Plot summary of The Subspace Emissary

This page describes a plot summary of The Subspace Emissary. Note that there is no official chapter-by-chapter layout to the actual mode; the following material is divided into chapters strictly for the sake of clarity. In addition, as there is a split in the storyline dependent on the player's actions, at times there will be two characters' names listed in the format One/Two, where One is the character involved if the player selects the first path while Two is the other.

Prologue

Tabuu.

The following prologue material is pulled from information in in-game trophies and the Dojo, and is not depicted in in-game cinematics.

The story begins with Tabuu, the deity-like embodiment of a malevolent void-like dimension known as Subspace, who desires to subjugate the World of Trophies by bringing certain areas of it into his home dimension and create a new orderly world out of them. However, Tabuu himself is incapable of leaving Subspace, but he can observe the world and manipulate its inhabitants (referred to as "fighters" from this point on) in an effort to create an army with which to carry out his plot.

Tabuu first turns his attention towards Master Hand, the master of the world. Tabuu captures Master Hand with the Chains of Light and pulls him into Subspace, giving him an effective puppet to command his future army in the real world. Next, he comes upon Mr. Game & Watch, who, as a two-dimensional being in a three-dimensional world, has unusual properties that make it possible to create a limitless amount of small shapeshifting entities known as Shadow Bugs. Tabuu captures Mr. Game & Watch in order to produce the Shadow Bugs, with which he creates the forces of the Subspace Army. Mr. Game & Watch is claimed to be oblivious about being used to create said forces, due to possessing a lack of perceiving good and evil.

With the Army formed, Tabuu turns towards the Isle of the Ancients, a floating island of advanced technology. The island is inhabited by a society of peaceful R.O.B.s, led by a fighter made in their image known as the "Master Robot", that have never before interacted with other races. Tabuu needs the island's technology to produce weapons capable of cutting the world apart, so he uses his new army to take the entire island hostage and force research on such weapons. The Master Robot reluctantly surrenders and allows this to occur, in order to avoid presumably threatened mass genocide should they refuse, though he conceals his identity out of shame for his actions. Tabuu then captures Pikachu, intending to use its electrical power as a power supply for the island.

With the Isle of the Ancients under his command, Tabuu, seeking a means of transportation for his army, attacks the Halberd. Meta Knight attempts to stave off the attack on his ship, but he is also preoccupied with King Dedede, who decided to attack at a similar time. Meta Knight loses the battle and retreats, but Dedede learns of Tabuu and a devastating attack he possesses - Off Waves, which can reduce many fighters to their trophy forms at once in a single long-range attack, leaving no one able to revive anyone and continue their opposition against Tabuu. With this in mind, he begins work on a device that can independently revive a trophy on a timer without needing a helper's contact, which should make it possible to resist the Army even if everyone is defeated.

Finally, Tabuu sets out to recruit specific fighters to his cause, using Master Hand as a cover. He focuses his efforts on those who naturally dislike the others, giving him three accomplices willing to assist "Master Hand": Bowser, Wario and Ganondorf. Their objective is to locate and suppress any resistance to the detonation of Subspace Bombs, the weapon developed by the Isle of Ancients to send pieces of the world into Subspace. To help, the three of them are provided with Dark Cannons: a second newly created weapon, which allows the user to reduce any fighter to their trophy form in a single shot. The three accomplices split up to operate in their own ways: Ganondorf remains hidden in an undisclosed location, acting as a liaison with Master Hand, as well as his second-in-command for the army as a whole; while he claims to be loyal to Master Hand, he is simply waiting for the right time to overthrow him and take command of the army himself. Bowser assembles his Koopa Troop and begins to wander the world in search of opponents; he is relatively loyal to Master Hand, but does not care for Ganondorf asserting rank over him. Wario, on the other hand, sets off on his own and continues to do whatever he wants, treating his objective as a low priority and not caring at all about the plan or his role in it. However, Wario uses his Dark Cannon to turn others into trophies, but keeps them for himself.

The preparations for Tabuu's plot are complete - he has the Subspace Bombs to cut the world apart, an army created from the Shadow Bugs to escort the bombs and clear out any opposition, the Halberd to transport said army and fighter accomplices with Dark Cannons should more intelligent force be necessary. Finally, the Subspace Gunship is under construction within Subspace, which, once complete, will supersede Subspace Bombs and render the operation all but unstoppable.

Chapter One

The ending of the first cutscene, where the player selects their character.

Primids appearing in the Midair Stadium.

The Midair Stadium being engulfed by Subspace.

A large crowd fills the Midair Stadium for a battle between Mario and Kirby. In addition to the generic crowd, Peach and Zelda are in attendance, and Pit watches from a magical fountain in Skyworld. As one participant defeats the other, the loser reverts to his trophy form; the winner revives him in good sportsmanship and they both wave to the crowd. An ominous howling noise suddenly fills the stadium as the sky is filled with red clouds. The Halberd arrives and drops Shadow Bugs into the stadium, which form into Subspace Army troops. Peach and Zelda join Mario and Kirby as they fight off the invaders. Shortly afterwards, the Ancient Minister, the new alias of the Master Robot, appears, dropping a Subspace Bomb that is prepped with a pair of R.O.B.s and set for detonation in three minutes; the Ancient Minister quickly retreats to the Halberd as it begins to depart. As Mario dashes to investigate the bomb, a mysterious smoke cloud appears and a cannonball is fired from it that propels Mario out of the stadium far into the sky. In the chaos, Peach and Zelda are thrown into a pair of cages held by Petey Piranha, leaving Kirby as his only opposition. After rescuing one of the princesses following Petey's defeat, Wario makes an entrance, leaping in from nowhere with his Dark Cannon pointed at Kirby and the princess he rescued. He prepares to fire, but notices that the other cage has broken and the other princess is lying outside it, in no condition to evade. Wario fires his Dark Cannon at the easier target and immediately makes off with her trophy form. Kirby and Peach/Zelda begin chasing him, but Kirby notices that the Subspace Bomb is about to detonate and summons a Warp Star for the duo to escape on as the Midair Stadium is then engulfed by Subspace.

Back in Skyworld, Pit has witnessed the chaos in the Midair Stadium and the Subspace Bomb's detonation. He turns away to find Palutena, who provides him with a bow and commands him to save their world from the Subspace Army. Pit leaps outside and into the clouds to begin his task. He finds the Halberd quickly; it passes through Skyworld and drops a group of Shadow Bugs that become opponents for him to fight. After some travelling, Pit comes upon Mario. After Pit revives him, Mario teams up with Pit to try and chase down the Halberd, but the pair run out of terrain to traverse, leaving them unable to continue chase. However, an Arwing flies by, which also appears to be pursuing the Halberd.

Kirby and Peach/Zelda also appear to be following the Halberd, though it somehow ends up behind them. Kirby attempts to land on the Halberd's deck, which is more or less successful. Immediately the Arwing catches up, and attempts to fight the Halberd, but the Combo Cannon's arm scores a hit on the Arwing. As it comes crashing down, it flies past the duo, who are then blown off the Halberd. Landing in the Sea of Clouds, they climb down onto solid ground, fighting the Army throughout and attempt to pursue the ship on foot.

Chapter Two

Donkey Kong during his and Diddy Kong's introductory cutscene.

Bowser taking aim with his Dark Cannon.

To the east, the Koopa Troop are perpetuating hijinks in a jungle, carrying a cargo full of bananas and moving at high speed away from the jungle, where Donkey Kong is attacking several of the troop's soldiers, enraged that his banana hoard has been stolen. As DK spots the cargo, it fires Bullet Bills at him, but Diddy Kong appears and shoots them out of the air with his Peanut Popguns. The Kongs traverse the jungle and through the Koopa Troop to retrieve the bananas. They eventually reclaim it and celebrate their victory, but Bowser then steps into view from behind and prepares to fire his Dark Cannon at the duo. DK soon realizes that the banana hoard's theft was part of a setup to lure the Kongs into a trap and trying to fight a backed-up Bowser plus an unknown weapon is foolish, so he punches Diddy away from the scene, taking the shot himself. Diddy sees DK being reduced to his trophy form as he flies away, while Bowser takes the trophified DK hostage.

Meanwhile, Mario and Pit have come to solid ground and are traversing a plain, continuing their pursuit of the Halberd. When they catch up to the Ancient Minister, he escapes without much effort.

Having landed from his flight, Diddy moves through the jungle searching for help to rescue DK. He finds the crashed Arwing beside a lake and tries to investigate when Rayquaza emerges from the lake. Seemingly furious that its territory has been invaded, Rayquaza fires an energy ball at the Arwing, then grabs Diddy with intent to harm him. Fox then leaps out of the Arwing and frees Diddy, with the duo proceeding to defeat Rayquaza. Afterwards, Diddy physically convinces Fox to join him in trying to save DK and the duo battle through more of the Koopa Troop. Eventually they encounter Bowser, who for some reason has an odd purple aura and glowing yellow eyes. He is defeated, but dissolves into Shadow Bugs as the real Bowser fires a Dark Cannon shot from just out of view, which misses. Diddy intends to fight Bowser to avenge DK, but Fox pulls Diddy away and escapes with him, sharing DK's sentiment about it being too dangerous to fight Bowser.

Chapter Three

Marth investigating the site of the Subspace Bomb's detonation at the battlefield.

Far to the south, Lucas is wandering around an abandoned zoo. The Subspace Army appears, headed by the Porky Statue, and Lucas runs away in fear. Eventually, Lucas trips over a root and gets his foot stuck under it. He panics, but Ness appears and uses a combination of PK Thunder and PK Flash to attack and destroy the statue. The statue is revealed to have contained Porky Minch and his mech. The duo engage Porky in battle and defeat him. Shortly thereafter, though, they see Wario on top of a pillar. He fires his Dark Cannon at Ness several times, but Ness easily dodges every shot, prompting Wario to set his sights on Lucas instead, who is too scared to dodge - so Ness pushes him aside and takes the shot himself. Unconcerned with who exactly he got, Wario takes the trophified Ness while Lucas runs away. Lucas eventually bumps into a Pokémon Trainer that currently has a Squirtle. After the duo fight through more of the zoo, the Trainer heads on his way, while Lucas decides to go with him in an effort to rescue Ness.

To the northwest, the Subspace Army is attacking a fortress that stands in the middle of an ancient battleground. After seeing a Subspace Bomb detonate in the distance, Marth is roused from the fortress and fights his way out to investigate. Upon reaching the site of the Subspace Bomb's detonation, Meta Knight appears and initiates a swordfight, each assuming the other is with the Army. When both are attacked, they are set straight and team up to cross the battlefield. Eventually, they catch sight of the Ancient Minister, who has another bomb ready to be dropped; they fail to reach him, but then Ike appears and uses Aether to damage the bomb and send the Ancient Minister flying erratically into the distance. Now a trio, the swordsmen continue their pursuit of the Army.

By now, Dedede has realized that the enemy (Bowser and Wario) is collecting the trophies of defeated fighters and taking them away so they cannot be revived. He decides to start his own collection, which he plans to keep safe with his brooches. He starts his collection by ambushing Luigi on a dirt road and turning him into a trophy. Seemingly knowing that someone is approaching, he hides alongside his army of Waddle Dees while leaving Luigi's trophy on the road as bait. Indeed, Wario rides up on his cargo carrying Zelda/Peach and Ness. Seeing a free Luigi on the road, he pulls over, and takes the trophy. Distracted, he is then ambushed by the Waddle Dees. Dedede then takes Luigi, tosses him onto the cargo and drives away with it and all of the trophies. As the Waddle Dees follow Dedede, Wario gets up and yells at them in anger and frustration.

Chapter Four

Yoshi and Link watching the Halberd escape.

Pikachu being used to power a generator.

Bowser and his false character counterpart standing over the trophified Peach.

To the southwest, Link finds the Master Sword in a pedestal in a forest and draws it. He passes by Yoshi, who is asleep on a tree stump. As the Halberd passes overhead and deploys Shadow Bugs, the duo team up and fight through the forest in pursuit of the ship. Meanwhile, on the Halberd, a cardboard box is seen moving and fidgeting.

Inside the Isle of the Ancients' research facility, Zero Suit Samus has snuck inside and is wandering around while fighting the Subspace Army' forces and parts of the R.O.B. Squad. She finds some sort of generator holding Pikachu captive and breaks it to release Pikachu; the pair continue to move through the complex. After a while, they find a control room, which lets Samus see the room where her Power Suit is being held.

Kirby and Peach/Zelda have reached the shore of a nearby lake. Kirby spots something and rushes off in pursuit, leaving the princess behind, who is then ambushed by Bowser and shot by his Dark Cannon. A waiting false Bowser uses the trophified princess to change into a doppelgänger of her while its fighter counterpart makes off with the real one. By this time, Mario and Pit/Link and Yoshi have also reached the shore in pursuit of the Halberd. The false princess attempts to use the Dark Cannon that Bowser left behind to fire at them, but Link and Yoshi/Mario and Pit have also arrived, destroying the weapon in one slash. The duo then fight the doppelgänger and destroy it. However, Mario/Link has noticed the fight from a distance, and believes that the real Peach/Zelda has been attacked and defeated, so he attacks the duo in rage as his partner joins in. Once the two-on-two fight finishes, before the winners can revive the losers, Dedede drives by and snatches the two defeated fighters with the cargo's arm. Link/Mario manage to see that Zelda/Peach's trophy is aboard the cargo as Dedede drives away. Dedede then realizes that Kirby has snuck onboard the cargo, having spotting it earlier. Kirby uses Final Cutter to sever the arm and free and revive his victims. Irritated, Dedede turns the cargo around and begins to flee, but the revived Pit/Link damages it with an arrow. The quintet join together and chase the damaged cargo, assuming that, like the other villain fighters, Dedede is collecting trophies to hide them away so they cannot be revived. Seeing the busted cargo at the entrance of a set of caves, they head inside and fights through the Subspace Army and Koopa Troop to see Dedede's castle in the distance, with the Halberd hovering overhead.

Ganondorf, in his undisclosed location, has become aware that Dedede is planning something and is hoarding trophies in his castle. He transmits this information to Bowser, who sets off with the Koopa Troop to besiege Dedede's castle.

Chapter Five

Pokémon Trainer and Lucas looking at the ruins as Charizard passes through them.

Bowser retreats in his Koopa Clown Car.

Meta Knight and the Fire Emblem fighters face Galleom.

To the east of the ruined zoo, Lucas and the Pokémon Trainer see Charizard fly towards a cluster of ruins; as the Trainer is seeking an Ivysaur and a Charizard, the pair head down the path to the ruins. Upon going through a cave and back outside, they run into Wario again. Remembering what happened to Ness, Lucas decides to fight Wario alongside the Pokémon Trainer to avenge him. Wario is defeated and transformed into a trophy. Lucas and the Pokémon Trainer are ecstatic at first, but Lucas is then saddened because Ness is nowhere in sight; the Trainer suggests he could be in the remainder of the ruins. Upon hearing the Charizard's roar, the two head inside.

In his castle, Dedede has his collection of three trophies - Ness, Luigi, and Zelda/Peach. He applies his Dedede Brooches to the first two, but runs out of them; he decides to use the one he was saving for himself on the princess, planning to make some more later. However, the Koopa Troop attacks, and the ceiling caves in, dropping a large chunk on Dedede's head and knocking him out (eventually he becomes a trophy). The cave-in also leaves Luigi, Ness, and Dedede covered in rubble, so when Bowser and the Koopa Troop glance around, they only spot Zelda/Peach's trophy to take. Shortly after, Mario, Pit, Link, Yoshi and Kirby also reach the castle. Seeing nothing but a hole in the wall, they traverse a second set of caves and catch up to Bowser. Mario attempts to get the jump on him, but he uses the princess as a shield, neutering the attack. Pit quickly fires an arrow that Bowser successfully dodges, which causes the Dedede Brooch to fly off the princess and Bowser to fall off a cliff - though he lands directly in his Koopa Clown Car, and escapes to the Halberd. While Kirby inspects the Dedede Brooch, the Ancient Minister detonates a Subspace Bomb that engulfs Dedede's castle. Ganondorf observes the castle get swallowed by Subspace just before a new message comes in from Master Hand.

Back in the ruins, Lucas and the Pokémon Trainer continue to fight through - during which the Trainer captures Ivysaur's trophy and battles the previously seen Charizard, capturing it too. The duo then wind up in a dead end. Meanwhile, to the east of the battlefield, Meta Knight, Marth, and Ike have been progressing across a desert. Having lost the Ancient Minister, they find Galleom in his tank form cruising across the desert and decide to follow it. Upon catching up, the swordsmen defeat Galleom in battle, who leaps off a cliff and crashes into the ruins right next to Wario's trophy - and into the room that Lucas and the Pokémon Trainer have entered. Galleom attacks for its second battle in a row, but is defeated again. As a last resort, Galleom grabs hold of its opponents and propels itself skywards, activating a Subspace Bomb embedded in his head. Seeing the Trainer has fainted, Lucas gains a sudden confidence boost and uses PK Thunder to sever Galleom's arm, freeing the duo, but sending them falling towards the ground. Lucas holds the Trainer as they fall to their doom, but they are then quickly caught by Meta Knight, who carries them away to Marth and Ike's location while Galleom's Subspace Bomb detonates in midair, barely reaching the ground and sucking up Wario's trophy. Upon landing, the Trainer regains consciousness and shakes Lucas' hand.

Chapter Six

Falco destroying Bowser's Dark Cannon.

The Star Fox fighters and Diddy facing the latter's false character counterpart.

Samus and Pikachu in the Subspace Army's research facility.

The Donkey Kong fighters, Captain Falcon and Olimar just before the fight on the Smash Skiff.

The Ancient Minister watches Galleom's Subspace Bomb from back in the desert and exhibits an increasing degree of sorrow over how R.O.B.s must be sacrificed for each bomb. He is roused by one of Pit's arrows, which he dodges as the group resumes their chase. After a short while the Ancient Minister deploys the bomb he was carrying, which the fighters fail to stop and so they escape as several nearby R.O.B.s are destroyed.

Diddy Kong and Fox continue to travel east from the jungle and reach a swamp. As they move on, Bowser successfully shoots Diddy with his Dark Cannon from a distance and sends in a troop of Shadow Bugs to replicate him. Fox is about to face a two-on-one when Falco shows up, punts the Dark Cannon out of Bowser's hands and destroys it with his Blasters. Bowser is displeased and leaves in his Clown Car, but first commands many more Shadow Bugs to merge with the false Diddy, rendering it significantly larger and stronger. Fox revives the real Diddy, who is shocked by the humongous doppelgänger. After the trio defeat it, Diddy then also physically convinces Falco to join them in their goal of saving DK and the trio continue through the swamp. Upon reaching a cliffside waterfall, they spot the Smash Skiff, which takes off towards the Isle of the Ancients with the trophified DK on board. Diddy grunts in anger thinking the chase cannot continue, but Falco has a plan and summons the Great Fox.

Samus and Pikachu continue through the research facility. Upon reaching the room with Samus' Power Suit, a pair of mockeries of it appear. As they continue to move through the facility after Samus regains her suit upon its copies' defeats, Ridley then suddenly appears and assaults Samus. Pikachu attacks Ridley and frees Samus with Thunder. Although Samus is hurt, she and Pikachu fight and defeat Ridley. Afterwards, they find an exit to the Isle of the Ancients' surface, alongside another exit with R.O.B.s carrying Subspace Bombs out of it that they decide to enter.

Elsewhere on the island, near a different set of ruins, Olimar is attempting to topple a giant R.O.B. with his Pikmin. The R.O.B. shakes all the Pikmin off however, killing most of them. Olimar backs away in fear as a Red Pikmin points to the Blue Falcon screaming in from the distance. Captain Falcon erupts from it as he delivers a Falcon Punch to the robot's head, easily knocking it over but inadvertently killing all of the remaining Pikmin except for the one by Olimar's side. Despite this, the duo form an alliance and make their way towards the edge of the island, where they see the Smash Skiff coming in. An Arwing piloted by Falco flies overhead and drops Diddy onto the transport, who knocks off all the Primids currently onboard. Falcon picks up a terrified Olimar and jumps off the ledge, landing on the Skiff as Diddy revives DK - who easily breaks free of his binds and is ready to fight alongside the other three as transport's passengers reboard it in an act of defense. After they are defeated, Falco signals success and flies elsewhere with Diddy waving him off. The Skiff continues its programmed course into a hangar of some sort into the island.

Chapter Seven

Lucario and Meta Knight preparing to square off.

Lucario meets Snake.

Peach, Sheik, and Fox drinking tea.

On a snowy mountain, it appears that the Great Fox has been directed into combat with the Halberd as some sort of distraction - the two ships are firing incessant blasts at each other. Marth, Meta Knight, Ike, Lucas, and Pokémon Trainer see the battle at the mountain base, with Meta Knight taking the chance to reclaim his ship, leaving the others to begin ascent. He passes the Ice Climbers on the way up, who take his quick speed as a challenge, and the new group fight upwards to reach the summit. Upon reaching the top, Lucario is found meditating on the peak. It leaps towards Meta Knight and challenges him to a battle; the winner revives the loser as they shake hands in respect. Just then, the Halberd plunges through the clouds with its Combo Cannon having ensnared the Great Fox, ramming it into the mountain and knocking the Ice Climbers off. Meta Knight and Lucario manage to use this opportunity to jump onboard. The Ice Climbers land by a canyon next to Meta Knight's former group as the Halberd drops a crowd of Shadow Bugs; Mario, Pit, Link, Yoshi and Kirby arrive just as the fight starts and the two groups merge with each other soon after, along with the Ice Climbers.

Inside the Halberd, Snake decides the time is right and leaves his cover to begin operations as the damaged Great Fox limps off. He hides in his box upon spotting Meta Knight and Lucario, but is shocked to be exposed by Lucario, who notices him due to his aura. A leery Meta Knight is told by Lucario that he is an ally. The trio continue to fight through the Halberd to find what appears to be a cargo bay, with both Peach's and Zelda's trophies in cages; both princesses are replicated by Shadow Bugs and are summarily defeated. Peach and Zelda are freed and revived, though Snake tells them to stay put while his group moves off. Despite this, as soon as Snake, Meta Knight and Lucario leave, Zelda takes on the persona of Sheik and leaves the cargo bay with an amused Peach following. The duo fight around the Halberd's exterior areas to reach the top deck. Fox is back in another Arwing and is attempting to neutralize its Combo Cannon, which, due to how close the princesses were to it, makes Sheik think he is shooting at them. Sheik teleports onto the Arwing and breaks the window, forcing Fox to eject and land on the Halberd. As Sheik and Fox are about to fight, Peach offers them some tea, which brings the conflict to an abrupt and confusing end. In the meantime, Meta Knight, Lucario and Snake have reached the Halberd's bridge. They find that the ship is being run by a quintet of false Mr. Game & Watches. Snake runs in and busts all the doppelgängers out the window, where they land on the deck beside Peach, Zelda and Fox. Almost immediately, they all dissolve into Shadow Bugs and form into a fiend known as Duon, a last resort to defend the Halberd. As Meta Knight remains on the bridge to take back his ship, Snake and Lucario jump down to help in the fight, in addition to Falco. Once Duon is vanquished, it leaves behind the real Mr. Game & Watch; once revived, he joins the group. The Subspace Army has now lost its mothership.

Chapter Eight

Ganondorf appearing as a hologram in the Subspace Bomb Factory.

As Samus and Pikachu fight through the Isle of the Ancients' Subspace Bomb Factory from above, the Kongs and the captains fight through from below. The six of them meet in what appears to be a storage room, containing dozens of bombs - in addition to the entire R.O.B. Squad and the Ancient Minister, who appears dejected and has no apparent interest in fighting, much to the fighters' surprise. Ganondorf rings in as a hologram and commands the R.O.B. Squad to detonate all remaining Subspace Bombs immediately - the Subspace Gunship has been completed and a rift large enough to allow it entry into the world is necessary, even if it means the island is engulfed in Subspace as a result. The Ancient Minister has had enough; he had only allowed the sacrifice of two per bomb to keep the rest alive, so he commands the confused R.O.B.s to ignore the order. Ganondorf activates some sort of override that causes the R.O.B.s to not only begin preparing the bombs but also open fire on the Ancient Minister, setting his cloak on fire. Ganondorf cuts the communication as he sends in a wave of troops to distract the fighters, who attempt to disrupt the bombs' deployment. The burning Ancient Minister takes out some of the enemy forces with his Robo Beams as the remains of his cloak turn to ash, returning to his R.O.B. identity and joining the heroes. Once the troops are defeated however, there still remains no way to stop the Subspace Bombs from detonating. Believing his race's annihilation is inevitable, R.O.B. manages to send all the other R.O.B.s, now back to their senses and panicking, into some sort of sleep mode, after which Diddy Kong urges him to escape, but he chooses to stay; Donkey Kong will have none of it as he carries R.O.B. out of the room, with the group racing to escape the island and board the Falcon Flyer that Falcon has remotely summoned. After the group reaches and boards the Flyer, Meta Ridley appears, determined to delay or destroy the ship before it can escape the blast zone. The fighters battle Meta Ridley on the Flyer's roof and are victorious, escaping the island before it becomes entirely engulfed in Subspace. From the mainland shore, the group of fighters that had fought at the canyon watch the island vanish. They are joined by the Falcon Flyer and the Halberd, forming a force of twenty-five.

Chapter Nine

The fighters preparing to venture inside Subspace.

The fighters' trophy forms left in the aftermath of Tabuu's assault.

The Subspace Gunship emerges from where the Isle of the Ancients used to be and fires a shot of its main cannon into the distance, rendering an enormous patch of unused ocean into a Subspace detonation. Bowser and Ganondorf are perched on the ship's command platform overseeing the test. The Halberd is then seen approaching from the distance. Knowing the Halberd has been taken over by the heroes, Ganondorf orders the Gunship to open fire with its primary turrets. It does not take long for the Halberd to be destroyed and it begins to fragment into pieces and begins falling towards the ocean before exploding violently. However, the Falcon Flyer, Samus's gunship, an Arwing and the Hocotate Ship fly out of the explosion and press onward. Ganondorf commands the secondary weapons to also fire, but none of them can land a hit on the smaller crafts. Kirby then arrives riding the Dragoon from a different direction, suggesting the Halberd and the other ships were a distraction, and flies it directly though part of the Subspace Gunship's cannon. The Gunship starts exploding as Bowser and Ganondorf retreat into Subspace, while the fighters fly their ships inside and begin their campaign to fight through Subspace.

As the fighters progress through Subspace, Bowser and Ganondorf are due to meet with Master Hand. Before he appears, Ganondorf decides now is the time to take over and fires Bowser with his Dark Cannon. Kicking Bowser's trophy off to the side, Ganondorf meets Master Hand and soon sees the Chains of Light for the first time, connecting him to Tabuu. Upset that he has been fooled the whole time, Ganondorf attempts to attack Tabuu, but his offensive is easily blocked. As Ganondorf falls back to the ground and becomes a trophy, he collides with Master Hand, breaking him free from Tabuu's control. Now free, Master Hand also attempts to attack Tabuu, but also fails to accomplish anything, being knocked back to the ground by Tabuu with little effort and rendered unconscious. At this point, the fighters arrive and realize what is going on, only for Tabuu to unleash his Off Waves and turn all of them into trophies. With the only threat to his victory seemingly neutralized, Tabuu begins assembling a maze-like orderly world known as The Great Maze out of the colonies created by the Subspace Bombs and fills it with the remnants of the Subspace Army, along with newly-made doppelgängers of the fighters and recreated versions of the bosses they had previously defeated.

King Dedede preparing to guide Luigi and Ness to stop Tabuu.

A luminous cross in the Isle of the Ancients' place.

In the colony containing Dedede's castle, the Dedede Brooches activate, reviving Luigi and Ness. Ness connects the brooches with Dedede's trophy and deduces that he is the reason for their revival; the duo then revive Dedede. His plan successful, Dedede hugs them in elation. He then teams up with them and they begin crossing Subspace towards the Great Maze, reviving Samus, Pit, Falco, Lucas, Ike, Donkey Kong, Pokémon Trainer, Pikachu, Marth, Olimar, Fox, Mr. Game & Watch, Diddy Kong, Captain Falcon and Mario along the way. Upon reaching the staircase at the Great Maze's entrance and seeing Bowser lying there, they revive him as well, only for him to attack Dedede. Dedede wins the subsequent fight and revives Bowser again; Bowser tries to start another fight but is flicked in the face by Dedede, who directs Bowser to Master Hand's motionless form. Bowser begrudgingly decides to join the group to get revenge on Tabuu.

At the same time, Kirby is revived, having eaten the Dedede Brooch that had fallen off the princess Dedede had collected. Kirby sets out across Subspace and revives Peach, Zelda, Meta Knight, Link, Yoshi, Lucario, R.O.B., Ice Climbers, Snake and Wario. Kirby reaches Ganondorf's trophy, but Bowser shows up and vents his rage on it as retribution for his betrayal, giving Kirby second thoughts about getting near it. Dedede then appears, hugs Kirby, and drags him along towards the Great Maze. Link and Zelda then revive Ganondorf. Directed to the Great Maze, Ganondorf is averse to join forces with his two biggest enemies; nevertheless, he sees that Tabuu is the bigger foe and, infuriated that he had been manipulated, he agrees to help. As the fighters are preparing to enter the Great Maze, Wario boots Dedede in the head as retribution for stealing his cargo and trophies, and has a laugh over it. Seeing that two of said trophies (Luigi and Ness) are on Dedede's team surprises him enough to stop fooling around. Wario is then offered to join the group; after a bit of reflection, he agrees and rides his bike up the stairs to the entrance.

After a lengthy and combat-filled trek, the fighters finally reach the center and break all the seals guarding the entrance to Tabuu's residence. Tabuu then attempts to use another set of Off Waves against them, but Sonic suddenly appears and destroys his wings, rendering the attack unable to trophify everybody again. Thus, Tabuu faces three dozen of the fighters and is ultimately defeated. The fighters then manage to escape from Subspace and all the colonies composing the Great Maze are restored to their rightful positions in the real world, with the Subspace rifts all ceasing to exist. However, due to the excessive amount of Subspace Bombs that were simultaneously detonated on it, the Isle of Ancients has ceased existing as well; a giant luminous cross is now in its place, paying tribute to the eradicated R.O.B. Squad.

Epilogue

After the final battle, the fighters decide to complete the team, joining with Jigglypuff, Toon Link and Wolf. All of them are found in secret doors: Jigglypuff in The Swamp (fought at Pokémon Stadium 2), Toon Link in The Forest (fought at the Pirate Ship) and Wolf in The Ruins (fought at Lylat Cruise).

Plot holes

Movements of characters during the plot, slightly reordered for clarity. Click for larger version.

• By following the plot and map as presented, the movements of the antagonists are rather jumbled and nonlinear. The majority of these inconsistencies can be fixed by slightly reordering certain stages, as seen in the image to the right.
  • The Halberd attacks the Midair Stadium and Skyworld in the northwest, then the Battlefield Fortress in the central-west area, followed by the Forest in the southwest before attacking King Dedede's centrally located castle.
  • Bowser jumps from the Diddy Kong group in the north (after the Lake) to the Mario group in the west (the Lake Shore and the Cave), and then back to Diddy Kong in the north (the Swamp).
  • After Wario leaves the Midair Stadium, he captures Ness at the Ruined Zoo to the south, seems to turn back towards the west near the Lake Shore (where King Dedede ambushes him), and then travels back south past the Ruined Zoo to the Ruins. In addition, when Dedede leaves after ambushing Wario, he goes in the direction opposite of where he next ends up.
• Presumably, it is impossible to enter or leave Subspace if there are no rifts. This, however, brings up multiple plot holes.
  • No rifts are known to have existed before the story's beginning. This raises the question of how Tabuu was able to bring Master Hand into Subspace to begin the story, or how he was able to mobilize the Army from Subspace onto the Isle of Ancients.
  • It is unclear how Dedede learned of Tabuu's nature and Off Waves, given that he would had to have entered Subspace to do so (since Tabuu cannot leave Subspace).
  • It is never stated or shown how Sonic ended up in Subspace in the first place. Since he was not trophified by Tabuu's Off Waves, he must have entered some time between the Great Maze's formation and his attack on Tabuu (likely closer to the latter, since he never encountered any other fighters).
  • It is unclear how the fighters managed to escape Subspace after Tabuu's defeat, as all the rifts that could have been traveled through had disappeared.
• It is never shown how Mario and Pit moved from Skyworld to the Plain, how Peach/Zelda and Kirby moved from the Sea of Clouds to the Lake Shore, or how Snake got into the Halberd.
• A fighter is supposedly revived from their trophy form when another fighter touches its golden base. However, there are a few instances where fighters are shown touching trophies' golden bases, but the trophies don't revive; a few examples include when Wario is holding Luigi's trophy before he gets ambushed by Dedede and when Bowser is assaulting Ganondorf's trophy in Subspace.
• Duon was formed out of false Mr. Game & Watches. This raises the question of where the real Mr. Game & Watch came from after Duon's defeat, as he only allows the production of Shadow Bugs, rather than being a formation of them himself.