Enderman did not enjoy being seen. However the Pokémon in front of him, Abra, wasn't looking at him, her eyes were closed. The Abra moved closer, Enderman held out his hand and pet Abra. The two had been like that for a while, it started with Enderman giving Abra a berry out of curiosity. Now Enderman felt fond of Abra. Following the Dark Emperor's orders had been stressful for Enderman, it involved getting too close to things that could look at him, even if they weren't supposed to. Enderman preferred the forest he was in at the moment to the cities he had been sneaking through.
The sounds of an explosion assaulted Enderman's ears, which he immediately covered. Abra teleported away, then teleported back to Enderman. She didn't move away when Enderman picked her up and moved towards the explosion. Ordinarily Enderman would never go near something that drew attention. However, he knew exactly who was responsible for the explosion. Enderman found a hiding spot right before a clearing in the forest, he and Abra could watch without being watched.
Volga was breathing heavily, a wide smile on his face. The Blaziken standing on the opposite side of the clearing was breathing just as hard. "Finally, a strong enemy here. Don't you dare retreat now." Volga lunged forward with his spear. The sight prompted a sigh from Enderman, a habit it had developed and disliked. Interacting with the likes of Volga involved sighing on a regular basis. Their orders had been to scout the world and recruit Pokémon, fighting had not been on the list.
Blaziken rushed to the spear's side and performed an uppercut on Volga. In a flash Volga assumed his draconic form and dove to the ground, forcing Blaziken along. The impact sent Blaziken into a tree near Enderman's location. Abra teleported herself and Enderman a short distance away. Getting closer again was too risky, so Enderman closed his eyes and saw through Volga's. As aspects of Dharkon their minds were linked.
A concentrated beam of fire erupted out of Blaziken's mouth. It was so hot that Enderman could feel it through his own body. Instead of dodging, Volga charged through it, using his spear to scatter the fire. Volga summoned a sphere of darkness in his hand, which turned into a Pokéball. It was a customized type made by Gaster, dubbed the Dharkon ball. It had a pitch black color and blue button. Volga jabbed Blaziken with the Poké Ball. Instead of the typical red beam of light, a thorn of darkness leapt out and dissolved Blaziken into it. It shook once, it shook again. For a moment it was motionless. Then it shook for a third time, giving a click. "You and I are going to be allies now," Volga said. He looked in Enderman's direction. "Get out of my head." Enderman obliged and opened his eyes.
It was a mystery even to Enderman himself why the other Dharkons could look at him without setting him off. Volga walking towards Enderman only prompted thought of how anyone else would have been attacked in the same situation. There was no movement from either Enderman or Abra when Volga was directly in front of them, or when a pool of darkness formed beneath their feet and swallowed them.
The world of darkness was the same empty and lightless place as before, in other words a paradise for Enderman. Rising up into it from a portal was always a wonderful homecoming. "[Did the Dharkon Ball function correctly?]" Gaster asked. There were various papers written in wingdings on his standing desk, one of the few constant pieces of furniture in the world of darkness. Dark Emperor stood next to him with an expectant look. James and Rundas had been assigned a different mission, one that was apparently still in progress.
"Yes." Volga tossed up Blaziken's ball, a thorn of darkness jumped out and formed into Blaziken. All injuries had vanished. Abra turned to look at Enderman, who released Abra and took out his own Poké Ball. Once Abra was 'caught' she jumped back out. Dark Emperor reached out a hand to pet Abra.
"Excellent, with Pokémon on our side we can bolster our numbers. A full assimilation of their world is still beyond us, but the resources will aid with the conquest of others," Dark Emperor said.
"That's a coward's plan."
"It's called strategy. You'll get your fights Volga." Dark Emperor somehow sounded less like a leader and more like a tired parent. That comparison only came to Enderman thanks to the other Dharkon aspects. Volga looked away, prompting a chuckle from Gaster, who in turn was glared at by Volga.
Rundas and James walked in from the shadows. Enderman stared at Jame's sunglasses. Up until recently Enderman had thought those were how James's eyes naturally looked, and it had taken an explanation from Rundas to understand why the covering being used in the world of darkness was absurd. James had claimed that they made him look cool, and the following argument with Rundas had required the combined efforts of Gaster and Volga to stop.
"I thought Volga didn't like chickens," James said, gesturing to Blaziken. Rundas facepalmed. Volga looked confused. Enderman wondered what the joke was. Dark Emperor laughed. "Thank you, at least someone gets me."
"Was your mission a success?" Dark Emperor asked.
"Of course. The Space Pirates definitely have a new ally, some group called the G Corporation," James said.
"And they have someone helping them travel through worlds, in a way the Hands can't detect apparently. It's not the portal paintings, they use this other method for ships and their first visit to a world and then create portal paintings," Rundas added.
"Are the Galeems helping them?" Dark Emperor asked. Although Enderman didn't care much for expanding the world of darkness, he felt an instinctual hatred for the Galeems. No matter what form or fragment, Dharkon and Galeem were enemies. Yet the hatred wasn't strong enough to overwrite the desire to avoid attention.
"They were doing their own recon on the Space Pirates, which made us run into each other. So it can't be them," James said.
"Are you okay?" Dark Emperor leaned forward to inspect James and Rundas more closely.
"It was no big deal, after a bit of fighting we realized neither of us would win if it got too loud. So we made a quick truce and agreed to spy on different parts of the base. More importantly, we got a tracking beacon on a crate headed for G Corp," Rundas said. He tossed a small device to Gaster. Gaster caught it and made a remark about how to handle delicate equipment.
"[If their report is done, I have something I've been waiting to share.]" Gaster paused as the others turned to look at him. "[There is another.]" A different kind of silence filled the area. Enderman tried to sense what Gaster had mentioned, there was a new darkness somewhere in some world.
"And if there's another of us, there's another of them to fight," Volga said. He tightened his grip on his spear.
"Don't sound too excited now," James said. "Anyway, there's not much the rest of us can do while Gaster is looking for the new guy, so let's get some rest. That way we can move out the moment we've got a read on him or G Corp." Dark Emperor looked to Gaster, who nodded.
"Very well," Dark Emperor said. Enderman began placing small beds around the area. Volga walked off off with Blaziken. "No, the two of you are getting rest, not sparring. At least sit down." Volga groaned, but obeyed the order.
Each of the Dharkon aspects made themselves comfortable while they waited. James and Rundas had opted to sleep. Time was hard to measure in the world of darkness, so sleeping was only a matter of exhaustion and rest. Enderman sat with Abra. Dark Emperor's eyes were closed, but he didn't appear to be sleeping. And Volga had ended up petting Blaziken.
"Have you seen Cia yet?" Dark Emperor asked. Volga tensed up.
"No. She wouldn't side against Link again. There's no point in asking her." The conversation came to an uneasy halt. Thankfully, the lack of noise accompanying it allowed Enderman to sleep for a bit.
In the absence of sunlight or roosters, Dark Emperor woke up the others with a loud roar. Enderman teleported out of bed, then relaxed when he realized where the roar came from. James and Rundas had instinctually drawn their weapons. "Do you have to wake us up that way?" James asked.
"Yes. Now it's time for the mission briefing," Dark Emperor said. A loud snore stopped Dark Emperor from continuing. Gaster was still asleep on the bed.
"Shouldn't we wake him up?" Rundas asked.
"He's the one who stayed up working to get us information, now it's his turn to rest." Dark Emperor snapped his fingers. A portal appeared. "The new aspect is currently in the G Corp base our tracker went to. Because of that we can accomplish both tasks simultaneously. Volga, you and Blaziken are the distraction. Just be yourself. The rest of you, look for information and our new comrade. Understood?"
"Perfectly." Volga walked into the portal. Two seconds later shouts of confusion could be heard from the other side, followed by alarms and screams of terror.
"I feel kind of bad for them now," Rundas said. Dark Emperor opened another portal. Rundas took a step forward, James held out his arm and stopped him.
"Enderman always knows when somebody is looking at him. Best if he goes first," James said. Enderman felt uneasy. Yet he knew that the others were counting on him, so he stepped into the portal.
There was nothing remarkable about the hallway on the other side. It looked like any sort of corporate building. There were doors to other rooms, windows, potted plants, a water cooler for the fabled water cooler talk, and a security camera through which someone was looking at Enderman. The last detail struck Enderman immediately. Panic overcame him. The urge to destroy the observer followed soon after.
The next second, Enderman had teleported himself into a room filled with monitors, each showing the feed from a different security camera in the building. The man charged with looking at them ran away with decently impressive speed. "I won't tell! I'm not being paid enough to be loyal!" The man shouted. Enderman prepared to pursue.
"Leave him be Enderman." Dark Emperor had been watching through their connection. Telepathy was yet another part of what Gaster had referred to as 'the Dharkon pseudohivemind.' Abra leapt out of its Poké Ball. She hovered in front of Enderman, humming softly. The panic slowly faded away from Enderman.
A thorn of darkness sprouted from the floor and leapt up to the top of the doorframe. Enderman turned to watch the feed from the cameras. One screen showed Volga and Blaziken fighting a weird girl wearing cat ears, Volga was so irritated by her voice and way of speaking that Enderman felt hatred wash over him. The camera feed labeled her as Lucky Chloe.
Another screen showed some unwelcome faces. Samus and Captain Falcon were fighting their way through the base, tearing apart humanoid robots that stood in their way. "What are those guys doing here?" James questioned.
There was also another screen showing yet another intruder, whose name was helpfully labeled by the camera's recognition software. On the other end of the video feed was Heihachi Mishima, who radiated the aura only an aspect of Dharkon had. He looked right into the camera, making it clear he wanted to be spotted.
A dark portal opened in front of Heihachi. James and Rundas stepped out of it. Enderman listened through them. "So, you're one of us, aren't you?" James asked.
"Dharkon also fused with me. And now I have a fight to continue, one that won't end until one of us is dead. Don't bother me with your own." Heihachi crossed his arms.
"How about we help you with yours, then you help us. Who are you after?"
"My son." Heihaci walked past James. James had no response, aside from his fingers curling around his holstered blaster.
"Don't," Rundas whispered. He turned his attention to Heihachi. "And if we help, will you do the thing you're supposed to do? You know, unify all worlds within the world of darkness while destroying Galeem and all that."
Heihachi thought for a few seconds, then nodded. "Once we're done here, there's another corporation for me to take over." Heihachi walked ahead like he had been appointed leader.
"You, looking through the cameras, where is Kazuya?" Enderman was startled by the sudden intrusion into his mind, complete with a mental picture of the person in question. Kazuya was nowhere on the video feed.
"[Apologies for sleeping through the start of this. I see we found our newest comrade already. I'll hack into their systems now.]" Gaster didn't show on any of the cameras. However, one of them showed various monitors turning on and off. Gaster appeared for a second, then wasn't there. "Kazuya isn't here. He's off meeting with the Space Pirates in another world. But I found how he got there. Subspace."
"Subspace, wasn't that destroyed after that whole thing with Tabuu?" James asked.
"It's the space between worlds, it'll only be destroyed when all worlds become one. We've acquired what we require, now return to base," Dark Emperor said.
"No. While Kazuya is away, I'll destroy everything he might use against me. You two, destroy everything here. I'll handle the people coming our way." Heihachi entered a fighting stance. James and Rundas sighed in unison before deciding to go along with Heihachi's order. They left shortly before Samus and Captain Falcon walked into the room.
"You're one of them, aren't you?" Captain Falcon asked. In response a dark aura manifested itself around Heihachi. Captain Falcon and Samus exchanged a nod.
Samus readied her arm cannon, already charging up a shot. Captain Falcon executed a falcon kick while shouting the attack's name. Heihachi intercepted it with a punch that cackled with electricity, launching Captain Falcon into the air. It was followed up with rapid kicks that propelled Heihachi upwards like a helicopter. The movement looked out of place on him, lacking the refined brutality of the prior attack. Regardless Captain Falcon was sent crashing to the ground while Heihachi had a smooth landing.
Samus responded with a fully charged shot that sent Heihachi into the wall. Then she grabbed him with her grapple beam and slammed him into the ground. Captain Falcon leapt over Heihachi and kicked down right as Heihachi began to rise. Samus grappled him again as Captain Falcon's fist ignited. A point blank Falcon Punch struck Heihachi in the chest, who merely winced. A sweeping kick attack knocked both Samus and Captain Falcon to the ground. Heihachi summoned a shotput ball and dropped it on Samus. Both Samus and Captain Falcon immediately rolled to opposite sides of the room.
Instead of getting close again, Captain Falcon took out his gun and fired. Heihachi ducked under the laser, but not the missile from Samus. "Enderman, assist Heihachi. The others are all occupied now," Dark Emperor ordered.
Enderman looked away from the camera showing the fight. Going out where he could be seen scared him. Abra nuzzled up next to him, reducing some of the fear. And it was clear that there needed to be something to even the odds.
In a blink, Abra and Enderman teleported into the battle. They were right behind Samus, so Enderman announced his presence by swinging a sword at her. Samus stumbled forward from the blow, then spun around and lashed out with the grapple beam. Enderman was thrown off his feet and into Samus's grasp. The eyes he saw behind the visor were vicious, like a predator. Then Abra teleported her away.
Samus reappeared up in the air. She swung her arm downwards at Heihachi, who had just stepped out of reach of a falcon punch. Abra teleported Samus away again before her strike could connect.
While Abra harassed Samus with constant teleportation, Enderman decided to help Heihachi with Captain Falcon. He summoned a mine cart and rode it right into Captain Falcon. The impact knocked Captain Falcon into the wall, where he was quickly subjected to an electrically charged punch from Heihachi. Enderman summoned dynamite and lit it.
A beam of energy pulled Captain Falcon away from the explosion. Samus tossed Captain Falcon up into the air, where he brought his knee against Abra's face. Enderman quickly recalled Abra into her Pokéball. Heihachi ran right at Samus. Unfortunately, Samus had already fully charged her next attack.
"Get out now!" Dark Emperor ordered. Darkness swallowed both Enderman and Heihachi. Samus's Zero Laser made a hole in the wall behind them and kept going.
-
Enderman found the emptiness of the World of Darkness refreshing after the chaos he had just been part of. Heihachi made a dismissive sound as he surveyed it. "What a pitiful base."
"Hey, it's our pitiful base. Once we start absorbing worlds we can get something with actual substance to it," Rundas said.
"Once my world is absorbed, it will be mine. None of you are to interfere with it, or the rest of my domain." Heihachi walked over to an empty spot and began meditating. The rest of the Dharkons exchanged various expressions. Enderman didn't understand most of them. He looked down at Abra's Pokéball. As strange and contradictory to his nature as it was, he was starting to enjoy being around others.
"Well, with how things seem to work, I wonder who the Galeems just added to their ranks," James pondered.
A/N: This rivals the interlude at the end of the fighter pass 1 arc as the most self referential and indulgent chapter of this fic, I have too much fun writing this group of characters. Anyway, after the Hero chapter I wasn't putting myself through another wave of four blank slates, especially ones that don't even have a surrounding story to define them by, so we're just getting Enderman. Next chapter will have a greater percentage of actual Smash Bros characters I swear.
Also I wasn't able to include it, but there was going to be a bit of Lucky Chloe saying 'Kazuya-senpai did nothing wrong uwu, war crimes shmar cwimes' and everyone wanting to kill her for it. Also yes, the hiatus was so long that this was written well before Tekken 8 happened and I am not adjusting for it so this can be wrapped up before Smash Bros 7 on the Switch 3.