The day the fearsome Leader of Subspace was defeated, a formless entity watched the whole spectacle from afar.

Wind whistled eerily through the forest trees, making the night atmosphere much chillier than normal. The moon cast a low light over an area where a cloaked figure stood. His cloak obscured his entire body, making his identity impossible to know unless one removed it. But once that same person sees a ghoulish mass of what looks like darker Shadow Bugs gripping the edge of the cloak like a grisly hand, they would abandon that idea swiftly.

The figure stood in front of a tree, where a mirror with polished golden edges was magically bolted in the pine's bark. Knowing him, one may wonder why in the universe he'd stare into the reflective glass at all; he despised his appearance with a burning passion.

But it was no ordinary mirror. If it were, he would never have stared at it as long as he had been.

Images flashed in the mirror, as if it were showing a movie. These images, however, held his attention far more greatly than any fictional world could: a large team of fighters, not even of the same universes, all battling a blue-skinned, pixelated-looking humanoid bearing enormous rainbow wings. They appeared to be fighting to the death, determination and anger crossing all their faces as they attacked.

These events intrigued the figure. They belonged to different universes; why were they fighting side by side, all assisting each other like true allies?

How it astonished and disgusted him.

As he watched, he noted the different battlers: a light green dinosaur, a blue hedgehog, two blue-haired swordsmen, a pink chibi puffball, a hairy ape with a young monkey companion, a rather simplistic 2-D character, an archer angel, a woman clad in a metal suit, complete with a blaster arm, just to name a few. Quite a variety, he thought.

It wasn't long before the fighters' enemy cast an utterly devastating attack. The humanoid entity launched a powerful wave of energy from the heart-like power source lodged in its chest. It struck the group hard; their determined faces turned to brief horror before final excruciating pain. The force of the blow was strong enough to send them flying across the deep black battlefield. Once they landed, the attack's effect was obvious on the battlers' tightened faces and wounded bodies. All seemed lost for the brave fighters.

There was a single survivor.

Miraculously, a short, round mustachioed man in red attire managed to dodge the harsh force. He landed wobbly, but on his feet. He panted, out of breath from the brawling. Wiping his glistening brow, the man glared at his otherworldly enemy. It almost looked as if he were begging the creature to try and hit him again.

The hooded figure recognized him. He seemed to be the group's leader – not the seven or so that had traveled with him, but the huge army that had entered the subspace realm. No wonder he was so keen on defeating the cruel beast.

The short man made an incredible leap at the humanoid, reeling his gloved fist back and yelling a battle cry. But his opponent was prepared; it spread its multicolored wings and readied the same attack that had wiped out the rest of the group. The man looked like he would lose.

This prediction was soon proven false when he somehow reached his enemy. His curled fist burst into flames. Before the pixelated entity could do anything else, the man dealt the burning punch, landing it squarely in the chest.

The Subspace leader writhed in pain, a blinding white aura blasting from its power source. In a short moment, it exploded. The massive boom released its hold on the cross-universe just outside the bubble of Subspace. Below, the fighters cringed and shielded their eyes.

In another brief second, the circle of Subspace dematerialized, leaving behind no traces that it ever existed. The one thing it did leave was the crossverse, just the way it was before it swallowed it up. Everything was fine.

Tabuu, the menacing and cruel Leader of Subspace, was gone.

Every fighter looked around in wonder as they struggled to stand up. A few doubled over in pain, and their comrades assisted them. The mustachioed plumber stood as well, though just as shakily. They collectively turned their heads toward him.

The man met their eyes with his own blue ones. He heaved a sigh before, finally, smiling.

They rejoiced. Some cheered, while others embraced their hero. It was obvious from their joyous expressions that they just beat an impossible enemy.

They won an impossible war.

And they had this plumber to thank.

Speaking of the plumber, the hooded figure noticed that his emotions slightly differed from his friends'. He was smiling and looked relieved, yet there was something else shining in his eyes.

It was very, very strong relief.

As he watched, the figure realized how much he despised their victory. Tabuu's plan was flawless. The only reason the Subspace Leader couldn't prevail was because one small fighter got lucky and avoided that Off Wave. It wasn't acceptable. He made a firm final decision:

He would carry out Tabuu's master plan.

This is a story I've had in my head ever since SSB4 came out. I understand this is a bit short, but later chapters will be longer. I hope you stay tuned for the rest of the story!

P.S., if you enjoyed this prologue and want me to update a bit quicker, why don't you leave a review? It takes only a minute out of your day :3

~Pixel