The crowd roared as the lights fell upon him.

The doors slowly slid shut behind him as he stepped forward up the arena. The lights followed him with every step. He did not glance towards the announcer, his sister… his eyes were fixed squarely on his opponent.

"Mario!" He said. "Let's have a great fight!"

The other man, The Great Gonzales, smiled at him. Prince Mush felt his chest lighten. This was it. This was the moment he was longing for. The pinnacle of his comeback… champion vs champion. Win or lose… this was going to be fun.

"Braaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawl!"

Mush took a fighting stance. He held his arms wide and began to sway from side to side, watching Mario carefully. He knew that Mario favored jumping attacks. In this stance he could easily shift out of the way.

Mario stepped forward. He drew his hammer. Mush wasn't able to get out of the way fast enough- the blow hit him square in the face.

It hurt! It actually hurt! Mush couldn't stop himself from smiling.

"Raaaaaah!" He charged forward with a punch. His attack connected- he was certain that it had, when Mario spun around, throwing him off balance.

The Superguard! Mush had heard about this technique, and how it had helped Mario escape countless fights without nary a scratch. But it was much worse than he had been told. He felt his knees go wobbly, and he fell to the ground. The crowd cheered.

Mush could hardly believe it. The superguard was a perfect counterattack: It threw the full force of his own blow back at him. It hadn't hurt him much… at first. But now he was wide open.

"Wa ha!"

Mario leapt up into the air. The crowd roared. It was a far higher jump than any of them had ever seen before.

I see now… since you've been away you've become even stronger.

Mario's foot connected squarely with his forehead and he reeled, taking the full force of the blow. If he had been on his feet he could have defended himself, but as he was now-

"Yahoo!"

Mario flipped. He spun around in mid-air for a second ground pound. Mush again couldn't block it as Mario's attack squarely connected with his face.

Mush was still catching his breath as Mario readied his next attack.

"Haaaaaa!"

Mush changed his stance and felt a surge of power surge through him. He leapt into the air, and dropped down onto Mario with a fierce kick.

"Wa ha!"

Again Mush found himself being thrown back. And again Mario leapt on top of him.

"This guy- he's really pushing me to my limit!"

Mario landed back on the ground, watching him carefully. Mush smiled as he slowly staggered to his feet.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

The five hit super-combo was one that had won him countless victories over the years. His overwhelming power conquered every opponent he used it against. The 'Mush Rush' as it was known was his greatest move.

"Ya!"

The blow caught Mario completely by surprise. It sent him reeling backward. Mush could tell at a glance that it had almost knocked him out with a single blow- the next four would do it.

"Ha!"

He came back around for the second blow.

"Wahoo!"

The superguard came and swatted him away. Mush cried out as he hit the floor, and again found his knees giving way.

What is this-

Mario was preparing his own attack.

I have to give this my all!

Mario leapt up into the air.

This man-

The boot came down onto his face .

Is the strongest I've ever met!

In that last, split second before the attack connected. Mush blinked. The crowd around them seemed to completely disappear.

A giant, flaming orb appeared in the background. A number of shadows behind his enemy stood there, staring at him. He could not make out a single one of their faces, and yet at a single glance he knew.

These beings were more than mortal.

The flaming orb burned so brightly that he could not fix his eyes on it. He could only see the shadows. And in a brief moment of clarity he knew.

These fighters were to be feared.

And then everything went dark.

He was still standing when he came to. His arms were flailing around for balance, and things were coming out of his mouth, but he didn't know what he was saying. Jolene was declaring his opponent the victor.

He was led off of the stage and taken into the office. He sat by himself for a while, until Jolene came in. Her expression was stone cold until she locked the door behind her, removed her glasses, and then began to cry. She held him for what felt like hours. To be honest, it felt to him like she was more torn up about his loss than he was.

"He was stronger than me." He told her gently. "That's all there is to it."

Jolene shook her head. "I know." She said, her voice bitter. "I know, it's just… we've waited so long for you to make a comeback, and now-"

"I'm not going to retire."

"But you'll never be the Champion of the Glitz Pit again."

Mush grinned. "You should be happy. It's going to be good for business."

Jolene scowled at him, and he laughed. She pushed him away and placed her glasses back on her face.

"Be that as it may." She sniffed. "I still expect you to give it your all. I want you to take the belt back from Gonzales… I know you can do it."

"One of us does."

Jolene stared at him as he made his way to the door, opened it, and stepped out into the hallway.

He had barely managed to collect his thoughts when Mario came walking towards him down the hallway.

"If it isn't the new champ." Mush said jovially. "No…. the True Champ. Well done. It was a great fight."

He was being completely genuine. The fight had been a lot of fun, even if he had been completely crushed.

"It's crazy…" Mush went on. "The moment before you struck that final blow… I started hallucinating. I saw a giant, flaming orb in the sky…"

Mario stiffened. He gave him a hard look.

"I know." Mush said. "It sounds crazy, right? I saw a bunch of strong fighters standing in front of it… cast in shadow. You really threw me for a loop there."

"You saw them?"

Mush started. "Huh?"

"That orb… tell me what it looked like."

"Uh… it was big… flaming… and round." Mush scrunched his face up, trying to remember. "And there was… some kind of symbol etched into it. A couple of lines crossing each other… Oh, I can't describe it."

"And the shadowy figures?"

"Nothing." Mush said. "I knew they were stronger than me. That's all."

Mario smiled at him.

"You truly deserve to be the Champion of the Glitz Pit." He said. "After everything you have gone through… to face me, and have the courage to speak to of these things…. It speaks of great resolve and courage."

Mush stared at him.

"There will come a time where you strength will be needed again." Mario said. "The Hand has seen fit to appear before you… and show you the images of the strongest in all of the worlds…"

"Mario… who are you?"

"I am one of them." Mario said simply. "It truly was a great fight, Mush."

He walked away, just as suddenly as he had come. Mush watched him go, his expression tight.

"The strongest in all of the worlds…" He repeated to himself. "Now those would be fights I would like to have…"

He looked around the Glitz Pit with a strange renewed gaze. His place was here. He knew that. And yet… the idea that there was something more… the idea that there were better and stronger fighters out there, just like The Great Gonzales Super Mario… lit a fire in him."

"Mario!"

Mario turned back to look at him.

"When next we meet… I'll be even stronger!" Mush called to him. "And… I want you to be stronger too! Let's make the next fight even better than this one!"

Mario tipped his hat to him, and Mush felt his heart soar.

He knew that there would be many more fights to come.