It was a beautiful Wednesday morning on a large, ornate mansion overlooking several smaller buildings. This main building stood tall and proud, with its logo, a circle split by two perpendicular lines, reflecting the morning light. A set of multicolored flags lay still, but had there been a light wind, one would have seen the array of symbols that adorned each one, such as Hyrule's legendary Triforce, or a common Super Mushroom.

This building served as the dormitory and general headquarters for a large group of warriors and their friends. They called themselves the Super Smash Brothers, or "Smashers" for short. And at that moment, the Smashers lay still in their beds, peacefully sleeping.

But not for long.

A large, floating, left hand, who had adopted the nickname "Crazy Hand", had ascended the clock tower, and was about to fulfill his duty for the morning: To wake up the Smashers and start their day. But Crazy Hand decided that simply ringing the bell was not enough—his brother, Master Hand, claimed he'd always had a penchant for the wacky—instead, he would surprise everyone not just with the bell, but with an assortment of explosives he had "borrowed" from the bomb room, a room kept heavily guarded. Crazy Hand had also plucked a Fire Flower from the garden to light the fuse.

Crazy Hand giggled to himself as he lit the fuse of the first Bob-omb. The Smashers will get a kick out of this! The walking time bomb trotted towards the stack of Blast Boxes and flashed red. Crazy Hand covered his ears (somehow), and after this brief warning, the Bob-omb detonated.

The ground vigorously shook as three tons worth of explosives ignited. Bricks from the tower were loosened, and several birds in the vicinity were almost incinerated. Leftover flames fell to the ground and torched the flowers below. After the dust cleared, all that was left in the tower were a few piles of dust and one shaking, but thrilled giant hand.

Crazy Hand was ecstatic that his plan had worked. The Smashers were surely wide awake now! He turned to go, but right before he opened the door, he realized something horrible. The room was completely empty except for him. A little too empty.

The bell was gone.

Crazy Hand's stomach (somehow) lurched. His brother would surely give him a hard time if he found out that the clock tower's bell had been blown up. A glint of gold outside caught his attention. The hand raced over to the window, and what he saw made him almost wilt to the floor. The bell had not been destroyed, as he had feared. Instead, it was falling right out of the sky, right onto the Smashers' dormitories. Crazy Hand helplessly watched as the bell crashed right through the roof with a large bang. He thought he heard a familiar voice cry out in pain too, along with several shouts of surprise.

Yes, the Smashers were surely wide awake now.

In one of the rooms of the mansion on the second floor, Mario, the famous hero of the Mushroom Kingdom was sleeping peacefully in his bed, dreaming of the newest Mario Kart racetrack: Pasta Circuit, which took place on top of a large plate piled high with fettuccine. Mario had "accidentally" crashed his go-kart into a fork, and to pass the time as his kart was repaired, had decided to take a big forkful for himself.

Mario smiled in his sleep, making a little moan of pleasure as his dream self was about to take the first bite. He failed to notice the large meatball falling onto him until he turned around…

Crash.

Mario's eyes abruptly snapped open. He immediately sat up in a panic. He looked around his room and saw the usual things: a spare tennis racket, a photo of Princess Peach by his bedside, and his trusty water pack F.L.U.D.D. propped up against the foot of his bed. In other words, everything was as normal.

Mario took a breath. "Mamma mia…" He hadn't been crushed a giant meatball, and, as he was disappointed to realize, there was no Pasta Circuit anytime soon. However, something had made a loud explosion that woke him up. And as experience had taught him, loud noises out of nowhere were often a source of trouble. The plumber leapt out of bed, hurriedly put on his trusty red hat without bothering to groom his mustache first, and rushed out his bedroom door.

As he had expected, other Smashers had been woken up from the sudden explosion. Already, Link, the hero of Hyrule, and Samus Aran, the galaxy's greatest bounty hunter, were drifting out of their dorm, rubbing the sleep out of their eyes.

"What was that?" asked the tall blonde bounty hunter. "I swear, if this is another one of Captain Falcon's crazy stunts…"

As if on cue, the F-Zero racer and part-time bounty hunter leapt into sight, still dressed in his favorite Blue Falcon-print footie pajamas. He took his trademark saluting pose with his hand on his hip. "Did Samus call me?" he asked in his trademark loud voice. "Does she need my help?"

Samus winced at Captain Falcon's voice, then took a deep breath and turned to face him. "No, Douglas, I don't need your help right now." She added under her breath, "No one does."

Captain Falcon slumped in disappointment, then almost immediately regained his composure. "Very well then!" he declared. "I'll go and investigate the source of the crash! Falcon Leave!" With that, Captain Falcon leapt majestically out of the group and hurried down the hallway.

Everyone stared after him, then Link broke the silence. "We should probably go see what that noise was about." The threesome exchanged glances, then took off after him.

As the heroes made their way towards the source of their rude awakening, they were joined by Princess Peach, the fair, beloved ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, and Captain Olimar, a very short man in a spacesuit who was accompanied by three Pikmin.

"Did you hear that?! Honestly, it reminded me all too well of nighttime on the Pikmin planet. I thought for sure one of those beasts had broken in…"

Mario nodded as they passed by other waking Smashers. "And I was-a having such a lovely-a dream. You know, it was that-a dream about the races again."

Peach couldn't help but giggle at Mario's complaint. "Was it the one about Pasta Circuit, again?"

"Yes, but this-a time, it was fettuccine instead. Oh, if only you had-a been there, the ragu was very realistic this ti—"

Mario's reminiscing was interrupted by a low, pained moan that got louder and clearer with every step they took. A moan that, Mario realized with horror, sounded just like—

"Luigi!"

Everyone immediately quickened their pace, with Mario and Peach taking the lead. The group dashed around a corner and up the stairs to the third floor, where a mass congregation of Smashers and Assist Trophies was surrounding a door. Just as Mario feared, the door led to Luigi's room. Mario and Peach shoved through the crowd and beheld the chaos that lay before them. Luigi was there, all right, but he was crushed under a giant bell.

"Someone… anyone… please?"

Mario leapt forward and tried to lift the bell off his brother, to no avail. The bell refused to budge. Amidst the crowd, he could hear a reptilian snort of laughter. "Yep, that's typical Luigi for you!" The voice belonged to Bowser, the king of the Koopas, Peach's recurring kidnapper, and Mario's archenemy. Mario chose to ignore Bowser's comments. Right now, he had to get this bell off Luigi. He tried again and, to his surprise, the bell lifted without Mario's lifting it. A shadow was cast over the plumber. Mario looked up to see who lifted the bell. Staring down at him was Donkey Kong, the king of the jungle (nobody knew if he held any political power, and nobody dared to ask). The bell was in his hands, hoisted high above his head. Mario gave the gorilla a silent nod of thanks. He stared down at Mario and flashed a toothy grin, then placed the bell down next to him.

"I'm-a free!" came Luigi's voice, still under the bedspread. "I can breathe, I can move—ow! Okay, I can't-a do that yet…"

Everyone but the villainous Smashers rushed to Luigi's side. "Are you okay?" asked Peach, tending to his innumerous injuries. Toon Link had produced a towel seemingly out of nowhere and was dabbing at Luigi's forehead. Luigi's treatment was abruptly brought to an end by a deep booming voice. "What is going on in here?!"

The crowd hushed as the large right hand floated into the room. He surveyed the damage: the bed was crushed, there was a gaping hole in the ceiling, various things were scattered across the floor, and Luigi himself lay in the middle, almost literally crushed flat. The tower bell stood still with a large crack in it next to Mario and Donkey Kong.

Master Hand turned to face the Smashers. He gestured to two of them, Wii Fit Trainer and Lucario. "Take him to the infirmary. I'm sure Doctor Mario will be able to fix him up." The Pokémon and the trainer gingerly picked Luigi up and placed him on a nearby stretcher. Luigi flinched and recoiled at every instance of physical contact, and he groaned as he was carried out of his room.

Master Hand now addressed the Smashers. "Please continue about your day. I will deal with whoever has done this, and they…" His deep, booming voice trailed off as he noticed his more sinister counterpart float by. His voice turned from firm and authoritative to dangerously peaceful. "Crazy Hand… dear brother…" Crazy Hand flinched, then slowly turned to face Master Hand, who was quivering with rage. Then, in a small voice: "Y-yes, Master Hand?"

Master Hand made the get-over-here gesture. He was now literally turning red with anger. The other Smashers took this as an opportunity to take their leave. They all quickly hurried out and to the breakfast nook as Master Hand unleashed his rage over Crazy Hand, who seemed to be trying to shrink into the floor.

The Smashers had had worse mornings.

At the breakfast table, things seemed to slowly be returning to normal, except for the lack of Luigi. Yoshi sat down at his usual spot, right next to King Dedede and Charizard. It wasn't the best spot, considering both of their table manners, but it worked. He was about to dig into his breakfast— pancakes shaped like stars, courtesy of Chef Kawasaki—when a high-pitched voice suddenly interrupted him. "Goooood morning, Dedede!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Yoshi could see Dedede cringe at the sound. It was common knowledge that Dedede (and others) listed Kirby between losing food and rocks in shoes on his list of most annoying things in the world. He tried to gather up his breakfast and move somewhere else, but it was too late. Kirby had already sat down on the other side of Dedede.

King Dedede muttered something that would get him a bar of soap in his mouth had someone heard him. He finally mustered the energy to growl out a "good morning" to Kirby.

Kirby smiled in return, bouncing in his seat. Kirby noticed Yoshi on Dedede's right. "Good morning, Yoshi!" Yoshi turned and waved a sleepy greeting back to him. Satisfied with the wave, Kirby turned to his food and literally inhaled it in one go. He rubbed his stomach, then stared at his plate forlornly. "Is that all I get?" he asked to no one in particular. This question seemed to set Dedede off, because he slammed his hammer on the table in anger. "I'm telling you guys, that Wii Fit Trainer is starving us! Starving us, I tell you!"

Yoshi stared at his now-empty plate, having licked all three pancakes down before. Yesterday, he had had four pancakes, and the day before there were five on his plate. For once, he thought, King Dedede was talking sense. Wii Fit Trainer, in a bid for a more "healthy lifestyle", had been cutting their portions of food since day one. King Dedede was still ranting. "How does anyone expect us to survive on these… these scraps?!"

Yoshi turned to look at Dedede. He had never noticed it before, but he could have sworn Dedede had a trace of a Texan accent. Dedede suddenly turned to Yoshi. "I mean, look at Yoshi. Those pancakes he just ate made up a third of his breakfast from one month ago! I did the math!"

On Yoshi's right, Charizard rolled his eyes. "Maybe if you guys weren't so fat, you wouldn't be getting your portions cut." Dedede seemed to take personal offense to this. "Excuse me?! I'll have you know, I am a king, a king, I say,"—he pointed at his hat-crown as evidence—"and I am expected to be bigger than my subjects, both in size and in social status!" Charizard opened his mouth to speak, but Dedede interrupted him. "And don't go using Kirby as 'evidence', he is normally round!"

Kirby, who had been listening patiently to Dedede's ramblings, stopped bouncing in his chair. "Maybe Dedede's right. Normally I would have eight times as much food on my plate." Dedede smirked in response. "You see, Charizard? For once, the little pipsqueak's making sense!" Charizard tried to argue that even Kirby has his limits, but was once again interrupted, this time by the ringing of a bell. All the Smashers turned to look at the source, Nikki, a short young woman in a green jacket and red-rimmed glasses.

"Good morning, everyone!" Nikki called over the noise of the lunchroom. It was time for the daily morning announcements. The Smashers stopped and turned to listen.

The announcements were the same as usual: Items were not to be used outside of matches, please help Zelda with her upcoming party for when Lucas arrives (it was to be a semi-formal event), a preview of the upcoming matches for the day (Wii Fit Trainer grimaced as she heard she was against Wario) and a reminder to wish Stanley the Bugman, the resident exterminator/bartender, a happy birthday.

As the Smashers turned back to the last of their meals, Nikki cleared her throat, getting their attention again. "Also, Smashers are allowed to campaign for whoever they'd like to be invited to the tournament! The ballot box is located on the ground floor, so feel free to make a single vote per person! And," she mumbled under her breath, "I'd appreciate it if someone could help me sort the votes in the mailroom…" She stepped down from her stool and hurried out of the cafeteria.

At once, a buzz spread through the lunchroom. Fox stood up and tapped his glass for attention. "I would like to take this moment to remind everyone to vote for Krystal. She—"

Fox's campaign speech was interrupted by roaring laughter from Bowser and his son, Bowser Jr. "Great, just what we need, more Star Fox has-beens! How about a real newcomer, like King Boo or something?" Fox just rolled his eyes, intending to continue, but Toad, the mushroom-headed servant to Peach, jumped onto the table. "Or maybe we could vote for me! I've been around longer than most of you guys!" This time, both Fox and Bowser snorted in derision. "What could you do, short-stack? Run away and hide?" asked the giant Koopa. "Yeah, that's a real winning moveset." Fox interjected, "Besides, you're already a counter move for Peach."

Toad shoved his hands in his pockets. "Yeah… I've been wondering about that, Princess," he said, turning to glare at Peach, who looked very nervous and was about to excuse herself from the table.

On the other end of the lunchroom, Falco, Fox's wingman and best friend, sat observing the three-way argument with Marth, the prince of Altea. The bird turned to Marth. "Say, there's no rule saying we can't vote for veterans, is there?"

"We are allowed to vote for veterans, yes. What prompts you to ask?"

"I was thinking we could bring back the whole Melee crew!"

Marth gave Falco a derisive glare. "You can't be serious in bringing back everyone. Everyone, Falco? Everyone?"

Falco thought back to Pichu, the notoriously weak fighter from 2001, attempting to fight against the faster and stronger Smashers, keyword attempting. "Okay, okay, maybe not everyone. But we've got Dr. Mario and Mewtwo, so we might as well go all the way."

The two got up from the tables and moved to clean their plates. Marth said "I really don't think it would be wise to bring back Young Link. Toon Link already fills his shoes."

"All right, all right, fine. No Pichu or Young Link. But at the very least," said Falco as they placed their trash in the bin, "Roy is still on the table, right? I mean, you guys were really close back in the day, remem—"

Falco was stopped mid-sentence by Marth staring daggers at him. He had never seen Marth so angry, not since the time Wario had replaced his hair conditioner with chocolate syrup, or the time Roy had—ah, it was all coming together now. In an eerily tranquil tone, Marth told him, "We do not, under any circumstances, talk about him. Understood?" Falco swallowed and nodded as they walked out of the lunchroom.

"Next!"

The other four interviewers shivered as Pikachu scowled into his cup of coffee. The mouse Pokémon was not known for his enthusiasm for his job. He, along with Mario, Link, Samus, and (the worst part, in his opinion) Kirby were tasked with interviewing potential newcomers for the tournament. It was only 10 A.M. and already Pikachu was nearing his limit.

"I said, next!"

Mario put a comforting hand on Pikachu's shoulder. "Pikachu, relax. You're-a gonna get an ulcer if you keep-a going like this." Pikachu took a deep breath and sipped at his coffee. At that moment, a trio of three white creatures wearing black bow ties strolled into the room, led by a conductor in a starry afro. Link took out a clipboard. "Name?"

The creatures were silent for a moment. Then the one on the left opened his mouth wide to sing a loud, clear note. "Aaaah…"

"…Um…"

The five stared awkwardly at the trio of singers. Kirby nudged Link. "Just put 'em down as the Chorus Kids."

The Kid in the middle opened his mouth to sing a note, this time four musical half-steps above the first one. "Aaaah…"

There was dead silence from the interviewers. Then Mario spoke up. "I think they're-a from Rhythm-a Heaven." The third Kid now opened his mouth to sing an even higher note, even higher than the last. "Aaaah…!"

Pikachu now stood up. "If you're just here to sing, Master Hand's office is down the hall, up the stairs, and it's three—" Pikachu never got to finish his sentence. The conductor, who had been quiet up until that point, loudly declared, "Together, now!" On cue, the three singers opened their mouths and sang, or rather screamed, one loud, piercing note.

"Aaaaaah!"

Pikachu paused to wipe his face clean of spittle. He stared at the eager-looking Chorus Kids and their conductor. "We'll give you a call," he said noncommittally. "Now get out."

With big smiles on their faces, the group of oddballs trotted out of the office. Pikachu sat back down. "Don't actually call them," he said to Kirby, who was reaching for the phone.

It was a slow day for the five interviewers. At the start of the tournament, Master Hand had judged Mario, Link, Kirby, Samus, and Pikachu to be the most "worthy" in deciding the newcomers. He set up a lobby near the dorms so people could come and go to have interviews. However, that day was going very slowly. Most of the hopefuls were out and about campaigning for others to vote for them. Samus turned to Pikachu. "Seriously, Pikachu, you need to relax. It's not good for you."

Pikachu retorted, "How can I relax if I have to deal with an endless slog of has-beens? And he isn't making things any easier." He gestured to Kirby, who was happily bouncing in his seat and munching on a delicious strawberry shortcake. Pikachu stared at the clock. 10:01 AM. At this rate, he might actually get an ulcer. He groaned and massaged his temples. And the worst part was…

"Nobody is even coming."

The words came out in a sharp hiss. The heat of the day was slowly bearing down on Pikachu's sanity. Perhaps he should just leave. Just storm out the door and never look back…

…Wait a minute. Why didn't he just leave? Nothing was stopping him. After all, who would care if one interviewer was gone? Pikachu's mind was made up. He got down from his chair and walked towards the door. Mario spoke up.

"Pikachu, what are you-a doing? You can't just-a leave during the interviews." Pikachu turned around and smirked. "Oh, yes I can," he said offhandedly. "Just watch me." With that, he opened the door and left in a flash.

Kirby looked worriedly after Pikachu. Link put a comforting arm on Kirby's head. "Relax, Kirby. He'll come back eventually. It's not like he'll just abandon his job…"

Unbeknownst to Link, Pikachu had done just that.

Pikachu shut the door behind him. It was only 10:02 AM, so he had the rest of the day to himself. A gleeful grin spread across his face. The whole day, free! Pikachu skipped away, thinking about crashing with Yoshi for the rest of the morning. Perhaps later he could relax and help Olimar with his studies. He thought about all these things as he sauntered through the halls, relieved at last to have dismissed himself of his duties.

He passed by the music room, where Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong were playing their instruments. He peeked into the yoga studio, where Wii Fit Trainer was instructing Dedede and Wario, who were unsuccessfully trying to perform the Dancer pose. He went by Shulk, who was talking to Master Hand.

Wait a tic… Master Hand?!

Pikachu froze and turned very pale. Master Hand would surely have his head if he caught him outside the interviewing room. Master Hand was busy conversing with Shulk, most likely about inviting Reyn to the tournament. Pikachu wisely sped out Master Hand's line of sight and shot down the rest of the hallway.

Still paranoid about Master Hand having spied him, Pikachu raced down the stairs. He didn't exactly know where he was going, and frankly, he didn't care. He just needed a place to hide until the interviews were over. He eventually found a plain-looking wooden door and shoved it open.

Once Pikachu was safely inside the room, he opened the door a crack to glance outside and check if Master Hand was chasing him. To his immense relief, the giant hand was nowhere to be seen. However, that also meant that Master Hand could possibly be around the corner. Pikachu decided to stay where he was. He turned around and got a good look at the room he was in.

It was a small, cramped, dusty mailroom. Piles upon piles of letters addressed to almost everyone involved with the tournament were stacked near a mail chute, which continued to steadily stream even more letters. Nearby, a bulletin board displayed the message, "Please keep our mailroom tidy!" in big block letters. And in the middle of all the clutter, a young woman in a familiar green jacket was slumped over a desk all alone.

Pikachu waddled over to her. It was Nikki, as he suspected by the red glasses next to her. He was about to wake her up when a pile of envelopes suddenly began to move. Pikachu leapt back with a surprised shout. Nikki woke up with a jolt. She looked around, blinking her sleepy eyes. She noticed the trembling stack of envelopes and nearly fell out of her seat in shock. A blue gloved hand poked out of the pile. Pikachu braced himself, cheeks sparking, as Nikki picked up a letter opener to defend herself. Another hand appeared, then an antenna with a blue light at the top. Pikachu stopped to stare.

"…Alph?"

The young engineer wiggled around, surrounded by envelopes, and fell to the ground in a heap. Nikki stood up and rushed over to help him up. "Alph! Is this were you were all this time?" she asked, dusting him off and wiping his helmet. Alph rose and came to his senses. "Huh… what…? I think I must've fallen asleep sorting all these votes…"

"Wait a minute, you work here?" asked Pikachu. Alph noticed the electric mouse standing there and nodded. "When I don't have any matches for the day, I come here to help Nikki sort out the Smash Ballot votes." Nikki beamed at Alph. "It's a lot of work, but we survive. Somehow," she joked. Pikachu nodded and coughed. This mailroom is so dusty, it's a wonder they survive at all, he thought to himself. There was a long silence as Nikki sat back in her chair and skimmed over a new stack of votes.

A thought suddenly came to Alph. "Say… Pikachu, aren't you supposed to be giving interviews?" Pikachu casually replied, "I'm taking a leave of absence." Alph looked quizzically at him. "So, you quit your job?" Pikachu stammered and said, "I did no—well, you see, I—it's not exactly—the point of the matter is, I am not doing interviews today." He said this last part with finality, relishing the idea of not having to look at Kirby for the rest of the day.

Nikki, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation, perked up considerably. "So… if you don't have anything to do today, could you maybe stick around to help?" Pikachu's ears drooped a little. He should have known he would get roped into doing work. And in such a tiny, narrow, extremely dusty, little mailroom… Pikachu found himself longing for the interviewer room. At least there, he could breathe fresh air. He was about to say no, but he suddenly remembered Nikki asking for help earlier that morning and how sad and desperate she looked. Pikachu glanced at Nikki and quickly regretted his decision. Nikki was in full puppy-dog eyes mode. He tried not to look, but Nikki had already made eye contact. It was like a whirlpool in those eyes. Pikachu turned to Alph in a last-ditch attempt. He flinched as he realized Alph was doing the same thing. Somehow, Alph had managed to get the antenna on his helmet to droop as well. With two people staring at him with those big round eyes, Pikachu had no choice but to say, "Fine, sure, I'll help."

This was met with a duet of "Thank you, Pikachu!" Nikki and Alph almost immediately cheered up and did a little happy dance on the spot. Pikachu found this almost overkill, but at the same time, it was worth it to see the two so happy. After all, he thought, it's just sorting votes for who should join the tournament. How hard could it be?

Back at the interviewing room, time seemed to have slowed to a crawl. The temperature had climbed to 98 degrees. The ice in Link's glass had melted. And the interviewers themselves were sweltering in the heat. Their only relief was a small fan in the corner rotating slowly back and forth.

Kirby managed to gasp out, "Somebody… get Master Hand… to put in some air conditioning…" Link was slumped over his portion of the desk. He made a feeble effort to move his arm. He looked up at the clock. Only 12:45?! They didn't get out until 5:00 PM. He groaned out loud. "Man, nobody's even coming. Why are we still here?"

"We're-a still here," Mario said, taking off his red hat to fan himself, "in case somebody does come for an interview." Samus deadpanned, "And because Master Hand would kill us if we left. Speaking of leaving…" She glanced at Pikachu's empty seat. "I wonder how Pikachu's doing."

Link sarcastically replied, "Master Hand might have caught him already. He's probably scrubbing the floors as we speak." Kirby looked longingly at the door. "It's probably cooler in the hallways," he sighed.

"Excuse me."

All four interviewers looked up as a tan girl with purple hair dressed in a belly-dancer outfit. Kirby perked up considerably now that someone was here for an interview. He noticed Link's face turning red as he quickly sat up straight. Samus rolled her eyes at Link while Mario gave him a knowing look. Kirby asked, "Name?"

"Shantae!"

Kirby dutifully wrote her name down in his favorite crayon as Link struggled to keep a straight face. "Game?" he asked.

"I'm from the Shantae series."

Kirby scribbled down "Shantae series" on his clipboard. Link suddenly stuttered, "So w-w-what special abilities or powers do you have?" Samus couldn't bear to see Link embarrass himself. Kirby could, and giggled to himself.

Shantae straightened her top (Link gave a thankfully-inaudible moan) and said, "Well, I'm a half-genie from Scuttle Town, so I can dance to change my forms and perform new attacks." Link gripped the edge of his table. He produced a towel from his pocket and dabbed at his forehead. "C-c-c-c-care to demonstrate for us?"

Shantae began to dance. Link stared in awe. In the middle of her dance, there was a loud pop and a puff of smoke. When it cleared there stood Shantae, as a monkey. Kirby clapped enthusiastically. "Do another one!" he cheered. Shantae smiled and began to dance again. This time, the half-genie turned into an elephant. Unfortunately, she landed right on top of the desk, sending everyone's glasses of water flying to shatter on the floor. Link didn't seem to mind, especially not when she changed back to normal right in front of him.

Mario cleared his throat. "Well, you-a certainly seem to have what it takes to be an official-a Smasher. We'll review your-a skills, and we'll get back to you if we're interested." Shantae gave the four a big grin, politely thanked them, and went off on her way.

After Shantae left, Link gave off a loud exhale that made everyone else jump. Kirby couldn't hold it in anymore, and burst out laughing at him. Even Mario and Samus chuckled at Link's beet-red face. Link just stared straight ahead. At last, he whispered, "Kirby, put her down as potential."

As it happened, sorting votes was a very hard job. Pikachu wheezed and coughed on the dust of the mailroom. He glanced at the pile of votes in front of him. Toadsworth? Deku Scrub? Luvdisc?! Pikachu sighed. He expected better from the voters. He gathered up these votes and deposited them in the paper shredder where they belonged. He hadn't expected this to be so soul breaking. Tedious, yes, but the votes weren't supposed to be this far-fetched. Pikachu had lost track of time. He was tired, and the room was so stuffy and dimly lit, he felt as though it had been weeks since he made the mistake of hiding in the mailroom. And just when it seemed he was done, even more votes came out of the chute! This is a test of patience, he thought. He did have to hand it to Nikki, though—she was shy and soft-spoken (she was often intimidated by Bowser and Ganondorf), but she was certainly strong enough to work in a room with very little light for at least twelve hours with no breaks. Pikachu glanced over at Alph. Even he seemed to maintain a cheery attitude, whistling as he worked. Pikachu called out, "Hey, Alph! What time is it?"

Alph checked his watch, then replied, "It's 2:30! We get out at 9:00."

Pikachu felt as if he had been Warlock Punched in the gut. 9:00 PM! Pikachu definitely regretted his decision now. At that point he would be curling up for bed! His face hit the desk. Why, oh, why had he given in to those accursed puppy-dog eyes? He didn't even know what a dog was! Six-and-a-half more hours of slogging through votes. The thought was enough to bring someone to tears.

Pikachu heard Alph hesitantly ask, "Pikachu, are you okay?" Pikachu waved off his question and said, "Don't worry, I'm not gonna go postal on you. Pardon the pun," he added. To himself, he fearfully whispered, "9:00 PM!"

Nikki, who once again had heard Alph and Pikachu, trotted toward the mouse and patted his head. "I know how you feel. When I first took this job, I cried too." Pikachu started to protest that no, he was not crying, but Nikki kept going. "It just gets easier as you go on. Then Alph came to help me, and it got even easier than that! And, if it makes you feel any better," she added with a wink, "the pay is good."

Pikachu and Alph looked up in confusion. He had completely forgotten about pay. He earnestly asked, "How much do we get paid?" (Alph asked, "You get paid?")

Nikki gave the two a sly smile. She said, "Oh, just enough to get by…for a couple decades." Pikachu's eyes lit up. Vision of a lovely pile of Smash coins danced in his imagination. A newfound resolve swelled up inside of him. He turned back to his desk and set to work vigorously started reorganizing the votes. Even Alph seemed to have more gusto in his labor.

Nikki sighed with relief. Her little rousing speech had worked in getting her coworkers to work faster. The speech even had an effect on herself, as she noticed later on when she went through almost 150 votes in just a couple of minutes.

Link stared at the clock, an empty look on his face. It was 3:30, and there had been only two other people who came to the interviews. The first was Cranky Kong, an old, rambling ape who spent his "interview" rattling on about how games were much better in his days. At one point, he hit Kirby with his cane for not paying attention. This rant lasted twenty minutes, and seemed to suck the life out of the interviewers. The second was completely unexpected.

"Name?" asked Samus without looking up. A voice answered, "My name is Kaepora Gaebora, from the Legend of Zelda series, and I wish to become a Smasher."

Link looked up and gaped in horror. He had heard the stories passed on through the other Smashers, but he had never thought them to be real. And yet here it was, standing right in front of him. Link looked over at the others. Mario and Samus wore expressions of equal fatigue and exasperation. Even Kirby, the pink ball of boundless energy and happiness, seemed exhausted.

There was a long silence. At last Kirby spoke up. "So what special abilities or powers do you have?" he asked with a false mask of cheerfulness. Kaepora Gaebora cleared his throat (everyone shuddered at this) and began.

"I have many abilities at my disposal for use in Smash Brothers. I am an owl, a bird of the order Strigiformes, and as such I have many natural weapons to aid me in the heat of battle. For instance, my talons are of great use to me when hunting for food. These talons of mine," he said as he raised up one leg, "are very powerful. In fact, they might be used to pick up any adversaries who wish to do me harm, and carry them away.

"My next tool, as you might have guessed, are my wings." Kaepora Gaebora spread his wings with pride. "My wings allow me to fly wherever and whenever I please, and, might I add, at quite high speeds. The feathers on my wings are serrated, or saw-like. These feathers have a much different composition that those of other birds. You see, with the feathers of other birds, air rushes over their surface, thus creating turbulence. As for my feathers, they have a comb-like fringe along the edge. These are known as fimbriae. These fimbriae break up the air that travels around me as I fly, which in turn allows me to sneak up on enemies and prey unheard.

"Any sneak attacks and other such underhanded and dastardly tactics will prove to be ineffective against me. I have a natural sense of anticipation, and this is intensified with my superior vision and hearing, and my head rotation range." He proceed to demonstrate, causing Mario and Link to cringe and look away. "And although it may not look like much, my beak is a very powerful tool indeed. It is used specifically for gripping and tearing potential prey.

"Of course, even these skills are compounded by my magical abilities in my human form, which is known as Rauru. In this form, I am known as the Sage of Light, one of the seven Sages of Hyrule. In this form, I obviously lose my ability of flight and superior eyesight, but I more than make up for it in magical might. I can use light magic in its many forms. I am capable of using Zelda's Light Arrows and other such magical weapons.

"Shall I repeat that?"

The interviews snapped out of the lull the old owl's speech had sent them into. It was almost as if they had all fallen asleep. When they looked up, Kaepora Gaebora was standing there, patiently staring at them.

Samus took a drink from her bottle of water and checked her watch. 4:58! Samus had to hand it the owl, he had some powerful lungs. A bubble of giddiness rose up in her chest. She deliriously stared at him for a while, then quietly pointed at the door. Kaepora Gaebora looked very disappointed and flew out the window.

There was a long silence. In the distance, the sounds of a presumably exciting match was going on. The crowd roared as a fighter (judging by the sound, most likely Marth) was sent careening away from the arena. At last, the clock struck 5, and the bell rang. Oh, that sound, that heavenly, glorious sound! The day was over. The interviewers were free.

Mario, Link, Samus, and Kirby all sighed in unison as they rose out of their seats. The foursome trudged out of the interviewing lobby, punched out their cards, and closed the door behind them.

Mario turned to Link. "So, what are your-a plans for the rest of-a the day?" Link replied, "I'm gonna see what Little Mac's up to. See if he's finally learned to recover." Samus nodded and said, "Maybe he should just make sure to turn on Super Leaves and Rocket Belts before his matches." All four shared a laugh at this.

Kirby bounced up to Link's shoulders and clung to them. Link didn't seem to mind, thank goodness—Kirby would have gotten flung across the room if he had tried it with someone like King Dedede or Ganondorf. He asked, right into Link's pointed ear, "Where's Pikachu?"

Link paused. Pikachu up and leaving had slipped his mind in the slog of interviews. He wondered where the little mouse had gone. As they kept walking, they passed by the kitchen, where Chef Kawasaki was cooking up sweet potatoes, crumb topped Super Mushrooms, and a fish and Maxim Tomato soup. (And he hadn't even started dessert yet.) They passed by the bar, or as Master Hand insisted, the tavern, where Stanley the Bugman stood absentmindedly wiping the counter, a birthday cupcake next to him. One staircase later, they passed by the mailroom, where they heard a trio of whistling.

Whistling?!

Mario, who had been leading the group, stopped, which caused Link, Kirby and Samus, to bump into him. He paused to listen for a bit, then turned to the others. "Do you-a hear that?" The group of four also paused to listen. Indeed, there was whistling, merry whistling coming from the mailroom. Normally, all that was heard, if one cared to stop and listen, was the sound of endless sheets of paper. But there it was, clear as day: the sound of three people whistling in harmony. All four put their ears to the door to hear. There was even laughter interspersed with the whistling. This was a very rare thing indeed. Slowly, Mario opened the door a crack to get a closer look.

There, standing in the dusty old mailroom, were Nikki, Alph, and… Pikachu?! The three were organizing the votes and talking amongst each other. They were laughing, smiling, and possibly even… bonding over their work. Alph had apparently told a hilarious joke, as Nikki appeared to be wiping tears away. The four interviewers stood agape at the scene. Ever since the interviews had been established, they had not once seen Pikachu laugh or even smile during his job. Yet there he was, smiling and laughing along with the others. Mario quietly closed the door. "So, this is where-a he was, all this-a time…"

Link scratched the back of his head. "Should we go get him? I mean, he seems happier here than in the interviews…" Kirby stared at the door for a while. Pikachu probably would get in trouble if Master Hand found out the he was ditching his job, and Master Hand would go after him next if he found out that Kirby hadn't told him. He plopped down from Link's shoulders and tried to think. Risk Pikachu's happiness and tell Master Hand or don't tell and let Pikachu be. This is a serious moral dilemma, Kirby thought to himself. I'll just go ask Samus what I should do. He looked up, and to his surprise, Samus, Link, and Mario were walking away and talking amongst themselves. Kirby quickly caught up to them and clung to Mario's shoulders.

"Guys, what are we gonna do about Pikachu?" he asked the group. Samus simply shrugged and said, "Well, he left his job. That's his responsibility. If he gets in trouble with Master Hand, that's no skin off my nose." Mario and Link nodded in agreement. Kirby looked worriedly back at the door. He remembered Master Hand's anger at Crazy Hand for destroying the bell (and Luigi's skeletal system). Kirby sighed to himself. He quickly followed the others.

"So then, I tried to use my back aerial to shake him off, but that didn't even work."

"No, really? After all that damage…"

"Then, once I landed, I had to use my forward smash, but he teched at the wall, right where a Super Star spawned!"

"No way! How did you survive?"

It was 8:52, and Pikachu was recounting one of his previous matches to Nikki and Alph. He was right in the middle of a story where he, the brave, selfless underdog hero, had to defeat the evil and menacing…Toon Link. The match was on the Great Cave Offensive, and Pikachu had Toon Link on the ropes.

"So now," the mouse continued, "he's chasing after me while invincible, while I'm hauling tail outta there, trying to find a Heart Container or Fairy Bottle or anything. Suddenly, I find two Dragoon pieces in the Crystal area. But of course, Toon Link gently taps me once and I lose them both." Alph and Nikki sat upright in their chairs, hanging on to every word.

"So now he's got both pieces, while I'm at 120% damage. If I touch any of those danger zones, I'm dead. The stakes are pretty high. I turn around and Toon Link's right behind me, with a Hammer." Alph and Nikki gasped in unison. "I try to roll, but…" Pikachu paused for dramatic effect, then smirked. "The Hammer head fell off. Toon Link turns tail and tries to run away, but I managed to catch him and send him flying into a Danger Zone." He deeply bowed as Nikki and Alph gave their applause. In a strange coincidence, the clock struck 9 at that moment.

All three of them sighed in relief. They packed up their bags and said their goodbyes to each other. Pikachu in particular was very happy to reach the end of the day. He was already dreaming of a soothing bath to end his day. He walked out of the mailroom and closed the door. Ah, it felt so good to breathe such clean air! He rounded the corner and took a couple of steps, where Master Hand was waiting.

Pikachu wilted like a flower under Wario's chair.

Master Hand floated there, perfectly still. If he had eyes, he'd be staring right into Pikachu's soul. "Please step into my office," the large glove said. His voice was disconcertingly calm. Pikachu swallowed. As Master Hand turned to go, Pikachu could see a familiar round, pink shape dart behind a wall. The electric mouse felt something drop inside himself. Kirby had ratted him out after all! But he was too afraid to be angry. Pikachu decided that he would take care of Kirby later… if there was anything left of him after Master Hand was done with him.

"Let's review your violations, shall we?"

Pikachu winced at the word violations. Somehow, using more sophisticated terms for harsh words made them hurt more. He was sitting in Master Hand's office, awaiting his fate.

The office was quite pristine, with marble walls and a lovely carpet. On the shelves to the right were various trophies and accolades, along with certain mysterious relics that were strictly off-limits to the other Smashers. Master Hand himself was reading off a list of Pikachu's misdeeds.

"You walked off your job without my knowing, and walk into some other job that did not need your assistance. You abandoned your co-workers to help others." Master Hand's voice had a strangely flat tone. It was terrifying. Pikachu just kept quiet, unsure of where this conversation was heading.

Master Hand adjusted his half-moon glasses (somehow), then put the list down and stared directly at Pikachu. "Why did you do this?" he asked in a strange tone. Disappointment, perhaps?

Pikachu exhaled. The disappointment was not what he had expected at all. Somehow, he would have preferred if Master Hand had vaporized him on the spot. He was like a father in that sense. Pikachu breathed in and was about to explain himself when there was a knock at the door. Whoever was at the door was clearly in a hurry, as they wouldn't stop knocking, even as Master Hand slowly drifted towards the door. The large glove fumbled with the doorknob before pulling it open. Immediately, a bundle of people fell into the office. Pikachu's ears perked up in surprise.

"Alph?"

The young engineer was sprawled out on the floor next to Nikki. They had been listening in and had rushed in to stop Master Hand from delivering his painful judgement. Alph stood up and instantly launched into a speech. Nikki must have taught him this, Pikachu thought to himself.

"Please, sir, it wasn't his fault—"

Nikki chimed in, "I just really needed some extra help—"

"Pikachu helped us out a lot—"

"Please, please don't hurt him—"

"Take me instead—"

"Silence!" the glove roared, sending bits of plaster raining down from the ceiling. The two quickly and wisely fell silent. Master Hand paused, then said, "I am not going to punish Pikachu." A spring of hope welled up inside of the mouse. The hand went on, "If, of course, he is willing to provide an explanation."

And so, Pikachu went into the story of how he had stormed out of his dull job, and how he had happened across an overwhelmed Nikki and had been guilt-tripped into helping them (Nikki and Alph giggle to themselves), and had actually had fun at this job. Master Hand listened through all of this, and was silent when he had finished. He appeared to be deep in thought. Pikachu, Nikki, and Alph looked at the large white glove and waited.

At last, Master Hand turned to Pikachu and said, "Pikachu, if you wanted to change jobs, why didn't you just ask? I would have changed your position if that's what you wanted." Pikachu, who had been waiting for Master Hand's rage to break over him, relaxed a little. Nikki tentatively asked, "You would have had him transferred?"

"Of course!" Master Hand replied in a much cheerier tone. "I may be a being of almost ridiculous cosmic power, but I am not a cruel despot! If you wish to be transferred into the mailroom, simply fill out these qualification forms." He dropped a stack of papers as tall as Link in front of Pikachu. The Pokémon recoiled. "I have to fill out all of this?"

Pikachu immediately covered his ears as Master Hand's deep booming laughter filled the room. Even more plaster fell from the ceiling, and the objects on the shelves shuddered. The laughter died down. Master Hand swept most of the stack away from Pikachu leaving a single sheet of paper left. "That was a joke, you see." He offered a pen for the mouse Pokémon to take.

Pikachu, Nikki, and Alph walked down the hallways in silence. Pikachu was now sporting a shiny badge in the shape of an envelope, marking his official membership as a mailroom member. It was 10:00, and the moon was shining on the Smash grounds.

Eventually Pikachu turned to Nikki and Alph. He looked very uncomfortable, and looked as if he has trying to say something. He opened his mouth, but Nikki stopped him. "You don't need to. In fact, I should be thanking you. Without your help, who knows how far we would have gotten?" She beamed at him.

Pikachu couldn't bear to look her in the eye. He felt his face grow warm. There was a long, awkward silence. At last, Alph cleared his throat. "Well, we'll be seeing you tomorrow, I guess." Pikachu nodded in response. Alph and Nikki turned and left.

Pikachu stood there looking after him. He decided it was time for him to get some shut-eye. He started to walk back to the dormitories. As he opened the door, a familiar voice called out to him. "Pikachu!"

Pikachu turned around to see who called him. It was Kirby, who looked tired and relieved to see him. "You're not dead, after all!"

Pikachu tiredly waved at the puffball, then suddenly remembered. The mouse rounded on him. "You!" Kirby's smile promptly dropped. He backed away. "Pikachu, I was just doing my duties, I was just doing my duties as an interviewer…" Pikachu's cheeks sparked dangerously. "You told Master Hand that I skipped out on you," he growled.

Kirby began to sweat profusely. "Yes, I d-d-did. B-b-b-but, I also told Nikki and Alph that y-y-you were in trouble, and I sent them to defend you! And l-l-look at you now!" he added, keeping a close eye on Pikachu's bright red cheeks. "Master Hand didn't v-v-v-vaporize you! So it all balances out, right? R-r-r-right?"

The electricity coming out of Pikachu diminished. His fists relaxed. "I suppose." Kirby breathed an audible sigh of relief, then quickly fled before the mouse Pokémon could change his mind. Pikachu watched as the puffball ran away. He would let Kirby off just this once. He looked up at the moon and smiled to himself. For once in his life, he was looking forward to his job tomorrow.