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Three months and a week later...

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Lucario, Sonic the Hedgehog and Bayonetta followed one another as they entered the stage. Before their very eyes, the stage was constructing itself with platforms, land masses and deep pits. According to Master Hand, this was a new stage he had thought up during the reconstruction of Smash Castle. The threesome's lone opponent, Princess Corrin, already stood on the opposite side of the stage. The other Smashers remained safely in the stands outside of the stage's boundaries, where they would be able to observe the battle via an enormous monitor. Three against one certainly seemed like an unfair battle, but this fight was not one that decided who would proceed to the next round of the tournament. This was instead a practice match to measure the limits of Corrin's strength. Master Hand had set this up specifically for her and she had agreed to the conditions. This fight would allow her to officially become a Smasher.
Master Hand fired a rocket into the air and allowed it to erupt over all of their heads. "You may begin!"
Lucario and Sonic looked at one another, nodded, and then took off at the young silver-haired woman. Sonic began dashing more to the right while Lucario kept straight on a beeline toward her. Corrin unsheathed her blade, the legendary Yato. She was absurdly out of shape for a woman who had been to war; she resembled a slightly less belly-heavy Lucina, with a doughy, sagging stomach supported by exceedingly chubby thighs and a face that looked rounder and shinier than a rubber ball. Her breasts were cupped inside the curve of her scaled breast-plate. Corrin, however, was no novice in the art of battle, for she had trained diligently under Prince Xander of Nohr since she was a child. Corrin held one hand onto the Yato as she sneakily slipped another hand behind her to readjust her strained black tights across her ample buttocks. She was fat, she had a very uncontrollable appetite, and she didn't really make any effort in stopping herself from being or having either. Still, the princess did not intend to let her 'negative' attributes affect her achievements in this battle today.
Sonic came flying in while curled up into a speeding blue ball. Corrin, instead of trying to use the Yato to counter the attack, simply raised her hand in his direction. Suddenly, her hand began to change. In the span of less than a second, her plump digits expanded, warped and twisted around themselves until they had become something resembling a humongous, clawed fist. Several of the Smashers gasped from within the stands. Corrin had not been telling a lie when she had told everyone that she possessed a 'dragon's lineage'. Corrin swung that over-sized fist and collided it against the blue blur. The azure hedgehog was sent spiraling out of control into the air. Corrin's hand retracted back to its original form. The plump princess heaved a sigh; the transformations were getting easier and easier for her lately these days.
Lucario skidded to a stop only a few mere feet away from Corrin. He began charging up a quick Aura Sphere between his paws. Lucario was not able to fight at the level he once did before the tournament's hiatus. At least, not for now. He was still in the process of recovering since nearly dying at the hands of Yellow Devil. However, when Lucario had been issued a letter requesting his return to Smash, he accepted the invitation posthaste. It had taken some convincing for his Master to allow him to leave again. Lucario did not want to miss the chance to fight alongside his new friends again. He'd come to like them all very much.
Sonic came flying back onto the scene with a speeding kick from above. Unfortunately, even with all of his speed, a nearly-human-sized blue hedgehog with bright red sneakers stood out more than most. Corrin raised her hand to meet him again, only instead of creating a claw, she altered her entire arm into becoming a long, spear-like projection. Sonic immediately withdrew before he could be potentially pierced in some painful way. Wherever Corrin was getting all of these transformations, it seemed highly unfair to him. Corrin returned her hand to its normal state. She stared at her open palm with eyes wide in awe. She'd never been able to activate her 'dragon' powers this easily before. Even though Master Hand had warned her that her powers would be 'limited' to ensure a fairer match, Corrin had not felt quite this strong in...ever, she thought.
Lucario didn't wait long to make his next move. Lucario jumped behind Corrin and attempted to strike her with an Aura-enhanced fist. Corrin gasped, spun around and jumped backwards in a hasty hope of avoiding the blow. However, the Pokemon was already prepared for missing the initial hit. Lucario released the Aura on his hand and spread it out into the space between him and Corrin at that moment. The invisible bubble of Aura 'popped' and knocked both fighters away from each other. Corrin coughed. It felt like she'd took a quick jab to the gut, yet she'd suffered no actual damage to her body physically. Her fat tummy was quite a large and unfortunate target for many. It wouldn't be the first time that someone used her fat belly like a big, red target.
Sonic darted in with a gold ring in each hand. Lucario began charging up another Aura Sphere while looking to close the distance between them. Corrin grimaced; she was fighting two of the Smashers at once, which was a tall order already, but she didn't think she would be able to hold her own for much longer. She also had come to realize that her third opponent, Bayonetta, had remained prone on the sidelines since the battle began. There was no way of telling what her plan was or when she would finally jump in to join the fray.
Meanwhile, the Smashers occupying the stands had their own commentary to share regarding the fight.
"So this girl is supposed to be some kind of dragon or something? Sounds like a tall order, asking me to believe that." Bowser shook his head. He couldn't say he'd ever seen someone transform their own body like that, though.
Marth was not able to make good sense of what was happening either. "That woman Bayonetta hasn't even so much as raised a single finger to help Lucario and Sonic yet. Do you think she's waiting for a perfect moment or something else?"
Samus stroked her double-chin thoughtfully. She was still quite massive, even after the tournament's hiatus. During her with three month long travel through the galaxy with Princess Peach, the morbidly obese bounty hunter did not manage to lose as much weight as she'd planned. In fact, she had GAINED more weight, although it was hard to tell given she was so immensely fat already. Samus' poor Zero Suit was being pushed to its elastic limits, the blonde's bloated, double-rolled belly so large that she could rest her platter of snacks atop it. Even more of her belly blubber slumped over the sides of her equally enormous hips.
"I thought she was supposed to be from a world similar to yours, Marth, yet this woman seems to have more ways of transforming herself than Ridley! What's going on here?" Samus inquired the Hero King.
"I can assure you that I don't know anything, Samus."
"Well, it is certainly strange. Are you sure you don't know anyone who might be able to do something like this back in your world?" Samus' eyes narrowed with suspicion, although they were already squinted to begin with thanks to the puffy mounds that were her cheeks.
Princess Peach plopped down into the seat beside Samus, a bucket of fried chicken and cream puffs clutched underneath both arms. The matriarch's overabundant thigh-fat, which had already been seeping out in the form of pale bubbles through gaps of her sweatpants, overlapped onto Samus' left leg as well as the arm of her chair. Samus blushed, but she didn't try to push the other woman away. Peach's plump face was all smiles as she took a bite of chicken, tearing off both crunchy skin and juicy meat with a quick chomp of her teeth.
"Don't pick on Marth, Sammy!" Peach chastised her friend. "We should be welcoming to Corrin! She's a new Smasher! We were all new once! We have to be nice to her and make her feel like she belongs, even if she can turn into some weird dragon thing sometimes!"
Ike was sitting beside Marth, his beefy arms crossed over his broad chest. He looked like he could barely keep himself awake; he didn't stay interested very long when he wasn't one of the fighters in the match. "Say, where did Master Hand say she got this girl again? What's her deal?"
"The reason that Princess Corrin appeared here in Smash," Mewtwo explained after having listened in to this conversation for much too long. "Is because she was torn between supporting the family she had been born into or supporting the family she had been raised by. These two families, Hoshido and Nohr, are opposing countries in the midst of a great and bloody war. Corrin was unable to choose. She fell into this dimension instead."
"Did you read her mind or something, Mewtwo?" Captain Falcon frowned.
"No. I was just paying attention when she explained herself with her introduction."
"Oh."
Palutena took a sip from her soda and giggled to herself. "Is that so? Goodness, what a backstory for that one. If she's choosing to fight here rather than help out her family, or families, then doesn't that mean that she's running away from her responsibilities? What a troublesome child. In fact, she sounds rather...awful...if you think about it."
"Funny for someone like YOU to be making judgments of another in any such way."
"I'm only making an observation! I'm a Goddess of Light, you know! I observe these sort of things all the time from my palace high above!" Palutena barked back in self-defense.
Donkey Kong grunted and huffed. Fox McCloud agreed with the tie-clad ape; whether or not Corrin was 'irresponsible' or not, she was still a new Smasher, so they all needed to do their best to make her feel welcome as one of their own. After all, in his personal opinion, the leader of Star Fox team did not want to have to go into a one-on-one fight against this woman while having bad blood between them. He doubted that he would survive getting punctured by those claws of hers.
"Who do you think will win, M-Mario?" Luigi stuttered in the direction of his elder brother.
Mario continued to eat his mushroom pizza in silence, not saying anything in response to his little brother's question. He had no idea who to expect to be the victor here. Personally, he was a little intimidated by both Corrin and Bayonetta.
Suddenly, before the discussion could progress any further, the Smashers turned their heads to the sound of a certain hedgehog crying out. Sonic crashed down, face-first, onto the floor of the stage as the platforms crumbled all around him. He had tried to collide into Corrin and knock her over, but the fat young woman was more difficult to move than a brick wall. Corrin had grabbed him with her dragon hand, lifted him up into the air, and threw him away. Sonic had been unable to land safely on his feet after that. The hedgehog groaned.
"Man...just when I thought I was finally doing better again..." Sonic mumbled before finally slipping out of consciousness.
Lucario had not been defeated yet, but the Aura Pokemon was hardly faring the fight any better. He had managed to land a strike on Corrin, punching her across the face after using Extreme Speed to dart around her. Unfortunately, with his strength only resembling half or less of what it once had been, Lucario's punch didn't do very much damage. In fact, Corrin immediately responded with a counter-attack. She swung the Yato at Lucario's chest. The Pokemon stepped backward and threw up one arm to block it. He coated his arm with his Aura to minimize the harm he might suffer from the strike. However, things did not even get that far. There was the sound of a gunshot and Corrin was sent sprawling as an explosive magic bullet struck her in the rib. Lucario looked over to see Bayonetta strutting toward the two of them, one pistol smoking and outstretched in front of her.
"Out of the way, furry one. I'll handle her. She's the kind that would make for a good hunt."
"You...! Where have you been all this time? Why didn't you help us fight her?" Lucario griped.
A flash of sunlight glinted off of the surface of Bayonetta's glasses as she calmly explained, "I wanted to wait for at least one of you to be knocked out first. I don't really like fighting with too many allies at once. It tends to get rather...crowded in a fight like that. If you could have won the battle yourself, that would have been fine, but it seems you NEED my help."
"Tch." Lucario held some fondness towards the other Smashers, particularly the ones he'd known since the previous tournament. However, he was not a fan of this 'Bayonetta' woman.
Bayonetta launched herself into the air through the use of her own hair, which made up the very outfit she wore. She plummeted down after Corrin with all four of her pistols, the two in her hands and the two on her heels, outstretched and their barrels aimed at the pudgy princess' head. She pulled the trigger of the gun in her right hand and fired off two shots.
Corrin summoned a dragon's wing out of her left shoulder. Using it like a cape, she shifted the wing in front of her face, blocking the two shots with her dragon form's incredibly durable scales. When she withdrew the wing again and retreated it back into her body, Corrin discovered that Bayonetta had already shrunk the distance between them. In fact, it was to the point that they were now invading each other's personal space. Corrin's breath caught in her throat. Bayonetta was so close that Corrin could even spot the tiny mole under the older woman's bottom lip. Bayonetta smiled using her eyes as she pressed one of her guns against Corrin's forehead. She teetered her finger ever so threateningly over the trigger. The other gun that Bayonetta held had burrowed itself a nice space into the rolls of Corrin's chubby belly.
"I've never seen one quite with powers like yours. Nor one so chubby as well." Bayonetta remarked. "How do you make it work?"
"I just do." Corrin felt a bead of cold sweat travel down the length of her neck's nape.
"How nice." Bayonetta said, and she fired point-blank into Corrin's face.
Lucario stepped forward. "What in the world do you think you're doing?"
"What? Don't worry, dear. This won't kill her. That big glove weakened my powers, after all. It'll just put her out of commission for a little while."
However, Corrin did not collapse at Bayonetta's feet. In fact, both Bayonetta and Lucario were surprised (although Bayonetta kept her surprise much more subdued) to discover the young woman's entire face had transformed from the neck up. A strange white and blue head coated in iron-hard scales with a detached lower jaw and a pair of long, jagged antlers. Smoke from the shot billowed off of the dragon's forehead, but the dragon herself did not seem to be even faintly dazed. Corrin quickly reverted back to her original, human face to release a sigh of relief. She looked up to see how Bayonetta and Lucario stared at her. It made the princess uncomfortable, a shade of crimson gracing her chubby cheeks.
"Y...You'll need to do better than that!" Corrin shouted. She swung at Bayonetta with the Yato, but Bayonetta did not move.
"I don't wish to be too harsh, darling, but you're reminding me more and more of the angels I'm so accustomed to hunting. It's a tad chilling." Bayonetta activated 'Witch Time', a powerful magical spell that could be used by Umbra Witches like herself to slow down time around her. She casually stepped aside so that Corrin's sword could harmlessly cut the air she occupied less than a half-second ago. Bayonetta lifted one thick leg into the air and fired her heel-pistol into Corrin's stomach. The princess doubled over as she clutched at her poor belly.
"Do you want me to allow you a chance for a free strike, dear?"
Corrin did not respond with words, instead transforming her free hand into the same giant claw from earlier. She took several fast, violent swipes at Bayonetta's head. Bayonetta shot at Corrin's hand to deflect each oncoming attack. Corrin grit her teeth from behind plump lips. She was starting to get frustrated now. Corrin exchanged her claws for the Yato. Her sword clashed with a loud bang against Bayonetta's twin pistols, her legendary blade actually being countered and even repelled by a pair of small, handheld weapons. Not even warping her free hand into its spear shape did any good; Bayonetta dodged everything through the use of Witch Time. It made Corrin want to scream. Bayonetta dipped back, allowing the oncoming Yato's swing to glide over the curve of her breasts, and she fired off a single bullet that pierced Corrin's shoulder-blade. The other woman sucked in air through her teeth. She had been so focused with playing offense right then that she had allowed that attack to slip through.
"I don't know how I'm expected to beat you." Corrin said.
"You know how to fight well. That's a compliment, dear." Bayonetta replied.
Corrin's grip on the Yato's hilt began to slacken as exhaustion started to overwhelm her. She breathed in again, and then she breathed out.
"You and I are not really enemies. We're supposed to be friends here, aren't we? To tell you the truth, I might not be right for this place after all. I don't want to hurt people. I don't even want to hurt you. I thought this place would be good for me somehow, but right now, I don't know anymore. Fighting for fun is different than fighting for survival, but this seems like too much."
"Is that REALLY how you feel?" Bayonetta questioned.
Corrin glanced away, but it was only brief. "It is."
"Then why don't you put that sword of yours down and surrender? Are you sure you're entirely honest when you say those things?" Bayonetta asked suddenly.
"What do you mean? I'm telling you the truth! I've never...liked the idea of having to fight."
"Yet you seem to know a good deal about fighting. You're skilled enough to defeat that hedgehog and you're skilled enough to give the furry one over there a difficult time as well. I could almost say you've held your own against me so far. Why would you say you don't like having to fight when you know so much about it?"
Another flustered hint of a blush arose on Corrin's jowls as she muttered in a hushed tone, "I learned some swordplay techniques from my older brother."
"Your older brother? Which older brother would that be? If I recall, when you introduced yourself to all of us here, you had said that you had a family that raised you and a family that you were born into. Did one of them teach you that you should fight? Or perhaps did you ask them to teach you? Don't be shy about doing what you enjoy, love, or else you're going to be spending all of your life lying to yourself...and that's just about the saddest thing I could possibly think of. If you love to fight, tell me that you do. However, I'm not going to say it's impossible for you to be correct. It could be that you're right about you not wanting to fight. If you can't fight for those people of Hoshido and Nohr you told us about, then what are you going to be able to do here by yourself?"
Corrin didn't know how much more she could possibly take. Her emotional stability had already begun to crumble since before she'd ever arrived at Smash Castle. When she'd ran away from that fateful battlefield, she hadn't been unaware of the fact that she was abandoning both of her precious families. Hoshido. Nohr. She loved them all. Ryoma, Sakura, Hinoka, Takumi. Xander, Camilla, Leo, Elise. She desperately wished there was some way for her to get the two sides to settle their differences with diplomacy, but events had been set in a way where there was no other choice but for them to clash. Even those who had chosen to support her regardless of who Corrin joined, like Jakob and Azura, had been left without any explanation for her running away like this. Corrin wanted peace so badly between Hoshido and Nohr that she was willing to put her own life on the line for it. Yet she had been unable to declare her allegiance for either because she knew it could possibly mean the death of the other.
Corrin's thoughts ran at a mile per minute. She flashed back to watching her true mother die in her arms mere days ago, to the moment when she was abducted into the Nohr royal family many years before that, and all of the happy and naive memories that resided in between. Finally, she snapped.
Corrin's voice rose in volume and tempo until it came out as an incoherent scream. She raised the Yato over her head and came swinging down at Bayonetta again, putting all of her strength behind the attempted blow.
"Oh? Are you having a fit now?"
"No! This isn't a fit! I'm just done listening to you! You don't understand what it's like! I can't choose either of them!"
"You're losing yourself to your emotions, deary. It's an ugly look for you. That porky little face of yours, I think it wears a smile much better."
"I don't want to lose anyone!" Corrin snapped back.
Suddenly, Corrin began to transform again, but this time it was her entire body that shifted rather than any particular limb. Lucario dashed over to join Bayonetta. He could sense the wild Aura that resonated from Corrin's body. In the midst of her transformation, Corrin's Aura continued to swell at a fast and uncontrollable rate. It didn't look good. For the two of them, that is.
"I'm helping." Lucario told her. It wasn't a suggestion or an offer. It was a statement.
"I won't turn it down." Even the infinitely-cocky Bayonetta could admit that she'd appreciate a helping hand now that Corrin had decided to get 'serious'.
Corrin had become fully dragon at this point. Faint wisps of blue smoke tumbled out of the beast's open mouth. Corrin took a step forward on all fours, a set of human-like hands and feet supporting her draconic body. Corrin threw her head back and roared. She likely still retained some measure of awareness and control over her own actions, but as of this moment, the young woman fully intended to battle Bayonetta with all of her available strength. Bayonetta prepared for the first attack by darting behind Lucario and activating Witch Time. She grabbed Lucario by the back of his fur, lifted him up, and threw him into Corrin's peripheral view.
Lucario had already finished charging up his Aura Sphere as soon as Bayonetta undid Witch Time. The Pokemon put every ounce of his arm's strength into hurling the glowing blue orb at the dragon's head. Corrin roared. The Aura Sphere suddenly stopped dead short in mid-air, barely a foot away from striking its intended target. Lucario gasped. Corrin continued to release a steady bellow that, eventually, caused the Aura Sphere to crumble apart. When Corrin finished her roar, the Aura Sphere had completely evaporated back into the atmosphere. Lucario couldn't believe it. His Aura Sphere had been neutralized by a scream. That meant that Corrin's own Aura overpowered his own. Maybe there was still some way to go before the Pokemon could safely say he was back at his original levels of power again.
"You're not doing it right!" Bayonetta draped one arm over Lucario's shoulder and fired a bullet at Corrin. The dragon shook it off as it bounced harmlessly off of her skull.
"What...?" Lucario blinked.
"You need to make it quick and precise. Condense your attacks. Make them hurt."
"That's what I was...agh, never mind..."
Corrin came in swinging at the pair with her three-pronged tail. Lucario reached out and grabbed hold of said tail instead of moving to dodge it. Even though his strength may have been somewhat lacking, he managed to scrounge up enough power deep inside to withhold Corrin's tail from progressing any further. Luckily, he had his arms and body placed in such a way that the spikes of the tail couldn't pierce him. Corrin roared again. Lucario winced, feeling his own Aura waves fluctuating from the sheer pressure of the dragon's shout. Lucario tightened his grip on Corrin's tail. He did not intend to let her go.
Bayonetta bounded forth. She shot off several more bullets from all four of her pistols, first using the ones in her hands and performing a pirouette to fire with her feet as well. Then, she forewent using her guns at all and summoned a dark magic portal in front of her. Combining both the hair on her body and her own magic, Bayonetta produced an enormous, disembodied fist, which she proceeded to make use with by punching Corrin across the face. Corrin screeched. The dragon raised one of her hands and met the fist as it came in for a second swing. However, Corrin was not able to stop it or even slow its descent at all. Bayonetta's summoned fist crashed down on top of her with its open palm, flattening her against the ground. Lucario released the dragon's tail.
"What are you doing?" Bayonetta asked him.
"She's down for the count, isn't she?" Lucario replied. "Why should I continue to hold onto her tail?"
"You're going to regret that."
"What...?" Lucario asked, only a mere second before Corrin's tail whipped against his chest and sent him flying like a helpless tumbleweed. Bayonetta sighed. It was so hard to find good help these days.
"I won't...be defeated...so easily again!" Lucario yelled out as he hurled several small Aura Spheres back at Corrin before falling outside of the stage's boundaries. The Aura Spheres exploded around Corrin's head as she struggled to stand again. She had somehow managed to continue retaining her full dragon form. Bayonetta licked her lips. She must have really plucked a nerve with the poor girl. Still, it was not a matter that would prevent her from fighting to her fullest. Bayonetta raised her arms high over her head as three more portals opened around her. Another pair of hands and even a giant foot emerged. Corrin howled, but this time, a stream of energy began to follow. It was clear that she was charging up something. Possibly a sort of beam. Bayonetta wasn't about to let that happen.
Suddenly, before either of the two women could unleash what would likely be their final attacks of this match...
Master Hand swooped down in between the two of them. 'Now, now, I think we've finally reached an impasse for this battle, don't you?'
Bayonetta and Corrin both took pause and, after allowing a moment to consider it, mutually decided to follow Master Hand's suggestion. Corrin reverted back to her human form. She bent over, placing her chubby hands onto her equally chubby knees, and desperately tried to catch her breath after having worn herself out so thinly. She hadn't ever experienced such exhaustion from using her dragon form like this. It must have been because of the beat-down Bayonetta put her through so relentlessly. Of course, Corrin had not chosen to hold back either. They had both been quite vicious with each other. Corrin breathed out again. She could think with a clearer mind once more. The hindsight she suffered in regards to how badly she overreacted to Bayonetta's taunts was humiliating at best, depressing at most. She needed to act like a stronger, better person if she ever intended to save both Nohr and Hoshido.
'Corrin, you did a wonderful job with this battle. I'm impressed beyond measure. We would all be quite happy to have you join us as a Smasher...if you would still like to stay.'
Corrin looked up at Master Hand. She wished he had eyes so she could properly know where he was looking. However, she then immediately regretted the thought, as a giant hand with eyes was not a pleasant image.
"Thank you, Master Hand."
Master Hand waved a finger in Bayonetta's direction as well. "You did not do too poorly yourself, Umbra Witch. You will make a fine addition to this tournament's roster."
Bayonetta performed a twirl to express her enthusiasm from the compliment. "Please Master Hand, DO go on flattering me."
With the battle itself since called off, it was now time for the fighters to engage in lunch. Some looked more forward to this than others. Peach took Samus by the hand and, after some strenuous tugging, she managed to pry the obese bounty hunter from her seat. Princess Zelda found that she required the aid of both Link and Ganondorf to get herself back onto her feet. Wii Fit Trainer stood with little effort displayed, even though she weighed at least a dozen pounds more than any of the aforementioned fatties. Corrin rubbed her tummy thoughtfully as she waddled off of the stage. She wondered what sort of food they served here at Smash Castle. Back at the castle of Nohr, she could eat anything she liked, as long as it was not Hoshidan cuisine, and eat as much of it as she liked. She didn't want to push her luck in this strange new place, but...it would be nice if she could get away doing the same here.
Shulk, who sat in the higher rows of the stands, hung his head and released a great sigh. Dunban pat him on the shoulder and offered him to come along. After a moment's consideration, Shulk decided that he wouldn't mind getting something to eat after all.
Bayonetta extended a hand to Corrin for her to shake it. "No hard feelings, dear?"
Corrin took the hand and gave it a firm shake in response. "It's...it's fine."
Master Hand observed the two closely. He pondered on whether he should increase the power restrictions on those two. He wanted to keep this tournament as balanced as possible.
Corrin tore through her food with ravenous vigor, her hunger having amplified several times over since entering the buffet hall. Grease and sauce splattered across her adorable cheeks as she gobbled up slices of meat by the forkful. The young woman took brief pause so that she could wipe her face down with a napkin, and then she resumed eating again. She had a great deal of power hidden behind that portly little face of hers, especially when it came to her jaws. It may have had something to do because of her dragon powers, but Corrin could rip meat off the bone, and even snap the bone itself, with only a single bite. Corrin nibbled, gnawed, gobbled and chomped until she had cleared off everything on her plate, from the pot-roast to the biscuits. A petite belch was all that Corrin managed to muster as she dabbed her lips with her napkin. She glanced over to see Zelda, Fox, Wii Fit Trainer, Bowser and several others had been staring at her since some undetermined time. Corrin blushed.
"I-I'm very sorry."
"What are you apologizing for?" Fox asked her.
"W-Well, judging from your stares, I was afraid I might have overdone it."
"Trust us, we've all gotten pretty used to having girls with big appetites around here since Robin and Lucina showed up. You're nothing out of the ordinary."
"Then did I do something else wrong...?"
Princess Zelda chimed in. "You didn't do anything wrong. It's just we were surprised at how accurate we were in predicting the way you would eat."
"...Oh..." Corrin frowned, and then replied, "My brother always did tell me that I ate too much for a princess. I should learn to restrain myself more."
"Like my main man said, we already have a few pudgy princesses around here!" Falco shrugged. He was immediately pelted in the head with a smiling turnip.
Corrin started to get up from her seat so she could grab herself another helping from the buffet table. She wondered what sort of worlds these Smashers came from and how different they all were compared to the one she had been born and grown up in. Some of them had very strange views and opinions. Still, they all appeared to be nice people and they had accepted her willingly. She did not hate Sonic, Lucario or even Bayonetta for the battle earlier that day either. They were only trying their best to win, just as she had been. Corrin smiled a little to herself. She was happy to be so accepted. If she could come up with some idea on how to save Nohr and Hoshido from any further fighting, maybe the other Smashers would be able to provide her with their aid as well. However, that was a concept to save for another day.
As Corrin happened to be passing by, Palutena called out to address her. "Corrin, my dear, how much do you usually like to eat?"
"What was that?" Corrin asked.
"Oh, it's not a question meant to insinuate anything as an insult toward you. I only wish to know how much you typically can eat as an average meal. I'm simply curious, do not think about it too deeply."
"Whatever you do, don't tell her anything she doesn't need to know." Dark Pit hissed from across the table.
"Pitoo! Come on!" snapped Pit.
"Stop calling me 'Pitoo', you suck-up!"
"The most that I usually eat seems to have been around three to four plates...sometimes five. Lately five." Corrin didn't want to disappoint any of her potential new friends here, so she was willing to be open if that was what they wanted. She knew nothing about Palutena, the Goddess of Light, as the other Smashers had come to know throughout their time being with her.
Palutena smiled, although her eyes seemed to be expressing much more than just happiness.
"Is that so? Then can you tell me, if you do not mind, how exactly you managed to get yourself such a large and adorable tummy?"
Palutena giggled as she suddenly reached out and took a squishy handful of Corrin's plump belly into her grasp. Corrin opened her mouth with the intention to protest, but for some reason, she found herself lacking any words to speak at all. She had been sent into such a state of shock, so surprised that the other woman would touch her without offering a warning beforehand. Palutena did not keep her hand on Corrin's tummy for long, however; she held on for several more seconds before releasing it. Palutena giggled again and winked.
"Not bad. You have a ways to go, but if you want, I can probably help you with that. Or just keep eating as you do. I'm sure it will improve either way."
Poor Corrin had to resort to transforming her entire head into its dragon form just to avoid letting the others see how severely she blushed.
Princess Zelda ate a spoonful of stew and washed it down with a big gulp from her chocolate milkshake. "Don't let yourself get sucked into her wiles. She'll try to make you as big as a house if you're not careful."
"Oh, come now! I'm not THAT mad! I just think it's fun, is all! I'm a better person than you think, Princess Zelda!" Palutena proclaimed in her own defense, but the Hylian woman rolled her eyes and resumed eating without a retort.
Shulk, Meta-Knight and Dunban sat together in their own little space at the end of the banquet table. There was not much talk being shared among the three of them and Captain Falcon had yet to return with the brownies he had promised to retrieve. In fact, the atmosphere was rather heavy. Even somber, in a way. Meta-Knight stared down at the steak on his plate, but he did not remove his mask to eat it. Shulk tried to keep himself cheery but his disappointment was plain as day on his face. He'd had trouble believing it at first, but according to Master Hand, the host of the event, it was all true words he had heard from the women's mouths themselves.
Robin and Lucina had chosen not to return to Smash. Shulk knew he could still enjoy his time here fighting with all of the others, but he had allowed himself to get too excited with the anticipation of seeing Lucina again. Especially after the way the two of them had parted. A lot had happened to him during the tournament's hiatus, when he had returned to his home dimension on the Bionis. He'd hoped to get to tell Lucina all about his adventures. Even Fiora had left to parts unknown. Meta-Knight, who had dedicated himself to Lucina as her knight, felt, to be frank, betrayed by the young woman's decision.
"I do not understand why Milady chose not to return. Is it because of me? Did I not provide adequate protection for her or her family as she desired? To be shunned by the princess I had sworn to protect...that is a great shame to bring upon a knight."
Shulk shook his head. He pat the blue Kirby-like creature on his head. "No, it wasn't anything that you did, Meta-Knight. I can assure you without even having to ask her in person."
"Then what reason did she have? She is not the one pregnant with child! There is no reason she would not be able to fight with us again."
"I think she just wanted to spend time with her family while she still could." suggested the blonde-haired youth.
"Hmph. I suppose. No, I am acting rather childish about this, now aren't I?"
Shulk chuckled. "A little bit, yeah."
"I am very sorry. I certainly would not behave this way in front of Milady. I should not behave this way in front of fellow knights either."
Meanwhile, Corrin had since sat back down with a whole new tower of food piled on her plate. She licked her lips, eyes flashing with a hunger that could only be possessed by one of draconic status. Her doughy thighs rolled over the edges of the too-tiny chair her bottom occupied. This time, she had let her sweet tooth guide her over to the buffet table's section where all of the desserts were kept. She snatched a cream-puff off of the very top of the mound. It looked full enough to burst. Corrin's stomach shared a very similar appearance. Nonetheless, she took a big bite and suckled at that cream like a newborn on its mother's teat. Corrin mewled into the cream-puff. She was most certainly going to continue fighting here, while also thinking up of ways to save her countrymen and the two families she loved...but she was probably going to end up gaining more than a few pounds while doing so. That was most likely one such fate that she could not avoid.
Master Hand watched over the Smashers, proud at what he had managed to achieve. He was so happy that most of the fighters had not only been able to return, but were also willing to return despite everything that had happened involving Crazy Hand. Dr. Mario had been a good friend and gave him the company he needed when he hit his lowest point, the acceptance of his brother's death. Now that Master Hand could begin rebuilding again, both literally with the castle and metaphorically with his own life, he wanted to make sure that he did things with his intentions in the right place. Master Hand knew that he would always miss Crazy Hand, but he had new friends to help keep him moving from here on out.
Marth tapped Shulk on the shoulder. "Shulk, Ike and I are about to go and begin training for the upcoming matches. Roy will be joining us. How about you and Meta-Knight come along as well?"
"How about me?" Captain Falcon asked, his hands filled with double-chocolate fudge brownies.
"Sure, but you might not fare too well against us sword-users."
"Ha ha ha! You're going to have to worry about my flaming punches first!"
Shulk and Meta-Knight looked at one another. They both nodded. It was a good idea to start getting some training in while they still could.
"BWWWWRRRAAAAAPPPPP! Oh, excuse me!"
Chrom, who had just leaned over to kiss his wife on the cheek, drew back with a cry. "By the Gods!"
Robin laughed with a great bellow before she resumed eating her way through a literal mound of cheesy mashed potatoes. "You should have seen the look on your face, darling! It was so cute!"
The young queen of Ylisse had been gulping down food almost since sunrise. There were several times where she took breaks to rest her stomach or have it washed down with a warm, wet cloth, but those instances were kept pitifully short compared to her marathon-like gorging sessions. Whether it was while sitting her fat butt in the banquet hall, lounging herself in the middle of the expansive castle garden, or sifting through the pages of her enormous tomes, Robin was never without food at hand. With a second child growing inside of her, she wanted to make sure that she always ate enough for the both of them. Of course, even a developing fetus did not demand as much sustenance like Robin did, so most of the eating was still done for her own sake. Toddler Lucina and adult Future Morgan were no less than thrilled for baby Morgan to eventually be born. Lucina was happy as well. She could still recall Morgan's birth from her now-defunct future timeline. It had been one of the last happy moments of her original life before the Fell Dragon attacked.
Robin stopped laughing and eating to notice the uncomfortable yet quite familiar discomfort she sensed around her abdomen. It wasn't the baby kicking, that was for sure. Robin undid her belt. When she did this, her under-shirt immediately rolled up to allow her belly, which had since reached monstrous proportions, to roll out and press against the dining table. Of course, it had been doing that since the beginning, but now even more freed tummy-fat was claiming up the space in front of her as its own. The fat was everywhere and then some; Robin had to live through her entire life being so big to be able to withstand the laborious conditions of her obesity. Pregnancy had done a good number on Robin's weight with all expectations pointing to her growing larger still. Chrom had since regained his composure after being belched in the face. He saw how merrily and carefree his wife glutted herself and it made him smile. He could not have asked for anything more. He leaned in and he was finally able to give Robin the kiss he had originally intended for her.
"Oh, Chrom, you really are a sweetie. Why don't you come here and sit on my belly, you adorable thing? I could eat you up with some syrup and cream on you right now."
"Robin, you say that rather often these days and it's beginning to worry me that you might actually try it."
"It wouldn't hurt that much, Chrom! If I cover you in some maple syrup and chocolate sauce, I think you'd go down easily!"
"This is starting to make me rather uncomfortable."
"Ha ha ha ha! Don't get so worried, dear! You know I'd never do that to you! Really!"
Lucina, who sat across her mother at the dining table, sank down into her seat and covered her plump, blushing face behind the enormous half-eaten broccoli floret on her fork. Her parents simply could not stop flirting for even a few seconds. Of course, she had anticipated she would have to deal with things like this, having chosen to remain in Ylisse rather than return to Smash. It had not been a decision made easily.
There was no doubt in her mind that she would have loved to see the Smashers again. She would have gladly rejoined the tournament, fighting against as well as alongside them once more. Unfortunately, Lucina had to make a choice and she knew she only had limited time left with her parents like this. At some point, she was going to have to return to her own timeline and begin rebuilding. It was part of her responsibility as the princess of Ylisse, the heiress of her father's throne. Lucina wished it didn't have to be such a way, but staying in present-day Ylisse was dangerous as it was. She could only lie to her younger self and say she was her older sister for so long. When the day inevitably arrived for them, she and the other Future children would have to bid farewell to the families they'd lost in their original timeline once more. Once baby Morgan was finally born, she would leave this place, and her family, behind for good.
Lucina became so increasingly irate over this misfortune of hers, and she took her anger out on dinner by gobbling it all up. She had eaten very well for the past few months. Extremely well, in fact. On the same day that they returned to Ylisse, Lucina and Robin binged as if they hadn't had so much as a crumb of food in the past five days. Lucina did not think she could say that she was 'fat and proud' like her mother, but she was certainly more accepting of her size and the appetite that came with it thanks to her experiences in Smash. Whenever her belly told her to eat, she obeyed. Lucina never went to bed hungry. She ate enough food to outdo her old days of restraint, although she never could come close to meeting her mother's level of voraciousness even on her best days. Lucina broke several belts and tore numerous pairs of tights over three months' time. She needed to have her entire uniform customized for her body at least once. She feared stepping onto a scale to see how many pounds she'd gained, but she never considered to curtail her eating habits. She ate like she wanted to eat.
Suddenly, after swallowing a bite of fish, Lucina unwillingly released a very loud and abrupt belch.
Robin stopped making out with Chrom and looked over at Lucina with shining eyes and a beaming grin. "There you go! That's my daughter and that is one hell of a belch!"
Lucina blushed heavily. "Oh, Mother, please, don't praise me over something like that."
Robin smiled, but her entire face softened, more so than what softness was already present. "You know, Lucina, there's been something I have been wanting to give you, but I wasn't sure how to do it."
"What is it, Mother?"
"It's for you to take back with you when you eventually go back...to your time." Robin sniffled. "I thought you could carry it with you to remember your Father and I...alongside the Falchion, of course."
Robin reached down through both her rolls and her robes. She produced a jagged-shaped sheathe, which contained the Levin Sword inside of it. She slid it across the table to her daughter. Lucina was stunned, almost speechless. She was hesitant to reach out and take the Levin Sword, but only because she felt like taking it would be offering acceptance that she would truly have to leave some day soon. Yet, even though that all may be true, she also wanted to take the sword because she was so happy, so very happy, to be given this gift from the Mother she loved.
"You're giving her the Levin Sword, Robin? Are you sure?" Chrom asked his wife.
"I want her to have a keepsake to remember me by too. She already has YOUR Falchion!"
Lucina lifted the Levin Sword with a set of plump fingers. She clutched it against her chest, trying her very damn best to withhold the choked sob attempting to rise up through her throat. Her lower lip, however, trembled noticeably.
"I will cherish it, Mother. Thank you so much."
Robin smiled. "I knew you would like it. Make good use of it, Lucina."
Suddenly, just before the tender moment between mother and daughter could go any further, they were quickly turning their heads in response to numerous cries emitting from the courtyard below the banquet hall's windows. Reacting to the shouts as if it were signaling an enemy attack, Lucina immediately attempted to launch to her feet. However, her big belly got caught against the table at first, which led her to waste several precious seconds as she slowly sidled out from between her chair and the aforementioned table itself.
"Ow..." Lucina rubbed her tummy, which had sustained a bruise underneath her belly-button after that. "W-What was that sound? Are we under attack?"
Chrom already had one hand near the Falchion's hilt. "I have no idea. We should go check it out, Lucina!"
The dining room doors flung open. Morgan appeared, as if he had been waiting on some kind of proper cue. He was panting, breathless, and his eyes were bulging out of their sockets. He saw Chrom, Robin and Lucina and immediately dashed toward the last one of the three.
"There are some really weird people looking for you, Lucina!" he shouted at his big sister.
Lucina stiffened. "What was that?"
Chrom did not like the sound of it either; he certainly wasn't looking to play games as he grasped his blade's hilt tight. "Who are they, Morgan? Are they enemies from a neighboring country? Some old foe we thought we'd killed?"
"Father!"
"I don't intend to let anyone, especially my family, be put in any further danger!" Chrom proclaimed. No doubt, he was feeling eager to prove himself with a blade, especially after having been stuck to being near-useless throughout the battles against Crazy Hand and his clones several months prior.
Morgan shook his head, however. "They...they're...I don't even know how to explain it..."
"Then we will see them for ourselves. Lucina, let's go."
"C-Coming, Father!"
Morgan, Lucina and Chrom made their way out of the banquet hall and down toward the courtyard. Robin wanted to follow, of course, but with her pregnant and overwhelmingly full tummy to contend with, she wasn't going to be moving anywhere fast for quite some time.
When they arrived, there was already a crowd of soldiers, including ones from Chrom's original army, surrounding the intruders with weapons drawn and ready. In the center of it all stood three young women of curious attire. The only one who seemed to be seriously addressing the situation had her hair tied up into buns and spiked cuffs on her wrists. She wore a blue dress of Eastern origin, but most strikingly of all, she carried on her person a pair of very heavy-set, muscular thighs. The woman beside her with a hand on her shoulder looked even stranger. Clad in a dark and purple outfit that clung to her body like skin, this second woman had long green hair and enormous bat wings jutting out from her head and her waist. She was struggling very hard not to burst out laughing. The third woman almost did not seem to even be alive. She brought to Lucina thoughts of Smashers such as Megaman and ROB, the mechanical sort. She was a cybernetic human being. When Lucina drew closer, the robotic female had her gaze quickly affixed upon her. It made the young woman feel incredibly uncomfortable.
"I am Chrom, the king of this country and the master of this castle. Who are you?" Chrom asked upon approaching them.
"Be quiet, Morrigan!" the bun-haired girl hissed into the ear of her bat-winged friend before she respectfully bowed her head in front of Chrom. "I'm very sorry about this, King Chrom. We did not come here with any ill intentions. We only came here with a request for aid."
"Who are you?" repeated Chrom.
"My name is Chun-Li. This is Morrigan," Chun-Li elbowed Morrigan in the rib, finally shutting her up. "And the quiet one on the end is named Fiora."
"Where do you hail from? I cannot say I've ever seen people of your sort around here. At least, not in those sort of outfits."
Chun-Li was very cooperative, more than happy to offer all information she could possibly divulge...to certain limits, of course. "We were told that there would be people here whose powers would be very useful in the mission we're trying to accomplish. I know it sounds like we are asking a lot, but honestly, this is starting to become a situation of life and death."
"What? Who would send you? What's this all about?" Chrom and Lucina looked at one another. They had no idea what was going on.
Chun-Li took a deep breath. "We're here because of Project X Zone."
"Project...X Zone? I have no idea what any of those words mean when put side by side like that."
Chun-Li took yet another deep breath. "I was afraid of that."
Morrigan, finally over her laughing fit from earlier, stepped in to throw out a quick remark. "I think we might need some extra time to explain it to you all, if you don't mind listening, darlings."
"Really, please, we need you two to listen to this. It's very important for all of us. For a lot of different worlds." Chun-Li insisted.
If these three women had appeared to them with claims of saving 'different worlds' only a few months ago, Lucina and Chrom would never have believed so much as a word of any of it. However, after everything they had been through, everything they had seen and experienced within the castle walls of Smash, they couldn't simply brush off Chun-Li and Morrigan's words as insane ramblings. They'd met dozens of people and creatures from realities that existed separately from their own. It opened Lucina's and Chrom's, as well as Robin's, minds to the possibilities of so much beyond what was only possible in their one world. There was a genuine chance of validity in what was being told to them right now. This 'Project X Zone' debacle and the importance it held in saving potentially thousands or millions of innocent lives, Chrom had to take it seriously. As did Lucina. They were good people who wanted to help those who needed it. At the very least, they would hear them out.
"Why don't you three come inside? We will have some of our guards escort you. We were just having dinner."
"Oh, dinner would be great, actually! Thank you so much, King Chrom!"
"You really are a suck-up, Chun-Li. It's a little cute, but I like it better when you're willing to kick people to get what you want."
"Be QUIET, Morrigan!"
Lucina reached behind herself and inconspicuously tugged at her backside to pluck her underwear out. She could feel Fiora's eyes almost literally digging into her back-fat. For some reason, she felt as if the robotic woman disliked her, even though they had surely never met before. Chun-Li and Morrigan, meanwhile, were both considering how, or even if, they were going to bring up the very high weight of the princess in question. They had never seen a woman so portly, especially not one who they had been told would help them in this critical mission.
And so, yet another adventure was about to begin.