chocolate chip cookie and one vanilla cupcake. "Jackpot!" Al grinned eagerly, grabbing a plate to snag the spoils. As he was busy with that, he didn't footsteps coming up behind him. Al turned around to leave but stopped to avoid collision with the blue haired man who came over to greet the kickboxer. "Oh shit! My bad, fam." He set the plate down on the buffet table.
"Don't fret. It was my fault for not letting myself be known," The blue haired man smiled warmly. The stranger carried a relaxed air about himself. He wasn't at all snooty as some UFC fighters that Al knew back on Earth.
"It's fine, either or. So, I take it that your one of the new fighters here? Oh, the name's Alphonse," Al introduced calmly, jutting a thumb to himself.
The bluenette nodded, "Yes and greetings, Alphonse. I be Chrom from the Haildom of Ylisse. I was just conversing with Princess Daisy of Sarasaland. She's actually very eager to partake in this tournament on the notion that a friend of her is a veteran of this."
"Well, that's one reason to join. How about you? Got any kin or friends in this?" Al asked, taking a bite out of his pizza.
"Yes, my daughter, Lucina, and both my tacticians, Rob and Robin, were in the fourth tournament. I attempted to join them but one of the experts of the sport bested me, so I had to sit out and recover. Now, this time, I'll make that Falcon regret putting me down," Chrom growled intensely.
Al chuckled as he swallowed, "Good to see your pumped."
"YOO-HOO, CHROM!" The two men turned their heads to the female brunette, running towards them. She skid on her heels to stop. "I was wonder where you ran off to," Daisy panted, before eyeing Al. At the sight of a new person, she perked up immediately and smiled at Al, "Hi, I'm Daisy! What's your name?"
"Hey, ma'am. I'm Alphonse," Al bowed, being courteous of a royal.
Daisy giggled at the treatment, "No need for that, dude. I'm totally 'lax about formality and stuff."
"I agree. It tends to be bothersome to pose as something that you're not," Chrom added with a shrug.
"Oh, uh, sorry," Al apologized, inciting more giggles from the young princess. "So Chrom here told me that you had a friend in this too, right?"
"Yeah, my friend, Peach, been doing this kind of thing since she joined the second tournament. I thought of throwing my crown into this shin-dig too!" Daisy answered with a grin before adding a coy wink. "Hope that you two boys can keep up." Ah, a cheeky one, eh? This lady got pep in her step.
"Lady, ask and you soon shall receive," Al smirked. The man is always game for a fight, male or female.
Chrom smirked as well, "As if I ever disappoint a princess." The three shared a laugh from the playful banter. Hm, so far, not two of them pried about Al's condition. If Al could just stand out of the crocodile's and dragon's way, then he'll be fine. While Al ponder on this, someone kept poking at his stub arm. Someone, hopefully not the dragon or crocodile, is about to get bitchslapped with his stub arm if they don't stop messing him.
"Aye, who keeps pokin' my-" Al began with a glare as he turned around to see one of the squid kids, the pink-haired female with the red cap, was prodding his stub. She looked upward to his glare as her pupils shrank and her eyebrows curved inward.
"EEP!" She squeaked, leaping upwards as one of her friends, the yellow one with the headset, walked up to them.
"Excuse me. Did you happen to see a pink Inkling around here?" The yellow Inkling questioned, looking across the room. Al pointed upward to the puddle of...pink paint on the ceiling.
"I guessing she's up there," Al hypothesized. The yellow Inkling follow his finger and smiled upon seeing the puddle. The poor thing was scared to death.
"Ah, thanks. Brittney, please come down! He was just curious about your touching," The yellow Inkling begged. It was slowly working as Brittney emerged from her puddle and hopped down.
Daisy looked toward his arm too, "Yeah, what is up with your arm?
Al sighed, "It's a prenatal condition that I have since I was born. There no known cure for it as well. It was hard at first to perform the most basic tasks but it just grew on me to be honest. Also, don't feel sorry. I deal with enough of that at home." Daisy responded with a unsure nod. No, no, NO! And he was just making progress too!
"Brittney, go apologize to him," He heard the yellow Inkling urged. He saw Brittney walk up to him, right hand wrapped around her left hand while she looked away. The poor girl just had to ask, but Al could tell that talking isn't really her forte. He soften his gaze as she eventually meet his gaze.
"I'm sorry for bothering you. I-I was just curious about your a-arm," Brittney stuttered.
"It's fine, girl. Again, I deal with this at home. Now, come on, lemme see a smile," Al insisted, jutting out his own. Slowly, Brittney's lips curved into a small but genuine smile. "Attagirl!" Finally, they all hear a sound of a portal opening as Master and Crazy Hand emerged out of it.
"Hello, everyone. Having a great time getting to know one another," Master Hand greeted with a wave.
The blonde in the red gi nodded, "Yeah, it's fine and all but I'm inching to rumble!" He pounded his fists together in confidence.
"Likewise, human. I want to rein that Hunter's neck nice and slowly," The purple dragon hissed, licking his chops hungrily.
"Yeah, yeah, you're all ready to scrap but my bro is gonna go over the ground rules so shaddup and listen!" Crazy demanded.
"Thank you, Crazy. Now, we hands are a nice bunch to get to know but here are the rules. Failure to follow them will lead to suspension from the tournament or worse, permanent expulsion from the tournament. Now the matches are all three stock for seven minutes. There are no fighting outside to keep some of you in line. No items outside of the battle arenas for any reasons. All of you will be assigned a room that pertains to the universe that you came from. Any questions?" Master asked as Al's hand raised up. "Yes, Alphonse?"
"What are the matches that are in the tournament?" Al pried. Can't go in blind without knowing the rules.
"One on one. Basically, knock your opponent off the arena to take a stock. Take all the stocks and you move on. Since there is seventy two of you, the will be six mini-tourneys with twelve fighters in total. As for exhibition matches, you can do up to eight fighters. There's also three on three or five on five matches called Squad Strike. There is multi-man smash where you can fight ten, hundred fighters, for five minutes, for fifteen minutes, and cruel smash if you're really want to test your might. These matches don't affect your standing but they're good for earning gold," Master advised.
"Anything else, Ol' Alleyway?" Crazy questioned.
Al shook his head, content with the answers.
"Now, anyone else?" Master called out. Murmurs could be heard as they voiced no. Master nodded slowly before snapping his fingers to open eleven portals. "Now, the party is officially over. Return to your homes for tomorrow. In the morning, a portal shall open for you to go through to your new living quarters. Head down to the mess hall afterwards to eat breakfast then go to the auditorium for the introduction assembly. Understand? Alphonse, stay behind so that we can talk to you."
The newbies voiced there agreements before walking towards to their personal portals. "Farewell for now, Alphonse," Chrom waved before stepping through the portal.
"See ya, Al," Daisy grinned before giving him a tight, quick hug. After that, she dashed through her portal.
Every portal closed as the hands closed in slowly on Al. "So, whaddya think, Alleyway?" Crazy prodded.
"Hmmm, the contestants are quirky in a sense and I'm used to knocking fools on their ass instead of off the arena but I'll manage. ...I'm joining!" Al exclaimed with gusto.
"SPLENDID! We'll talk to you about your moves tomorrow after the assembly. Welcome to the Smash Brothers tournament, Alphonse Stark! We look forward to your excellent skill!" Master yelled triumphantly. "We'll see you tomorrow!" He opened a sole portal for Al, who waved goodbye and walked through.
A/N: Ah, wanted to get this chapter done pronto. Now, Al has accepted the invite and is becoming a Smasher. He has grasped a taste of the fellow competitors so far but this hasn't scratched the tip of the iceberg. Also, the alternate colors are there with the original. See you later, gators.
One last thing, here the Inkling's names:
Orange: Jenny
Blue: Bruce
Yellow: Diana
Cyan: Felix
Pink: Brittney
Green: Darius
Purple: Zoe
Midnight Purple: Carson