Everyone held their breaths after Mario's declaration, waiting for a response from the Master Hand. It was, as they had already gotten used to, very difficult to read the body language of a giant sentient hand. Master Hand floated closer towards the stands, until it stopped close enough to them that they probably could have reached out and touched it now.

  "Are you sure about this?" it asked. "I have explained to you the potential consequences, have I not?"

  "You have," Mario said. "But we want to challenge you anyway. Even if something worse than you is coming, it's worth it to fight and not submit."

  The Master Hand was silent for a few seconds. "Very well," it said. "Then I shall fight all of you on the morrow. I suggest that you enjoy your night, as I do not intend to hold myself back and it will likely be the last one you ever see."

  In the space of time contained within a blink, they all found themselves back in the sitting room. Immediately, Luigi walked over to the kitchen and started opening cupboards.

  "What are you doing?" Fox asked.

  "One way or another, this could be the last night we all spend together," Luigi said. "I think that deserves a meal to remember."

  Mario smiled. "Sometimes you amaze me, bro. I'll help you out."

  "I want to help!" Ness said, throwing his hand up in the air.

  Luigi smiled. "Okay, Ness. How about you help me with chopping these vegetables. We need to get enough for everyone, so there's a lot to do. You think you can keep up with us?"

  Ness ran over to the counter, and Luigi began to instruct him on proper knife technique. Link also approached the brothers. "I'd be happy to help out as well," he said. "I don't think it'll be up to your standards, but I've spent a lot of time cooking for myself on my adventures, and I've picked up a few things going here and there."

  "The more the merrier," Mario said. He looked over at the others pointedly.

  "I'm not much of a chef," Samus argued.

  "Honestly I'd not want to spoil the broth," Captain Falcon added.

  Fox pointed at himself and Donkey Kong. "I'd be worried about us getting fur in your food."

  "I agree," Donkey Kong said, glad that he hadn't had to come up with his own argument.

  Mario sighed. "Okay, all of you are exempt. Maybe get some drinks, or something."

  Kirby clambered up onto the counter, pulling a chef's hat out of nowhere and placing it firmly upon his head. "Poyo!" he insisted.

  "So I guess we can't understand you anymore, huh," Ness said.

  Link nodded. "I expect when he has something important to say, he'll say it to us."

  For a while, they just cooked and talked about nothing that was important. They were all aware that at some point they would have to face the elephant in the room, but no-one wanted to be the first one to bring it up.

  Samus stroked Pikachu as he napped on her lap. "We're an interesting group, aren't we?" she wondered out loud.

  "True," Falcon said. "The best groups are, though, aren't they?"

  She conceded the point. "I do wonder why it's this group. I mean, an entire multiverse of different worlds, and it only picks twelve? Not to mention that some of those twelve are from the same world as one another. Surely there are other warriors out there, right?"

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  Fox yawned and put his paws behind his head. "I think that the more you think about it, the more complicated it's going to seem. I'm sure the Master Hand had some reason that we wouldn't even be able to comprehend."

  "Maybe..." Samus mused. "Besides which, why are you so relaxed?"

  "I've been in a lot of battles," Fox said. "At this point, it's gotten pretty easy for me to fall asleep the night before. If I didn't I'd be unbearable."

  "There's a version of you that's more unbearable?"

  "Why don't we save those kinds of barbs for later," Falcon said. "As to your question, Samus, it may well be that there's a reason. We can look for it after the upcoming fight."

  At that point, Luigi called "Dinner's ready!"

  The table was completely covered with food - more food than most of the fighters had ever seen before. Meat, vegetables, pasta dishes, stews, fruit, pizzas (perhaps more than necessary), pies, and all manner of other meals.

  "Where did all this come from?" Fox asked.

  Luigi shrugged. "The cupboards and fridge are full every time you open them. And we had a lot of hands to keep busy."

  Ness held up one hand, which was covered in blue plasters. "I did a lot of chopping."

  "And you did a great job," Mario assured him. "Now, before we start, let's have a toast." He raised a cup of wine - the finest Mushroom Kingdom beverage, which had appeared in the wine draw when he wanted it. Everyone else lifted their own drinks - some alcoholic, some not - in response. "To winning tomorrow," he said.

  The others all matched the toast and drank heavily. Then the eating began, and for a few minutes the only sound was twelve mouths digging into the piles of food.

  "This is delicious!" Fox yelled as he came up for air.

  Link smiled. "Smoked ribs, Hylian style. The bombs in the oven add that extra flavour."

  "I wondered about that banging sound," Falcon noted. "Nevertheless, I can't deny the results."

  Soon the meal was finished, and everyone fell back holding onto their bulging stomachs. There was quite a bit of food left on the table, so Kirby stood on the end and inhaled deeply, and the rest of the food vanished into his insides. Then he burped a bit.

  Mario looked down at the spot where his plate had sat. "Well, that saves on washing up," he said. Hopefully the crockery cupboard worked the same way that the others did.

  For a moment, everyone drank in the silence.

  "So, we have to talk about it," Samus said.

  "Talk about it how?" Ness asked. "We already decided that we're going to fight."

  "Yes," Samus said. "But the how is important as well. We need to decide what our strategy is if we're going to be fighting together tomorrow."

  Captain Falcon stroked his chin in thought. "The problem is that we don't really know about the Master Hand's capabilities. It'll be hard to plan around its capabilities if they're unknown."

  "Okay," Link agreed. "In that case, we all need to tell one another all of our capabilities. Every attack, every technique, everything relevant about ourselves that we have at our disposal."

  "Ooh!" Ness jumped up from his chair. "Let me go first. My power is called PSI - it's kind of like psychic abilities that I can use to affect the world around me. I have a lot of damaging spells, and a few support ones too. And I also have this bat!" He pulled a baseball bat out of nowhere and swung it through the air a few times.

  "That's a good start," Link said. "But we need to know about each one of your abilities. And I need everyone to pitch in. This could take a while."

  The morning came late - or rather the Master Hand made it come late. It had watched these fighters stay up for hours describing and showing off their techniques to one another, not finishing until a few hours before dawn. Now, this would be the opportunity for it to let them come to this fight tired, but that would not be fair. And besides... what if they could actually win?

  The thought seemed impossible - the Master Hands were powerful beings, far more powerful than any of the fighters it had chosen. Except perhaps for Kirby. But still, it was confident in a victory.

  Even so, if they did win, then the darkness would come to this world of Smash. And if that happened, they would need to be strong to defend it. Perhaps this extra time was what they needed.

  And of course, if the darkness came anyway, it wouldn't hurt for them to be more powerful allies. Not that they would agree to help in the fight at this point. Perhaps this whole game was an error. Ah, well, it was done now. Even with all the power that the Master Hand possessed, it wouldn't be able to change the course of time.

  Nor could it simply destroy these fighters. The hands were powerful, yes, in the sense that they could warp reality, but they couldn't use their omnipotence against other creatures. Move them, yes. Summon them from another world, yes. Rend them from space and time, not so much. Still, it had its strength, and the rest of its powers, which should be more than enough.

  Construction was almost done on its final stage - the final destination, perhaps, for these fighters. It gave them longer to sleep, and waited for them on its field of battle.

  The fight for the future of Smash was about to begin.