Mario awoke in a bedroom. This wouldn't normally be alarming - it was in fact where he began many of his mornings - but the fact that he was unfamiliar with this bedroom, followed by the immediate recollection of the events of the day before, were significantly more troubling.

  The room was simple, and small. He had a bed, a small bedside table, and a wall that was lined with empty shelves. The room was very clean, as though it had been freshly built. It probably had - Master Hand had likely prepared it for this competition.

  He pushed open the door. It led into a large square room that resembled a common area. One section had a set of sofas and armchairs in front of a currently unlit fireplace, while on his right there was a large kitchen and dining room area. There was only one other person here right now - the green clad warrior. Link, that hand had called him.

  Link looked up as he stepped into the room. "There's no way to leave," he said, before Mario could say anything to him. "Twelve doors, each with a name on them, and I can only open my own. Besides that, nothing going anywhere."

  "So we're prisoners," Mario concluded. He cautiously crossed the room and sat down opposite Link. "Are you a bad guy?"

  "No," Link answered quickly. "But I'll do whatever I need to do to protect Hyrule. Are you the same?"

  "Yes." Mario said. "There are many people in the mushroom kingdom, and if this is how I can help them, then I will."

  "Good." Link said. he paused. "I knocked on your door, just now."

  "Why?" Mario asked.

  "I wanted to talk to you," Link said. "I don't know why I woke up early. I think I was hearing the voice of an old friend. But I felt like I needed to speak with you. I saw it when we locked eyes yesterday, that you're similar to me."

  Before Mario could answer, he was interrupted by one of the doors opening. The tall person in orange armour - Samus - strode slowly and deliberately across the room. Mario wondered what was in that armour. Well, he might be finding out soon, if it came to them fighting. Though, he wasn't sure that he wanted to.

  "I heard you speak." Samus's voice was distorted by the suit, giving Mario and Link no clues as to who could be inside. "I want to believe that you're both good, but I don't know if I can trust you so easily in this kind of situation."

  "Neither can I." This time the speaker was the fox... Fox. Was everyone in his world named after was animal they were? "For all I know, you could be working with that Master Hand guy."

  Mario and Link shared a glance. They could feel it - a growing hostility in the room that only got worse as they other fighters began to emerge from their rooms. Captain Falcon made no obvious moves, but he was looking distrustfully at all of the others, while Donkey Kong looked dangerously close to getting agitated. Mario didn't like that - he and the ape were on friendly enough terms these days, but he knew how brutal he could get.

  "Who's hungry!" he asked, loudly.

  Everyone turned to look at him, some with confusion and some with interest. Fortunately, Luigi picked up on what he was saying and came to stand next to him. "Being transported across the multiverse is bound to make you hungry, huh? Why not let the Mario Brothers cook you something?"

  "The Mario Brothers," Samus repeated. "But only one of you is called Mario."

  "Our last name is Mario," Mario explained, blushing as he revealed his slightly strange name. "My full name is Mario Mario."

  "Your parents must have hated you," Fox said.

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  "Coming from the fox called Fox," Captain Falcon said, the first thing he had said since entering the room.

  Fox rounded on him. "You have a problem with that?"

  "Food!" Mario shouted. "Who wants some."

  Silence again. Then, Mario saw movement from behind Donkey Kong. The small creature called Kirby was raising one of the nubs that were problem his hands. "Okay," Mario said. "We can cook for you."

  The kitchen was, fortunately, fully stocked with everything they needed. Mario and Luigi set about making a pasta dish that they had made hundreds of times over the years. In the kitchen they were in unison, moving with practiced efficiency to create their large dish. The others started to wonder over as the scent of the source began to waft across the common room, and they couldn't help but be drawn in.

  "Pika?" Mario turned in surprise to see the yellow rodent thing standing on the counter, sticking its nose over the pot and sniffing deeply.

  "Hello," Mario said. "The hand said your name was Pikachu, yes?"

  "Pikachu, pika," Pikachu said.

  Mario nodded. "Does anyone understand this thing?" He was met with a chorus on no's. Seemingly satisfied, Pikachu jumped off the counter and ran up first to Ness, who scratched him on the top of the head, then to Samus. He regarded her for a few seconds as though curious, then jumped upwards, several times higher than its own height, and landed on her shoulder. "Chu!" he declared, and curled up in the crook of her neck.

  Samus reached up and slowly patted the creature. "It's cute," they said. At the sound of that, Yoshi ran up to her, coming to about the height of her waist, and looed up at her with big eyes. "Yoshi!" he exclaimed. He got no reaction, so he went to Link instead, who laughed.

  "Yes, you're cute too," he told the dinosaur.

  Mario smiled. Already it seemed the others were starting to get along better. He sensed that this wouldn't resolve all the potential conflict, but it was a start.

  "Dinner is served," Luigi called, as he expertly plated twelve portions of spaghetti and sauce. Everyone admitted that it looked and smelled amazing, and they quickly sat down at the table to eat it.

  "It's delicious!" Ness said, taking his first bite.

  "Jiggly!" the Jigglypuff said, in what Mario assumed was an agreement.

  Next to her, Kirby opened his mouth and consumed the entire meal in a single bite. "Is there more?" he asked. What he actually said out loud was "Poyo!" but somehow everyone understood the meaning.

  Mario blinked in surprise at this creature opening his mouth wider than his own body had been a moment before. "Of course," he promised. "We made seconds."

  Fox sighed. "How many of us hear can't speak?"

  "Four," Donkey Kong said. "Mouse, Ball, Other Ball, and Yoshi cannot speak."

  Captain Falcon turned to Samus. "If you don't mind me asking, how are you going to be able to eat with that armour on?"

  Samus looked around at the others. Then, their helmet retracted into their armour, revealing a young woman's face with yellow hair pulled back into a ponytail. She glanced at the others and smiled. "How many of you thought I was a man? Be honest."

  Half of the table raised their hand. Link did not. "You'd get along well with my friend Zelda," he said.

  Mario looked at him. "What is your world like, Link? You sounded eager to protect it."

  Link hesitated. "Hyrule," he said, finally. "It's a beautiful place. Wide open plains, beautiful lakes, the deep forests, the people... the people are especially great." He smiled. "Honestly, it's strange. Ever since I came here, I've been having memories of the multiple lives that I've lived there, all throughout history. In the life I remember most clearly, they called me the Hero of Time. But I think, throughout the centuries, I've had other names too. Hero of the Winds, of Twilight, of Light..."

  He paused, looking around the table at the others' confused faces. "Well, that's not really the point right now. Thing is, I remember the great things from all of Hyrule's history. Which means I remember so many people that I have to protect. So, I'm sorry for anything that's going to happen, but if I have to fight you all then I won't hesitate."

  His speech had killed the mood somewhat. Mario thought about bringing everyone's attention back to the food, but he felt that he shouldn't leave Link alone in this. "The Mushroom Kingdom, where I'm from, is full of all sorts of people," he said. "Friends, enemies... a few who are somewhere in the middle." He glanced at Donkey Kong. "And even beyond that, I've met people from the stars. Entire cultures out there, who I've helped. So I agree, Link. I'll do whatever is necessary to protect those people."

  No-one else had a chance to speak before the voice of Master Hand was in all of their heads again. "How wonderful, you're all getting on!" it said. Fox and Samus jumped to their feet. Pikachu's cheeks began to spark with electricity. Ness raised his bat. "Now now, don't be hostile against me. After all I could erase your worlds in an instant. I merely came to announce the upcoming battles."

  In the centre of the room, a holographic image flickered to life. Mario stood up and squinted at it - there were six fights, apparently to be one after another. And the first...

  He looked over at Link, who was reading the same thing.

  Fight One: Link vs. Mario.