Nintendia - Book I: Year of Absolution

by e.a.zavinski

After the Nintendia galaxy's heroes came together to destroy the evil Tabuu and save the universe, they are met with further challenges as a united front seven years later. The old god has returned and so have other nemeses from the heroes' pasts. Can they band together and save the universe once again, especially when they only have one year to do it?

4. Chapter III: Guardians' Purpose

Chapter III – Guardians' Purpose

Perched on a Fichinan hilltop, covered in snow along with it, Wolf O'Donnell and Lucy Hare looked upon the city in which she taught astrophysics. That kind of life was too dull to be full-time for Lucy this time of year, especially this year.

"What do you think I should do, Wolf?" said Lucy, tired from pelting her unenthused partner with snowballs. "Levity aside, my decision could affect a whole lot."

Wolf grunted with indifference. He had planned this snowy field trip for a different reason, and talking about their responsibilities was getting him depressed.

"You honestly think I'm smart enough to know what you should do? You're the physicist for howling out loud…!"

"Wolf, you know full well that that kind of intelligence has nothing to do with this. Why are you being so distant right now? Whichever choice I pick affects you. I stay here and teach, and you continue to not see me as much. I go with you to pilot full-time, and the mother of your child is put in harm's way more often than not."

"Wow, so I'm screwed either way…"

"Yes," confirmed Lucy smugly as she crashed into the snow on her knees and nestled next to Wolf. The soft breezes passed briskly by their fur, and both pilots felt warm inside despite the weight of the conversation they were having.

They simply sat and looked upon the greyscale horizon in the middle of the blizzard they were in for minutes. It was the kind of quality moment Wolf had envisioned. It also gave him enough time to focus on being surprising.

"Whatever you decide, I plan on backing you on it. Either way, I know you'll be great. I just want you to be fulfilled."

"As I see again, every once in a while I suppose…you can be romantic. Gruffly. But still romantic."

"Yeah," said Wolf in monotone, hesitant to agree to that extent. "I'm glad to say that if I do something like that, it's not going to be all fake and worked up."

"So being real is romantic? I can get behind that."

They looked on at the neon blue lights of the Fichinan city some more. Lucy felt perfectly content as she glanced around at the snow-covered world around her. She truly loved this place, second only to some good friends, one of whom was by her side again now. Looking to the mountains to her right, she was shocked to see what awaited her when she turned to look at Wolf once more.

"I found it," said Wolf in his usual gruffness. "What do you want to do about it?"

In his hand, Wolf held a glimmering engagement ring, so white that it would probably be lost if he dropped it in the frost beneath them. Lucy, meanwhile, felt like all of it might melt; she blushed intensely as her stomach convulsed at the unexpected question.

Adding some humor to the shocked silence to dispel his own worry, Wolf continued, "Well, I guess you have two decisions to make now."

"No," said Lucy immediately, prepared to give her answers. "Consider them both made."

No more words had to be said. She leapt upon her fiancé and furiously kissed his scarred mug as they rolled around in the fluffy snow. Neither of them had ever felt so joyous.

"Negative," responded Meta to his superior.

"How do we even know it's there then?" asked Fox, confused by the recent string of reports regarding strange phantom sensations throughout the galaxy.

"From what I've heard, it's there. Just leave it at that, Fox."

Meta usually never sounded curt when it came to talking to any of Nintendo's members, especially his superior. However, the urgency of which citizens of the galaxy had reported strange, happiness-sapping sensations told the warrior one thing: Dark Matter was prevalent once more.

"What do we do about it then?" asked Fox, assuming the omnipresent evil he had never encountered before to be real and threatening. "I've never heard of such a thing…"

"Because it's always gravitated toward Planet Pop Star and the surrounding worlds," answered Meta. "Not to say anything against you, sir, but not every living thing can feel the hollowness calling to them, the kind this Dark Matter creates."

"Have I not paid enough attention to it?"

"No. I'd say it's a good thing if you've never heard it speak to you. Those who go looking for it, purposely or out of accident in despair, usually find it. It brings nothing good. I believe Dark Matter is the root of almost every evil Kirby and I have fought in our lives. I also believe it is completely self-servicing, always trying to reach its own goal of wiping out all life in the universe, of course, only after having put every soul through living hell first."

"Okay, so it needs to be stopped immediately. Again, I ask where we find this Dark Matter, so we can wipe it out."

"I wish it were that simple. When the Dark Matter does not have a specific target in its mind's eye and is just roaming freely around like we think it is, actively searching for it is essentially pointless."

Fox looked dejected until Meta amended this solemn statement.

"However, that doesn't mean we can't or won't fight it. We just need to be prepared to be sucked in when it picks the fight first. Wherever it's been congregating, it'll probably stay. If we station some of our warriors around those points, we might be able to pinpoint the lifeforms who have taken on Dark Matter and destroy them. But it won't be as simple as picking a bogey out of the sky…."

There was a reflective silence letting each other know they understood what had to be done. Fox nodded slightly to Meta whose head bobbed back.

"Then we will be on our guard," said McCloud. "We all have enough on our hands already, but that doesn't mean we can let this outside force ruin what we've accomplished so far. I think…"

"Yes? Fox?"

"Why don't we ask who among us have felt this presence of Dark Matter? If what you say is true and that anyone can feel it, there's got to be some of us who have heard its call."

"Are you sure that doesn't hurt?"

"Yes," said Samus plainly in response to Chris the Chozo's question. "It's ironic that you're the one shocked I can do this. It's your people who taught me how in the first place."

In the navy blue bikini of her zero suit, Samus was stretching her legs so that the balls of her feet were pointing the same direction as her face was: squarely at the handsome, beaked face of her new friend.

Chris had left his tribe so early in life that there was much about his own Chozo custom he did not recognize. Learning from Samus was a godsend, he often thought to himself. Always the scholar, the final remnant of the pristine civilization in the galaxy was at last learning the ways of his own race.

"I'm just thankful you're letting me learn from you," said Chris still shyly. He was hardly used to being around who he thought was the greatest hero in the galaxy. Blushing beneath the dark blue of his feathers, he continued, "I can't even fathom how lucky I was that you came to rescue me."

"Oh, Chris, honestly, would you please stop going on about that?" demanded Samus seriously. "You were one of, if not the best, discovery I've had in my days searching for bounties. Think of this: would I rather find the key to some ancient monster or some random artifact to hand over to the Federation or you?"

"Those first two have been all you've found before me?" asked Chris innocently.

"Mostly," said Samus in a matter-of-fact tone. "You've been a lot nicer to have around than all of that. And as a bonus, we've had the chance to keep you."

"Well, I guess I never thought of it that way," muttered Chris.

"Scholar," mocked Samus with a smirk as she assumed a new Chozo yoga position.

"But even so," Chris added, "that doesn't change how thankful I am for everything you and your friends have given me."

"And THAT doesn't change how grateful WE are to have you. So let's shut up on both ends, won't we?"

Chris heard that loud and clear and answered with just a smile as he tried to replicate the outrageous pose Samus was perfecting.

"I can't believe it…but you know almost everything about me," said Lucario.

Kelly looked confused. At this point in their ever-quickening relationship, she had told him every important detail of her life. What was Lucario still keeping secret?

"I might as well divulge this last piece, the deepest piece. Shouldn't I?"

"Only if you want to," said Kelly without having to think. "I don't want you sharing anything you don't feel comfortable sharing."
"Maybe…it's about time I've finally told someone. Many of you, even from other worlds, have heard of the Lucario's sacrifice to save the Tree of Beginning."

"Yes, absolutely. And only few, including me, know that that was you, before being sealed away in time by the Tree of course."

"But what you don't know," said Lucario solemnly in his mind and hers alone, "is that it wasn't just I who was making a sacrifice."

"What?" said Kelly aghast. "Is there more like you who were sealed and then released years later?"

"Never released," said Lucario with a sudden tear escaping his auburn eye. "And it wasn't another Pokémon."

"Who was it then?" said Kelly, her voice dripping with sympathy already.

"My master…Sir Aaron."

"No…" sighed Kelly in disbelief. "But you told me about him before. You said he lived and died long before you were reawakened into the world."
"He did, and through sacrificing myself (what I thought was sacrificing myself) I learned that he did the same to save all life in his time as well. The only difference is…"

Kelly already knew the answer before her soul mate could utter the rest.

"…that Tree brought me back to life but not him…."

Kelly hugged Lucario, careful not to puncture herself on his chest spike, as tears silently flooded his cheeks.

"I've always wondered why the same sacrifice wasn't a worthy cause to bring back a human. It's the definition of unfairness! And I'll never feel deserving of this second chance at life when these higher powers in our worlds didn't see it fit to bring Aaron back!"

"I never thought I'd be a dad. At least not as young as I am," said Falco smugly to his wife. "Thinking back on this past year, I'm just happy we got to skip the infant years."

"Okay, bub, firstly, you're not young anymore," said Katt. "And secondly, you're just lucky you made it out of your initiation into parenting alive. I'm sure you remember?"

"Like it was yesterday."

"Well, Einstein, it really wasn't that long ago."

Judas was a troubled juvenile living in the heart (and slums) of Cornerian City. Eighteen years old with the only resources he had to survive crammed in his unexpectedly bright head, the dark green jay bore a striking resemblance to Falco Lombardi. It was one of the silent bird's attributes that convinced others to follow his leadership in the gangs that ruled his life throughout his and his peers' youth.

During the spring before the countdown started ticking, Judas was earning respect amongst his superiors and followers alike in one of the most talked about groups on Corneria. The Meteo Comets were more like a mob in operation; planet police legitimately feared them, and their organization ran sophisticated and deep.

And while the forest green bird had never condoned the rumors of the Comets' more ruthless behavior, he knew his only way to lasting success anymore would be to move up in the ranks of Corneria's top mafia.

Judas was chosen to be the deputy enforcer in Cornerian City after the top Comets pack had come to review his accomplishments and performance around the local competing and cooperating dealers and turf-soldiers. The bird's swagger was unmatched and unwavering. It was this charisma that got him the promotion and the respect he felt he deserved…and also circumstances no version of himself ever would have wished for.

On a late spring night with a hot beating sun and a cool sunset breeze, Judas found himself in the cockpit of a commandeered Cornerian Military tank. Its mission: to rampage through the lower-class suburbs of Cornerian City to show the unrivaled influence of his boss, Rath Stag.

"I know we used to compete with these other gangs," muttered Judas to himself, "but this is insane. I never wanted things to get out-of-hand like this…."

His co-pilot, a rugged, silver fox named Kito, overheard his partner.

"I thought you wanted this, tall and handsome," he chided. "You and I have earned a lot of respect these past few months."

"Yeah, Kit, and I didn't want the cost to be other people's lives…. You know people are going to die tonight, right?"

"As I understand, if we do our job…yes."

"Wow, savage. I thought gay dogs like you were supposed to be super sensitive about all this crap lately."

"Heheh, don't believe everything you see on TV."

They were off. Their commandeered military tank looked like an upgraded Landmaster as it tore through the fields of the peninsula in between their base and the city ahead. In Judas's opinion, they got there far too quickly. It had only felt like a brief few moments instead of the hour in which both young recruits contemplated what they were about to do.

"I guess this is it," said Judas. "We've got to do this now."

"Hell, if it makes you feel any better, we can't turn back now. Stag would only kill us and anyone else who pussied out this late in things."

Knowing his friend right, Judas stepped on the gas and prepared himself to tear through the Cornerian City slums, territory of their rival gang: the Staresian Eyes. The mechanical terror of the surprise attack could have translated Judas's hesitation if he had only winced at this opportunity. Instead, he was able to keep his self-disappointment and frustration inside.

"Hey!" shouted Kito over the roar of tank engine and crunching of makeshift alley homes, "At least you don't have to outright kill anyone if you know how to drive, hot stuff! I'm the one who got stuck with the gun."

Judas thought about the tragic circumstances of his friend's situation. As the cannon pelted lasers off into the nearby buildings, the bird remembered how Kito had wanted to escape the gang life for something else. Judas had never expressed the same wishes, and now, he could not help but feel somewhat responsible for his best friend having to shed his peaceful nature and whimsical personality for the harshness of warfare.

As the pair were halfway through their rampage, it suddenly seemed like someone had overhead the tearing from space. Without warning, a ship shot through the atmosphere at blinding speed as a white streak of light that soon grazed the tops of buildings at the capital's peak. The Arwing sniped the other tanks that had been sent by Stag to overthrow the Staresians first. Falco's main target was the tank in the center of town, and he aimed for it now in the midst of fiery chaos, all with his trademark pinpoint accuracy…

Kito and Judas were thrown from the vehicle immediately. They were both still alive, almost as if Falco had known exactly were to shoot to destabilize the tank but keep its occupants alive. Judas was fine sans the ringing in his ears and the singed feathers that caressed his body. This shot from the sky was like a blessing in disguise, he thought, to stop him from ruining lives. It brought ironic good fortune to Judas, but not for Kito.

The silver fox lay on the opposite side of the wreckage, holding his leg above him as he curled up in severe pain. It was broken, the femur having sliced open the respective artery. He was bleeding out fast in the lighter red of the fire around him; his vision was already blurred by the time his greatest friend had regained his senses enough to find him.

"Judas! Buddy, just use this commotion to escape!" Kito yelled. "You want to…l-leave it now, don't you? Come on, I'm dead already."

At this point, Judas had knelt down to see the gash in his friend's leg. He was too shocked to say anything in response. The forest green bird tore of his shirt and jacket to make a tourniquet, but it was barely working. His feathered fingers shook tremulously as he came to grips with what was happening.

"Dumbass! You're not even listening to me," pleaded Kito, discouraged as he started to fade out. "Why won't you fuckin' leave!"

"I-I can't let you die, Kit…" said Judas, finally able to speak through shock and welling tears. "Oh, god, this wasn't supposed to happen…"

"Well, it…is…"

Judas frantically ran his hands through the fur of Kito's face, hoping vainly in his effort to keep him awake.

"Promise me that you won't waste your life, Judas, whatever it becomes. I…I'm already going. It sucks, but it's all right…now I don't have to do this anymore."

In his last gesture, Kito waved to the chaos around him. It saddened Judas to his core.

"This happened so fast," said Kito. "I guess I love you, Judas. You're…all I've ever had for so much of my life…"

"KIT!" screamed Judas as his friend slipped away. He was moments' away from being gone.

"Just…do something for me, will you? Tall and handsome…"

"Whatever you want!" uttered Judas with no control to keep his voice low.

With the only strength he had left, Kito grabbed his friend's chest and pulled his ear to his muzzle.

Kito's last words were heard only by Judas. They were: "Kill…Stag. Don't let this happen to…someone else…."

The silver fox's last breath escaped him forever. He left Judas, forest green and smeared with the blood of his best friend, on his knees surrounded by flames dosing innocent civilians and gangsters everywhere. The Arwing continued its soaring overhead. It was free; meanwhile, Judas still felt like he had the burden of own life and that of his friend's and followers' on his shoulders. The flying machine had given him the chance to run, and he was going to stay. The villain who had caused this single chain in time (that very Arwing to come to this planet, this city) was out there still.

As the police flooded the area, Judas escaped into the silence of the nearest mountain. He was going to kill Rath Stag tonight. Kito's life was going to be avenged. For now, Judas was going to have to lay low, for he would need the Arwing and the help of its pilot to do it.

"I'm glad to help, General. It doesn't feel long ago when I was in a similar spot that some of these kids must be in," said Falco thickly. "Honestly, we should have made ridding our cities of these toxic gangs a top priority years ago."

"I agree and apologize, my dear Falco," said Pepper. "As Corneria's former military leader, I should have recognized our troubles at home just as much as I focused on those abroad. I guess that's why I'm not fully retired, so please don't call me 'General.'"

"Right," said Falco. "It's admirable that you've taken on this homeland security position when you should be drinking martinis on some beach on the other side of the planet, you unfortunate lap dog!"

"Well, I guess I just can't stay away. Not when my people still need me. And I thank you too, Falco. I shudder to think that some of the kids you helped in our Never Homeless project years ago may have been gunned down by your very Arwing tonight."

"Don't say things like that, Pepper, and I won't think things like that," admitted Falco, his honesty starting to cut into him. He headed back to his ship, still floating outside Corneria City's main tower, without saying another word.

"For all our sakes," said Pepper lastly, "I hope we find the heads of these gangs, so we can make our kids safe again."

"You and me both, General," whispered Falco as he hopped into the cockpit.

He was ready to take off, prepared to be called back again when trouble was destined to spring forth from the lower echelons of Cornerian society, when a flashing light caught the bird's eye. Thinking almost nothing of it, Falco booted up his interface and revved up the thrusters when the same glimmer shone from the nearest mountain peak. It looked like an SOS.

Judas put away the crystal he had found when the Arwing began to hover nearer. Falco landed without a sound and looked for the origin of the light in the dark. He was on his guard as much as he was searching for someone in trouble.

"Falco Lombardi," said Judas plainly. He was still unseen.

Falco whipped around to where the voice had come from. His blaster was charged, and his reflector strapped to his waist was inches away from a proper defense.

"Who's there?! Show yourself."

Without question, Judas stepped into the light of the Arwing's headlamps. His striking resemblance to Falco caught him off-guard.

"My name's Judas."

"And how did you know who I was?"

"Really? Anyone with a functioning brain could recognize your Arwing…and that flying."

Assuming him a friendly, Falco lowered his blaster and pressed straight away to the serious questions: "You weren't in that battle tonight, were you?"

"I was," said Judas simply. "I helped cause it. Then, my friend died for it."

Judas thought it would not be very productive to mention how Kit had died.

"I'm so sorry," said Falco understandingly.

This obviously had caught Judas by surprise. "What?! That's what you have to say to me. For all you know, you should be assuming I meant to charge into that city on my own freewill…"

"Huh, kid, I've been around for a long time. Rarely does anyone do anything in an embroiled crime war like this acting on their own freewill. Trust me, I've been there before."

"Hmph, I had always heard stories about the legendary Falco Lombardi, but I thought the whole 'humble beginnings' thing was a lie to make you seem more personable."

"Ha, don't need any help in that department," said Falco sarcastically.

"I see," muttered Judas. He really had no clue what to think.

"Well, here's what's important: why did you flash me down? Is someone in trouble?"

"You already know the answer to that, or I'm assuming you wouldn't be here. No, no one's in immediate danger, but they'll all end up like my friend sooner or later, I bet. That's why I want to destroy the Meteo Comets leader TONIGHT. I'd need your help to do it…."

"I see, Judas," said Falco as he thought about an extra mission. "And as rash as I am, you don't also think it unwise to attack out of anger with so little preparation?"

"Nope. I think it best to kill that bastard stag now while his forces are scrambled after what you've done tonight. He won't have near as many men guarding him, and now YOU are connected with someone who knows exactly where to find him. I also understand he's in the bounty system here: wanted dead or alive for the same reward."

"Kid, if you know about me, you know I don't do the whole 'mercenary' thing anymore."

"Then kill him because it's right," said Judas sharply.

"Hmph, birds like us don't get to decide what's right."

"Then let's not worry about it."

Falco liked this kid. There was something beyond his looks that reminded him of his younger self. That was not entirely a good thing, remembering how headstrong he was as a gang leader when street crime was hardly organized and the groups were much smaller and younger. Nonetheless, he could sense an urgent fire in the heart of this young man.

"You know what," said Falco with confidence, "we could give this a try. My fiancée Kat might just come and help us out too. We'll make this a family affair."

Judas chuckled as Falco called Katt. "Family affair?" he asked incredulously.

"Heck, if you weren't dark green, you'd look exactly like me!"

Judas felt like his life was moving too fast. What seemed like only minutes ago, he was mourning the death of his best friend. Now, he was on an island along with Falco and Katt far off into the southern Cornerian Sea. The massive prism that shot out of the ground before them all was the hideout for the Meteo Comets, and Rath Stag was no doubt perched at the top.

They charged into the ground floor without worry. Cloaking devices shielded them as they sniped the guards placed here. Hiding the bodies in an adjoining stockroom, the three were left to breathe as the temporary deceptive devices turned off.

Seeing Judas in full light for the first time, Falco had a revelation but was forced to save it for later. Having not been made aware to their presence, Stag and his supporters at the top floor had no chance to shut down the elevator.

Someone tried to use it unannounced on the way to the top. When the door opened to let the soldier in, Katt shoved her blaster through the widening crevice and gunned down a lynx whose eyes wrought themselves open before suffering no more pain. Judas thought to pose the question 'What if that guy wasn't a member?' but thought better of it instantly. He knew why she had not hesitated to kill him. This was Judas's idea after all.

After the anticipation of the smooth elevator ride upward, Falco, Katt and Judas hustled forward into the final hallway with guns ablaze. No creature was fast enough to stand up and fight against the shock that startled security. Rath Stag finally heard a commotion now, but by the time he even thought of acting, the three avengers were in his throne room.

"Hands behind your head!" shouted Falco.

Rath did so but not without saying a few words. "Supporters are on their way," he chuckled. "Just like this traitorous boy who stands with you in arms against me!"

Judas was surprised to be recognized. He had only just moved up in rank, and the Meteo Comets was such a large syndicate. This sharp memory of the mob boss only added to the malicious and ominous mood that pervaded the air. Something was not right.

"You'll HAVE to kill me!" roared Stag.

Hopeless, and already found out, Rath Stag was not going to die without an impression. What he started by pressing the button below his desk blew up in all their faces. Stag pulled a gun taped to the bottom of his desk with his other hand and shot Judas in the shoulder before he could fire too. Staggered, Judas's laser sliced away an antler from Stag's head just as the room exploded in a series of disjointed sparks. Katt and Falco dove immediately and instinctively protected Judas from the blast while the same fires rocked Rath Stag to the core as the back wall fell away from the base.

It was unbelievable. When Judas, slightly burned himself, shed the cover of his guardians and looked up, he saw Rath Stag still alive and grinning wildly at him. His flesh was deep red in most spots were the fur had been singed to the root. Unable to contain himself, Judas flung himself forward and tackled Stag as the leader grabbed for another gun.

Falco and Katt watched as both of them flew out of sight. They went over to see that both were still hanging from the burning building, Stag grasping Judas's boot and Judas slipping already.

"Katt, watch the door!" Falco shouted.

It was a good call that saw Katt gunning down gangsters who had been called to the chaos above them. Monroe was a great shot, and it let Falco focus on pulling his friend back up.

He did not have the strength, however. Rath Stag's final will was too strong, so Falco shot him in the face to let go of Judas. Somehow not dead until he was about to hit the ground beneath, Stag let loose one last shot that hit its target.

With a blasted back, Judas slipped from the rubble's edge and scarcely missed Falco's outstretched hand. Conscious or otherwise, Judas felt like he fell forever.

He awoke in a hospital bed in the Nintendo infirmary. Judas came to with a shudder, feeling like he had finally landed after his near infinite fall. He was somewhat surprised to see the kind faces of Falco and Katt at his bedside.

"What happened?" asked Judas groggily. "How am I not…dead?"

"No clue," said Falco matter-of-factly. "Both of your legs are broken in multiple places, and your back wound almost left you paralyzed. You're very lucky."

"Indeed," seconded Katt. "They'll come a day, probably within the year, when you won't even remember what being held up like this felt like."

"That's not what I meant," said Judas impatiently. "I need the important stuff. What happened to Stag and the Comets? How long has it been since we attacked?"

"Just a couple of days," said Falco nonchalantly to match Judas's urgency. "The gang was investigated and officially disbanded after Stag's death."

"He died?!"

"Yes," affirmed Katt. "Falco, I'll leave you with Judas, okay? I know there's a lot you wanted to talk with him about."

Katt left, leaving the two look-alikes in their shades of dark blue and green to talk together. Both knowing their mission to be a success, the conversation was a lot calmer.

"So…where am I?" asked Judas.

"You're in Nintendo headquarters. I'm sure you've heard of the famous Pillar."

"What?! Really?"

Falco nodded.

"I never imagined I'd find myself here," replied Judas honestly.

"It could have been better circumstances that saw you here."

"I know…but still…"

There was a silence until Falco interrupted it again. "So, now that you're completely free, have you given it any thought? You know. What you want to do with your life."

"Not a clue," said Judas, pondering. His mind had been on one track toward revenge since Kit had died, and now he had accomplished that. "I guess I'll go find something on Corneria…under a new name."

"Are you?"

"Yep, I've thought about that part already. I'm going to shorten my name to Jay…just like I always shortened Kito's name back when."

"Was that the name of your best friend that was killed that night?"

"Yes," said Jay unfortunately. He thought about telling Falco what killed Kit directly. But then again, maybe he would never have to.

"See, someone with your skill should really put it to good use," started Falco. "I know exactly where you might fit in."

"Uhuh, and where's that," asked Jay in earnest.

"Star Fox."

If Jay had been physically able, he would have jumped up from his bed in shock. Instead, only his agape beak could be his tell that he had not ever expected such an offer.

"So…does that mean you would be excited by such a prospect?" asked Falco cheekily.

"Absolutely!" said Jay, his voice cracking out of excitement. "And would I be trained by the legendary Falco Lombardi?"

"Actually, I was thinking of giving you to Slippy once you've recovered."

Falco got a lot of joy from seeing the dejected look on his boy's face.

"Heheh, just kidding, kid. Of course, I'd love to train you. And that's not all."

"What?" asked Jay, his voice still quivering with anticipation.

"I know you're eighteen (at least that's what the Cornerian Registry of Citizens told me), but you definitely still got a lot of growing up to do. I was wondering…if you'd be opposed to me adopting you."

Judas's beak lay open for a different feeling this time. It was the feeling of being appreciated instead of general excitement. The forest green bird did not know how to express himself all of a sudden.

"Falco…woah…I…uh…"

"You don't have to give me an answer already. I just wanted to put it out there is all," said Falco gruffly in his thick accent, pretending that either answer would not matter to him that much.

"No…I…think this could be the best thing for me. I'll admit I need a lot of work if I'm to be a functional piece of this galaxy."

"Heh, you're already wiser than I was at your age."

"And you're the only grown adult who's ever shown me a shred of respect. But, seriously, do you care about me that much to take such a time-consuming charity case on?"

It was a good question, and years ago, Falco would not have even considered it.

"I'm afraid in my middle age, I've softened up so much I don't even recognize myself sometimes," said Falco. "But then, most times, Katt reminds me that that's probably a good thing. And I want to have the chance to be a father…just without the annoying early years."

"I can't believe this is happening…."

"Honestly, me neither. I'm just counting myself lucky that you flagged me down a couple nights ago. And that you somehow survived that fall of course."

"Well, I'll be sure to make up for not giving you any early years. I can be as annoying as you want. It's the least I can do," Jay said, "because you've already made my life bearable again."

It took months for Jay to recover, but as Katt had predicted, he was fully all right and became a proud member of both Star Fox and Nintendo in little time. Marcus and the others of his age accepted him when he was still useless in his hospital bed. And when he finally got out and showed his skill, especially what he could do as a sharpshooter and aspiring pilot, everyone warmed up even more.

Slippy's eldest daughter, Isabella, warmed up too. She had swooned over the tall and handsome forest green bird when he was still injured. When he finally got out of that bed, their feelings all pent up without proper release for so long, their relationship became physical very fast. This led to a couple comical occasions where they were spotted first by Jay's dad and second by Isabella's. The latter being completely awkward and painful, the couple decided to be more discreet going forward. Just not too discreet. This was the possible final year of everything after all.

Falco had quickly become like a dad to Judas, and the old bird felt Jay was a son to him even quicker. Their relationship matured over the months, so much so that Jay eventually felt comfortable telling his guardian that it was he who had killed (but not meant to) Kito. He told Falco this just to be honest and somewhat regretted the decision after Falco dipped into a pit of guilt he did not even know was possible in his hardened heart.

Tales of young love and honest father-son interactions aside, what really mattered after the raid on Rath Stag's hideout was how much like a happy family Falco, Katt and Jay had become. They supported each other through everything and enjoyed, almost more than anyone, being on missions together. The Lombardis were incredibly proud of their son and the man he was becoming.

It was days filled with such happiness like this that Falco remembered the revelation that had come to mind on the ground floor of Stag's hideout. Jay had been one of the children he had given back to in the Never Homeless project. It had been the first selfless thing Falco had done once he finally overcame his self-centeredness after the Anglar Wars. The deep blue bird could now only see it fitting that his first interaction with Jay eventually led to a life carried out more for others than himself.

"I sense Dark Matter's presence in all corners of the galaxy," muttered Meta to Lucario in a state of trance. The jackal's prowess in meditation helped the knight learn how to connect with the evil entity itself and see its aura through all the fog of the universe.

"Then, I hope whoever it finds," said Lucario, "will be ready for it. You say it's not looking for an all-out fight this time. Just torture for those who are chosen for it?"

"That's what it's telling me. Maybe, it's weak and can only amount to insanity for just a few," said Meta, shrugging the incoming Dark Matter off as little to worry about. Of course, Lucario knew that was not how his friend actually felt.

"My friend," said Lucario, "I hope…"

But Lucario could not finish his telepathy. The power and omnipresent nature of Dark Matter seemed to burst forth into their minds, temporarily destroying the connection they had with each other and the universe.

"Darkness is rising," said Meta certainly. "A lesser man would ask how much of it we can take."

"But every man wonders it," said Lucario wisely.

Petalburg was just as peaceful as it usually was. Koops, the town's current mayor, was constantly torn between it and his post at Nintendo. Both were forgiving if he was away from one for too long; without question, Koops was harder on himself than anyone else.

Among those who understood him the most was his longtime girlfriend, Koopie Koo. Koops had thought many times about finally popping the question after seven long years of being together, but his uncertainty that had come back from taking on too much was preventing him from doing it. He was lucky his hopefully soon-to-be fiancée was a patient koopa.

One night, Koops found himself actually sound asleep and dreaming. It was a feverous premonition full of the things he wanted. His muscles too large for his baby blue sweatshirt and shell, Koops was so big and strong, he was able to jump through space between his home village and the headquarters of good that needed him when it battled evil. His family back in Petalburg were all very, and audibly too, impressed with Koops's physique and dedication. Koopie Koo swooned over him even more than she already did, and in another REM-induced vision in the comfort of the real Koops's second floor bedroom, the incredibly buff dream Koops was marrying the girl of his dreams, the koopa next door.

Koops imagined a blissful night and honeymoon. The couple stayed together forever and had a gaggle of adorable and kind children. Everything was as he wanted it. It had not even felt hard to accomplish. Everything was…

"Great…" said Koops sarcastically as he woke up and propped himself up perpendicular to his cushy paragoomba-feather pillow. He had obviously just realized that everything he dreamed was not real, and while fantastical it was, it had still felt like reality all the same.

"If only I was that strong and gifted…" muttered Koops into the inky darkness of the night, "…then I might be able to make all these things happen."

Getting out of his sheets and careful not to wake Koopie, a very heavy sleeper, Koops went downstairs to make koopa tea. Whenever he awoke in the night, he could never get back into the lull of circadian bliss. It had been that way ever since he was a kid, at least ever since his dad had been presumed dead at the hands of Hooktail when Koops was very young. Waking up to a nightmare about his father dying a gruesome death had never persuaded young Koops to go back to the opportunity of having it happen again. And while Koops rationally realized there was no reason to be scared of that happening with his dad safe and home again, his subconscious was goading him to stay awake otherwise.

After Koops finished his cup in forced loneliness (Koopie would have loved spending thoughtful time with her boyfriend), something possessed him out of nowhere. Koops had unknowingly taken a quick nap on the couch before wanting to go out. Koopa tea soothing him into another dream, this one was much odder than before. Koops unexplainably found himself in the getup of an astronaut in the Shiverburn Galaxy deep in space. Jumping amidst the floating space ice caps and across lava-filled pools yielded the koopa an enrapturing vantage point; slender figures like trees deformed in extreme conditions seemed to peer down at him. The denizens of the undiscovered Hell Valley foreshadowed a conflict that Koops could not know, and when the gazing from the far-off creatures became too much for Koops, he woke up again with a fright and a new purpose in mind. He suddenly felt pulled toward the outside, so he opened the door, unhesitant to meet the unknown. Because of the chill, night air, Koops would have gone back in to get his shell and sweatshirt, but the thing that called him pulled much harder. He would go in his boxers alone.

Before Koops knew it, he was briskly walking along the trail that left Petalburg, weaved through Petal Meadows and beckoned the Boggly Woods to intermingle. Koops continued to walk along in a semi-trance, reflecting a lot about his somewhat pitiful state but otherwise very happy life. The only thing Koops did not drift to think about, for some reason, was the mysterious force that took him near the monochrome trees and neon-throbbing foliage.

The allure of whatever was in the Boggly Woods was intense. Koops could feel the force pounding in his head now. The same energy was also pulsating somewhere ahead. It was only when Koops reached The Great Tree in the center of the woodland that the wandering koopa began to have some vague idea of what it was.

A shimmering, fizzling dark cloud of what looked like ash mixed with smoke festered on the ground before him. Koops reached out to touch it but hopped back, falling on his brief-covered yellow butt as he did so, realizing the danger that floated above him.

Someone more familiar with recent galactic history would have recognized the possessed figure as Marx, a simple jester and troublemaker from Pop Star who had become infatuated with the power of Dark Matter and had wished on a Nova to become one with the all-powerful darkness. Now, he was somehow still alive. Or maybe it was just a lingering shadow, projected by the Dark Matter that could truly never perish.

But all Koops could think was how he had been so stupid to follow a random telepathic calling to find himself in this mess. A screech and another unearthly howl splitting dimensions later, Marx Soul spread its wings and fired its laser blasts at Koops, basically naked and unready to defend himself.

The young adult koopa had made finding his own inner courage a personal theme and goal of his recent years, but this was something else. This time he had no friends to help him and nothing to protect himself or attack with. Marx Soul became even more relentless while Koops was only able to dodge some attacks. Sporadic and quite erratic, Marx Soul unleashed its entire arsenal of mind-splitting attacks on Koops. The monster split itself into two and tried to cram Koops inside itself.

Koops was not having that though. All of a sudden, he became quicker on his bare feet. Memories of Mario inspired him to jump high and away, and Koops landed on a low-hanging tree branch that snapped and fell immediately. Marx Soul actually warped straight into its path; the branch hit the villain on his pink and green cap, enraging the embodiment of tragic chaos transformed out of innocent meddler even more. He unleashed a humongous laser of nega energy at Koops who had fallen on his backside once more.

The assault nearly killed Koops, but in a way, it saved him also. The koopa rocketed through the same air he had been called through earlier in the night and slammed into the house where he and Koopie Koo stayed. Before Marx Soul could come to finish the job, Koops had already geared up in his polished shell and nifty shorts and sweatshirt.

"KOOPS!" shouted Koopie instinctually as she was torn from sleep after Koops's crash brought her to. Upon seeing what was coming for her boyfriend, Koopie was speechless; Koops, on the other hand, was prepared to fight back.

There was nothing ominous about the calling anymore. Marx Soul was as in-your-face as any evil godlike being could get, and Koops realized that, perhaps, the call had been for him to fight and gain courage by defeating the piece of darkness that had found itself in the eternal mistiness of Boggly Woods.

Koops summoned an oversized shell to appear and crash Marx Soul into the earth as it paused to ready an overhang of sorcerous energy balls that never came. The dark creature lay sprawled, with its tongue lolling out of its mouth beneath the cracked shell. Koops geared up for a mighty shell slam that penetrated all the defensive capabilities Dark Matter had given Marx. It was as if Koops was slicing through the fragile, child-like body of the normal Marx himself. The being screeched out a final instant, this time out of destruction instead of the impending doom it wanted to enforce on Koops and his town and family the darkness wanted so desperately to give up and give into.

Petalburg was saved; people of all kinds cheered out of their dimly lit homes as they had all been rocked by what Marx Soul had wanted to give. Koops was his town's savior. Not much else had ever felt this good. Not only had he defeated the beast that came to threaten his family, but he also assumed that such a powerful foe must have been on Nintendo's radar in the past. Fulfilling duties for both of his work obligations shed Koops's doubt and relieved him of his depression. Wanting it all now and not worrying about whether he could actually accomplish it all at once, Koops ran over to Koopie Koo and embraced her, spinning.

Koopie was at a loss for words. Her boyfriend was in great spirits, all after having destroyed some alien creature. It did not matter. Koops wanted to do the talking this time anyway.

"Oh, Koopie!" he cooed. "I love you so much. And I'm sorry…."

Instead of meaning the rubble of their house they stood in, Koops was referencing his recent fractured past self. He felt whole and self-actualized again and wanted to show it.

"I want to be with you forever," Koops said, getting to his point rapidly. "And the only way I'll get even stronger than how I feel now is if we stay together for all time. Koopie Koo, will you marry me, please?"

Koopie did have words finally. For this, she had rehearsed her response for years. It was easy having it come out because she knew Koops was the most complete koopa that would ever suit her. He was the kindest person she had ever known.

Link howled into the expansive clouds of twilight in the realm of Midna's rule. It might have been something about staying in the Palace of Twilight again, the memories of his duel with Zant and freeing of the Twili in the past still fresh in his head coupled with it being the possible final year of existence in this strange far future Link found himself in, because the Hero Chosen by the Gods was finding that more often than he had ever expected, he enjoyed letting his feral side loose as the Blue-Eyed Beast.

The twilight princess adored how he looked as a wolf anyway, and the hero would have been lying if he said that was not part of the reason for his cathartic transformations. Letting her animal run free throughout the grounds of the palace, Midna tended to some political duties of her own. Being a princess, as only Zelda and few others could know and relate, was not anything like the majority of the populaces they ruled would ever assume.

Like other Nintendo heroes with ties to scattered planets throughout the galaxy and the lands born on them, Midna constantly found herself in a difficult position of balancing the rule of her people with the power she owed to the universe at large. Knowing that Link felt this burden too and that her awesome, still-growing strength was needed to face impressive evil forces, Midna left the day-to-day overseeing of her kingdom to her primary attendant, Twizar.

Very lanky and very loyal, Twizar was absolutely seen as Midna's willing subordinate by the people of the Twilight Realm, no question. However, Twizar was admittedly a competent leader, and nearly everyone lazily going about life in the parallel world agreed. Life was simple and peaceful in the banished realm. Sol energy was being studied and harvested; no one relied on or created dark magic like the Fused Shadows of yore.

Sitting with legs draped over a cliff that led to abysmal twilight below, the goddess shape of Midna looked out to the clouds behind the main palace. She sat staring longingly next to her faithful companion. Like this, she almost forgot they were lovers, feeling Link's beastly nature to be a faithful friend.

She pat his head, Link whimpering jokingly as she did it. Midna wanted to be satisfied with her relationship, her rule, and how she could choose between being gorgeous or wicked in form whenever she wanted, but she was still thirsty for more. In truth (a secret no one knew but not because it was a dangerous secret), the twilight princess had always wondered where their spheres of sol came from. She assumed it was the endless expanse that extended in front of her.

It was no use looking though. Stories of Twili getting lost forever after trying to float into the forever abyss were haunting to say the least. But Midna was undoubtedly more powerful than those who had tried before and failed, so her curiosity was somewhat warranted and certainly not satiated.

She was never going to actually try it; she had too much to lose and was reminded of that when she stared infinitely into the blue pools of her beast's eyes that peered equally as fierce at her. The wolf's ears flickered. Link laid his muzzle on her lap.

Then, Midna felt an ominous yet excessively intense calling in her head for her to go and explore. The signal that came from the light mixed with darkness ahead beckoned loudly. Midna swore, that in just a singular moment, she saw slender figures in the distance…possibly shapes of those who were lost long ago, foolish enough to make the journey to find the secrets of sol power.

The figures disintegrated as soon as they had appeared. Midna thought she had dozed and dreamed it in the moment because it had seemed so unreal and had really made no sense. If her people who had gone to search in the past even before her birth had somehow returned, then why were they not corpses? Instead, they had merely stared in mid-air, almost mocking her because, before now, she had refused to trek out in the distance herself.

Not one to give up on a challenge, Midna gave in to the more ferocious (and more accurate) side of herself and left without a word. Link started to get up and move to get Midna's attention, but it was far too late; Link could not levitate as Midna could. For she was moving effortlessly into the twilight expanse, her long dainty feet dripping into the blurred clouds below and all around her.

Time was a paradox as Midna continued forward. It seemed like her power was going to sustain her for an eon, and in a way, it felt like one had passed already. But in her dreamlike state, Midna felt like she had woken up from something huge that went fast like the way daytime dies on the bosom of nightfall when she finally found something corporeal in front of her.

It was another cloud of simmering darkness. Magolor Soul sprouted from it, the corrupted alien lifeform inside a mere shadow of his former self. The smiley face that bore into Midna's soul was almost petrifying. The traditionally considered beauty of her true form was never going to match the evil that had found solace in the twilight of her world.

Magolor Soul ripped apart some of the parallel space time in the Twilight as Midna transformed into her imp self. She had no Fused Shadows to engorge herself with strong magic to combat her foe; however, she could at least fly faster as a smaller version of herself.

Unfortunately, it was not enough. Melting her fiery hair into an arm and hand, she had nothing to grab as she was inevitably sucked into Magolor Soul's portal of torture. Midna's screams were ripped out of her as sudden slashes flew into her from all angles in this disorienting dimension of nightmares.

Once Magolor Soul was done with the attack, Midna took the offensive, not able to contain herself as she screamed in rage. She became a shadow and started to scheme. Taking the form of a shade, Midna avoided being seen even though Magolor Soul could still feel its opponent present. Not able to find her in time, the dark monster was pummeled from behind with the weighty mallet that was the full size of Midna's fifth appendage.

Magolor Soul let out a deep yet chilling growl of pain, causing Midna to be even more reckless and shed her natural disguise. Midna kept beating on the scrap of darkness, all the while ignoring the spikes of space-time that continued to pop out in a desperate bid to skewer her.

Midna was enraged and wanted the fight over with. She warped both her and the beast back to the Palace of Twilight where Wolf Link and the Twili were awestruck when they watched the few seconds of a scuffle they were rewarded. Midna made sure Magolor Soul was pinned down with her hair hand as she heaved off a huge chunk of ashen land with her psychokinesis. She called to everyone: "STAY BACK! DON'T WORRY!" as she warped again with all her amazing might to return to the original fighting space.

With one last grunting of action, Midna whipped the piece of solid earth at the dazed, horned shape of Magolor Soul. The mass crashed into the beast, putting it into submission for a long enough time that gave Midna the chance to crush the living essence out of the dark disciple with her fluorescent, throbbing hand.

Magolor Soul's evil was dispelled, and Dark Matter itself was discouraged. It had tried to come back twice now through its old possessions. Both times, the attempts failed. Even in her celebration and great relief, Midna was not kidding herself: she was hurting. Providence, though unexpected, was about to cure those injuries.

A gigantic sol sphere was placed in front of her, materializing out of thin air seemingly. Midna had not seen what she had originally been looking for in the vastness of twilight, distracted with the battle that had surely required all of her attention. Now though, she was ready to make a discovery for her people.

This sol was so much larger than the energy sources they knew in the palace and entire civilization even. If it was not the origin of the undisputed magic that contained the Twilight Realm, then this still had to be something special, something unlike anything any Twili in history had ever seen.

Midna touched all three of her hands to the orb, which glowed incessantly bright. That constant pulse was warm and inviting. Midna felt chills and surges of heat spread throughout her body all at the same time as she embraced the ball, wrapping her body on one side. The sensation she felt next was unmistakable: growth. She had experienced something similar before, but turning into an arachnid-like embodiment of chaos had not felt this good.

At a very steady, calming rate, Midna grew taller. Although she did not look gorgeous as in her true form, Midna felt better than she ever had. About three times as big as the twilight princess before, Midna now felt like a twilight goddess. Her stubs for feet had splayed out into flat-footed plateaus beneath her long limbs. Her hands were as massive in relation to her body as the magical one coming out of her head usually was to her imp form. Breath soothed in and out of her prism-like torso, and a smile could not be helped from coming across her round face that still bore the uneven fangs, large eyes and dot for a nose that had always marked the Midna Link knew best.

She warped back to the Palace of Twilight with the newfound sol in tow. Everyone was amazed by that of course, but people's attention were understandably fixated on the giant that stood, lumbering over them. Link looked in shock and pleasant awe at whatever had happened; Midna's towering form was impressive. While she certainly was not gracious nor majestic in this form, she was definitely magnificent. Something about how big she had become (like a hybrid between a zora and a goron all while retaining Midna's distinct features as an imp) and how gentle she appeared acting around her people was inspiring. The anger and frustration that usually festered within Midna to push her to do great things for others was now replaced by an otherworldly serenity that seemed just as strong. Stories high and able to flatten anything in her way if she wanted it, her loyalty remained to her people and Link who stood before her, probably ready to worship her as a god if she decreed it.

But as Midna shrunk back to normal, she stayed the same. The sol rested within the center of the palace square where Link had charged his sword with light that had seemed like its memory too had been affected by the time paradox that makes things feel so close yet so long ago. Link looked at Midna, who stood as a smaller version of the giant, her eyes looking down at him as she was still a half-foot taller than the hero. She liked being a force that looked strong. At the same time, she also had grown to detest the demure style of her old, first self. The shape of an awkward, powerful giant better suited the image of strength and reflection she wanted to portray to her people and all the worlds.

"This, I believe, is the first Sol," told Midna to her people. "It emanates a light energy that generates strength and seems to bestow the Twili leader with great power, an obligation I swear not to take lightly."

Link smiled at his partner, so obviously proud in the responsible leader and brave fighter she had always been and was still becoming.

"May we hope to learn from its mysteries and grow ever stronger," said Midna.

Two thirds of a year had passed since Corneria City had first been cleansed of its most serious gangs and the accompanying turf warfare. Falco's adopted son, Jay, had become a strong, kind and instrumental pilot, sharpshooter and fighter for Nintendo in the short time since his recovery from his injuries, what he called battle rewards, the old Judas had earned.

Falco counted himself lucky that the spitting image he guarded was taking up the mantle of the fight. He was intensely proud of course, but Jay's activity in an Arwing was quickly becoming necessary. Team Star Fox and Nintendo were missing Falco's ace flying more often than not lately, and it was because Lombardi wanted to give his primary attention to the poor and underprivileged communities (the ones that bred gangs like the Meteo Comets and forced bright, young kids like Jay to undergo savage hardships) of Corneria and the Lylat System.

After the eye-opening experience of helping Jay take down his former gang's leader and stronghold (and upon reflection of his own criminal days), Falco could no longer ignore the obligation that burned inside him to help.

On one calm Cornerian afternoon with one of the bluest of skies the planet had ever seen, Falco found himself training homeless kids with a blaster at a firing range in the inner city. He was just now telling one of the bright, young bulldogs that he could pursue his dream of entering the academy for flight training because, with the legislature's new outreach initiative for children of all backgrounds and their future educations, he would get all the help he needed to make the most out of himself.

The usually jaded blue bird was happier than most others and most versions of his past self. Being here on the surface with his wife Katt Monroe just made charity all the sweeter.

"I never thought we'd settle down in this way," said Katt, "but I must admit, this is one of the greatest ways we could ever think to spend our time. My bird's really matured a lot through his adult years."

Falco barely minded being teased anymore either, but he did still retort. Katt said him not firing back was much less fun. Falco had not felt like such a mix of an old self and the new like this before; he usually was not the guy to admit personal growth or examine oneself for evolution, but it was undeniably present within him. If he was being honest with himself (and he more often was than not anymore), he owed all the positive change to his family.

Under all the other forces that guided his philanthropic feathered hands, there still was a pang of guilt. He knew he had not been completely blameless in the violence that had warped the lives of young people. Ever since Jay had told Falco it was his dad's accident that killed his best friend, Falco had been haunted by it every now and again.

He thought it was starting to subside when some kind of shadow appeared in the horizon in front of him. Katt instantly saw her husband look right through her and turned around herself to see nothing. Falco, on the other hand, could make out a slender, dark shape but could not discern any other features. For some reason, he felt like it was Kito and that he was calling from the dead, giving Falco a challenge to fly and find him.

While she was understandably very perplexed, Katt let Falco go, saying she could attend to the rest of the day they planned if that was needed. Falco had always been one to show up late and leave unannounced; that aspect of the lanky bird's character had not changed a bit.

Taking off in his Arwing, Falco only felt the calling growing stronger in his belly as he was pulled toward the asteroid belt, Meteo. The poetry of that was getting to Lombardi, and he wanted whatever was bothering him to stop. The only way for that to happen, it seemed, was to keep in pursuit.

Falco again saw the shadow of Kit, Jay's mourned-for friend, nestled within the tight crevice that shrank between two careening asteroids. Finally, the essence of Dark Matter appeared, throwing pretense aside to battle as 0.

Snapping out of his glumness almost instantly, Falco sped up in pursuit. He thought himself foolish to fall for this trick; he had never believed in the supernatural, and for him to have followed Kito's ghost so convinced he was being led toward something of importance was ridiculously out-of-character.

What was completely aligned with Falco's brand however was how fast he pulled off aerial maneuvers, slipping through the space rocks effortlessly to continue spreading lasers in the wake of 0. His near perfect aim was making short work of the weakness in the eyeball, and the battle was nearly won before a last-ditch attack actually posed a challenge.

"Finally, I was hoping to break a sweat at least!" cheered Falco as the villain tried to suck him in a shadowy vortex. It was not strong enough to take Star Fox's legendary flying ace in though, and he finished off 0 with a barrage of smart bombs and laser fire to put this pawn of Dark Matter out of its misery once more.

The darkness fizzled away and through the chunks of earth that floated through his vision. Falco was satisfied for the moment. Instead of flying off gloating in his glory for no one but himself like a younger Falco probably would have done, Falco simply let go of the controls and levitated slightly into space for a while.

He really was a changed man, he thought, and could not help but think how the symbolism of his battle with the mysterious 0 had brought that reality home again. All Falco Lombardi could think about after the fighting was how much he desperately wanted to see his wife and son again.

Truly understanding what he wanted, Falco gripped the stick of his Arwing and boosted out of Meteo toward the things he loved in the galaxy.

Knuckles the echidna wondered how long he had watched over the Master Emerald in his life. Thinking about that also made him wonder how many times he had wondered how long he had watched over the Master Emerald. Truth be told, he loved his duty more than anything in his world. It required the utmost vigilance, which he was proud to say he had in spades, and the honor of being chosen by fate to wield such a burden was so awesome, he thought it would sustain him for as long as he was destined to breathe. But in all honestly, Knuckles was only lying to himself if he said he was never bored with the same task at hand almost every day of his life so far. Days on Angel Island were almost always uneventful.

It was decided that it would be best to move the server of the chaos to its original home after the tragedy of Adam and the ripping apart of the galaxy. The Pillar smartly housed the seven chaos emeralds, so it made sense to most (including Knuckles, who had been a major player in the decision to take up his job of guardian once again) that the Master Emerald would be separated from its kin in case someone was able to infiltrate Nintendo with evil intentions to steal all the gems.

The echidna, stretching his bare feet over the altar and chewing a shred of wheat in his mouth, thought it extremely ironic that Nintendo had housed Robotnik himself in prison awaiting the transfer to G.U.N.'s maximum security facility while having the emeralds right under the mad doctor's nose. He could do nothing about it, and it served him right after transforming Bowser into a beast and altering the fabric of life itself. In fact, Knuckles thought Eggman deserved all the agony he got over the years and much, much more. Being tricked by the scientist had gotten old, and Knuckles was ashamed to admit that he had been more often than he ever should have. In this sense, Knuckles' personal faults made him hate the doctor even more.

Hours passed in their usual way: stagnant-feeling yet somehow always moving. It was peace and relaxation for hours until a storm suddenly blew in. What had been scattered clouds blocking the sun at random intervals now became deep dark blotches of thunder and rain that provided a change of pace for the evening. Dozing off was wonderful, but Knuckles would go insane without sporadic weather changes or the occasional forest animal up for a visit.

The storm started out soothing at first, which was nice for Knuckles because he was currently having a splendid time fantasizing about Rouge the bat and all the things they had been up to recently as a new couple, but just as swift as any crack of lightning, the whole storm changed its behavior and turned into a torrent of wind and sleet. Knuckles was not as happy about the change of pace anymore.

It took only moments for Knuckles to realize this was not just any storm. It seemed to be in tune with the energy of the Master Emerald. Instinctually turning to check on his burden, the echidna saw something glimmering inside it he had not expected, not ever really.

Slender figures shaped like the ancestors he had only seen in visions gifted to him by Tikal in the days of Chaos' escape appeared in strange sensations before him. The dreads, fists and proud forms of the echidna clan of his heritage bore into his mind with unstaring faces, for they had no eyes to see. That did not change how entranced Knuckles suddenly felt though. He wondered if he was only seeing these things because Tikal's reawakening and subsequent familiar power had returned, but that thought was no longer entertained when Knuckles saw it.

It was a glimmer of purest red. It had somehow burrowed its way into the Master Emerald itself. Out of insane fear of what could very well destroy the balance of wishes and chaos, Knuckles ran forward to shatter the protected Master Emerald, but it was too late. 02 had already sucked him into the dimension inside Knuckles' burden.

Dark Matter's biggest gambit at returning this year and overthrowing light for good manifested itself in front of Knuckles, who found himself in the familiar grounds of the temple of his ancestors' tribe. The ghastly halo, scarlet-tipped wings that bred death and the deep red eye crying teardrops of blood all appalled Knuckles. He had never seen anything like this before.

And he certainly was not dumb enough to think 02 anything but an enemy filled with purest malice. The villain shot out at him as Knuckles charged in simultaneously. The echidna's spiked fists drilled into the throbbing eye. Dark Matter's tool was seized with blindness and coursing with pain. Knuckles was strong enough that he was equivalent to the legendary weapon that had slayed the beast years before at Kirby's hand. The only exception was that Knuckles felt no mercy as Kirby and Ribbon had felt at seeing the wincing, pitiful and bloody state of this embodiment of evil.

Knuckles was not being moved by any of the tragic tears. This monster had come to threaten the Master Emerald, and not anyone could be forgiven for that, let alone some unholy thing that Knuckles could never hope to understand.

02 sliced out at its foe with the protruding cactus in desperate attempts to stay alive. Knuckles may have been confused and disgusted, but overall, his focus on beating the gruesome menace in front of him was unwavering. He let go a barrage of punches as fast as Sonic's feet could move across earth; his rage felt so great to unleash. It had come so fast, and now Knuckles was getting the excitement he so often wanted. 02 had evidently come to torture or challenge the wrong person.

The finishing blow was brutal. Knuckles glided upward, climbing along the sacred texts of his ancestors' monument, leaving 02 to cower in completely blinded obscurity below. It only shot out randomly, hurting nothing in the process. Once he reached the top, Knuckles drilled through the air like lightning and pierced through the deep red eye socket with ease, leaving a pool of boiling blood and fizzling Dark Matter on the grass of the sacred land touched by echidnas' feet.

With task completed and catharsis achieved, Knuckles enjoyed breathing heavily as an unbreakable brute, his muscles swelling with each breath taken inward. He had felt a spiritual connection with the fight as well. He had done everything in his power to keep the Master Emerald safe, and it had been enough. His duty still requiring his full attention, it would be quite some time before Knuckles found out how much else he had saved from despair and destruction.

The strongest of his race, Knuckles once again sprawled out on the grass before the Master Emerald. This was how he would spend the night: enjoying the floating isle all to himself. He had never felt happier.

Goddess of light Palutena had felt the growing, then diminishing, presence of Dark Matter in Nintendia too. Once the four scones of darkness went out in areas across the galaxy thanks to the duties held proudly by Koops, Midna, Falco and Knuckles, Dark Matter tried one last possession in its last attempt to assert its forceful dominance back into Nintendo. The Nightmare Wizard had always been a cunning man on his own, and with the power of darkness sealed within him, he had turned dreams into nightmares on Planet Popstar, however briefly until Kirby thwarted his plans with the Star Rod at the Fountain of Dreams.

Ironically enough, Kirby was in the past conquering that maze around Tabuu as present darkness took to Skyworld to combat the goddess of light to bring Trinity into shadow. That maze disintegrated away as Kirby was victorious, getting Nintendo one step closer to the true enemy, while the reborn Nightmare Wizard zoomed into Palutena's Temple in his spherical, celestial form to do battle.

Seer of the future in her holy home, Palutena had of course seen this coming. She deflected the ball instantly when it rammed into her sanctuary and into her. The Wizard went spiraling back into a palace wall, already disarmed of his shield at this deflection of his attack. Palutena wasted no time in bringing out the heavy guns; she knew a black hole would run the chance of making her foe stronger, so she called down a heavenly light that was happily bestowed by Zeus at the goddess's request.

The Nightmare Wizard faded almost instantly from the world, surprising even Palutena herself who had expected at least a tough fight. She could tell the near future, yes, but even she had not foretold how powerful her friends abroad, scattered across the galaxy would be when they faced the other embodiments of Dark Matter, conquering their own personal demons when they had beat them.

Without 0, 02, Marx, Magolor, the Nightmare Wizard or any of darkness's other vessels to bring enough shadow and despair into the world, Dark Matter's wishes were destroyed, hopefully postponed for a long time to come.

Palutena's only worry was how living darkness would no doubt feed on the tragedy and sadness of the people of Nintendia in its universe's final year. Only one Pillar could prevent that darkness from growing faster than ever, and unknown even to the goddess of light, another old threat was prepared to emerge from the unseen.

Lady Timpani glanced at the scraps of parchment on Merlon's desk in Flipside. She was visiting, as she often loved to do, the home of her old guardian who saved her as a pixl. Conversation was usually bright and about the prosperity of the two towns in the gap between dimensions, but today was something serious.

"I want to know more about the Dark Prognosticus," said Timpani confidently.

She knew the fell book that had foretold the end of the world at the whim of the Chaos Heart had not come to mean much in the way of destiny, but she felt that, in all its unfurling pages of evil, some information could still be useful to Mario and his friends this year.

"It's funny you bring it up now," spoke Merlon, "because Mimi and Nastasia were just telling me the other day that, according to your late husband, there was an epilogue to that prognosticus that included details that would most probably only happen if the world actually continued to exist, much to the disagreement with the rest of the book I should say."

Merlon was immediately sorry for mentioning Count Bleck, or Blumiere, as he had gotten used to calling him just recently. Somehow, a divine power saw fit to bring Timpani back into the mortal world with no memory of her heaven with Blumiere, reformed after the Chaos Heart's destruction. He had been chosen by some sad accident or cruel manipulation to stay in the world he had made for himself and his wife alone.

"Is there any particular passage they could recall that caught their eye?" asked Timpani, wondering if it had mentioned the return of Dimentio at all.

"If fact, there was," affirmed Merlon, pouring over some notes and sipping Saffron's Flipside-famous tea. As if he were reading Timpani's mind (and he just about knew her that well), he said: "Nastasia remembered the count, er, I mean Blumiere, reciting one passage because it seemed to hint that their minion at the time, the interdimensional jester Dimentio, would become part of some evil gang far in the future and try to rid worlds of life in case the Chaos Heart failed. Again, very odd indeed that part of the Dark Prognosticus would suppose its own failure…perhaps some unknown member of the dark tribe that composed it got his hands on it once and…"

Timpani was too focused on the existence of the passage to hear anything else. Ever since Dimentio had returned with Metallix, Zant and Zazan, she feared that something far grander in evil designs was awaiting Nintendo. It sounded like this chapter in the dark book might help them prepare for what would possibly come.

"Merlon, do we know any exact details from the passage?"

"Actually, we do! Nastasia, hearing it once, logged it into her memory banks. It's eidetic, you know, very handy. Wanting to let go of everything regarding Ble-Blumiere, sorry, because the pain of remembering him was too great, she wrote down everything she remembered from the Dark Prognosticus on…" Merlon opened up a book hidden at the back of his shelf, "these pages. And, I believe…" said the wizard has he flipped to the correct one, "this is what you're looking for."

Timpani read it and could scarcely believe the words on the paper. If it were all her friends would have to deal with, it did not seem that bad after all, but she knew that Fox and the others were at the ends of their ropes already….

If the Chaos Heart fails its mission to wipe out all worlds, let the humble jokester carry out his duty to end all things and start anew, for he is the proper harbinger of the worlds' destruction; as life is a joke, a jester should be the one delivering the punchline.

He will not do it alone however. A disgraced king from a banished world will join the cause, followed by an unwanted creation, a copy of something thought to be much greater, and a toxic henchman who has lost his way. These four will form a Fallen Coalition only to return to greatness at the edge of the apocalypse.

The Chaos Heart is certainly not the only thing capable of universal destruction. Any mighty power, divine or built from stubborn cruelness, has the potential to wipe out all meaningless life. One day, the jester will realize he houses this power within him and will stop at nothing to unleash it, lest he miss his only chance in the city of lights, home to the falcon.

Great heroes will try to stop the massacre, but they are assured to fail. As the end draws near, something unexpected will come, and our tribe of darkness will rise again. From the ashes of pitiful worlds, emptiness will be born.

Reading the short passage gave Timpani waves of chills down her spine. If this all came to pass, Tabuu's evil desires could turn out null and void. Or if Dimentio's sickness combined with Tabuu's plan…Timpani shuddered to think what terrible hell that could be like.

Fox already had far too much on his hands, and hearing of this plot leftover from the Dark Prognosticus only heightened his stress. He was sure to thank Timpani for the information, because of course, he was thankful to have all the knowledge they had to save the worlds, but even Nintendo's mostly fearless leader had to admit: it was getting old saving at least one every other day.

Marcus and Krystal, desperate as always to help their father and husband carry his great burden, made sure to handle what they could. For instance, something of little importance to the McCloud family had some severe ramifications for some of Nintendo's traveling members. Mega Man and Roll along with the rest of Dr. Light's robot family were quite concerned; their creator was being put on trial on Katina, an impartial system to judge the doctor. He was being charged with aiding the enemy as a technical accomplice to Dr. Wily, who had always used his robot creations to spread havoc every time he was able to hack them.

The basis for the prosecution was admittedly fairly strong. Miles Edgeworth pointed to Light's gross negligence for having made waves of eight robots again and again, knowing the almost certain possibility of them being hacked by someone with evil intentions. That someone was always revealed to be Wily, and after several times of the same cycle of Mega Man defeating Light's original creations and ruining Wily's plans, the cities of their world became quite tired of it. In Edgeworth's case, yes, Wily was paying in prison for what he had done repeatedly, which included many prison escapes. His life was forfeit to the system. Edgeworth's question was simply: why shouldn't there be a punishment for Light as well?

Preparing to answer that question with confidence and his usual charisma was Phoenix Wright, ace defense attorney. He had been working day and night for months to prepare Light's case and was getting treated handsomely for it. The majority of the public seemed to be siding with Light, but there was still a hefty divide that was making for an interesting case.

On one cool, drizzling day on Katina, the verdict was finally reached by the jury. Among those on it included Bill Grey, a Katinan native, the only anthropomorph of the twelve and one of Fox's best friends, Anthony Higgs, who had been experiencing trouble keeping up with his civic and federation duties, and ten other humans from Earth, Mobius and almost every major continent of Trinity.

Nintendo needed the report from the case's outcome instantly, so Marcus tipped off Kelly to travel to Katina for the reading of the case, which was supposed to be private and media-free. Mega Man joined her on the trip. He needed to know what was going to happen to his father.

Once there, Mega Man and Kelly were mostly shocked at what they heard. And when the verdict of "guilty" was read aloud for Dr. Light, something else happened outside that made the end of the case a whole lot worse.

It was a robot attacking, though not the kind Mega Man was used to at all. It was huge with sharp, blue metallic tendrils for claws and razors that extended the length of its bus-size tail. The beast was incredibly ugly and was blasting city blocks to bits with its lasers and speedy slashes. Metal Overlord glanced over at Mega Man with disgust and contempt as he immediately sprang from the courthouse with an intent to stop it. The gambit of the Fallen Coalition had begun.

When Espio heard the call to emergency reverberate with red lights flashing throughout the Pillar, he had been observing the completion of the latest maze. The Hero of Hyrule had just defeated Yuga Ganon and restored Lorule's Triforce when the sirens blared. Instantly, the chameleon knew he had to go wake his best friend from his slumber. Nothing would stir Silver's meditation otherwise.

Even with crisis obviously at hand, Espio could not help but feel the slightest pang of guilt when he entered the hedgehog's quarters. The sole reason his friend was spending more time in deep thought to improve his abilities was because of his assuredness that he would be needed to keep The Greatest Maze intact. With missions being accomplished by the rest of the team, Silver knew from the near future that Tabuu's creation was in danger of collapsing, thereby dooming the universe to an earlier demise. Espio nudged his floating friend awake with some force.

Without reacting at all to being awoken, Silver merely said in resignation: "I think I'll need to go soon."

"I know, I know," muttered Espio, showing his need to get going. "That's why I feel bad about waking you; I know you're doing this for all of us. But I think we'll need you. The alarm hasn't gone off in a long while."

Silver, easing out of his trance, finally noticed the ringing and flashing during Espio's speech. He did not need any more explanation. If there was one thing Silver could always be commended for besides his telepathic powers, it was that he always knew where he was needed.

"So that's Metal Sonic transformed then?" said Marcus to his dad, who was busying his followers with boarding. "We know that much from Sonic, right?"

"Yes, and there's been a confirmed disturbance in Port Town too. It's probably that band of thugs, meaning that Metallix must be a pawn. He's not as powerful as Dimentio even in the form he's in on Katina. They wanted to distract us, but they underestimate us."

Fox was packing the last of the supplies onto the Great Fox, almost ready to shove off from the lowest docks suspended in artificial gravity and air off the Pillar's bottom.

"We're lucky we have our resources," Fox said. "One of the bounty hunters on Earth – goes by Pico – told us there was an explosion in the center of the city. Described as fitting the stuff we've seen the wizard use before. That's why we're sending most of the contingent to Earth now."

"But what about Mega Man? He can't possibly take on Metallix in the form he's in."

"You're right," confirmed Fox as he and his son boarded the Great Fox. "That's why we're sending an enhancement we've cooked up his way."

"The boss's son, and I still don't get to know about all the cool stuff…" muttered Marcus as his father gave the go-ahead to ROB64.

The Halberd, Great Fox and all other starships were off, leaving few behind to man the homestead. Tails jettisoned himself to Katina with Mega Man's enhancement in hand. The Tornado X would meet the others later but not before showing the worlds that Dr. Light's will to innovate in science outweighed the consequences his adversaries would will into villainous effect.

Upon landing at the outskirts of Port Town, Captain Falcon greeted his family with a disposition never before seen on the racer's face. He was visibly worried. Nothing truly dear to him (for he held very little close to his heart these days) had ever been threatened before, but now the metropolis he grew up in was in the middle of something seemingly huge and so far unexplainable. As cubes of purple and yellow were sighted around the crash, Pico's report was confirmed. The Captain himself had come from the middle of a Grand Prix, put on hold, once he heard the news of the unexpected terrorism, and at hearing specifically what villains were most likely responsible to direct his angry motivations, the Falcon was ready to take back what was his and millions of others who called Port Town home.

Reaching the crash site, which had been evacuated almost completely by now, dozens of Nintendo's strongest heroes looked ready for battle. But they were also perplexed. Before anyone could speak to the coalition ahead, they wondered why the attacks had not continued. Zazan and Zant merely glanced menacingly at the heroes as they approached; the two blade-wielding maniacs flanked their leader in the middle. Dimentio did nothing but pose as a silhouette behind the smoke that still had not cleared from the crash.

And then, before Fox could speak a word of negotiation to any of the meddlers, a transformation occurred instantly before their eyes. Lowly jester though he was, his power always surpassed appearances, and he was showing it now. Somehow able to do it without Luigi or the Chaos Heart, the magical behemoth of Super Dimentio showed itself forth once more, gloating as he did so.

"Like this prime form of destruction bringing?" asked Super Dimentio cheerily, weirdly echoing low sounds coming from a head that was his own and not Luigi's. Besides this, Mario could tell, every aspect of the boss looked the same and just as demented as he had in Castle Bleck years ago.

"How did this loser come back like this again?" asked Bowser angrily to thin air that would not answer. "I thought you needed that heart and Luigi…"

"Oh, why yes, that USED to be true, dear turtly loudmouth," chimed Dimentio happily. "Until, of course, as you learn now, I pilfered the Dark Prognosticus lost between dimensions and studied it hard to realize I could become whatever I want to be! Sounds cheesy, I know, but since I had taken on so much power already, all I needed were the secrets in the fine print in that FINE book. It was a pity it was gone for so long. Dimension-hopping really comes in handy!"

Some of the others could not take the jokes anymore, clamping their fists ready for battle or mumbling to their comrades for a strategy to take the three on. Certainly, there would be no negotiating with a godlike figure, and judging by the mean look on Fox's tired face, he seemed to know that too.

Captain Falcon was in line with the rest of his family's thoughts. "We won't let you destroy this place!" he blurted out. "There's no reason to do it, and we're going to show you instead of tell you!"

"Oh, my…" muttered Super Dimentio, almost inaudible under his breath, "You think I'm destroying this tacky old city? Oh, no. That would be much too predictable. No, rather I thought I'd control this fight my own way. We're going to see the damage we can do together! For now, Zant and Zazan can have their fun with this stinky town. So, if I don't see you soon, Ciao!"

Most of the Nintendo crew felt themselves get lighter, their insides bending painlessly around the magical warping happening around Dimentio. He was taking them somewhere, somewhere where the mad jester thought he would have more fun. The unpredictable was going to be his fetish for the coming war, and he had been planning for months how much of a cruel one it was going to be. Only the Captain and the Hero of Winds were left to contend with the others….

Mega Man had heeded Tails' call from the Tornado X. A package was going to drop from his friend's ship. It could not come soon enough. Rock was having a hard time fending off Metallix and avoiding the goliath's attacks while exhausting all of the accumulated robot powers of his own to fight. The lawyers on both sides were busy evacuating the courthouse, and when Dr. Light emerged from it just now catching fire in the disarray, he could not help but feel the familiar pang of pride seeing his greatest creation in action against the robotic beast.

He was hardly astonished at how well his son performed anymore, but that astonishment was set to grow. Because once the Tornado X loomed into view, both Light and Rock saw it: the Giant Man prototype the former had been working on before his trial. The rocketing spaceship lowered it down by crane and flew off just as quick, its pilot wishing Mega Man good luck with a thumbs up and smile.

Giant Man was already deactivated, the equivalent of being defeated. Rock could not help but smile at this, knowing what he had to do and that, also, victory was almost imminent. Scanning the behemoth yielded the expected results, and Light along with the others in court and pedestrians of Katina's capital gaped in awe as Mega Man towered and surpassed the tallest buildings and Metallix, truly earning his namesake in the process.

Needless to say, and to the great joy of the civilians watching, Metallix was no match for the truly mighty power of the improved mega buster. Dodging the last frantic attacks of the disillusioned Metallix, Mega Man blasted the abomination away in one shot, leaving a distressed and dying Metal Sonic in the wake of its super form.

Zant and Zazan both wasted no time in skipping the formalities of their previous selves and immediately delving into their insanity to scare off their combatants. Pursued by machetes of steel on Zant's wildly slashing arms and the precision of Zazan's natural outer shell blades, Link and Falcon fled to get a grip on their situation. They were smart enough to realize that striking rashly could get them killed as well.

It was a comforting thought at least that the remaining Fallen Coalition were not capable of world-destroying feats or city-ruining attacks, as far as they knew. All the remaining heroes had to do was keep the villains away from innocent bystanders and plan their response to the crazed onslaught Zant and Zazan kept up with.

They showed no signs of stopping even when Link and Falcon fled to an empty building filled with rubble. The anglar and twili simply shoved through with their insanity and beat any obstacle into smithereens along the way. The unstable opponents could not know in their state that they were actually playing into the heroes' advantage. Able to see holes in their defenses quite easily after minutes more of fruitless slashing, Link and Falcon decided to brave the fight and come into it with flaming fists and Master Sword swipes.

This more modest battle was hard fought, and it was not going to end for quite a while.

The first spot of assault Super Dimentio had chosen by random was the dilapidated remains of Kremkroc Industries on the first DK Island. The facilities were in bad shape, and the pollution was just as rampant as ever. If the jester was trying to disrupt the lives of creatures throughout the galaxy, he chose a terrible place to start. But once the heroes fighting realized how much Super Dimentio was enjoying himself, they came to the inevitable conclusion that their foe's chaotic mind was just in it for the destruction of anything and everything, living or nonliving.

Super Dimentio's madness had not made him dumb or dull-witted by any means however. With his unique powers, he was able to conjure a special dimension, a den of imprisonment outlined in green that could hold the majority of Nintendo who had come to challenge him.

For now, the evil entity was pleasing himself by bringing the old kremling machinery to life with his magic and shooting pellets of concentrated pain the heroes' way. He was having fun with the rag tag gaggle of Krusha, Wario, Lucas, Pac-Man, Blaze and the Hero of Time from Termina. They were not a team used to working together; in fact, half of these random choices, picked quite well on Dimentio's part, had never really met each other.

That being said, once they had tired of Super Dimentio's annoying attacks and started to read each other's movements, this group banded together strongly. Flames erupting from Blaze's burning palms kept the living effigy to dark magic at bay. The dark monolith that was Super Dimentio was much too big to move, and without the Chaos Heart, his form was not invincible. He writhed in intense discomfort as the others added on to Blaze's beginning.

Krusha, the only one who recognized his surroundings, ripped out vats of chemicals from the main factory and whipped them at Dimentio's mug. They exploded instantly when connected with flame. With a hearty yell of "It's Wario time!" the game designer did the same, returning to the strength of his exploring days and twirling the same vats around and around until they crashed into the target.

"Protect me while I do something," said Link to Lucas mysteriously. The latter boy did not question and was very impressed to turn around after having done a perfect psychic shield, answering a deeper voice that was still Link, thanking Lucas for the protection.

Goron Link smashed into Super Dimentio, knocking him into the poisonous pond that outlined the edge of the ruined factory. For fun, some of the others rode mine carts toward the sour shore, hoping to continue the fight. Pac-Man was following a trail of floating Pac-dots and Link, who had transformed quickly, went to dive in as a zora to aim for the submerged punching bag when another warp occurred.

Unfortunately for this group, it would be a while before they could release their pent up excitement and team strength again. They were now stuck in Dimentio's personal dimension, apart from all other worlds and realms. Those who had been there all along realized though that Super Dimentio must have been weakened more, for some of the prisoners had broken out into another battlefield.

Unknown to Nintendo, Super Dimentio still intended to have some fun; the barrage of teamwork in the smog-ridden peak of DK Island was simply becoming much too troublesome. Now the villain stared down at Solid Snake, Marth, Wolf, Bobbery and Olimar. He prepared to jump and land on his adversaries but was not quick enough. Reflexes too great for Dimentio's recognition, most moved out of the way, Snake pushing Olimar into safety.

The warriors could see this was going to be a tough battle ahead. The combination of heroes turned out not to be as weird as many of these hardened veterans had fought together before, but where they found themselves was the problem this time. Wolf and the others stood atop a floating platform in the midst of purplish Fortunan clouds nestled in the heart of dodora territory and thick bramble and other exotic plant life. Creatures, mostly predators, spit acid and throbbed menacingly while the main battle roared on; the pack of Nintendo fighters had a lot to contend with.

They could not know, their comm links disrupted by Dimentio's pocket of space and not at all worrying about communicating with the others right now, that help was on the way. Tails had been on his way from Katina to the Earth the F-Zero Grand Prix and Port Town called home when he had noticed a strange energy signature, Dimentio's warping, emanating from the jungle planet as he passed it. The Tornado X hesitated none in breaching the cloudy atmosphere, speeding through a much greener canyon, across the blue sea to reach the far more wild area of the fifth planet of the Lylat System.

Before Tails could find his friends, Wolf made do without his Wolfen, shoving fangs, claws and blaster bolts into the velvety fabric of Super Dimentio's magical body. Olimar was basically useless without Pikmin at his side to command, but the others more than made up for his unpreparedness. The admiral blew up time after time, wasting no energy in charging up but rather pelting the monster with repetitive blasts while Marth and Snake combined their cultures' weapons into a particularly penetrating combination of pain for Super Dimentio.

The smart bomb, capable due to an add-on Slippy had made for his new foxy friend's ship, unexpectedly launched from the Tornado X was the last straw for Super Dimentio here. It was time to try a new area. He was getting slightly sore from being alone and punished, without the strategy or teamwork of the rest of his coalition. The Dark Prognosticus had made him even more arrogant than before.

Super Dimentio's next stage was Mt. Dedede, and the new competitors facing evil were Kirby, the Chosen Hero Link, Pit, Shadow, Goombario, Geno and Katt. It was a mix of magic and practicality that brought the jester down to his massive knees this time.

Dedede's old castle was blasted apart at the first attack. Charging up with bridling anger and dark power, Super Dimentio let loose a mighty laser that decimated the castle. Part of the cliffside ripped off as well, but flying Pit and floating Kirby were able to pick their friends up. Once they were back on semi-solid ground, Geno started first, wrapping his puppet arms around the boss to restrain him for seconds long enough to allow headbonks, grenades, and a variety of sword, bow and chaos spear slashes to ruin Dimentio's day even further.

"Outrageous! You think you can beat me!" cried Super Dimentio, more worried than he wanted to sound. "Your attacks are mere annoyances. I'm MERELY trying new toys out to see who among you are the least pestering!"

"I have a feeling you're never going to find what you're looking for," said Shadow edgily. All the others joined up to make Super Dimentio silently feel this way as Kirby, having comically borrowed the hedgehog's powers, unleashed chaos blast along with him while the others pushed their divine projectiles of skyward strikes, light beams and ancient magic blasts into Dimentio's ugly face.

"Enough!" roared Dimentio in the next arena. It was a natural one in the time of the Hero of Twilight in Hyrule. That same hero, Silver, Meta Knight, Falco and Knuckles found themselves there. It seemed that Dimentio was intent on destroying the things around him instead of focusing on battle with his hated enemies now. The Great Bridge of Hylia stood no chance against his attacks; it tumbled into the cavernous Lake Hylia below while the others were just now getting their bearings on where they were. Once they realized what was at stake and who could be in danger in the first modestly inhabited place Super Dimentio had chosen for a battlefield, no one worried about themselves as they stepped into action.

Link was happy for the distractions his friends provided. He grappled up the surrounding rocks with double clawshots to get a good vantage point. The others either slashed or punched wildly. Knuckles' strength was far too disproportionate to his size for Dimentio to have predicted how much his punches would hurt. Falco felt in the mood to try out melee combat with his sharp wings, and Meta preferred his trusty blade Galaxia as always. The tornados that were unleashed by that sword were an excellent complement to Silver's moves. He had decided to stray away too with the enemy not noticing Silver's ammunition included the pieces of the bridge Dimentio had just destroyed.

Those pieces rammed into the boss with great force, causing an audible yelp of pain this time. Super Dimentio was definitely weakening, and it only furthered when Link leapt onto Dimentio's head and stabbed violently downward into the magical membranes with the time's version of the Master Sword.

"Ha, this guy doesn't stand a chance!" said Falco, amazed at his friends' displays of skill and not afraid to show it.

"You're damn right, Falco," said Knuckles. "We make a good team."

Super Dimentio, wracked with pain and not having blown away enough of Lake Hylia for his liking, could not stand to hear things like that anymore. He could still force his opponents to revisit his dimension. He just worried if he had the strength to make them stay there.

When Super Dimentio warped again to another field to battle, a couple stragglers trickled out of the dimension through his weakening might, meaning Leon, Panther and a select other few were able to return to the point of the first warp: Port Town.

The scene they observed when returning was chaos, which was scarily impressive considering the fight here was of a much smaller scale than the ones those in Dimentio's plot of space had experienced. The struggle among Zazan, Falcon, Zant and Link seemed to be much more personal.

Zant was somehow still going, along with his partner, just as fast as they had started. Was magic from Dimentio sustaining them in their insane endurance? Link could not help but wonder as he clashed steel against steel but hardly had time to. Falcon, guarding with his slashed to hell golden armguards, was looking tired. It was quite the happy surprise when he saw Panther out of the corner of his eye.

And it proved to be more than just a nice surprise. Panther recognized Zazan upon closer inspection as the pilot who had nearly totaled his darling Wolfen in the Anglar War deep beneath the toxic Venomian Sea. Wanting revenge and justice, the Star Wolf member blindly rushed in, catching Zazan off his guard.

Caroso stupidly tackled Zazan to the ground without armor on and prepared to suffer the consequences once he realized what he had done. Trying to throw the anglar off further, he hoisted him up, not thinking about himself until Falcon reminded him of how hurt he was about to become.

"HOLD HIM!" said Captain Falcon with more urgency than ever before in his careers as an F-Zero racer and bounty hunter.

Before Panther could even ask why, two things happened. While Panther closed his eyes, struggling to hold a constantly moving weapon, Zazan arced his arm blades behind and sliced open Panther's back with the pointed curves of the fish's scythes. The other thing that came to be made sure that that would never happen to Panther again.

Captain Falcon had moved forward, stepping into a charged Falcon Punch that could have rocked a whole building to the ground. The impact was strong, and the target had been Zazan's chest. The heart stopped at once, and taking several seconds to realize all that had happened, Caroso threw down the instantly lifeless corpse, ignoring his injuries for now. He could scarcely believe how awesome witnessing the legendary Falcon Punch had been. It was also very warming to have the Captain hurry Panther off to get medical assistance without acknowledgement of what had happened. They could talk on the way to the nearest Port Town infirmary.

Meanwhile, Leon was trailing the duel of swordsmen. He would not know about his boyfriend's injuries for some time to come; for now, he was enraptured in the fight a small child and a demon-esque being were having. He was observing closely to figure out how he could help. Zant had pushed Link to the edge of the city's docks now; the ocean abyss was calling if Link could not hold his ground against the assault from Zant that seemed to come at all angles. Seeing Link struggle into more visible sweating and tiredness at the non-stop onslaught, Leon acted without thinking.

Fortunately, it was a helpful decision. Leon took out his blaster and successfully stunned the usurper king. The effects lasted for only a second, but it was enough for Link to take grateful heed of the help he had received and answer with a flurry of sword slashes. When Zant shook out of his upright, frozen state, he rushed downward with a swinging blade.

This was where Link, the Hero of Winds, took his risk against the false King of Twilight, ruler in deranged thoughts only. The hero rolled quickly to avoid the swipe powered by the madness of the twili misfit, swiveled around his opponent in a parry reminiscent of the legendary battle with Ganondorf atop his tower beneath the Great Sea, and rose to inflict a similar history.

Zant's head toppled, mask and all completely and cleanly severed from the neck, onto the slick metal of the docks. The figure of the headless corpse loomed standing for a few moments until it too toppled. The head of the lunatic rolled still and found its resting place in the clear blue ocean extending for miles.

Link dropped the Master Sword and himself to the ground, incredibly tired. He had never fought so hard in his life. Leon was so impressed, he could not contain himself. He hurried over to the young warrior and made his amazement known.

"Wow, you were amazing, kid," said Leon purely, lacking completely the sadistic tone or professional air he usually held in situations like these. "I'm glad I could help a little."

A simple "thanks" was all the boy could mutter as he tried in vain to catch the little breath that was coming back to him. The gruesome death was best left forgotten, he thought. These two green Nintendo heroes could not have had more different opinions on the matter.

Fox, Marcus, Sothe, Ike, Amy, Midna and Koops were dropped in the center vastness of the plains of Crimea. They were actually quite far apart from Super Dimentio when they appeared in this new land, and seven of them stood healthy, ready to ride into battle against the enemy here. More fighters slipping out of the dimension and not maintaining the link with those he warped with: these had to be signs of Super Dimentio's powers slipping.

"This guy has to be losing bad now!" said Marcus loudly in the tone of a battle cry. "He's supposed to be like a god, and he looks a little tired at fighting us! Ha! Let's finish him off, dad!"

At most other times, Fox would have told his son to not be so overconfident, but beneath the stormy clouds above and the heavily traversed land beneath their fast-moving feet, Fox could not help but feel the same rush his son was having. He had not fought on land in so long; he could feel the adrenaline rising from the planet Trinity into his being. Marcus had to be right about this.

Friends Ike and Sothe were already rising into the sky with their swords aloft at Dimentio's shredded heels, skillfully dodging every projectile the boss threw their way. Amy hammered away as the others jumped on Super Dimentio like it was a colossus to be torn down. The troubled jester was feeling down already. He had not even badly hurt any of the Nintendo heroes, and he was only getting weaker.

Koops was flinging himself back and forth faster than he had ever done. Seeing his friends appear and reappear throughout the dimension they had all been stuck in had pumped him up for this occasion, and now having battled his inner doubts and demons, he unleashed his entire koopa shell-powered fury against one of Mario's greatest enemies.

Midna noticed the courage in the koopa beside her and said, "You've got an incredible amount of dedication, koopa. To keep going at that pace is admirable. I honestly thought you'd tire yourself, but I was wrong. Glad for it! Eee hee hee!"

She flashed a smile Koops's way, and he responded as Super Dimentio prepared another warp. "You can notice yourself too, Midna. It's highly powerful folks like you who use your power to add it to normal people like me that inspire me to be…"

Koops was going to say "…less normal," but it was not required. Their conversation continued in the dimension while Super Dimentio fought others at the Hill Top Zone on Mobius. There was nothing normal about these strings of battles.

Sonic, Slippy, Peach, Mario, Samus and Zelda from the time of a new Hyrule rushed in on this grassy escape, sliding down the hillsides to reach Super Dimentio, who, from talking back and forth in the dimension between battles, none of them feared in the slightest anymore.

That was not a mistake either. Sonic, arrogant as always with whatever he was up against, zoomed in faster than the others and struck with homing attacks all over the bumbling giant before the others could arrive. Armed with light arrows, an arsenal of weapons, power suit and emotional intensity, the heroines and their partners burned Super Dimentio more than he could handle.

It was a quick fight; the boss could not handle anymore, and he was not accomplishing anything. He could hardly handle warping correctly anymore, and his pride was not going to let him run away, not when he knew Nintendo could find him anywhere anyway.

The spear pillar was a beautiful setting for a battle. Lucario, Yoshi, Bowser, Roy, Popo, Samus's Pikachu and Mr. Game & Watch all agreed as they watched Super Dimentio prove no match for the power of Dialga's and Palkia's legendary moves.

The jester, last remaining member of the Fallen Coalition, was losing fantastically to the odds against him. The future of galaxy-wide apocalypse prophesized by the Dark Prognosticus was now becoming a joke in the face of Nintendo's united power. The book had obviously not counted on that strength being the factor against Super Dimentio's might and the support of his fellow disgraced villains. Now, the galaxy was a safer place that three of them were dead, and Super Dimentio was on the Underwhere's doorstep.

Annoyed that they had all been left in Dimentio's sick slot of space for the majority of the fighting, Marcus shuffled nervously as that space was torn apart. Super Dimentio no longer had the power to hold it stable, and thus, all of the Nintendo crew that had come to investigate the Port Town bombing arrived in a fitting place for Dimentio's last stand: Sammer's Kingdom.

The jester boss could not control his powers well at all anymore. Most of the heroes had been dropped suddenly, spread throughout the gardens, rivers and dojos of the serene land. Once they realized where they were, they ran to Super Dimentio's location looming on the horizon.

Luigi, Ness, King Dedede, Donkey Kong, Diddy, Link, Banjo, Kazooie and Dark Pit were those who appeared close enough to engage Super Dimentio already. They fought just outside the main palace of Sammer's Kingdom, where by coincidence, Lady Timpani was visiting to persuade the Knights of Sammer to join Nintendo's cause if they ever needed the army and the support of the king. Seeing the battle suddenly resume beyond his conference windows, King Sammer decided his mind would be made up contingent on Nintendo's performance right before him.

The heroes did not disappoint. Those running did not have to catch up to face Super Dimentio. The jester could barely speak now at how badly bruised and beaten he was. His joking spirit was crushed, and the hammer from the king, PSI from a young man and incessant pecking from a bear and bird duo were just insults at this point. He could feel himself and his power forever slipping away. And this time he did not even have it in him to bring the world crumbling down with a chortle. Super Dimentio was nothing without Luigi and the Chaos Heart after all.

"Aha! Take this, bad man!" yelled Luigi in righteous pleasure. His green fireballs were at last getting some payback for making him the monster at Castle Bleck so long ago. Timpani came out to see her friend finish Dimentio off. The others had let the underdog do it out of courtesy. They had all heard the tragic tale, and now the only tragedy that would be written on this day was that of the Fallen Coalition's jester who fell again.

Super Dimentio caused a mess of blurred sights and melting magic pools as he started to die and fade away from existence. Warps shot all around in crystal-like effects that temporality blinded the heroes who had banished the villain away from troubling them any longer. Only one of the warps yielded anything. For of course, anything that had been sealed away in Dimentio's prisons would pop out of his unstable, soon-to-be destroyed pockets of space.

What emerged from a warp in the center of the one hundredth Sammer guy's platform after the explosion that was Dimentio's final 'Ciao' shocked Timpani to instant tears that soon became stale on her unbelieving face. There was Count Bleck, Blumiere, clad in usual monocle and cape, standing before them all, just as shocked as the rest of them were.

Then it came to her. Timpani scolded herself silently; she should have realized Dimentio was the culprit (and that there was a culprit and not a misunderstood random accident that had made her lover disappear from her again) that could not help himself from kidnapping the man, his former boss, who had ruined his plans for a new world and the destruction of the old ones.

"Blumiere?" she uttered softly.