Wow I'm going through this at a rate of knots…woo. And I promise that the whole story won't just be people trailing into the Palace. There'll be a plotline sometime in the not-so-distant future. I think. Enjoy!

Pit didn't manage to retrieve any other heroes that day, but after dinner he was allowed the rest of the evening off. Marth was vaguely aware of loud voices and laughter which belonged to Pit and Roy, but he wasn't really listening. Marth was one of those kinds of people who thought. They thought hard about things until they were sure that everything made perfect sense. He relaxed in his room. It was equally as luxurious as the one he had back in Altea, if a little smaller, and further away from the library, but it was quite quiet (save the noise that the two boys were making). This morning he had found himself in the middle of a desert with his friend Ike, then he was brung here by an Angel called Pit, who was herding heroes from some sort of list that the Hands had created. He had met Master Hand, if only briefly. Master Hand was exactly as the name suggested: a giant, white, floating, possibly omnipotent hand. A right hand, to be precise. Crazy Hand was the left hand but Marth had yet to see him. Master Hand had spoken with a loud, booming voice. His voice alone screamed that he was the man (or hand) in charge. He and Crazy Hand were the only two who knew why the heroes were being gathered. Possibly Pit's Goddess Paluntena knew too, but when the Angel was questioned about it he replied that he didn't dare intrude or ask questions on her business. He'd let slip about some other Goddess he worked for too, someone he simply referred to as 'My Lady'. Marth floated in his own thoughts, and it took him a while to swim back out. He looked out the window. It was officially dark now. Everything was very, very strange. He'd just have to take it in his stride.

X

Pokemon Trainer Red found that he always woke up when the sun shone through the curtains of his room onto his face. As the sun dawned, so did his consciousness. He opened his eyes rapidly when he could feel that he wasn't lying on his bed, he wasn't in his pyjamas, and he definitely wasn't at home anymore. Slowly, he stood up and stretched. He winced as his joints clicked. He was wearing his Trainer garb. Then he took a look around. He was in the middle of some barren, red, rocky desert. He rubbed his eyes, then pinched himself. Yep…still awake. The ground beneath him felt real and hot when he touched it. He was in the middle of nowhere. He patted his pockets, and then sighed with relief. He pulled three Pokeballs out in one hand, not an easy feat, and released the three Pokemon that were within them.

"Squirtle! Charizard! Ivysaur! Come on out!" he said as the three of them appeared. The small turtle, the medium-sized plant dinosaur and the large dragon looked at him quizzically. "I don't know where we are. If you're looking like that then this is definitely real…" they muttered in their own language, protesting at being in such an odd place but also wondering why they were here anyway. "I woke up and here I am. Same as you guys. Charizard, how about we take a look around?" Charizard nodded enthusiastically and thumped his tail on the ground. "Alright then! Squirtle, Ivysaur, I'll let you guys back out when we find out where we are, got it?" the two of them nodded, returning into their respective Pokeballs. Red went over to Charizard and scrambled up onto his back, between the wings. "Up we go, Charizard!" Charizard dashed forwards in a sudden turn of speed, spread his wings and flapped. Red gripped on tight as they took off. He didn't have much of a head for heights, but this was an emergency.

X

Pit hadn't been happy to have woken up to find that a hero had appeared overnight and he needed to go and get them. It was 8am, godammit, couldn't he wait? But no. He couldn't. So the hassled Angel had quickly changed into his normal garb and teleported back to the Ground World to find this hero. He flew in the many thermals above the desert. At least that was good. Hot air rises from hot ground and all. You had to know about climates and weather if you were going to be an experienced flyer, and Pit knew almost all there was to know. He sailed along with minimal effort, wondering if he could fall asleep in mid-air. But that would be slacking off on the job, so he couldn't. A tiny orange dot in front of him, much further below him, thought, with an even tinier red dot on it was all that he could see of Red and Charizard. But that was all he needed to see. He stretched his wings out and gave them an almighty flap, twisted sideways and dived down, soaring on the winds. He waited until he could feel the wind behind him so it would carry his voice.

"Hey!" he called. "Hey! Up here! Behind you!" he could see Red properly now, so he could also see Red turning around and looking so surprised he almost lost his grip on Charizard.

"Charizard, fly down," he instructed his Pokemon, and Charizard obeyed. Pit followed them down.

"I've been following you for ages," Pit said, pushing the mass of hair that had blown in front of his face back to where it belonged – which was just about anywhere other than his face.

"You have?" Red gave him an inquisitive look. "What are you, exactly?"

"I'm an Angel. The Angeleican kind. Messenger of the Gods, Captain of Paluntena's Army, Kid Icarus and Shepherd of Lost Heroes, as Zelda has dubbed me. I'm Pit. Hullo,"

"Hi. I'm Red. Can you tell me where I am?"

"I can. Well…uh, sorta. You're near-ish to Smash City. No one's heard of it before now, but I'm here to take you there anyway. And, er, what is that, exactly?" he looked at Charizard, who was looking back, regarding him closely.

"This is Charizard. Careful – he usually bites," but the dragon let Pit pat him on the nose. "I guess he likes you!"

"I guess he does. Anyway, fol -" he was interrupted by a loud sound of:

"PIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII…"

"What's that?"

"KAAAAAAAA!"

"YOW!" both the boys yelped as their nerves were frazzled in electricity. Red was the first to recover (he wasn't the one wearing brass and gold).

"A Pikachu? And a Pichu!" he recognised the popular yellow mice. The Pichu was wearing blue goggles above its eyes.

"What are they?" Pit asked.

"They're Pokemon from where I come from. A Pichu and a Pikachu. And me here without any Pokeballs…"

"What?"

"It'd take too long to explain,"

"Don't you even think of zapping again," Pit lurched and grabbed both mice in an arm. They wriggled and protested but didn't zap. "They feel a bit thin. What do Pokemon eat?"

"Pokemon food. And Poffins. I have a few on me,"

"Feed them, will you? Before they shock me again!" so Red delved into his pockets and brought out some Poffins, which the two mice gratefully ate.

"Pika pika!" the Pikachu said.

"Pichu!" the Pichu chirped.

"I think we're friends with them," Red smiled and patted them. Pit put them down. Their ears twitched and they looked past the boys. Red turned around slowly, but Pit instinctively ducked. You didn't get anywhere on the battlefield if you turned around slowly. You either ducked or ran or turned quickly. There was a 'WHOOMPH', followed by a thump as Red hit the ground.

"Owch,"

"Wow, what's that?" Pit stared at the pink pillow with freakily big eyes. It stared back. He looked away. Red stood up.

"It's a Jigglypuff. Wow, if all these Pokemon are here then I should come back…"

"Nothing lives out here. Not even plants. I think…yeah! They must be heroes on the list!"

"List? Heroes?"

"Like you. Follow me. If you take the Pikachu and the Jigglypuff on your Charizard then I'll carry Pichu. I don't think he weighs much. Don't shock me again, OK?" Pichu nodded earnestly and allowed himself to be picked up.

"Jigglys don't weigh anything. I presume that you'll be coming with us, Miss Jigglypuff?" Red asked the Jigglypuff.

"Puff!" she said, which Red took to be a yes as she let herself be picked up alongside Pikachu and mounted onto Charizard. Charizard didn't mind much either. Red didn't weigh much, for a Trainer. The eyes upward of Pichu were visible above Pit's mass of hair. He seemed quite happy there.

"I'll lead, you follow," Pit instructed, leaping a step forwards and flapping hard as he took off. He could take off from a standing position but that took a lot of practice, and he didn't have to anyway. Red followed on Charizard, and soon they were both sailing through the air.

X

Red was amazed to see this huge city, gathered around the tall spires of the Palace, just like everyone else had been. He flew up to Pit.

"That's Smash City?" he said.

"Sure is. You see that Palace?"

"Yeah. It's amazing!"

"You're gonna be staying there,"

"In a Palace?"

"Yep!"

"Wow!" Red grinned. Neither of them noticed that on the ground beneath them, there was a white dot and a blue dot, looking up. Pit felt something tap at his brain.

"Ow,"

"Pit? PIT!" Red yelled as the Angel suddenly stopped and started to fall. Red dived down after, but Pit had already hit the ground. Then he saw what caused him to fall. A Mewtwo and a Lucario. Mewtwo was a legendary! And he didn't have any Pokeballs on him! Aaargh! Wait, what about Pit? Whoops. The Mewtwo and the Lucario seemed to be having a heated argument in Pokemon, probably about the Angel. Lucario seemed to be on the winning side.

"What is going on here?" Red couldn't help but stare, before he hopped off Charizard and walked over to Pit. Despite the drop, he looked just fine. Maybe Angels could fall from a greater height and be unharmed.

If you even think of trying to battle us then you'll be deeply sorry. Red heard the voice in his head and looked at the two Pokemon. They were Psychic types. Strong ones, too. So they would be telepathic.

"Was it you who made my friend fall?"

That was Mewtwo. Lucario shot Mewtwo a freezing glance, which he just shrugged off. We were hungry, he saw this…Angel and here we are. And he shouldn't have done it, should you? he glared at Mewtwo again, before padding over to Pit and crouching down. It is a wonder that he is unharmed. It must be something to do with being an Angel.

"That's what I thought. I kinda need him…he's taking me to Smash City,"

To where? the voices of both Lucario and Mewtwo sounded in his head. Mewtwo's voice was harsher, but Lucario's voice was deeper.

"Smash City. You can't see it down here but up there it's amazing," Mewtwo's eyes glowed purple.

There is nothing for as far as I can reach. he said.

"But I could see it! He was taking me there! And it wasn't a mirage, before you say anything else," Lucario placed his paws on either side of Pit's head. Pichu had perched on his chest, looking worried, the crash leaving him shocked but unharmed. Lucario's Aura Filters floated up and aura fired around Lucario's paws. Then everything settled back down. Lucario stood up just at the moment that Pit opened his eyes.

"That's going to hurt later on," he said with a small groan. But he stood up anyway, which made Pichu hop off. "Sorry Pichu," Lucario said something in Pokemon, which Pichu and Jigglypuff replied to.

These other Pokemon say that they are coming with you. Lucario said.

"They are," Pit said, picking up Pichu, who had been begging to be picked up. "Smash City is…different. It doesn't show up on ray-dah; I'm not really sure what that is but Smash City doesn't show up on it, and it sorta seems to…bend around everything else. Including people's consciousnesses. Out of curiosity…how did you get out here?"

Neither of us know. Mewtwo admitted. We both appeared here, with no indication as to how or why. And you?

"I'm in charge of bringing all you lost heroes to Smash City. I think both of you are on the list. What're your names, again?"

I am Mewtwo. That is Lucario.

"Oh, right. Hello! I'm Pit. This is Red, Pichu, Jigglypuff…yeah you get the idea. It's not far to Smash City, so long as you follow me and Red," Lucario said something to Mewtwo in Pokemon, which Mewtwo shook his head to. Lucario frowned. The two trainers and the three lost Pokemon waited patiently while a discussion went on. There were a few Aura-Filter-raising and eye-flashing moments.

You have good intentions. We'll come with you. Lucario said with possibly the trace of a smile. So long as you give us some of the Poffins that you have in your pocket. he stared hungrily at Red, or rather Red's pocket.

"Sure!...but now I'm all out," Red gave the Poffins to the two grateful Pokemon.

"I got some water too, if you want it," Pit offered. Both of them declined. "Then let's go! The sooner we get there the sooner you can relax," he said, Pichu once again nestling in his hair. He ran a few steps and leapt in the usual take-off sequence. Red let his passengers board the ever-patient Charizard, and took off after Pit. Lucario and Mewtwo exchanged glances, but did their best to keep up with the two (or six depending on your point of view) in the air.

X

Pit went through the usual stuff with them, going through the passage and all, but when he got to the throne room a slightly less usual sight met his eyes.

"Whoa, what's going on here?" he said, frowning in confusion. Link and Zelda were crouched down next to a small, unconscious/sleeping figure that had a seriously uncanny resemblance to Link… "Who's that?"

"We don't know. Link found him injured in the desert when he was out riding and took him back here, but he fell asleep on the journey and he hasn't woken up," Marth explained. Then he looked at the mass of…beings that Pit had shepherded back. "You seem to be doing quite well. What kinds of…creatures are they? Can they talk?"

"Lucario and Mewtwo can do telepathy," Pit indicated to the two taller ones. "The one on my head is Pichu, that's Pikachu, she's Jigglypuff and the human is Red. They can't talk. I mean, Red can, but the others can't. You have a dragon thing called Charizard, right?" he looked at Red.

"Right," Red nodded.

"I…see…" Marth nodded slowly, before remembering the take-it-in-your-stride rule. "A pleasure to meet you, I'm sure. I am Prince Marth. I'm sorry that you had to come across such a scene…"

"Shush," Zelda snapped, which made them all hush up. For a second everyone forgot how to breathe.

He's trying to wake up but he can't. Lucario said, breaking the silence (or at least, the silence in their minds). Zelda looked up at him with an unreadable expression on her face.

"What are you?"

I am Lucario. I can control and read aura, and I can read his strongly. Pinch him or something. That'll wake him up.

"W-" but before she had gotten a chance to say anything else Link had done as Lucario had said.

"Ow!" the chibi Link sat up quickly, then looked at everyone with big eyes (and his eyes were big to begin with). "Woah…" his gaze rested on Link. "Wow! A big me!"

"This is Link," Zelda said. "What about you? What's your name?"

"I'm Link too! Toon Link," the stocky boy got up and dusted off his tunic, which was lighter in colour than Link's but similar in style. "You…you look kinda like Princess Zelda…"

"I am Princess Zelda," she said, slightly taken aback.

"No, she's the same height as me, with green-blonde hair…"

I sense that he is from a different part of this dimension. So far out, in fact, that it's almost part of a different dimension entirely. Mewtwo said in the profound way which he said things. He was brought here, or to the desert, by the same force which brought Lucario and I.

"That must mean he's on the list," Marth said. "So we should get him and these others a room,"

"Yes Marth. You're right. Toon Link, I am the Princess Zelda of this place, that is Link, this is Prince Marth. There's another Princess, but she's –"

"Oh, my Cherub!" as if on cue (no duh) Peach said, twirling into the room. Pit's eyes widened.

"Er, I think I…er, yeah…um, Paluntena, she…seeyoulaterbye!" there was a flash as he slammed his hand onto his light bands and he was gone. Toon Link stared. Peach frowned.

"He always does that," she said. "He's very busy,"

"What the heck just happened?" Toon Link asked.

"He teleported. He does that a lot,"

"Teleportation? Cool!"

"What's all the noise and why is there a mini Link in the room?" a familiar red-headed swordsboy was giving everyone a confused look. "And what are all these animal things?"

"I shall call him…mini-me," an enigmatic voice came from the general direction of Link's face, though rather it came from his hat, which Navi was known to reside in sometimes.

"Wow your hat talks!" Toon Link said breathlessly.

"Actually, the fairy does," a little blue light wiggled out and fluttered in the air.

"Oh right. Wow you have a fairy! I used to. But not anymore,"

"No one's answering my question!" Roy protested.

"Actually it was questions, plural," Marth pointed out. "This is Toon Link, and…remind me of their names?" he looked to Red.

"I'm Red. That's Pichu, Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Lucario and Mewtwo,"

"Oh right. That clears things up," Roy said sarkily. "They all part of the crew too?"

"We think so," Zelda said. "You must all be quite tired. Do you have any living preferences?" she asked the Pokemon, namely the ones who could speak.

I do not 'sleep' in the way which you do…nothing at all or a containment chamber, if it could be arranged. Mewtwo said.

"I'm sure that we could try. And Lucario? How about you?" he seemed to think for a while about this.

I wouldn't have to sleep on the floor? he eventually said.

"Not if you didn't want to," his eyes seemed to gleam.

A large pile of pillows or cushions or blankets…is that asking too much?

"No, not at all,"

Thank you. he thanked her graciously.

"What about the smaller ones? And your own Pokemon, Red?" no one asked how she knew. You generally didn't when it came to a lady like Zelda.

"They're happy just in their Pokeballs," he shrugged. "And I'm fine with just a mattress, a pillow and a blanket,"

"I'm fairly sure we can manage that," she smiled faintly.

I shall translate. Lucario offered. He said something to the Pokemon (the two mice had begun to chase each other, but Jigglypuff had just…watched. With those big round eyes). Pichu will be happy with a cushion, Pikachu would like the same, but larger and with a blanket, and Jigglypuff would preferably like a box lined with a blanket.

"You heard them," Peach snapped at the ever-present servants (for a city no one's heard of they sure had a lot), who hurried to do as they had been told.

"Marth and Peach, if you could come with me, please," Zelda said to the two of them. "Roy, could you please show Red and Toon Link to the spare rooms near yours?"

"Whatever," he kicked the ground in a teenager-ish kind of way, and shrugged. "Follow me, guys," he wandered off, so they did. Then Marth and Peach followed Zelda. Then the servants took the Pokemon to their 'rooms'. Then…there was silence.

Da dum. I don't really have a lot to say here. There'll be a plot soon, honest! Or something vaguely recognisable as a plot!