"So what do you think this new fighter is gonna be like?" Bowser Jr. asked.

The yellow rodent-like Pokemon, short and plump in appearance, simply nodded his head at the question being asked to him. "Pichu!" he proclaimed, presumably with a sense of excitement.

"Yeah, same here," replied the Koopa Troopa, though he wasn't exactly sure what he had meant when he said that. In complete honesty, he was never quite sure what he meant when he talked, as everything he said sounded similar when he spoke.

Bowser Jr. turned his attention to the main entrance to Smash Mansion, which was even more embellished than it typically was. While every room within the humongous construction was extravagantly decorated, some new additions were temporarily placed around the area in preparation for what was happening. Master Hand had announced the most recent recipient of the invitations he had sent had been accepted, and from that moment on some of the Smashers busily worked on getting the place ready for the arrival.

Looking in the direction of the large entryway, he saw the strands of slowly blinking lights had been strung around the massive doors. Near the hallway that lead to where the staircase was located, several banners hung from above with the word "Welcome" in bright red letters. As soon as this person stepped through the entrance and into Smash Mansion, they were going to know right away that they were receiving a humble welcome here.

The last banner was being put up in the large dining area by Villager, who was standing carefully on the top step of a tall ladder as he did so. From where she stood a short distance away, Isabelle used her handy slingshot to send another clip up to where he stood.

"I certainly hope whoever's coming is nice," Zelda chimed in as she walked over to where Bowser Jr. and a majority of the other Smashers had congregated.

"That's all we can do for now, Princess," Marth, who had been standing silently along with the group gathered behind him, said to her, now joining in on the conversation.

A chuckle arose from Wolf, who was over by the other villainous members of Smash Mansion. "Better hope for your sake it's not your greatest archenemy or something," he remarked. "Never have I seen Cloud get upset 'til that Sephiroth fella with one wing showed up." Quietly under his breath, he added, "So much for all that bravery of his."

The blond-hair swordsman, having overheard the comment made him, grunted and sagged his head. It was true that he hadn't been the same since his worst enemy had appeared, and a good majority of the Smashers knew that for a fact. Sephiroth was best described as being cold and undeniably ruthless, and that showed considering that he showed no form of positivity towards any of the other residents of Smash Mansion. In fact, he was the only one that wasn't around to see who would be joining the other fighters.

"You don't know the experiences Cloud has had with him, Wolf," Marth said in response to snark.

The gray-furred lupine shrugged his shoulders as he carried on with the conversation, even though no one was actually asking him for his opinion on the matter right now. "I mean," he continued, "Sephiroth doesn't seem all that bad to me."

Zelda shook her head before turning her attention towards him, pointing at him sternly. "When he takes you away, I don't think you'll thinking that about him anymore," she replied.

Wolf was taken aback for moment, and he held his paws up. "Well, excuse me, Princess…" he snapped in reply. "I don't think you remember that you're talking to someone with a villainous background."

"The big difference between you and that guy is that he's a lot better of a villain," Ridley, who was standing to the left of him, remarked. "Just how many times has McCloud defeated you in the past, not counting the times you fought him during the tournament?"

"Hey!" Wolf snapped back, turning around and pointing a claw up at the extraterrestrial. He was starting to feel pretty embarrassed having that brought up, even if what what was being said about him was the truth. "I'd shut the hell up if I were you. I don't care how much taller you are compared to me. I will still kick your behind in battle."

"We shall see..." Ridley muttered, flapping his wings slightly as he turned his attention in the opposite direction.

"I think the new guest should be here any a-moment now," Mario announced happily, walking in from the other room.

About a minute after he told everybody that, the highly-anticipated sound of the doorbell chiming sounded around the Smashers. Everyone suddenly quieted down, with only a few whispering back and forth to one another, as Mario walked up to the front door and opened it.

The moment he did so, revealing the newest guest to the mansion, everybody exclaimed "Welcome!" in unison. A short second after that, Bowser Jr. pulled the string of a party popper he was holding, releasing a tiny a bit of colored confetti to the floor below him.

Standing outside on the front steps of the mansion was a girl with a red hair. She wore short armor that was colored red and black, with ornamentations of gold and green, as well as what appeared to be a tiara on her head.

The instant she saw everybody giving her such a warm welcome, the girl held a hand to her chest and started to smile widely. "This place is prettier than I imagined," she said, gazing inside of the Smash Mansion in awe from where she stood. "Still can't believe I got the invitation to join all of you."

Just as the girl stepped inside and closed the door behind her, Master Hand came from down the spiral staircase that led to the second floor. "I am glad to know that you have arrived safely," he said to her. "Why don't you introduce yourself to the others?"

"Of course," she replied. Looking around at the menagerie of fighters surrounding her, she said to them, "My name is Pyra, and I can't wait to join in on the upcoming tournament. My protector Rex really wanted to be in the tournament as well, but for now he'll just have to leave to me and root for me as I go." At that last remark, she let out a small laugh before bowing.

"Now then," Master Hand said to everyone, "would anyone be kind enough to show Pyra around here?"

"I'd be happy to, sir," Isabelle responded, waving over at him as she ran up to where the girl stood. Looking up at her, she said, "Allow me to give you a tour of the mansion."

Pyra looked down at who was speaking to her, feeling a bit surprised. She would have never thought she would be getting a tour around such a grand construction by a yellow dog that could talk and wore green-colored plaid. But she was in Smash now, and that meant that she would be meeting some new people from many different places that were unfamiliar to her. "Sure," she said to the canine.

Some Time Later...

"Wonder how powerful she'll be in battle," Link muttered to himself as he stood near the counter, taking his plate up after enjoying the hearty supper they had to welcome the newest guest. "I could probably defeat-"

"I wouldn't make assumptions so soon," snarled Ganondorf, who was conveniently walking over to where he was standing. "You know what they say about counting your chickens before they hatch."

Link grunted under his breath, feeling as if that remark mentioning chickens was made to him on purpose, considering that everybody knew that chickens were his bane. "I don't believe I asked what you thought about it," he said back.

The ruthless Gerudo simply grinned at the boy as he set his own plate down on the nearby counter. "That new girl seems to be quite a skilled fighter to me," he responded. "From what I heard over the meal, she's an Aegis."

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean, Ganondorf?" Link snapped.

"It means that she is a legendary blade," was the response he received. "So she's not just a sword-fighter; she is a fighting sword. Time will tell if you're even capable of lasting a minute in the tournament before she knocks you off the stage." With a chuckle, Ganondorf started to add, "Perhaps the Princess could help-"

"Hey!" Pit chimed in as he approached the space. "Why don't you go pick on somebody else for once, huh?"

Ganondorf held his hands up and slowly retraced his steps. "I am just saying what is sure to come. But when that announcer says it's time for battle and you're in a match against her, don't say you weren't given a fair warning."

After the Gerudo walked away from where they were standing, Link looked over at Pit and said, "You didn't have to stand up for me. I was capable of handling his words. Those words don't hurt me in the slightest."

"I know that," replied the young angel. "People that always try to bring others down when they weren't asked to speak are just irritating, though."

"That they are," Link agreed. "That they are."

The Very Next Day...

Ganondorf turned out to be right when he said that the new girl was going to be skilled with fighting, much to Pit's dismay. It was a very rare occurance for him to be correct about something, as he was always sprouting out lies when under different circumstances, but turns out this was just one of those times. He wondered as if he had it set up for this to happen.

"Flame Nova!" Pyra cried. She spun her sword in a large circle, drawing her rival closer to her.

A brief burst of flame encircled her, and Pit, upon being drawn close to her attack, was sent flying to the opposite side of the stage. He quickly landed back on his feet, luckily saving himself from falling off the edge of the platform. Not only was he facing the girl that was turning out be a powerful fighter, but having to fight at Warioware Inc., his least favorite stage of the tournament, didn't make things any easier for him.

Just then, the coveted Smash Ball started to float around to the right. As soon as it was within her vision, Pyra leaped up and flipped in the air, slashing at the levitating sphere in an upward motion as quick as she could.

Pit's eyes widened in that moment, and felt himself become stiff with trepidation. He had already taken a great bit of damage, and the end of the match would come a lot sooner if he ended up taking too much more.

"Oh no..." he muttered to himself, gripping harder onto the short swords he held in each hand.

As soon as she hit the Smash Ball, the girl had that glowing aura surrounding her body. And Pit knew right then and there what was going to happen next.

Author's Note: Came up with this story after seeing the announcement for Pyra joining Smash some time ago. I was really excited to see that and I started coming up with this in that very moment. This also gave me an ability to try writing with some other characters. Not sure how I did writing them out, but I hope this a short and enjoyable read nonetheless.

As always, your thoughts on this little story of mine, whether good or bad, are always gladly appreciated.

'Til next time, everybody! :)