On the eve of their attack, High King Mario stood in a rather large tent with a Small Council of his own; Peach, Zelda, Link, Sonic and Luigi. The night had just set upon them, and they planned on ambushing the Gerudo-Koopa forces who occupied Kakariko Village. In the tent was a wooden table with their plans of attack set up on a large map of the Village, to its very limits. Luigi saw High King Mario looked down, into a chest by the table. The chest had been delivered by Wario's own Toads, who were sent down to Hyrule; Wario had began to make quite a profit from the war, using WarioWare to become a War Profiteer. Although against the idea of it, Luigi knew that Wario would be their only option for fast, reliable equipment, so he was forced to turn a blind eye to some of the slightly illegal activities Wario was conducting in order to meet their army's demand.
Luigi could tell that the High King was satisfied with the armor inside the chest. The High King's nod and grin only confirmed it. After he walked back to the others—Luigi and Link were carefully analyzing their battle strategy while Peach and Zelda talked about the state of both their kingdoms—he heard somebody rushing from outside. Suddenly, a Hylian soldier wearing silver chainmail and steel armor with a white tunic rushed into the tent and panted, "Your Majesty… Sorry for the intrusion, but we found a spy… She was found in the barracks with a pad and paper. We believe she was scouting our manpower."
The High King nodded sternly and, soon after, the spy was forced into the tent. The spy, who was wearing a bowl on his head with painted-on red spots, was a Gerudo. From where Luigi was standing, he could tell from the dried red spots on the back of the armor that the Gerudo had killed a Hylian to have a disguise. The Gerudo rose, holding the bowl in her hands, as a Toad and another Hylian soldier held a spear and sword (respectively) to her back.
"What was your number?" Luigi asked loudly, breaking the tense silence of the room.
The Gerudo stammered nervously, "Um… It… Uh…"
"Come on now, we don't have all night," Luigi groaned, trying to be loud and firm once again.
The Gerudo did not answer, instead deciding to look down and remain silent. High King Mario turned around and looked at the spy. He then took the paper from the Hylian soldier and scanned it quickly. Looking at the Gerudo's bowed head, the King said, "You counted thirty thousand?"
"Yes…" the Gerudo responded, reluctantly, "Ten thousand Toads and twenty thousand Hylians…"
"This guy isn't going to say a lot more," Zelda said quickly and decisively. She turned to the guards and ordered, "Take her outside and—"
"No," Mario quickly vetoed Zelda. He turned back to the Gerudo, who ducked her head further down, "Go back to your camp and tell Bowser the number you counted. But, tell him what happened here; tell him that you were caught before you could count the other half. Tell your poor excuse for a battle commander that sixty thousand Hylians and Toads alike are coming, and you don't stand a chance."
As soon as he got to Smashville, Kirby docked the Warp Star outside of the city's main gate. He looked up at one of the Koopas standing guard there; the Koopa was covered in mainly leather armour bearing King Ganon's colors, black and maroon. Their armor, Kirby noticed, was much different from that of the kingdoms to the north; unlike the helmetless, chainmail and steel armors, the soldiers under King Ganon's rule wore round, egg shaped helmets with bronze-colored chainmail (if not leather armor). More often than not, the Koopas wore the helmets, and King Ganon's Gerudo troops often wore a Keffiyeh in place of the round helmet.
The gate of Smashville opened, allowing Kirby to step through into the city. The city streets were crowded with people from all over the lands, from Koopas to Hylians to Pikman to some space travelers and bounty hunters. And, although it was a time of war, many of the residents of Smashville seemed out of the loop and relatively disconnected from the current events of the Realm.
As Kirby walked down the street, bumping past various civilians, he saw a Meta Knight standing in the middle of the street, his cape covering most of his small, round body. Because Meta Knight stood in the middle of the street, apparently not caring about anybody trying to pass him, Kirby assumed that he heard about Kirby's intention of visiting Smashville. Kirby half-smiled and approached Meta Knight. When he reached Meta Knight, Meta Knight put his cape down, revealing his silver mask.
Meta Knight greeted in his usual distant, mysterious voice, "Welcome to The Capital."
"How did you hear about my visit?" Kirby asked.
"You're the Hero of Dreamland; a man of your status can't travel anywhere outside of Dreamland unnoticed," Meta Knight responded, "The King has prepared a guest room in the castle for you as well. We wouldn't want you to stay in a shanty motel in the bad part of town"
"I was hoping that this would be a low-profile venture to Smashville," Kirby said as they walked towards the castle, "I wanted to find you, actually."
"Why is that?" Meta Knight asked, stopping again in the middle of the street.
Kirby stopped as well, looking around to see if he was being watched by any guards or soldiers. Quickly, Kirby motioned to Meta Knight to walk over to a corner by one of the many marketplaces. They walked over to it and Kirby whispered, "I know you're a spy for Marth. Don't even try to lie about it; I saw the letter he wrote you the day you left Dreamland."
Although he could not see Meta Knight's face, Kirby knew that Meta Knight understood where he was going, "Oh, so you're here to blackmail me, then? Well Kirby, I taught you well—"
"No, no, no," Kirby responded, still whispering, "I want to help you; Dedede told me that, if I want to join a side in this war, I should join the rightful king of the Realm. Well, now I'm here, telling you that, like you, I want to see Marth on the throne, not Ganon nor Mario."
By the look in his yellow eyes, Kirby could tell that he was willing to help him. Meta Knight began walking again, and Kirby quickly caught up. When Kirby was at Meta Knight's side, the spy said, "Stay in The Capital for a bit and get on King Ganon's good side. The Rightful King fairs a far better chance against King Ganon than High King Mario."
"What makes you say that?" Kirby asked.
"The Rightful King's army is half the size of the combined forces of Hyrule and the Mushroom Kingdom. Also, they fight for a leader they despise. Now, come with me; King Ganon requests that you sit in on our Small Council meeting. After that, he wants you to meet his Queen-to-be."
"The Traitor of the Mushroom Kingdom," Kirby recalled from a letter that he received from Mario. The letter was written under Mario's name many months before the Mushroom-Hylian Rebellion began, but Kirby could tell that Peach actually wrote the letter. It was one of the many letters that encouraged, even pressured, Kirby into moving to the Mushroom Lands.
"It's actually Queen Rosalina," Meta Knight corrected, "She's sweet, really. You'll like her."
"She still betrayed her people, Meta Knight," Kirby said matter-of-factly, "That's what they call her up there now; to them and the Lumas, she's a traitor, almost as evil as King Ganon."
They finally arrived at the castle gates; the King had transformed the mansion into a massive castle with sandstone walls. Truly, Kirby thought, King Ganon modeled his capital city in the image of his Gerudo roots. At the gate stood two large guards in bronze chainmail wielding shields and a spear. When they saw Meta Knight, they moved aside as the large spiral gate opened. They walked into the courtyard and traveled into a tower. A few minutes of traveling later, they reached a small chamber with a table with five chairs for the King's Small Council. However, Kirby only recognized Mewtwo and the King himself; Bowser was not there nor was Dark Pit. In their place was Captain Falcon and Wolf.
Upon entering the room that mainly consisted of villains, Kirby bowed his body along with Meta Knight in respect for King Ganon while Meta Knight said, "Your Grace, the Hero of Dreamland is here."
The King, from his chair at the head of the table, stood up. Kirby looked up and saw that King Ganon wore his typical black Gerudo armor and had his typical red hair and beard. However, his hair was longer and had a golden crown atop of it. King Ganon walked over to Kirby and, as he got closer, his face got rougher and uglier. How could a beauty like Rosalina marry a hog like Ganondorf?
When the King reached Kirby, he grinned, revealing his yellow teeth, "I'm glad you made it. We could use your insight."
"My insight?" Kirby questioned, "Your Grace, why do you need me? Your Small Council looks… Capable."
"Well, this "capable" crew just lost our first engagement of this war in Hyrule Field," King Ganon responded, almost as if he were attacking the members of his council, "We took heavy casualties; we were lucky that we weren't obliterated entirely."
Kirby understood and walked to a seat next to Meta Knight. When he sat down, the council's conversation continued, "The Hylians were able to push us away from Death Mountain, Your Grace," Mewtwo informed, "We're waiting for the battle report from Lord Bowser."
"Well, isn't that just great?" King Ganon muttered, disappointed, "And…?
Mewtwo looked down as Captain Falcon continued in his place, "Um… We lost more soldiers… Ten thousand, we believe… They pinned us between the Mountain and their forces. After that, it was a massacre."
"I should have Bowser returned here and executed for his incompetence!" King Ganon expressed his frustrations, "He's doing more to help Mario than for me at this point…"
Hours of brainstorming and counseling later, Kirby walked out of the chamber with the King. It was quite an awkward walk, because Ganon was more than double Kirby's height, but they had manners to discuss nonetheless.
"I'll send a raven to Dreamland," Kirby said, "When I leave Smashville, I'll go back to there and work with the Warden first-hand."
"I fear that, if we don't get enough men or a better leader soon, the war will be over in a few months," the King said, clenching his teeth in anger, "Bowser's leadership thus far has been incompetent at best. At worst, it's been completely traitorous, whether intentional or not…"
They walked down the corridor and Kirby left the King briefly; he was admiring the view of the newly-created city. As he looked at the city, which looked beautiful under the cloudless sky, he heard somebody walking up behind him. He turned around and saw Samus Aran. However, she was not wearing her standard Varia suit; instead, she wore bronze chainmail with a white cape draped over her left shoulder pad. She must be apart of the King's Guard now, Kirby thought.
"How can I help you?" Kirby asked, turning to face the tall woman.
"I'm just want to ask you for a favor, My Lord," Samus answered respectfully.
"I'm not a Lord, but go on," Kirby allowed.
Samus, almost looking relieved that Kirby would even listen to her, spoke clearly and confidently, "I want you to take me back to Dreamland with you; I'm sworn to protect a King that I fantasize about killing every night. You just need to get me there; Fox and Falco are trying to keep the Smash Brothers alive out there."
"I can't smuggle you out of Smashville so that you can become a sellsword," Kirby refused lightly. He walked passed Samus and said, "I'm sorry, but I have to go."
Luigi walked through the main street of the Kakariko Village somewhat close to Hyrule Castle Town. After the Hylian-Mushroom Forces liberated the village from the Gerudos and Koopas, High King Mario and Link lead a charge to wipe out their retreating army. Many Hylians and Toads in their silver chainmail armor, or leather armor, walked around the Village helping different residents clean up the streets from the debris of the battle. Luigi passed several Toads dragging an unconscious Koopa off to a destroyed shop, which some Hylians occupied for interrogation and saw Zelda walking towards him.
"Your Majesty," Luigi greeted.
"It was a great idea to attack the Village, My Lord-Hand," Zelda complemented, reaching him, "Ganon's forces don't stand a chance if we keep our aggression."
"Has High King Mario returned yet?" Luigi asked.
"They're coming just over the bridge now," Zelda answered, "And they have a valuable prisoner."
"So, that's why you've come over here, then?" Luigi said, almost cheekily, "To get me?"
"Right again," Zelda nodded, "Come on; let's go."
The two walked outside of the Village limits and arrived at a bridge over a small canal of water. Across the bridge they saw two toads, both wearing white cloaks, around Peach. After they met Peach, and exchanged pleasantries, they saw Link and Mario returning from their pressing attack on the retreating Gerudos and Koopas. While Link, who seemed to be covered in dirty and mud from the attack, rode on his horse, Epona, Mario was on the back of a green Yoshi. As they got closer, they saw that Mario had decided to put on Wario's armor; a guard of gold covered his soldiers, but left his overalls exposed, and a golden crown with an "M" sat atop his head in the place of his red cap. Also, Luigi saw their prisoner being dragged by a rope attached to Epona. The prisoner wore dark clothing and was being dragged by a rope that illuminated. Soon, they realized that they had captured Dark Pit, a crucial player in King Ganon's army.
When they finally stopped in front of the two Princesses and the King's Hand, Dark Pit grumbled in pain and rolled onto his knees. His entire body was covered in dirt, cuts and bruises both from the battle and from being dragged for several hundreds of feet.
"You've proved your point!" he yelled, "Just, for the love of Palutena, stop!"
"We haven't proved anything," High King Mario hissed as he dismounted the Yoshi, "We prove something with our next attack, on their forces in the Lost Woods."
"Are you sure that attacking the Lost Woods is a good idea?" Dark Pit panted, now sitting on his knees. His hands were still bound as Link walked over to him, "That wood is very thick, with all those trees and that mist. If you attack the Lost Woods, you're signing your own death wish, False King!"
Before Dark Pit could say anymore, Link struck him on the head with the hilt of the Master Sword, knocking him unconscious. Luigi nodded at the Toads, who quickly took Dark Pit away from the High King and dragged him into the village. "We'll set up here for a few days, then we'll have another attack," High King Mario stated, "I need a drink."
As Luigi walked next to High King Mario across the bridge, Luigi said, "There's been talk with the men back in Kakariko Village, Your Majesty; the Gorons agreed to run out POW camp in Death Mountain. You know, it's nothing too harsh and inhumane; just a means to get them talking or get them uncomfortable enough to talk."
"You better keep an eye on those Gorons, My Lord-Hand," the High King advised, "They aren't the best with knowing the limits of normal bodies."
"Normal bodies? What do you mean?"
"They're literally rocks, Luigi. I'd be careful with how they treat our prisoners."