In the middle of VG Central was a huge hotel, which looked like it was capable of having at least three-hundred rooms. Connected to the side of the hotel was a large, covered dome. The dome was big, but it still only came up to about halfway up the hotel.
This dome was the home of the Megamix Tournament, one of the biggest tournaments of its kind. After having enjoyed one successful tournament, the host and owner of the tournament decided to give it another go and start up a second tournament, bigger and better than the last one.
Inside the lobby of the hotel, a lone man leaned up against the empty receptionist desk. He was tall and had a full head of blonde hair, a blonde mustache, sideburns that went to the bottom of his ears and a soul patch. He seemed to be waiting for something.
This was SSBFreak, the owner of the tournament. Shortly after the last tournament finished, he had started making preparations for the second, and now it was finally time to put it all into action.
SSBFreak took the time to look at his watch. It was about quarter-after two. “He should be here anytime, now.” He mused to himself.
Suddenly hearing the front door open, SSBFreak turned and saw a slightly-younger man with long, blonde hair entering the lobby.
SSBFreak smiled at the sight of his co-host from last here. “Unknown1! Long time no see!” He said as he walked over to his co-host and gave him a friendly hug. “You ready to give this tournament a second go?”
“I can’t wait to get things started, again.” Unknown1 nodded with a smile.
“Did you get the e-mail I sent you?” SSBFreak asked.
“Sure did. Don’t worry. I sent the invitations.” Unknown1 assured. “How about you? Did you get the security force?”
“Not only that, but I managed to find another host for the tournament.” SSBFreak said.
“You don’t say?”
“Yeah. It was a little hard for just the two of us to run the tournament last year, so I figured a third host would be a good idea.” SSBFreak said as he looked at his watch. “He should be here by now, though.”
“Sorry I’m late!” A new voice called out as the front door opened again. “I had to take the long way here because a bunch of Rabbids managed to get the main road closed.”
The two friends turned towards the front door in time to see a teenage boy enter the lobby. He was African-American with curly, black hair. He looked like he had been running pretty hard, and took the time to readjust the glasses on his face.
“Hey, you’re not too late.” SSBFreak assured as he looked at Unknown1. “Unknown1, this is Tinyrocket. He’ll be helping us host the tournament. I’ve already set up a third mic in he announcer’s booth.”
Unknown1 shook Tinyrocket’s hand. “Well, it’s good to meet you. I certainly hope that you don’t disappoint.” He said.
“I’ll try my hardest. Don’t you worry.” Tinyrocket nodded with a smile.
“And now for the security force.” SSBFreak said. “Unfortunately, I could only get one of the leaders we had in the last tournament. I had to find four fresh people to do it.”
“Which one did you get back?” Unknown1 asked. “Master Chief?”
“Didn’t wanna do it.”
“Uh…Joanna Dark?”
“Too busy.”
“Samurai Goroh?”
“Wanted too much money.”
Before either of the two friends could say any more, they heard a very familiar voice coming from a side door leading into the hallway.
“Hey, guys! We’re ready and raring to go for a second chance to keep the tournament under control!”
Everyone turned and saw five distinctive figures walking into the lobby. However, Unknown1’s eyes widened when he saw the person in the front. He recognized the dreadlocks and tattoos almost instantly.
“Psymon Stark?!” Unknown1 asked SSBFreak as if he were crazy. “You could only get one of the leaders from last year back and it was Psymon Stark?!”
“Hey, I liked him.” SSBFreak shrugged.
“That’s right! We both know how to get on someone’s good side!” Psymon laughed before turning to his shoulder tattoo angrily. “Hey!! You take that back! I thought you were my friend!!”
Unknown1 sighed. “Well, whom else did you get?”
SSBFreak pointed up at the huge, muscular rabbit with glowing, red eyes. “That’s Sergei. I got him from the Rayman node.” He explained. “I saw the power he had and realized that he was definitely a must.”
Sergei remained silent, but folded his arms and bowed politely.
Next in line was the lone female, an overweight Shadow Siren with a yellow and white witch’s hat. “There’s Marilyn. Her sister Vivian’s in the tournament, so it didn’t take much to get her to come along.” SSBFreak explained. “Not only is she powerful, but she has stealth abilities as well.”
“She doesn’t look all that stealthy to me…” Unknown1 scratched his head.
Marilyn, not amused at the comment, sunk into the floor and popped up in front of Unknown1, giving him a backhand across the face before retreating back into the small crowd of security leaders.
Next was a tall man with short hair. His most distinctive feature was the trenchcoat he was wearing. “That’s Detective Dick Gumshoe. I got him from the Phoenix Wright node.” SSBFreak explained. “He’s not much of a fighter, but he’s got more investigative skills than all of the others combined.”
“And if something big happens like it did last year, you guys can bet that I’ll be on it like a hawk!” Gumshoe pointed out.
Finally, there was a short, white, grinning rabbit. He was the shortest of the five, standing about three inches shorter than Marilyn. “And finally, that’s Max, from the Sam & Max node.” SSBFreak said.
“Hey, boss? If we come across anyone uncooperative, can I bite them in the kneecaps?” Max asked hopefully.
Unknown1 cast a glare at SSBFreak. “We already had Psymon. What made you think we needed TWO of him?!” He asked.
“Well, it seems like you have everything set up.” Tinyrocket noted. “So when does the tournament start?”
“In a couple of days.” SSBFreak explained. “We need to allow the invited fighters time to come here and give them a bit to unwind before we actually start the tournament.”
“But they SHOULD have gotten the invitations by now.” Unknown1 noted as he looked at his watch. “I sent out those invitations a few days ago.”
(Southtown; Nodal Train Station)
Kyo fingered a tournament invitation in his hand as he sat on a bench, awaiting the Nodal Train to arrive. He had been invited to a number of tournaments in the past, but this was the second time he had been invited to the Megamix Tournament. Knowing that the likes of Ryu would be entering, Kyo decided to give the tournament another shot.
“Hopefully, I’ll be able to make up for last year.” Kyo mused, not really wanting to relive his performance from the last Megamix Tournament.
Kyo looked around the train station. Everyone from the previous tournament had been invited back. There were the usual people such as Terry, Andy, Joe, Mai, the Sakazakis, King and Robert Garcia, but many of the other teams that had participated in KOF were there as well. The Psycho Soldiers, the Ikari Warriors, K’s team, even the USA Sports Team.
In all honesty, Kyo was surprised at the success all three members of the Sports Team had in the previous year. Now all three of them were back and Kyo made a mental note to consider them each a threat in the ring.
Kyo turned his head and saw Kasumi Todoh, last year’s winner, approaching. “Running a little late, Kasumi?” He asked with a smirk.
Kasumi looked around and sighed. “I’m the last one here?” She asked back. “Darn. I was hoping that I would get here quicker.”
“Ah, you’re still early.” Kyo shrugged. “Everyone wanted to get here early.”
“Well, hopefully we’ll be able to snag the championship again.” Kasumi said hopefully.
“Well, we DO have a few new people joining the fray this time.” Kyo noted as he looked at a few newcomers such as Eiji Kisaragi, Oswald and the New Faces Team. “Anything can happen.”
“We have to be prepared for the worst.” Kasumi pointed out. “If we want to win again, we need to be prepared for anything our opponents throw at us.”
(SSB Nodal Train)
Needless to say, things were getting pretty hectic on the train as it went through the wormhole leading to VG Central.
Mario walked into the section of the train from the previous car and looked around with wide eyes. Pichu, Pikachu, Ness, Kirby and the Ice Climbers were either jumping excitedly in their seats, singing loud and annoying songs or getting ready to pester other Smashers while they were asleep.
Mario set his sights on the one that took the number-one priority. “Nana! How a-many times do I a-have to tell you!” He said as he ran towards the back of the car. “Don’t a-bother Bowser while a-he’s asleep!”
Link watched the portly plumber charge past and gave a chuckle before turning to the person beside him. “Before you ask, yeah. This is pretty much what happens on our trips to tournaments like this.”
Solid Snake opened one eye. “Did I look like I was going to ask that?” He asked.
Link fidgeted. “Uh…Well…I just assumed that…Well…” He gave a cough and sat back.
Seeing Link’s discomfort, Snake gave a rare smirk.
Sitting on a railing high above the floor of the Nodal Train, Metaknight looked down at his rival, Kirby. As a matter of fact, he was watching Kirby placing an inflated paper bag close to a sleeping Samus’ head, getting ready to pop it.
“And to think he’s my rival.” Metaknight sighed, shaking his head in hopelessness.
(Glitzville; Major League Room)
“Hey, kiddies!” Rawk Hawk laughed as he walked into the Major League Locker Room, waving a piece of paper in his hand. “Lookie what I got!”
Jolene handed something to Hamma and turned. “What is it, Rawk Hawk?” She asked.
“I got myself an invitation to a big fighting tournament!” Rawk Hawk taunted. “Oh, I hope you boys are gonna cheer me on from the audience!”
Hamma made a scan over the piece of paper Jolene had given him and looked up. “Hawk, I got one, too.” He said.
“Hey! You did?!” Flare asked excitedly as he looked at the invitation. “Far out! This is awesome, man!”
Rawk Hawk stood in stunned silence. “You…You got one as well?” He asked in disbelief.
“Uh…Yep.” Hamma nodded with a smirk after double-checking the letter. “Looks like you’re not entering alone, pal.”
Rawk Hawk slowly stepped out the door to the Major League Room. “I…I don’t believe it. How could that loser get an invitation to a tournament like this?”
Before Rawk Hawk could proceed any further, King K and Bandy Andy came walking by, each of them holding an invitation.
“This is awesome, dawg!” King K laughed. “You and I are gonna whale those guys at the tournament!”
“I look forward to seeing what kind of secrets that dome has.” Bandy Andy smirked. “The ones of this dome bore me after a while.”
Rawk Hawk watched the two Minor League fighters walk off, even more stunned than before. “N-No way!! Now the MINOR League is getting invitations?!” He asked.
With that, Rawk Hawk walked away, sulking. Back in the Major League Locker Room, the Koopinator eyed a similar invitation in his hand. After a couple of seconds, his red eyes glowed bright.
“Yes…This tournament shall prove to be the biggest challenge I have faced yet…” The Koopinator said to himself. “I must train myself. I must train harder than I have ever trained before.”
(VG Central; Megamix Dome)
“Anything else I should know?” Unknown1 asked. “I already know about the extra nodes you’ve invited.”
“Yeah. Larcen impressed me in the last tournament, so I’ve invited the rest of the Eternal Champions gang as well.” SSBFreak nodded.
“And I take it you invited the rest of the Megaman node because of Roll’s performance?” Tinyrocket said.
“Correct.” SSBFreak nodded. “Now let’s see…There was something else…Oh, yeah! Shadow, Aila and Astaroth said they would be coming back to run the Sound Booth for us.”
“It’ll be good to have them back, but isn’t Aila fighting in the tournament this year?” Unknown1 asked. “How’re we going to do that?”
“We’re not. Shadow told me he would handle it.” SSBFreak shrugged.
“So is that it?”
“That’s…Pretty much it.”
“Good. We’d better get things ready, then.” Unknown1 said. “The tournament’s only in a couple of days and we need things to be ready for the fans.”
“Right. We’d better get started, then.” SSBFreak nodded.
With that, the three hosts of the tournament left the lobby and walked down the hallway leading to the dome to prepare for the tournament.