(June 29, 6:19 p.m: Bridge of Eldin)
(Cool wind brushes the side of my face as I stand near the edge of the stone walkway, a few paces separating me and a hundred-foot fall. I run a hand through my hair and try to moisten the inside of my mouth with my tongue. As if on cue to relieve my apprehension, Link calls out from the other side of the bridge. He is dressed in a blue tunic instead of his customary green, but his smile is still very much the same.)
Take care not to slip. It's quite a fall.
Thank you. It's an honor to meet you.
Not at all. Frankly, I played a relatively minor role in the whole scheme of things. There are others much more deserving than I.
Nevertheless, I would still like to get your firsthand account of what happened. I'm compiling a history of the Subspace Affair.
A history of the Subspace Affair...
...You are Terran, are you not?
Yes, why?
I find it intriguing that a Terran would be interested in an event occurring in the Smash Brothers world.
I don't think of the Subspace Affair as an isolated incident. It was only through the work of the Smashers that Tabuu was defeated. Had he succeeded, I don't believe he would stop at controlling merely the Smash Brothers galaxy.
(Link pauses.)
Neither do I.
Go on. I'll try to answer your questions as best I can.
When did you first encounter the Subspace Army?
Ah, that...the incident in the forest. Yes. I remember walking through the forest by myself. I had just passed Yoshi on the way. He had been sleeping on a tree stump. I recall walking not more than ten paces before black rain began to pour through the forest canopy- the Shadow Bugs.
It seems silly now, but I recall being scared stiff of them when those bugs formed themselves into Primids. It is a natural response to fear what you do not know and consequently know nothing about which you fear. I had no way of knowing that they were relatively harmless, that this was nowhere near the worst they could get. I remember just praying I could make it out of there alive.
(He smiles, albeit grudgingly.)
Hero of Time, Goron's ass.
Did you ever find out what they were?
Not until later. After we emerged from the forest, we tried to track down the Halberd, but then we ran into Mario and Pit.
From what I understand, you and Yoshi fought against them?
Yes, because we saw them fighting Zelda- or at least what we thought was Zelda. It wasn't until later that we found out she was just a replica, created from those Shadow Bugs.
So they were able to create a replica of her?
Apparently so, although we didn't know how until we realized her trophy had been captured by Bowser, and the Shadow Bugs used that as their model. We had no way of knowing they were capable of assuming other forms, but that was something we quickly learned to consider. It was also something we learned the hard way while trying to get through the Great Maze. Having to fight thirty-something replicas...I can assure you that wasn't exactly a pleasant way to spend time.
But Mr. Game and Watch...sheesh. Using his body to create the Shadow Bugs, now that's sneaky. I can't tell if it's brilliant or creepy, or both.
I wouldn't necessarily classify Mr. Game and Watch as an enemy. He was used by Tabuu to create the Subspace Army without his own knowledge.
Right. He helped us after the whole mess with Duon and the Halberd, but we had no way of knowing that at the time. After the constant stream of reports of Shadow Bug and Primid manifestations, and the incident with the Shadow Clones, though, none of us wanted to take any chances. I guess it's just as well.
What was Ganondorf's role in the entire incident?
Nothing less than I expected. He was a sneaky bastard, I'll give him that- I heard from Samus and the others how he destroyed the entire Island by blowing up a thousand Subspace Bombs at once. Also, trying to steal control of the Subspace Army from Master Hand at the last moment and stabbing Bowser in the back. Hasn't changed a bit.
Master Hand was never in charge of the Subspace Army, however.
That's what it looked like at first, but I- and the others, for that matter- never knew about the existence of Tabuu until we actually saw him, knew him for what he was.
Imagine the most powerful thing you can, and then imagine something else in complete control of that thing, able to control it as if it were nothing at all. That was within the limits of Tabuu's power in addition to creating the Subspace Army, enslaving the Isle of Ancients...It was frightening, really- I know I sound like a coward here, but I'm not going to lie and say I wasn't unfazed at the idea of something else controlling Master Hand.
You managed to stop him, though.
I wish that were true. Makes me sound all the more heroic.
But the truth of the matter is, I alone didn't do much in the way of stopping him. I guess no one person could have definitively stopped him, though. Ganondorf and Master Hand proved that.
I said this before anything else, and I'll say it again- I wasn't the only one. There were others with much more.
Such as?
King Dedede, for one.
Dedede?
Yeah. Master Hand was forced to bring together Bowser, Ganondorf, Wario, Dedede- those with knowledge of the Smash Brothers world, those whose allegiances weren't exactly tied to the cause of the greater good. For all we know, Dedede could easily have gone the same way, a power-hungry mongrel bent on world domination.
It was his fault the Halberd was stolen in the first place, I'll admit. But Dedede truly understood the nature of the threat we were dealing with before anyone else did. He refused to be flattered or tempted by the thought of allying with Tabuu and developed the solution that ultimately allowed Luigi, Ness, and Kirby to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. That's what I think.
And Sonic? I'm interested in hearing about his role.
He could have popped out through a black hole for all I know. You'll have to ask him yourself. Though, for the life of me, I can't figure out how he managed to get near Tabuu without getting hit by the Off Waves.
Neither can I. Any theories?
Search me. Maybe it's because he wasn't previously from the Smash Brothers world- perhaps he wasn't bound by the same rules we were. I can only thank the Triforce that he wasn't.
Solid Snake wasn't a previous resident of the Smash Brothers either. How do you explain his lack of immunity?
(Link shrugs.)
To be honest with you, I have no idea. But, I don't try to think too hard into it. I'm just grateful that in the end, it all worked out beautifully.
(The sun emerges from behind a stray cloud, showering the bridge with afternoon light. It is truly beautiful, hues of orange, blue, and purple staining the sky. Link gazes upwards fondly.)
Beautiful, huh? If it hadn't been for Dedede, or the Ancient Minister slash R.O.B, or Sonic, or the rest...it might not even have existed anymore, and we might not even have been around to see it. Imagine that.
