Things were much more dire than they expected.

Samus and Bianca knelt with rugged stances while multitudes of scratches now adorned their armor. Red was knocked straight to the ground, his Pokemon having long retreated to the safety of their Pokeballs. Pit crawled over to the kid in a slow but painful motion. His tattered wings drifted weightlessly in the air. And the enemy in question, the daunting winged reptilian beast named Ridley, continued roaring on and on. Its body was just as encoated in scars and gashes as the heroes, but while they looked ready to collapse at any moment's notice, Ridley was still a ways to go before giving in.

And it was going to be their job to finish it.

Bianca was the first to notice their entrance. Her eyes widened with concern. They weren't supposed to be here. Not just four but five injured fighters had entered the playing field.

"I told you guys to leave! Why are you back?"

"W-w-well, we…" Like the flip of a switch, Cody was already back to his nervous and stuttering state.

"We're here to take questions and kick some giant lizard butt!" Mokona shouted like a warrior.

Bianca continued looking over the group. Alakazam, Loudred, and Mokona were pumped and ready to rumble. The most natural reaction in this situation would be to roll eyes and continue pushing them back. But then she took a look at Cody. He had the least amount of composure of the batch as he shook with labored breaths and cringed in worried anticipation. It would be easy to brush him off as well. But despite the fear, there was a fire in his eyes. A flame that was determined to help and push forward despite the odds stacked against him.

The temporary member of the group, Cloud, zoomed right past her, having completely ignored any need for approval from the stadium receptionist. That indifferent action was enough to finally push her to her final decision.

"Samus," Bianca commanded. "Pull back. We gotta get the boys to safety. These guys'll take over."

Samus repeated the same looks and glances as Bianca had before simply nodding and running to retrieve the other two Brawlers. In the meantime, Cody and the rest ran up to meet up with Cloud near their crazed opponent. Soon, it was just the five of them against it.

"Anyone got a plan?" Alakazam attempted to get the battle ready and organized, but was quickly met with Cloud ignoring him completely to hit the lizard head on and Cody making a mad dash for cover behind a stack of debris. Mokona couldn't help but cackle at the immediacy.

"Well, those certainly are plans," Loudred shrugged in amusement.

There was absolutely no time for him and Mokona to share their laughter and for Alakazam to display his annoyance. Ridley screeched out laser blasts from its mouth, and one of them was headed right at them. They promptly rushed over to Cody's side.

"Hey," Cody glared. "You guys can't just share my spot."

"Oh, we're reserving hiding spots now? Were you planning on waiting until the battle was halfway over again?" Alakazam sneered, earning uncomfortable gazes from Loudred and Mokona.

Cody looked pissed, but there was no time for another spat. He knew that with his track record, his first gut reaction certainly looked very bad.

But he did actually have a plan this time.

Ridley's next blast was aimed right where they hid. The large number of occupants was an easy alert for the monster. Alakazam, Loudred, and Mokona flailed around, but Cody already began to make his way behind another set of debris.

Cloud pulled back. Ridley's flurry of blasts made it difficult for him to land a solid hit on the creature. But then he took a look at Cody. The small teen dodged through the field like no problem and gradually inched closer with each new hiding spot he fled to. Underneath his scarf, Cloud wore a slight smirk. He had the right idea.

Soon, Cloud repeated Cody's little game of hide and seek. The two were mere steps away from Ridley by the time the others realized their little scheme. Loudred and Mokona looked on in admiration while Alakazam couldn't help but gaze in surprise that the kid who often cowered around and ran away from countless battles actually had a strategy up his sleeve.

Cody and Cloud struck Ridley simultaneously in a cross slash. Its cries of pain allowed enough time for the other three to send off ranged attacks as follow ups. They repeated this at least three times before Ridley finally caught on and started to engulf the entire field in blasts in an attempt to eliminate any and all debris for the five to fall back on.

There was once again a mass panic within the group who desperately ran away to try to escape the continuous laser. Cloud was able to push forward and attack Ridley while it continued doing its thing, but just his buffering alone wasn't enough to stop it.

Loudred noticed a path of debris narrowly towards the edge of the field, right beside Ridley. The rubble avoided complete destruction despite everything. It was the reptile's blind spot. The Pokemon noticed signs of Ridley about to take flight. If he didn't do this now, it would be more difficult for them to continue on.

Loudred charged towards the pounds of chipped rocks and concrete leapt on to them one after the other like a staircase. Right when Ridley began to spring its wings into a flying stance, he jumped and latched right on to its back. The monster noticed something was wrong, but wasn't sure what. As it flailed around crazily, its flight was canceled and the attacks against it pursued.

Loudred had meant to Bite and Bulldoze Ridley's back while he was riding it, but the overgrown lizard twisted and turned so much in attempts to throw him off, he was more concerned about not falling if anything. Unfortunately, with one fierce swing accompanied by a bone chilling screech, Loudred was finally flung away and sent tumbling to the ground.

Now back in action, Ridley decided to shift its strategy. Rather than attacking everyone, it would take them down one at a time. And its first victim would be the lone soldier whose bites hurt the most.

Ridley swiped and pounded its claws where Cloud stood. Normally, he'd have no problem dodging through all this, but the pain from earlier was finally starting to take a toll on him. His movement was a lot slower than he needed it to be. That was enough for Ridley to take him down. With a swing of its tail, Cloud was sent crashing straight into the stadium walls.

He winced in pain, barely finding the strength to lift himself out of the crevasse his impact created. Ridley however continued to push forward, seemingly to headbutt itself straight in his direction. His struggles to lift up his Buster Sword became desperate. He knew if he didn't move or deflect, it'd be all over for him. And with his weakened body failing to act, it may very well be.

Luckily, Cody slid right between the two.

Cody smacked his Keyblade straight on Ridley's head like he was aiming for a homerun. It didn't go flying of course, but it was enough to send it stumbling backwards in confusion.

Now it was all over for Ridley.

In its dizzied state, it was met with a constant throttle of Alakazam's Psybeams, Loudred's Uproars, and Mokona's very own laser beam blasts. Any moment it had to steady itself was lost within the chain of attacks that never ended, made even worse with Loudred's disorienting wails.

The creature that did a number on the stadium now pathetically spun around in a delirious fashion. With another small hit from the Keyblade, it finally collapsed, knocked out and unconscious.

Cody stared at the giant reptile's body before looking back down at his Keyblade. He had celebrated after every big battle he went through, but something about this one felt special.

This time he actually knew what he was doing.

Cody leapt up into the air in the loudest cheer he could muster.

...But his feet never met the ground. That jump was the last thing his body needed before it just shut down from exhaustion. Rather than a normal graceful landing, he fell bottom first onto the ground like he'd been pushed off a cliff before collapsing altogether.

And his three companions who would've been more than happy to celebrate with him joined him, passed out and worn down.

Don't worry, they're just sleeping. It's fine. Really.

Cloud blinked blankly at the sight. These were the guys who just finished off Ridley. These guys, who snored obnoxiously in the middle of ruin and rubble with skin and clothes that looked like they just barely survived death itself, defeated Ridley.

These were the numbskulls who just saved his ass.

Cloud was glad he was the only one present who was still up and conscious because right then, he burst into the most genuine fit of laughter he'd had in years.

oOo

Hours later, the crowds had long fled the premises and the arena was still in tattered shape. There would be no exhibition match. As far as anyone was concerned, the tournament was over. So now with the lack of fervid cheers and a proper pedestal, the winners were being crowned in the hallway just inches away from the restrooms.

"Alright," Seth coughed, having just wrapped up his usual congratulatory spiel with only Bianca, Samus, and beaten up Pit and Red as proper spectators. "Once again, congratulations on winning the Newcomers Tournament and proving yourselves to be shining heroes to be."

He flashed four cards to the group. "These are your membership cards for the Brawlers. Use them whenever you're here and you'll get special perks for training, food, and housing. And signing up for upcoming matches of course."

Alakazam was, shockingly, the first to snatch up his card and begin jumping around joyously like he'd just won the lottery. While Cody and Mokona happily joined him, Loudred stared tepidly at his card.

"We didn't win though?" He wondered.

"Hm?" Seth arched his eyebrows. It was true that in what was supposed to be the very last round, they were indeed taken down fair and square. From that front, they weren't winners by any definition. "Oh, right. We actually tried handing one of these to that Cloud guy earlier, but he just brushed it off."

"The mission was a success in the end, I guess," Bianca laughed weakly. In an ironic twist, they had mellowed out to the idea of letting Cloud run free whenever he wanted in the premises only for the man himself to turn them down in the end. Still, they had a feeling they'd be seeing more of him in the future.

"Who cares about the tournament though?" Pit flew over to Cody, once again going against any sense of personal space. "You guys kicked Ridley's butt, first try! Oh my gosh, we totally have to take each other on."

Red and even Samus soon joined in on the angel's string of praises. At that point, Cody was reaching peak cockiness and an idea sprung into his head.

He quickly strolled over to the nearby display case. Just as it was many hours ago, it was still unmoved, still off balance, and still as seemingly impossible to budge as usual. Cody gagged just as hard as he did during his first attempts and all the impressive sense of heroism and glory that he thought had emanated off of him minutes before were gone. Now everyone just stared incredulously at the scrawny teen who was failing to move a single piece of furniture.

"Fighting a half beaten alien isn't going to suddenly give you superhuman strength," Seth snarked.

"Wait," Bianca blinked. "Were you trying to get them to move that thing earlier? No wonder they were so mad at you. I've been meaning to check if it's been straight up bolted into the floor."

"Wh-seriously?"

"Oh yeah," Samus nodded. "The placement looked so off after renovations finished. I tried pushing it months ago and got nowhere. Completely forgot about it."

"How did they even fix the walls then? Did they just work around it?" Red asked in genuine confusion.

As the residents of the world had begun to express their confusion to one another over the case's weird quirk, Cody was still killing himself trying to get to move even just a little. After everything, he would've figured he'd be able to lift this thing at this point. He swatted away Ridley like flicking away a fly after all. This didn't make any sense.

"I can't watch this," Alakazam sighed as he joined Cody in his seemingly futile efforts. Of course, it still remained stiff and firmly stationed. Alakazam's added strength did nothing to help.

And neither did Loudred's.

And Mokona…

…!

In the blink of an eye, the display case slid past the floor like it was speeding through a sheet of ice and crashed violently into the wall several dozen feet away. The trophies and photos that once occupied the case were left scratched and snapped in the congregation of newly shattered glass that now adorned the floor. Cody and company meanwhile were now flat in a pile on the ground, having easily lost their balance the moment the all their weight lost its medium. Normally, the scene would've devolved into an uproar with Seth furiously screaming his face at their negligence. Right now however, everyone was frozen in place. The very fact that the case moved at all was enough to set off alarms in their heads. And even more alarming was what was revealed to be hidden behind it.

A large keyhole was etched perfectly into the wall; completely identical to the one back at the Mystery Treasure Dungeon.

Cody cocked his head and carefully lifted himself from the pile as he leaned in to examine it. He knew exactly what he was supposed to do. The images from last time replayed in his head over and over again. Gently, he summoned his Keyblade, and the room was soon engulfed in a sea of light.

…

…

…

Their visions slowly resurfaced. The walls glimmered with a fresh new sheen, and the display case that was just destroyed was now fully repaired like new. To Cody and the crew, this was not an unfamiliar experience. Yet the same confusion and bewilderment they held last time was just as strong as ever. And to the residents of this world, they simply had a feeling…

"Hey," Bianca broke the silence. "You guys...you're a part of something bigger, aren't you?"

Cody was at a loss for words. Yes, he knew he had some kind of duty to save every world in existence, and, yes, he knew that the Keyblade had chosen him specifically to do this. But after all this time, he still had a hard time truly understanding what exactly waited ahead of him.

His companions however were more than happy to boast on his behalf.

"Yup!" Loudred shouted happily. "This guy here," he gently slapped Cody's back. "Is the Keybearer."

"He's gonna save everyone everywhere everything every day!" Mokona jumped eagerly.

"We'll see," Alakazam finished with a shrug.

The denizens of Smash Stadium all looked at each other. Given the nature of this world and its inhabitants, they were used to stories of destined heroes tasked with stopping world ending catastrophes. Heck, most of the Brawlers themselves were those heroes in question. But there was something very different about this situation. Something possibly even bigger than any of them could ever really comprehend.

Seth flashed a warm smirk. "Well, this world is a training ground for heroes, so…

"Whatever you guys are up to, if you ever need any help, you're always welcome here at Smash Stadium."

oOo

"Did you really have to do that?" Cody pouted as the group made their way over towards the Gummi Ship.

"What?" Loudred asked.

"You know… That."

"I don't get it."

"He means acting like a pair of embarrassing parents," Mokona gleefully elaborated.

"What's the problem?" Alakazam snorted. "Isn't that how you already talk about yourself?"

A small spat between the two was about to erupt once again, but Cody's eyes shifted right at the nick of time. Leaning against their ship was a familiar brooding blonde.

"Hey," Cody walked over. "Cloud, right? What's up?" He grinned. "Wanna come with?"

"Nope," he slowly shook his head. He hesitated before continuing. "I just wanted to...apologize. Before you guys left."

"Hey man, don't look so down. You turned yourself around in the end, and that's all that matters."

"You carried a large chunk of that fight to be honest," Loudred added while Mokona enthusiastically chanted in the background remarks on how much ass Cloud kicked.

Cloud sighed with slight frustration before looking away. "Don't forgive me so easily."

Cody examined his face. Most of it was of course covered by his enormous auburn scarf, but even just looking at his eyes and the furrows of his brows, he could see the clear frustration he was trying to hide. Frustration towards himself.

"Are...you okay?"

Cloud glanced down at the shorter kid. Normally, he'd brush a question like that off before dramatically taking off, but it wasn't just anyone he was talking to. This kid saved his life. And honestly…

He had a feeling that this kid had a tremendous future ahead of him.

"I'm searching for something," he softly responded, looking upwards towards the sky. "For my light. I've been trapped in darkness for way too long."

"Wanna come with us?" Cody offered. "We're searching for stuff too. Well, it's people in our case and not a concept, but you get the idea."

Cloud took yet another good look at the four beside him. Loudred had a dumb and jolly look while Mokona bounced away happily atop his head, excited at the prospect of having a new traveling companion to annoy. Alakazam had an initial look of hesitancy, but his scrunched up face softened as the idea of someone as powerful and no nonsense as Cloud tagging along quickly began to look much more attractive in his head.

Honestly, Cloud wanted to laugh at their earnest and goofy reactions.

But he's Cloud Strife and he had an image to keep up.

And in the end, Cloud did indeed take off dramatically. His final farewell for the time being was a faint thumbs up; a sign of good luck for both of their journeys ahead.

And as they took off, they knew in their hearts they would meet up with the mysterious merc once again.

And as they left, unbeknownst to them, Tabuu observed from the distance, frustrated at his failure. They didn't know it themselves, but they would meet up with him again too.

And after they were gone, two figures came out of the stadium building, desperately shouting and pleading at the ship that was far beyond the reach of sound.

"Come back here, dammit!" Chef yelled while he shook his fists.

"Stop," Chris wailed, on the cusp of a breakdown. "Don't just leave us here, dude. Take us with you!"

Sucks to suck.