Eclipsing Void

The blasting lights above continued to shine, on and off, one after another. While the heads of the land spoke with one another in a confide chamber, there was no reason everyone else had to be bored as well. Outside, those flashing lights brought life to an otherwise dull party, which would surely have left the citizens filled with woe. But not so long as he was king of the festivities.

A young man, similar in height and build to the Hero-King himself. His hair, a burning hot red, matching with the searing flame that echoed not only within his heart, but inside his very soul. His uniform blue, akin to the Lords of the land he hailed from; once more, not too dissimilar to the garbs worn by the Hero-King himself. He was once known as a blazing warrior, who clashed in many battles, only to vanish shortly before the Subspace Emissary. He returned after however, retaining even greater skills in battle, with an even stronger blaze. The masses still give him that famous chant, the one many foes would last hear, before defeat befell them.

"ROY'S OUR BOY! ROY'S OUR BOY!"

Roy gazed over the banisters of the Millennium Court walls, towards the masses that partied below. This was a momentous occasion, as the idea of another Subspace Emissary was becoming more and more a distant memory. He could only wish he was there during said Emissary; perhaps the outcome would have been massively different. Perhaps it would've been the exact same; it was ever so hard to tell.

But Roy didn't care as he watched the fireworks explode overhead. He was the knight in charge of protecting the walls from any villainous opponents. Though he believed it a pointless cause – who would dare attack on such a day – he had his men on high alert. His most well-trained soldiers lined the city streets and the walls themselves, searching high and low for anyone who would dare threaten the event.

He smiled though, figuring it a pointless gesture. Laying his hands behind his head, he relaxed instead to enjoy the night above and the party below. Sucking the air through his nose, he took in the delicious taste of the party above and below. Before his lips turned into a frown. He dropped his hands from his head, raising one slightly to his face. His limb began to surge with fire, before said fire vanished.

"I know you're there," Roy said for seemingly no reason, before turning around, "Show yourself, fiend."

His eyes glared towards a catapult that sat just behind him, where he watched as a being cloaked in black pulled himself away. His arms were crossed, and his blue eyes glared straight towards Roy. The sight of this man in a lab coat with his red tie and stethoscope shocked Roy silent, who could only glare ahead towards him in pure awe.

"What? Yo-you?" he said, "What are you doing here?"

Before he could say another word, the man in the black coat rushed at Roy at full speed, fists cackling with electricity. He threw a hook towards Roy's head, who dodged it easily, then threw another punch which the burning Lord sidestepped quickly. Then the man in black ducked down, throwing a kick aimed towards Roy's feet, who easily leaped over the entire strike.

Roy landed behind the man in black, quickly withdrawing his blade as he did so. Without a moment of hesitation, his sword suddenly ignited itself, burning with heat and flames. Grasping his sword by the reverse, he quickly dashed towards the black cloaked being and swung with all his might. His opponent quickly pulled out a white sheet however, a sheet that not only struck Roy dead on, but produce a powerful gust of wind. When Roy's eyes opened after taking such a strike, he was facing the edge of the wall, instead of his foe. It took him shortly after to realize he was facing the opposite direction.

"What the?" BZZZZRRRRTTTTT! "RRAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!"

A powerful surge of electricity coursed through Roy's entire being, his eyes shining from the powerful strike. And then, a glowing yellow light appeared on his body, slowly growing in size. This light quickly enveloped his body, replacing flesh and clothe with steely-pure stone and marble. A golden disk appeared around his feet as well, as he lost mobility and became pure stone.

Roy fell over, though he wasn't dead. Nor was he alive for that matter. No, the Young Lion was now a trophy. Unable to move, unable to think, unable to live. He was frozen like any other statue or figurine.

The man in black – the doctor – stood tall above him. He cracked his knuckles, causing sparks of electricity to emit from the action. The man gave a hard sigh after, before slowly unbuttoning the lab coat on his body. Walking away from the trophified Roy, he made way instead for Millennium Castle.

With skill and finesse, the doctor was capable of trialing up the side of the castle. He leaped from balcony to balcony, jumped between walls with ease, and climbed with as much fervor as a certain Italian plumber. Eventually, he found one such opening to the castle. It wasn't through a window, instead through an open balcony towards the back of the castle. Landing inside, his dark blue eyes stared towards a door at the opposite end of the bedroom.

The doctor nodded his head up and down at the sight, before curling his hands into fists. The room was eerily quite, despite the fireworks that echoed overhead. Approaching the door, the man in black reached out to palm its door handle. As soon as he touched it however, a flung blade embedded itself in the wall directly besides him.

The doctor stared at the sword; it was golden, with smaller spikes jutting out from the side of the main blade itself. It's hilt was small, made for use by someone far smaller than the doctor himself. In fact, the entire blade was – in comparison – quite the small one. Before he could grab it however, it shot out from the door, instead flying in the opposite direction. The doctor watched as the sword slid into the gauntlet-covered hand of a certain masked man.

"I felt your presence long ago, being," Meta Knight said as he began walking towards him, "Who are you? What are you? Where did you come from?"

The doctor said nothing however, as he instead walked towards Meta Knight. The masked knight held his stance firm however, as he leveled his blade with the doctor's body.

"A man of silent words," Meta Knight commented, "Fine. So be it. I will not hesitate to cut you down either way..." his eyes suddenly started to glow, as his cape turned into wings, "You dare assault this castle on such a day! You will be blessed if one ever reverts you from trophication!"

His wings flapped valiantly, taking off for the doctor at high speeds. The man in black readied himself for battle, raising his fists and steeling his eyes. Meta Knight's golden blade swung near his body; a series of strikes aimed to kill. Every one of those strikes, the doctor was capable of dodging pass, before moving behind the star warrior. One punch, another punch, then a kick, all to Meta Knight's back. The kick knocked him away, but he quickly recoiled. Wings flapping, he darted back, spinning in a circle with his blade out. The golden blade of Galaxia tore through anything and everything in its path, forcing the doctor to flip back. Meta Knight's sword slammed into the earth, planted deep inside.

The doctor approached him, fists cackling with powerful electricity. He was poised to strike, but Meta Knight had another trick up his sleeve. Grasping his cape, he twirled around at sonic speeds, causing a gust of wind to blow in the area. Suddenly vanishing into thin air, the masked soldier suddenly reappeared on the balcony itself, his yellow eyes glaring dead ahead towards the doctor.

"That is strange," he commented, "You look like him, fight like him, but you are not him..." Meta Knight shifted himself, as he once more leveled his blade with the doctor, "Just who – or what – are you?"

The man in black did not reply, instead sending a powerful bolt of lighting flying towards Meta Knight. The star warrior struck the bolt with his blade, sending it flying into another direction. Upon doing so, he was shocked to see himself in the same presence as the doctor. Like a black shadow, he was suddenly in the same area as Meta Knight himself. He pulled back, just barely missing a powerful strike from the man in black. His fist slammed into the stone-laden floor, cracking it with pure might alone.

His eyes quickly latched onto Meta Knight, who suddenly flew forward like a missile, his blade at the ready. He was spinning rapidly, traveling in a snake-like course in an attempt to throw the doctor's aim off. The man in black glared at the attack, his hand delving into his coat. Grabbing upon a white sheet that laid within, he tore it out and swung with all his might. Like a Roy before, a powerful gust of wind flew from his cape. Not only that, but Meta Knight found himself facing the opposite direction.

Crashing into the banister of the balcony, Meta Knight had very little time to react. He flapped his wings to ascend, only to find his escape brought to an end. His foot was grasped upon by the doctor, who quickly pulled him back. Meta Knight spun around, coming face to face with the man and black. And then a series of three punches lodged into his body. Powerful strikes that dazed him, and left him up for attack.

The doctor pulled back, suddenly flaring a yellow color through out his entire body. Then his hand slammed forward, right into Meta Knight's body. He sent a powerful bolt of electricity, surging through Meta Knight's entire body. The blast held him in place, not allowing him to move until every bit was over. The last bolt of electricity triggered a small explosion that sent Meta Knight flying away. He slammed into the wall, while a golden light began to course upon his entire body. He fell over, but not as flesh (or whatever it is Star Warriors are made of), but instead of stone and marble. Trophication had taken over Meta Knight's body.

The now trophified Star Warrior laid on the ground at the doctor's feet, silent to the world. The man in black gave a hard sigh as he settled the tie around his neck. Then the sound of a door opening echoed behind him. He turned slowly to face the entrance to this balcony, eyes falling upon a certain young woman, with long blue hair.

Lucina stared towards the man in black with eyes wide. She had only heard a commotion echoing upstairs, but did not expect to see this. This man standing tall against Meta Knight in trophy form, while fire works echoed behind him.

"What the? Sir Meta Knight?" Lucina whispered, before suddenly her senses were heightened, "You son of a-! I'll get you!"

Quickly she withdrew her blade, rushing towards the man in black at full speeds. He readied himself for battle once more, both fists raised at the ready. Lucina grasped her blade with both hands, pulling it back to ready it for a solid thrusting motion. Her blade was cocked back; she was ready to kill them. And then.

KER-POW!

"Ah!?"

A powerful bolt of lightning struck Lucina in the back, launching her forward. She slammed into the banister of the balcony, bouncing off and falling flat on her back. Before she could even react, the hands of the doctor fell on her chest. She was pulled back, spun around, then thrown full-force into the wall. The second hit was enough to cause a glowing light to appear upon her body.

"No, d-dammit," Lucina grunted as she clawed at her chest, trying to stop the golden aura from taking her, "I can... st-still... f-f-fiiiiiii..."

She couldn't finish her words, as she was suddenly a trophy. The doctor stared down upon Lucina's trophy, taking in heavy breaths after withstanding two successive fights. But who was the one that threw the lightning bolt; for a change, it wasn't him.

"Good thing I was in here when you shot that bolt of lightning so I could catch it," the mischievous and malicious voice of a little girl rang, "What would you have done if I wasn't there, hmm?"

His savior? Morta, of all people. She stood with her pink dress swaying, a smile on her face as she gazed at him with large cute eyes. The doctor said nothing, instead pulling away from the two trophies that laid around him. Brushing roughly pass Morta, he headed for the door in this balcony.

"Haaaa... and I thought I had anger issues..." she commented to herself as she followed behind.

Ah, the Hero-King. Did they meet the last time during the Subspace Emissary? It was strange. Between adventuring around with Zelda and even the likes of Snake, Peach couldn't exactly remember. In fact, she didn't even remember ever holding a conversation with him. And yet, she remembered watching him fall besides her, when Tabuu's Off Waves were triggered, and everyone was defeated.

Yes, Marth, the Hero-King. Such an interesting name he had too; a title given to him thanks to his many years of service to his people. But a ruler who fought at the sides of his soldiers. Tales are often woven of such beings – even Zelda could attest to that – but it was a far-off thought to Peach herself. To fight alongside Toads in a battle. Hm...

"I'm happy you all were able to join us here today," Marth said as he took his seat at the head of the table, "I surely do hope you all were accommodated well on your trips here. Um... hm... especially the likes of you, King Dedede and Sir Kirby."

"Where's the food!?"

"Puyyy..."

"Yes, indeed, the food," Marth replied as he put on a gracious smile, "Food and dinner will be served after the talks have been started. So, please, King Dedede, I pray you can wait just a little while longer. Now then..."

Words came from his lips that, really, Peach wasn't really paying that much attention to. As childish as it is to say, she wasn't always the best when it came to these diplomatic meetings. It was mainly Toadsworth who handled everything while she sat idly by.

But Toadsworth wasn't here, and she wasn't paying that much attention to what he had to see. No, the Princess of Toadstools was paying close attention to his overall appearance. The young man known as the Hero-King. He was so tall – easily taller than the men she was used too – he had such nice blue hair, these nice blue eyes, and a more slender frame. It was weird; he was such a pretty boy, as they call them. Honestly, he was quite similar to Link of all people, and yet at the same time, he was completely different. For one thing, he spoke. And his voice was so calm, so stirring, so alluring, it made her smile.

Then he looked at her. Their eyes met; blue on blue. She watched as his lips moved, for he was saying something. She could only watch his lips move up and down. Only to bend into a frown. He stopped saying words, which was assaulting. Why wasn't he saying anything; she wanted to hear his voice.

"Mmph!? Ow! What?" Peach said as she looked over to Zelda, who had jabbed her pretty roughly in the side, "Huh, what? What happened?"

"Marth was asking you a question," Zelda said in an annoyed manner, "And you didn't respond."

"Oh... oh... Oh!"

Her eyes lined the room, as now all eyes were on her. Mostly everyone was either annoyed, confused, or some kind of weird mixture between the two. Mario however, was quite concerned as he raised an eyebrow. All Peach could do was smile, and tried to hide the blush of embarrassment that sat on her face.

"I'm sorry, Marth," she said in a genuine – yet childish – manner, "Could you please repeat what you said earlier? Please?"

"Why... yes.." Marth plied with a sigh, "Um... hm... well... let us see here... hm..." after regaining his composure, he once again put on that heart melting smile of his, "Lady Toadstool, about the Mushroom Kingdom-"

CRAAAASSSHHH!

Glass suddenly fell from above, as two large objects fell upon the debate table. Everyone looked up in unison by the sudden crash and sound, and watched as these objects fell. They were large, made of steel and marble, stone and detail. They were both trophies; trophies depicted the likes of Lucina and Meta Knight.

"What? Lucina!? Sir Meta Knight!?" Marth shouted, while everyone stood up from their seats.

Shortly after, another object fell. It was small and purple, with an 'M' on the face of it. This capsule device bounced two times, before sliding to a complete halt. And then it snapped open.

A blinding light flared out of the orb filling the entire area. Peach covered her eyes as she attempted to protect herself from the glow, gasping as it assaulted her eyes. When the shine ended, her eyes opened up, slowly so. What she saw staring back, were the red cat-like eyes of a beast. It's body was dog-like, while two impressive fangs akin to a saber tooth tiger shot out from its jaw. It's body was yellow, its face grey and blue, and a purple main like thunderclouds flowed from its back.

"Raiiii... Raiiii..." said the Thunder Pokemon, before it slammed down all of its paws at once, "RAAIIIIIIIKKOOOOUUUUU!"

All around Raikou, a powerful lightning storm flowed out. Thunder and lights appeared, sending powerful shocking courses of electricity out in a circle. Everyone in the room were caught off guard, as lightning surged through their bodies. Even Peach herself felt the burning pain flow through her, as she was thrown back.

THONK!

Her head hurt. Like. It hurt a lot. Peach found her gaze becoming dazed, as she stared hazily towards Raikou above. Everyone was falling as his electricity flowed through them all. Golden colors stained their bodies, slowly gliding up as they were trophified. Peach reached out, specifically for Zelda, who had turned to stone right besides her.

Her eyes began to close then, and she clutched her chest. Peach could feel a burning glow envelop her, fearing it was trophication. There was nothing she could do.

"No... wait... p-p-please..."

And her eyes closed shut, her body growing silent soon after

Darkness.

Darkness...

Lady Toadstool. Lady Toadstool. Lady Toadstool. Princess, please... awaken...

She did just that.

Princess Peach's blue eyes slowly opened, a low groan escaping her. It was incredibly low; so low, almost she was ignorant of it. She took in a deep breath though, then rolled over onto her back. Upon doing so, she felt her body press up against something cold. Peach looked over, her eyes falling on Zelda. But, no, it wasn't Zelda; it was Zelda's trophy.

"Ahh—mmm!"

Hands had found its way upon her lips, silencing her. Peach began to fret and worry about who it was that could've silenced her, until she slowly looked to her right. Her eyes fell on Marth, who pulled one hand away from her. Placing it to his lips in a line, all he could do was say,

"Shhhhhh..."

Peach merely nodded, as Marth's other hand pulled away from her. He said nothing, instead laying against the floor and growing silent. Peach did likewise, her eyes lining against the ceiling above. She had no idea what was going on, what they were doing, or what had happened. No, she knew what happened, she just didn't know why.

"Marth," she whispered, making him go,

"Shhhhh..."

"Ya'know, I thought they would've put on a better fight," a voice rang over the duo. The voice of a mischievous and malicious little girl, "The world's greatest rulers and heroes... dropped like mere flies. No wonder using Raikou was banned."

Peach angled her head slightly, staring up pass the trophies on the ground towards the main table. On the edge of the table sat a girl in pink shirt with a flower imprinted upon it, pink hair, and these large cute eyes. She sat there with axe in hand, smiling ever so dementedly as she rocked slowly from side to side.

"Hmmm... and I thought we'd have a little bit more fun. Such a shame."

"Everything went according to plan," said a mechanical voice next, one that greatly confused Peach, "You should be less willing to enter battle, Morta. We should be pleased our victory went as well as it did. The great heroes of the Subspace Emissary are all dealt with. Those responsible for Tabuu's defeat shall repay their debt."

Peach's eyes shifted again, falling upon a being she had never seen before. A being cloaked in green from head to toe, with various adornments dressing its body. The only detail visible from beneath the hood, appeared to be the being's glowing yellow eyes. It never shifted from Morta, as the being hovered closer to her.

"Marth... what is...?" Peach whispered, before growing silent.

"The Ancient Minister..." he answered in response.

"Where is the doctor? It is time to prepare the Subspace Bomb..." asked the Ancient Minister in his mechanical voice.

"Oh, it shouldn't take him too long," Morta replied as she began to file her nails, "You know him; he's always about the mission."

Not even a few seconds after she said that did the door open up. Peach and Marth's eyes shifted to see a man dressed in a black lab coat. He had blue eyes, brown hair, and a most emotionless visage. Behind him stood a bomb all too familiar to the prince and princess. But Peach was uninterested in that. Instead, she gazed at the man himself.

He wasn't tall like Marth; quite the opposite. This man was short, shorter than her in fact. And it was hard to gauge his body type, thanks to that heavy lab coat he wore. But none of that mattered; this man was incredibly familiar. In fact, he looked just like,

"Mario?"

That was loud, too loud to simply ignore. Marth glared at Peach with eyes wide, shocked that she couldn't keep her voice in check. She too covered her mouth in shock, scolding herself mentally for breaking their cover.

It was too late; Morta, the Ancient Minister, and the doctor's eyes befell Peach and Marth's position, as they laid on the floor. The doctor moved first, throwing trophies out of the way as he approached them dangerously. Pulling her nail filer in, Morta instead pulled out her axe, and leaped in the air. Seconds after, the doctor did likewise, jumping up with his fist cackling with electricity.

Marth readied himself to strike, his hand falling upon the hilt of his blade. To his surprise however, a glowing light suddenly appeared right beneath his feet. Both Morta and the doctor noticed this same thing, but by this point in time, it was too late.

SHEEEEENNNNN! WAAAAAAAAHHHHH!

A powerful light roared from beneath Peach and Marth's feet, blowing the doctor and Morta away. The glow was strong, emanating sparkles that danced around their bodies. Marth gazed around to the rainbow like colors that howled around him, wondering who or what brought this on. When he turned around, his eyes befell Peach. She stood tall with her hand in the air, her hair bouncing, her eyes closed in concentration. As he watched the sparkles flow from her body, he realized it was she who caused this glow, and nothing else.

Then it died out, dropping her to her knees. She was breathing heavily after such a move, the sparkles on her body fading.

"Affuuuu... I... I think I expelled a bit too much power there," the princess claimed, as she felt weak in her entire body.

BEEEWWW!

Twin beams of light suddenly shot towards a defenseless Peach, who merely watched them approach her quickly. Everything seemingly moved in slow motion, as she watched her sure to be demise. Before she could be stricken however, a hand found its way around her waist. She was pulled away, while a blade effortless deflected the beams, and sent them into the wall. The blade belonging to a certain Hero-King.

Marth stood with Peach in one hand and the Falchion in the other, clutching the Princess close by her waist. His face was hard, glaring towards the trio of foes he had in his midst. The doctor landed right before the meeting hall table, with Morta landing on it herself. The Ancient Minister hovered above, his glowing yellow eyes steaming with heat. Instead of blasting at the duo again, he turned to move towards the Subspace Bomb itself.

"See to it that you end them," he said with his mechanical voice, "I shall activate the bomb."

"What? No!" Marth shouted as he moved to stop him, only for the doctor to move in his way. Turning the opposite way only faced him with Morta, making Marth realize he was pinned, "Alright... stand behind me, Lady Peach, I'll deal with them."

"No, no, no," Peach said as she pulled away from him, quickly taking stand by herself, "I can fight too, ya'know..."

"But I just thought... I mean... what with the shine and your tendency to be-"

"What? Kidnapped by Bowser!?" she snapped back, "I take offense to that, ya'know! No one ever brings up the one time I saved Mario!"

"Actually, Lucina did once," Marth replied, "She said you ended up crying throughout all of it."

"Hey! Lovers!" Morta shouted with fists on her hips, "Are you two just gonna sit there and argue, or are we going to get to the fun stuff!?"

"Lovers!?" both Marth and Peach shouted in unison, before looking at one another at the same time, "We are not lovers!" they once more shouted together.

The doctor didn't care as he shook his head, fists cackling with electricity. He approached them, battle ready, causing Marth to snap his eyes upon the doctor. His blade was readied upon him, while his eyes slid into a stronger squint and glare.

"Who are you?" Marth inquired, "You look like Sir Mario, but you are not him!" he looked to the floor, seeing the plumber in trophy form on the ground, "The real Mario is on the ground! What does that make you!? Some evil demon?"

"Say what? Your name is Mario, doctor?" Morta claimed, before putting her hand to her mouth and laughing, "Oh, hohohohohoho! That is rich! For all the time I knew you, I only called you 'doctor'! So, what, is your name Doctor Mario?" the doctor glared at her heavily, only bringing about more laughter, "Oh-hohohohohohoh! It is! It is Doctor Mario, isn't it? Oh-hohohohoho!" BLONK! "Ah!?"

Out of nowhere, a turnip with a smiley face on it suddenly struck Morta dead in the head. She was thrown off the table by the tossed vegetable, while Marth and the doctor – well, Doctor Mario – gazed at Peach out of shock.

"Sorry," said the Princess of Toadstools, "She was really getting on my nerves with her voice..."

"Duly noted," the Hero-King said as she glared at Dr. Mario, "I shall deal with our prescriber!"

He dashed for his foe, blowing away from Peach with a shocking display of speed. The wind flowed along his body, his cape ruffling with his rush. Wielding the mighty blade Falchion in hand, he rapidly advanced upon the doctor he faced. A master swordsman, Marth knew a thing or two about distance and space. Battling in wars will teach one, whether one wishes to learn it or not. There's no space for mistakes on the battlefield.

To his surprise, Dr. Mario was just as skilled on his feet as he was. His blade swung with just the tip – the most deadly spot – towards the prescriber's body, only to barely miss as the doctor pulled back. He then launched forward, with a blast of electricity. Marth pulled in with his sword at the ready, defending against the attack with little time to spare. His sword took the blunt of the electrical blast, while he countered with a swing of his blade. To his surprise, the Falchion was caught within the white sheet belonging to the doctor he faced. Said sheet should have been torn to shreds by the mighty power of the Falchion, but some magical property existed within it.

Dr. Mario yanked Marth forward with his sheet, bringing the Hero-King into his reign, whether he wanted to or not. But Marth wasn't out of tricks or surprises. As he was brought in, he skillfully leaped, his foot slamming down on the doctor's chest. With just as much skill and finesse, he kicked off of Dr. Mario's chest and face, pushing him back with the twin attacks.

Dr. Mario gripped his chest, whilst pulling back his sheet. Marth stepped back as well, grasping tightly upon the hilt of the Falchion.

"You're not too bad," said the Hero-King, as he sized up his opponent, "I take it was you who defeated Lucina and turned her into a trophy?" Dr. Mario merely nodded, making Marth do the same, "I see... Lucina is an amazing sword fighter; almost as good as yours truly," he brushed blue hair from his face, whilst glaring at his foe, "However, her entire fighting style is modeled after my own. Let us see how well you do against the original Falchion wielder!"

Dr. Mario didn't say a word, he merely ran towards Marth without a hint or inclination of fear in his mind. Meanwhile – in midair – a certain Princess spun with her arms out. She did so quickly, as if summoning a gust of wind with her spinning action. She struck Morta, sending her back flying back. She crashed into the wall in the room, falling down with an annoyed glare on her face. Once more she lifted her axe, whilst glaring dead-ahead towards Peach.

"What the hell?" she replied, "I could've sworn you were a weakling! Don't you get kidnapped often!?"

"That's every other week!" Peach shouted back.

Morta didn't care, as she grasped her axe with both hands roughly. Despite her small and childish nature, she wielded the axe with skill. She spun it around in her small, cute hands, before swinging it towards Peach with the blade end. The Princess of Toadstools sidestepped the strike, while Morta's blade slammed into the earth. So strong was her strike, the blade got lodged into the earth, making Morta pull on it in an attempt to wretch it out. Instead, she was kicked in the face by Peach, who balanced on one foot with ballerina-like grace.

"Ow, ow, owie!" Morta groaned in pain as she rubbed her forehead. Before she could do anything, she was grabbed off the floor and pulled up into Peach's hands. Morta's large eyes gazed into Peach's blue eyes, blue eyes filled with anger.

"Like, for real!" Morta claimed as she thrashed about in an attempt to get out of Peach's grasp, "I thought you were a weakling! What are you doing like this? Like, how do you produce sparkles like you do? How do you pull vegetables out of thin-air like you do? All the data I had on you is just..."

"Hmmm-hmmm!" Peach giggled, making Morta raise an eyebrow.

"What... what's so funny?"

"It doesn't take much to Smash," she pulled her hand back, "As so!"

SMACK!

Peach's hand struck across Morta's face, sending her flying back and crashing into the table again. Unable to keep fighting, the pink-haired girl merely fell down in an attempt to catch her breath. Calmly, Peach waltzed up to Morta, once again grabbing her and pulling her up. This time, she glared at her foe as sparkles emanated from her entire person. Dangerous sparkles; ones that held a high level of painful intent.

"Now, tell me who you are, and why you attacked this place!" Peach yelled, which only served to make Morta laugh.

"Ahaahhh! You... you look so cute when you're trying to be threatening!" Morta commented, which only made Peach flinch, "You don't have to hide it, Princess. You're a good fighting – surprise of all surprise – but the whole threatening thing just doesn't lend itself well to a girl like you. Ya'know, the prissy blonde hair and pink garbs... really just makes you feel... well... pathetic, really! Like, a girl trying to act all big and bad! Oh-hohohohoho! I can't take it anymore! You're killing me!"

"H-hey! Shut up!" Peach shouted as stomped her foot down, "I'm not messing around here! I will hurt you!"

"And I'll hurt you back," Morta replied as her laughter suddenly died, though she held a powerful grin on her lips, "You and I can agree on one thing!" BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! "It really doesn't take much to Smash!"

Peach's eyes grew wide, as that ominous beeping grew in size and numbers. She looked around, checking the ground around her. There were mines all around her, making the princess' hold on Morta grow lax. The pink she-devil quickly escaped the princess then, while Peach merely gazed around to the myriad of bombs she found herself in the center of. Paralyzed with fear, she really had no idea what – if anything – she could do.

"M-Marth!" she called.

"Wh-what? Lady Toadstool!" Marth called as he gazed at her, and the mines placed around her, "Agh! Vile fiends!"

His hand laid on Dr. Mario's collar, holding the prescriber in place. The mad doctor attempted to shock him with his abilities, but was quickly thrown away before he could do such an action. Instead of continuing his attack however, Marth faced Peach instead. Grasping the Falchion by the hilt, he pulled back, and then thrust forward. Upon doing so, a powerful gust of wind flowed from the blade, brushing against Peach. It tossed away the bombs and mines that sat on and around her body, instead throwing it on Morta. The pink-haired girl was standing calmly some feet away, but no longer, as all these bombs sat on her position. And after being agitated by Marth's gust, they all began to beep rapidly; representing detonation.

"Oh... dammit..."

KA-BOOOM!

The room shook and quaked, as sound and debris roared out in random directions. Peach ducked down and covered her head at the sound, as flames and smog covered the area where Morta once stood. When the explosions were over, rolling out from the area of detonation was a trophy. Said trophy depicted a pink she-devil, with her axe at the ready.

Peach remained in her huddled appearance, not sure if the explosion was over or not. However, the calming touch of a slender hand caused her to open her eyes. She stared up to a young man with moonlight blue hair, and a calming smile on his face. With his gentle touch, he pulled her up onto her feet, and gave a kindhearted, warm chuckle.

"Lady Toadstool, are you alright?" Marth asked, showing genuine concern for her.

And when he said that, there was something Peach felt. Something that, she hadn't really felt before. Something that made her go-

"Ow... I mean... yeah," she placed a hand upon her heart and smiled back, "I'm fine..."

BA-DUM!

Peach and Marth gazed to the debate table in the chamber, where Dr. Mario stood. The doctor cracked his knuckles dauntingly, emitting tiny sparks of electricity. Upon seeing him, Marth pulled up the Falchion and readied it.

"Now, if you don't mind, Lady Toadstool," Marth said as he pulled away from her, "I have to finish him..."

"Uwaah, Marth," she said as he pulled him a bit, "Just... be careful. He... he looks like Mario but-"

"He's not Mario," Marth finished.

Jumping onto the table, Marth readied the Falchion. Dr. Mario showed no fear of the blade as he continued his approach. At the same time, Marth walked against him. His blade glowed a blue color, taking on a form he had never seen before. Staring down upon it, he merely shrugged, as he swung towards the dark prescriber. Dr. Mario juked back and dodged the strike, before thrusting forward with a punch of his own. Like a blue blur, Marth stepped past the punch, before countering with a downward slash along Dr. Mario's body. However, the man in black quickly pulled out his magical white sheet. The clothe wrapped itself around his arm, giving him the perfect defense against Marth's glowing blade. His sword slammed down upon Dr. Mario's arm, but the white sheet once again stopped it from injuring him.

"Ahhh! Your sheet!" Marth growled, "It's... surprisingly strong! Just... what is it?"

Unable to fight the other off, both Marth and Dr. Mario pulled away from one another. The duo were breathing hard, as their battle was surprisingly equal on most parts. However, neither side was willing to give up fighting just yet. They readied themselves for battle once more, only for a loud ticking noise to echo out. Marth quickly pulled back, though he held his blade level with the doctor before him.

"All of your actions have been for nothing. Unfortunately, it is already too late."

The mechanical voice froze Peach's heart, making her clutch it. From the entrance, the Ancient Minister flew in with his yellow eyes glowing. He glared down upon Marth and Peach, while Dr. Mario made way for Morta's trophy.

"All of your fighting has only served to waste your time," said the Ancient Minister, as he descended in height to be slightly above the prince and princess, "Though, you two were doomed from the very start."

"What are you talking about?" Marth asked as he pointed his blade at the Ancient Minister.

"Observe..."

Flying above, he revealed the entrance to the room once more. From the entryway, there laid an object of pure nightmares. It was oval in shape; spherical on both ends, with a tube at the very end. Within said tube laid electricity that parsed, and a small sphere in the very center. There was a timer beneath this small sphere. There were only fifty seconds left.

"What? But? A... a... Subspace Bomb?" Peach whispered, as she and Marth gazed upon it with absolute horror, "But I thought they were-"

"All gone?" said the Ancient Minister.

"As well as you!" Marth shouted, "You were destroyed along with the Isle of the Ancients! R.O.B.! What is the meaning of this nonsense!?"

"The one you know as 'R.O.B.' is not who I am," said the Ancient Minister, surprising the Hero-King, "I am – and always will be – the Ancient Minister. I recommend you and Princess Peach enjoy your moments of consciousness. It won't be too long before you two become trophies."

Their eyes fell upon the bomb again, where the time-limit had decreased. Instead of fifty seconds, the prince and princess only had about forty or so seconds left to make their escape. If they could escape, that is.

"Blast it," Marth grumbled, "Lady Toadstool! Follow me!"

Sheathing his blade Marth quickly ran in the opposite direction of the Subspace Bomb. Peach stared at it and the ticking numbers, before trailing her eyes over to Dr. Mario. He stared back at her. They both did nothing; they only stared.

"Mario..." she whispered.

"Lady Toadstool! We can't waste time!" Marth's voice rang.

Peach began walking backwards, though her eyes staid on Dr. Mario. Then she grabbed her dress by the top, lifting it up slightly to give herself more mobility. Running behind Marth (which is not an easy task mind you, because he's fast as all hell), Peach found herself coming to the balcony Marth stood on just earlier that evening. Their time limit was surely waning now; perhaps around the lower-twenties, high-teens.

"I pray this works," said the Hero-King, as he placed his hands around his mouth like a makeshift horn, "WARP STAR!"

He grew silent shortly after, looking up to the starry heavens above. Both he and Peach could only stare, as their time was constantly diminishing. The Princess of Toadstools even began to fret, believing their fates to be sealed. But before she could voice her displeasure, one star in the skies began to shake. It fell, emitting sparkles from the heavens as it did so. This star grew in size at it got closer and closer and closer, revealing itself to be a yellow color. Eventually, the two found themselves in the presence of a hovering, yellow, star-shaped object. It glittered and glowed, as well as burned with life.

Marth boarded upon the small star, struggling to keep balance as he stood upon it. Turning around, he reached his hand out to an awe-struck Peach.

"A Warp Star," she said as she grabbed his hand, "Like the ones Kirby rides?"

"What's wrong, Lady Toadstool?" Marth asked with a smirk "Haven't you ridden one before? Please don't tell me you're scared!"

"Scared? I deal with Bowser on a regular basis! But even I find poor driving to be a nightmare!"

Daintily, Peach boarded the Warp Star alongside Marth. However – as she felt considerable fear when it came to riding these things – she held tightly upon Marth's body. He tried to wedge her off just a bit, but eventually relented to her tight hold. Instead, he found as much balance on the star as he could, using mental images of Kirby as a reference.

"Alright... I hope this works..." he whispered to himself, before pushing forward just a bit. His response was a bit too much.

THOOOOOOM!

"AHHHHH!?"

"TOO FAST!"

The Warp Star – like all Warp Stars – took off at speeds that would make Sonic blush. Marth and Peach were nearly blown off by the speedy object as they flew over Millennium Court and the land of Archanea. Marth – quickly realizing what he was doing wrong – was capable of slowing the Warp Star enough for them to catch their breaths. He remained focus on escaping his castle, while Peach gazed down.

Everyone at Millennium Court – everyone – had become trophies. The Ancient Minister, Dr. Mario, and Morta must have attacked them while they were unconscious; that was the only way they could have done this without them knowing. It was a horrifying sight; as if a silent war had been performed without them being none the wiser. And even worse – thanks to the Subspace Bomb – there was absolutely nothing Peach and Marth could do about it.

"No..." she whispered, "Please... stop..."

Her hand reached out for Marth's kingdom, and the silent denizens who peppered it below. In their would – the world of Trophium – trophication is pretty much death.

And then, a light gleamed within the heart of Marth's castle. It sounded as if all oxygen itself was being sucked into the castle walls. It shook even Marth and Peach as they road the Warp Star, before all of gravity ceased its pull on them. The next instant, a wicked explosion of an otherworldly kind ripped through Millennium Castle. A massive dark orb began to expand, an orb Peach and Marth knew all too well.

A pocket of Subspace – a gateway into that demonic realm – had been opened. For so long, this image only existed within their memories, and their nightmares. And yet – once again in their lives – it had become all too real.

Peach stared to the bubble of Subspace with a mixture of grief and horror. She felt helpless as well; what could she do in a situation like this? But at least she had the Mushroom kingdom to return to; this was Millennium Court, the heart of the Archenea kingdom. Marth's home.

She stared up to him, noticing something trailing down the side of Marth's face. From this height, she noticed it was gleaming thanks to the light of the Warp Star beneath their feat.

"Marth..."

"Hey, Lady Toadstool, are you alright?" Marth said as he faced her, putting on a smile, "We barely escaped... I'd hate to see if you had fainted."

Despite all that had happened, their friends becoming trophified, facing the Ancient Minister and his forces, and everyone at Millennium Court being trophies, Peach found herself smiling too.

"I don't think I'd faint before you, pretty boy," she replied, which made him chuckle. And ya'know what? She laughed too.

They both needed a laugh after what had happened.


Maverick Talks!

You know, I'm pretty sure I said this before, but it begs to be repeated. I've already written a fair amount of chapters for this story, so updates should be quick. Assuming, of course, I actually remember to update it, because in reality, I'm a lazy, short-minded fool sometimes.

Anyway, the next chapter of Shadows of Subspace. Last chapter, someone said they thought Morta was an oc I made for this story. In a way, she is, but only to an extent. Morta is actually a character in SSB4. Come on. Pink hair. Pink clothes. Uses an axe. Can pull things out of thin air. Sounds familiar, don't it? Who is this character? Well, I won't say. Not for now, anyway.

I really like this chapter. It has quite a bit of battles in it. Meta Knight vs Dr. Mario. Marth and Peach vs Dr. Mario and Morta. It feels cool to write about these characters, as oppose to whom I usually write about. I hope these characters feel in character, should I say. Writing Peach is easy, because I've played almost every Mario game under the sun, but Marth is a tad bit harder. I just hope I have the Hero-King all complete.

And, I suppose, that's all I can say about the situation. Next time when we meet, Marth and Peach begin their journey to save their friends. But before they do so, they'll need a little help. Help from whom? Well, you'll see.

Now then... when will we get Smash on the Switch?

Maverick Kay Prime