"Well," spoke a figure wearing blue jeans and a red coat, "this ought to be fun!"

Stepping forward through the room, he looked over at the railing, quickly snatching a weapon from his side which in seconds he ignited into a blue blade of power.

"I don't think everyone carries your optimism Mr. Touchdown." Phoenix Right spoke from his chair.

"As if I care. I'd start doing something if I were you guys-there 'gonna be here any minute. For all I know they could be . . ."

Travis Touchdown never got to finish a sentence, for at that very moment the bark of a Barrett 50 whistled through the room, and instantly Travis's shoulder turned bright crimson. With a cry of pain, he hit the floor, grasping his hit arm.

"Sniper! Hit the deck now!" Soap yelled the second Travis fell.

As the contestants dropped to the ground, gunfire opened up all around then, and the building began to shake from cannon fire. Flying airships and Koopas with wings quickly began to rise to the upper levels of the building. The thundering of footsteps from the streets below grew only louder as the foot soldiers from all sorts of video games drew closer.

"Everybody listen up! We don't have time to all collaborate on one large plan. We have a tower to defend. Work out small plans and fortify what you can. Yell for backup if you need it. If you're a lone wolf and don't want any help fine! Do whatever you please. But don't let the building fall! Who's with me?" Commander Shepard yelled.

At his statement, several nodded, and other called calls of "aye", "yes", and other signs of approval. Those who did not kept their silence.

"Alright then, move, move, move!" Commander Shepard yelled.

Remembering what the voice had said about certain weapons located for each player in the floor below them, several contestants raced for the stairwells and elevators leading down. Among that group were Master Chief, Samus, John Marston, and Captain Price.

"We'll have to be fast with this. I have a feeling this building is about to be breached any second." Samus said while running.

"We have no idea what weapons they have given us. Some are going to have to search the building for other weapons and supplies. If we cannot find anything else, then we are going to have to steal from the invaders." Price said between breaths as he ran.

"I take it my weapons won't do much against most of that bunch. I'll take a search party and go scout the building." Marston said in a deadpan voice.

"While you're at it search for some defense systems or fortifications. I'm not sure how this building can stand against tanks." Price noted.

"In any case, were 'gonna need some heavy fire to get those vehicles taken care off. Find a heavy weapons specialist and put him in charge of that."

"That woud've be me!" came a loud crowd with a thick Russian accent.

Stopping for only the briefest second, Samus turned to see an incredibly large man with a shaven head and a brutish figure. He sported a red shirt under a black vest with an ammunition belt swung around his shoulder like a sash.

"I will make it go boom!" he shouted in a bellowing call.

"You're 'gonna need some help with that. They don't call me Bomberman for nothing." Said a short looking figure that ran up besides the hulking brute.

"Fine, fine," Bomberman and . . ." Samus began.

"Heavy!" said the large man.

"Ok. Bomberman and Heavy, you two are on heavy weapons. Find the ones we need and get to work!" Samus said before turning and running off to join the rest.

Not too far ahead of the sprinting Samus, Captain Price looked around as he ran. Over a hundred contestants were running with them for the weapons room, and he immediately worried about a clog in getting the weapons they would need. Of course not everyone would need a weapon, as many characters had a wide range of powers, abilities, and tricks that could be just as effective. But Price was not one of those-he needed guns, and he needed them quick.

As the large group reached the floor where their weapons were supposed to be, they suddenly heard a large amount of shouting coming from the roof above. Though the screams were hard to make out, it was obvious from them that enemies had started to breach the roof. To say this concerned Price was an understatement, but his job now was getting weapons for not only for himself, but also his team and other contestants.

Finally reaching the door to the room where the weapons were said to be, Master Chief swung open the door with a great heave, revealing a stunning sight to the contestants. The room was filled with floating boxes, each marked to specific contestants. Also in the room were large crates filled with several weapons, including a variety of guns, lasers, swords, and bombs. A few artillery cannons were found here, along with a layout map of the building highlighting rooms where more supplies could be found.

Upon seeing this players instantly flooded into the room, each grabbing for their own boxes and more. Darting towards his, captain Price quickly snatched it and opened it. Inside were a variety of grenades, along with an M-4, two Glock 18's, a data-pad containing several predator drones, a suit of juggernaut armor, a scoped Dragunov rifle, and a marker for an airdrop.

"That'll do just fine," Price said aloud with a small smile.

Not twenty feet away Master Chief dug into his own box, revealing a few SMG's, a sniper rifle, a rocket launcher with plenty of ammo, and a marker for an airdrop of a Mantis. Master Chief said nothing, simply starting to load ammo into the weapons. Other characters opened their boxes to find a variety of weapons, and even a few surprises.

"Says here I got a radio to call in a defense ship and a few Arwings!" Falco said to the group.

"We got fire swords and suits of armor!" Said someone amongst the crowd in the room.

"And a heck of a lot more. Let's get this stuff to those who need it!" called out Samus.

"Speak for yourself, I think I'll work up my own private stash." Called out Wario with greed, licking his lips at all the power he saw before him.

"We haven't the time to argue. Do what you want-I'm going up to the roof to give them some support.

"We've got a manual here that says the tower has a shield generator, but the nodes from five parts of the building have to be activated!" Nathan Drake shouted above the others.

"Then we'll need a team on those nodes. Find those who don't 'wanna to fight and have them search for them. Give them a few fighters to cover them while they do it." Price said coolly.

"I suggest Lucas and Luigi-they won't 'wanna fight!" Falco said.

"Then get them on it fast. Any other defenses?" Samus asked.

"Says we got barricades for certain areas that can be activated, and some base turrets surrounding the upper levels. If we need a quick contingency plan, there are some trip bombs already set up on the first floors-the notice I have here says they won't hurt the infrastructure of the building, but they are harmful to the contestants just as much as they are to the enemies." Drake said.

"Then lest get those barricades going to. If any of you have airdrops, air support, defense turrets, or shields, use them wisely to protect the areas of the tower that we don't already have defenses for. I have the feeling we won't get too many vehicles, so if you get them use them wisely!" Price said firmly.

Several heads nodded, and instantly the contestants split off in different directions. Gathering the supplies he needed, Price joined Samus as they headed back up for the roof, hoping to get aid to the players stationed up there as soon as possible.

As the players below were gathering up their weapons, those who stayed on the roof braced themselves for whatever was about to come. Altair and Sub Zero quickly gave each other looks, and then, without hesitation, jumped off over the railing of the room as the forces below. Shocked by their action, Link watched in awe as they both descended to the ground, fearing their quick death.

For such trained fighters however, death does no come so easy. Locking his eyes onto a foot soldier wielding an assault rifle, Altair dropped down with speed and elegance, waiting for the moment he would hit his target. The second he was within a few feet, he reached his hands out and gripped the unsuspecting soldier from the head and shoved his body forward, smashing the soldier into the ground and instantly defeating him. Upon his death the soldier then evaporated into pixels, and the rest of the soldiers around him raised their guns to fire.

They would not get the chance to however as Sub-Zero quick spread his hands and his signature "Ground Freeze" turning the ground below him into sheer ice, causing all the soldiers to slip and fall, some of them accidently firing their weapons into one and other, instantly destroying them in a flurry of pixels.

Summoning an ice mound as his landing perch, Sub Zero landed softly on the earth, raising his hands as an ice-like aura swarmed around his fingers. Giving Altair a small nod, to which the other returned, he instantly jumped into the air and moved towards a section of, Skyrim, Knights approaching him, with three tanks not far behind. Opposite him, Altair drew shard blades from his cloak and flung them at a group of, Future-Tactics, aliens.

Back on the roof of the building, several flying Koopas tucked within their shells and launched themselves at the competitors. Bowser, angry about his own soldier being used against him, tucked within his own shell and spun mightily in the air, slashing at several Koopas and knocking them away. Primids and Glunders each began to appear from portals in the sky, dropping down onto the roof.

Upon seeing two large Primids approaching him, Link drew his sword and slashed out at them, instantly engaging one of them in a sword fight. Behind him Zelda quickly switched to Sheik, and then threw several needles into the other, which began to move to her.

Ghost and Roach, each only armed with small pistols, took careful aim at Koopas in the sky, put they quickly realized that once the creature went into their shells, their bullets would only scratch the surface. Taking a grenade from his belt, Ghost heaved it into the air, drawing his pistol with careful aim after he did so. Waiting until it got close enough to a set of flying Koopas, he steadily fired his M-9, hitting the grenade and creating an explosion in which all the Koopas in the group blew up. Noticing the trick, Roach quickly did the same, scoring a hit himself.

Other competitors were not so lucky however. Upon seeing the flying shells being launched in his direction, Waluigi took out his tennis racquet and began to swing. At first the trick worked, as with the racquet deflected the shells and sent them into the path of several Primids. It would not last that long, however, as within a minute the sound of a helicopter pieced Waluigi's ears. Turning, he found himself blinded by the search light of a giant Apache Helicopter, and as the light blinded him he dropped the racquet to cover his eyes.

As he furiously rubbed his eyes to try and regain sight, a green Koopa quickly ducked into his shell and aimed right for the midsection of the now unprotected Waluigi. Unable to see the target approaching, Waluigi was powerless to stop the being at it connected so hard with his midsection that the Koopa burst the minute he hit, exploding into pixels onto Waluigi's stomach. Waluigi started screamed a cry of pain upon being hit so hard, but never got to finish it, for half-way through the screen his body burst into orange pixels as his cry echoed away into nothing. For this fight at least, Waluigi was gone.

Noticing his rival go out, Luigi screamed his own cry of sadness and in fear ran immediately for the door leading to stairwell which would take him to the floor below. Seeing him run for the exit, the terrified Lucas joined him, and not too far behind Phoenix Right joined them. While he was not scared like them, he knew he could do nothing right now for this fight, at least not from here, so he took off to see if he would be helpful elsewhere.

Link meanwhile, was having a more difficult time than he thought he would have facing the Primid. While they looked the same as they did in the previous Smash Games, he could tell these ones were quicker, tougher, and maybe to the most terrifying of all-smarter. Deflecting the blows from the creature with his shield, he reached into his pack to draw a bomb which he quickly threw at the Primid. Creating a small puff of explosion, the blast injured the Primid, but did not kill it.

At this point several helicopters began to appear above the building, each dropping down several knights, soldiers, and armed robots, all which charged the contestants. Standing his ground firm, Ness unleashed the power of his "PK Fire", which successfully hit a few soldiers, causing them to burst into pixelated flames. Fox, who much preferred space battles to ground ones, drew his small blaster and opened up on a group of approaching knights. Several of the shots hit, and a few went down, but Fox also realized with horror that many shots simply deflected as the soldier kept coming.

Fox felt trapped as he realized several soldiers were coming upon him, and realized he must try something else. Summoning his "Fox Fire", he launched ahead towards the small troop of knights, but as he did so they each crouched down and drew their shields, which deflected the launched attack and send Fox backwards.

Unable to recover in time, Fox realized too late that now all the soldiers were upon him. Staring up at them in a bit of despair and violence, Fox prepared to accept his fate for the night.

"It's only one game . . . there will be others!" he said quietly to himself as the leading knight raised his sword above him, preparing to swing down.

Fox closed his eyes, ready to accept his defeat, only it wasn't to be, at least not then. Seeing Fox in danger across from where he had been fighting some flying Goombas, the young hero Tak looked on in despair at the fallen fighter. This was the first smash event Tak had ever been to, and while he felt confident he could win, he knew that he would not be around to long unless he learned from one of the professionals how to fight in a Smash World.

Fox was a veteran of games like this, and if Tak could ally himself with Fox them it could work out to both their advantages. Tak was no conniving player, but he knew he could not be alone to win these games. Whether Fox was put on his team or not, it would not hurt to become friends with him. Even more than that, it was the right thing to do. Quickly finishing the last Goomba, Tak raced over towards where the fallen Fox lay on the ground.

The Knight had just brought his sword above his head and using all the power he had in him, swiftly brought it down. Upon doing do he felt a thud, but it was not the one he wanted.

Tak, rushing as quickly as possible, had made it to Fox just in time so use his staff, filled with the power of Juju, to stop the downward swinging sword, saving the fallen Fox. Hearing the swing but realizing he was not hit; Fox opened his eyes to see in shock that Tak had saved him.

"Who . . . ?" Fox started to say before Tak cut him off.

"Names Tak and I'd appreciate if you would ally with me for the games. Seeing in that I just saved your life . . ." Said Tak with a hint of humor and arrogance.

"Hey all you had to do was ask, not saying I'm not thankful though!" fox said in a bit of awe.

"Well, that good to know, so why don't we . . ."

Whatever take had been planning on saying, he never got to finish it, for at that moments an arrow from a crossbow struck Tak in the side, causing his eyes to shoot open at Fox as he opened his mouth to gasp, only to burst into pixels.

"No!" Fox shouted.

Not twenty feet away, a knight had raised his crossbow and fired, killing Tak from the game before he could do anything else. Utterly stunned, Fox immediately rolled to his side before raising his blaster and emptying an entire clip into the knight. He then turned to the rest of the knights that had come upon him, his anger within him reaching a boiling point. Collecting himself from within, Fox braced himself for their attack.

Forming a battle line, the knights raised their swords and held their shields at their midsection. For a second they held their position and the world around Fox seemed to blur-his only focus was on the knights. Instantly the group charged forward, preparing to swing at Fox. Readying his "Fox Fire", Fox charged up and launched himself at the knights. Just like last time the knights held up their shields to defend, but this time it went differently. Fox was mad clear through, and for some strange reason his anger increased the power of his attack, gaining a bigger blast than ever before.

Upon his contact with the shields a blast cloud formed, causing a small explosion on that part of the roof. As the smoke cleared from the area, the knights all pixelated into nothing, as Fox dusted himself off between deep breaths. Turning to the spot where Tak had fallen, Fox gave a small nod to the fallen comrade before darting back off into the battle.

Elsewhere on the roof, the Lombax known as Ratchet found himself back to back with Sly Cooper, surrounded by a circle of Tyhrranoid, Riot Troopers, Geth, and Covenant Jackals. They had become encased within the circle, and all of their enemies had raised weapons.

"Quite the predicament . . . you got any answers to it?" Sly Cooper said in a slightly amusing tone.

"Blast, swing, gun . . . I vote we just attack," Ratchet said with a vote of confidence.

Raising his wrench above his head, Ratchet quickly tapped his shoes together to activate his hover-boots, and in an instance rushed for the nearest Geth. Seeing his ally launch at the enemies, the ever nimble Sly Cooper leaped with elegance into the air, landing on the back of a Jackal. Using his staff, Sly bashed the head of the Jackal, who is response tried to fire his Carbine at Cooper, only to miss and hit the nearest Tyhrranoid, turning it to pixels.

Ratchet meanwhile had caught up to the Geth, and using his wrench swung for the neck of the creature. Clicking the tool tight around the neck, his gave the wrench a pull, which dislocated the head from the Geth's robotic body. With no head, the Geth quickly fell defeated while Ratchet charged at the next enemy.

Noticing the two creatures fighting off a circle of enemies, the injured Travis Touchdown began to work his way over. Overconfident at first, he was not aware of the power of the enemy, and realized that he could take none of them for granted. Still full of pride and a tight ego, Travis saw the opportunity to strike back against the enemies by helping the two beings fight off the circle. Igniting his blue blade once again, Travis rushed to the circle swinging, giving out a wild holler as he did.

Watching him not to far away was Mewtwo, who with his psychic powers was trying to heal an injured Ike. Fighting together with Marth and Roy, Ike had been hit multiple times by hidden snipers, but was miraculously not out yet. Right now he lay on the floor of the roof unconscious, under a small awning by a radio antenna situated on a corner of the roof.

With a hint of glum, Mewtwo realized the peril of the situation they faced. While many of the first wave of enemies had been defeated, there still were waves to come, and they had already lost some good fighters. Besides Waluigi and Tak, several others had been destroyed upon the first wave, and those on the roof were toast if they did not know how to act.

Though each proudly stood their ground, Jigglypuff and Rayman were among some of the first to go, and not long after Diddy Kong took a shot from a missile, enraging Donkey Kong. Gwonam tried to fly away on his carpet but was taken out by a Hilo, and R.O.B. was no match for a squad of juggernauts. In one corner of the roof a missile strike was launched, defeating Samurai Goro, Adon, and Chell. Even the brave warrior Knuckles had gone down, but not before saving his friend Tails from near-death while taking out some twenty soldiers with him.

While the contestants were doing decent in holding their ground, they had already lost over what must have been 60. While there were more contestants in these games than most could keep track of, Mewtwo realized right away how quickly they would be taken down. They were not even thirty minutes in yet, and already massive destruction surrounded them. Upon the first attacks being commenced, he had spoken privately with Lucario who had Meta Knight at his side.

Lucario had suggested that he be able to meditate privately to gather strength to fight off the forces. It might sound like cowardice to some, but to both Meta Knight and Mewtwo it was a smart plan. Lucario's strength increased with pain, but could also be channeled better through meditation. If they could protect him for some time, he could generate plenty of powerful aura to assist the fighters. Mewtwo's power could be used much in the same way, but Meta Knight suggested that he stay near the roof staying out of sight.

Meta Knight figured that since the psychic powers of Mewtwo could do everything from manipulate to heal, that it would be better if he acted as a jack of all trades behind the scenes. Though hesitant, Mewtwo saw the value in it and agreed. Meta Knight had left with Lucario to protect him as he found a spot to meditate, and as they did that Mewtwo had now stayed behind in cover, using his powers to help alter the battle anyway he could. He knew how valuable Ike would be to the fight, so he suggested taking him from Marth and Roy to heal.

Now watching the battle from the sidelines, Mewtwo knew this was only the beginning-the contestants would fight, but in the end here was sure that they would go out. While he did not know for sure how many troops were at the disposal of the boss, Mewtwo was sure that it would be enough to last long into the night. Eventually they would all fall-and the boss said the last one standing would get great benefits before the game started. For Mewtwo, he could care less about the benefits-what mattered now was simply a primal urge to survive-every competitor had it, and all were now relying on it.

Sure it may only be a one night event, but in the heat of the battle all other emotions would be forgotten as the will to stay alive rose up within each competitor, either causing them to fight or run, all the while giving the boss exactly what he wanted-a perfect opening night that would make sure to keep all eyes on the coming games. Advertising at its finest.

Tonight contestants would fight and be defeated, which would only be a preview of what was to come. Tonight was the beginning of an incredible challenge with what was supposed to be the ultimate reward for the winner. Tonight there would be, Mewtwo suddenly realized, a lot of . . . insanity.

Quickly making their way back up to the roof, Samus, Price, and Master Chief swung open the doors to the chaos that now surrounded them. Everywhere contestants were fighting enemies either alone or in small groups, each with mixed results. With them the group from the story below had brought several of the contestant's weapons and supplies. However, there was no way to get all of their attention amongst the fighting, and having everyone rush to their weapons would cause further chaos that none of them needed.

"We need some sort of distraction to momentarily stop the fighting-then we have to get everyone their supplies and weapons. We'll have to clear the roof of enemies and get it out quickly-they'll have another wave up here within moments of the first one being taken out." Price said hoarsely.

"Leave the distraction to me!" Falco said among the others, quickly activating a small device he had found in his box.

"How you 'gonna do it?" Ness said as he ran over from the fighting across the roof.

"Simple-we need the sky's clear, show I'm 'gonna clear them!" Falco said in a rising voice.

The second he stopped speaking the roar of an engine filled the ears of all on the roof, and instantly three Arwings landed on the roof by Falco.

"Got them as a bonus from my box. I'm 'gonna need two other pilots, and together we'll clear the skies around the tower, and then all of you on the ground can take care of the ones they drop off. After they are all gone, we should have about a minute before the next wave makes it hear."

"I'll help pilot, though I have no experience with these ships." Said Ratchet as he ran over.

"I too shall go! Though racing is my specialty!" Captain Falcon said in a boasting tone.

"Fine, fine-there not too hard to work, but let's get moving!" Fox said as the three headed for the ships.

"The rest of us had better do something to help clear the troops. If you have rockets use them on flying projectiles. Anyone else with guns focus on clearing groups of soldiers. Those with swords or hand weapons focus on taking out the enemies who are on their own. Snipers cover the troops advancing towards the building. As for those with powers, well, you should know how to use them. Most importantly focus on the troopers landing on the roof. Let the ships clear the skies!" Price shouted amongst the chaos of the roof.

At this, several broke off into different directions, each targeting enemies. Noticing a squadron of Geth approaching her, Samus open fire with her arm cannon, sending a blast that blew the circuitry of the Geth into oblivion. Master Chief, his mind not on the fight, quietly moved away to the side while raising his rifle to his shoulder. Taking aim at Koopas flying in the sky, he aimed for exposed areas and knocked one down with every shot.

Banjo and Kazooie, running from a group of ,Temple Run, monkeys, turned to see a much larger primate, that being Donkey Kong, come to their aid by smashing the monkeys with his giant fists. Ghost and Roach, each now done shooting Koopas, ran towards Captain Price who they saw approaching them.

"Ghost, Roach-where are the others?" Price asked quickly.

"Yuri and Nikolai went to see if they could commandeer and enemy vessel and Soap went further into the building with a group of contestants to try and fortify for when they troops infiltrated the building." Ghost said.

"Smart man, why don't we . . . Roach get down!" Price screamed, noticing a sword being thrown his way.

Tackling Roach, Price went to the ground, causing the sword to miss Roach's head by inches. In response, Ghost stripped a flash-bang grenade from his belt to which he tossed at the knight which threw the sword, exploding and blinding him. With the enemy sightless, Price drew his automatic rifle and unloaded a clip into the knight, defeating him quickly.

"Too bloody close mate . . . what were you suggesting before Price?" Ghost asked.

"We have air support that's going to clear the sky for us. Several of us who went to the supply room brought back weapons and supplies for both specific competitors and for base defense. When the skies are cleared, we need to quickly distribute the supplies and make a quick plan." Price said.

"So what do we do while they clear the skies?" Ghost asked.

"Get the troops that that the air support doesn't." Price stated simply.

"Works for me, now," Ghost said with a smile under his baklava, "what sort of weapons did you bring for me and Roach?"

Back near the door which led to the lower stories, the three pilots readies the Arwings. Falco quickly did a security check, and made sure an auto pilot was installed.

"I have an auto pilot support logged into the ships. Until you get the hang of it for yourself, it will help guide you. The toggle had a small trigger for lasers, and a flip switch for missiles. These look slightly different from the ones I use in my own world, so maybe they have a few added abilities. Either way, grasp the toggle in a quick motion with a spin to . . ." Falco said.

"Do a Barrel Roll!" The voice of Peppy Hare interrupted from the ships com link.

"Shoot . . . I thought they disabled that feature . . .," Falco said as he shook his head.

"Anything else we should know?" Ratchet said as he hopped into his ship.

"The boost buttons are clearly marked. I'd assume the boss has some kind of barrier around this city preventing anyone from leaving, so don't try and escape the area-the Smash World usually punishes that with defeat. Other than that safe flying." Falco said as he approached his own ship.

Following the other two, Captain Falcon jumped into his ship, and right after, all three started the thrusters to the Arwings. Within seconds the ships were in the air, blasting towards an oncoming set of small Hilo's armed with chain guns.

"I spot four Hilo ships approaching. Machine guns only-no missiles attached. They look more agile, but I'd say they are too fortified." Falco said over the com-link.

"I'll take the two on the left. We should save the missiles for heavier targets!" Rachet said in response.

"Agreed. I'll take the other two. Falcon you cover us while we do so!" Falco said as he began to shift his ship.

"Here they come-engage!" Ratchet said over the link as the Hilo's came upon them.

Upon seeing the three ships, the four Hilo opened fire with their mounted chain guns. Spinning in ridiculously fast cycles, the bullet ripped at the Arwings, causing Captain Falcon to swirl to avoid the shots. Locking onto the nearest one, Ratchet opened fire with his lasers, scoring a directly his on the tail of the Hilo, damaging its rear propeller.

Noticing the hit, the Hilo began to spin aggressively in the sky to stabilize the loss of the propeller. As they spun, the chain-gunner tried to fire at the left wing of Ratchet's ship, scoring a few hits. While not doing anything critical, ratchet noticed how the hits did cause a slight imbalance in the ship, which could be a problem later.

Swirling to get out of the Hilo's line of fire, ratchet again locked on with his lasers, this time aiming for the cockpit. Pressing the trigger aggressively, Ratchets shots made contact and set the cockpit of the Hilo ablaze, causing it to explode in the sky.

"One down!" Sounded Rachet over the link.

"Make it two!" Falco said as his laser hit the blades on the Hilo's top, causing it to fall out of the sky.

"The other two are about to do a strafing run!" captain Falcon said, noticing other two forming up.

"A strafing run? But that would not work against three maneuverable ships like ours!" Falco noted.

"Then why . . . wait . . . we're not the target!" Ratchet suddenly exclaimed with realization.

"The tower! There 'gonna mow it down!" Captain Falcon said with urgency.

"After them! We cannot let them strip the roof of competitors!" Fox shouted over the com-link.

In a hasty pursuit they followed the two Hilo's, which were rapidly descending to the tower. Stabilizing their position, they slowly began to strafe the side of the roof, spinning up the guns to fire.

"Shoot them now! They're about to start!" Falco exclaimed.

"I cannot auto lock!-theirs no guarantee the shots hit!" Captain Falcon said.

"Shoot anyway!" Falco shouted.

"We can't risk hitting any of the competitors on the building!" Rachet said desperately.

"They're all about to be toast anyway unless we do something!" Falco said with aggression.

"You don't have to do anything," a mysterious voice suddenly said from the com-link, "I've got it taken care off."

"Who is this?" Ratchet demanded.

"For right now, a friend."

Suddenly and without warning small beeping arrow was shot from somewhere amongst the chaos and made connection with the first Hilo, instantly exploding it. Within mere seconds of that another shot out and exploded the second one. Both shots had been incredibly fast and well-aimed, and had done their job effectively-the Hilo's hadn't even gotten off a shot.

"Nice shot-you said you were a friend . . . for now. Can we trust you . . . who are you?" Ratchet said over the com-link.

"Right now I'd say you can't trust anyone. They call me Prophet . . . you will remember me . . ." he voice said before fading away from the com.

"Well . . . that was interesting," Ratchet said.

"No matter, the Hilo's are taken care of, now we have to clear the rest of the vehicles around the roof!" Falco said, dropping the matter of the mysterious voice as quickly as it came.

Noticing two Apache Helicopters dropping off troops and a small gunship providing covering fire for them, Captain Falcon raced at the roof. Locking on to the gunship he fired a few of his missiles, which connected and sent the gunship into flames. As it began to spiral down towards the roof, ratchet hit the thrusters and fired more missiles at the ship, blasting it away from the middle of the roof so it dropped down off the side.

Unloading the last of their troops, the helicopters turned to face the three Arwings, unloading their firepower towards them. Steering his ship towards the right, Captain Falcon lured the copters away from the roof and got them to chase him. Dropping in from behind, Ratchet and Falco then shot their own missiles at the two ships, both giving critical hits. Upon receiving the fire both copters exploded, sending shrapnel to the ground below.

"Alright-I thinks that's all the airships for now-what's next?" Ratchet asked.

"We alert the fighters below their 'gonna have a short leeway before the next wave. Tell them that now is the time to stock up!" Falco said.

Flying his Arwing to the center of the roof, Falco switched the com-link in his ship to project to the outside speakers of the Arwing. Since the supply of enemies from the sky had stopped momentarily the chaos began to go down, with contestants looking up at Falco.

"Everybody listen now," Falco said through the reversed com, "The skies are clear for now. We estimate each of you only has a few more minutes before the next wave comes. Some contestants have brought your specifically marked supplies from the floor below along with base defense systems and barricades for the building.

"Everyone grab your supplies and find a spot of the building to guard. Take windows, ledges, hallways, elevators, stairs . . . whatever is there. We cannot all stay on the roof-any minute now soldiers will breech the bottom of the building and begin to make their way up, while others will come in through ledges and outposts on the side of the tower.

"Find a spot where you deem you will fight best. As of now we are limited on air support so everyone use your tools wisely. I want everyone to set up barricade, turrets, block, and whatever else at unguarded positions. The base also has a shield generator which can be activated by hitting a few nodes throughout the building-we already have some people on that.

"Whatever your strength the main goal now is to take cover and bunker down-spread out and conserve ammo-were 'gonna be in for a long fight. Any objections can meet my backside, 'cause I ain't hearing them!"

Upon hearing these words several rushed for the weapons provided, while a large mass descended the stairs and elevators to lower floors of the building. Along with them several took base defenses and barricades, and a small platoon began setting up defenses on the roof, including small huts and a main barracks, along with an Anti-Air Gun. Several cyber shields, fences, and blocks began were put near windows and doors, and exposed areas quickly became covered up with anything lying around in the building. Everywhere people were moving, fortifying what they could and setting up defenses.

Switching back to the com-link within his Arwing, Falco hesitated slightly as he looked down below through the cockpit of his ship. Even now more air support was coming, and the tanks were coming ever closer to the tower. He had heard how both Altair and Sub Zero had engaged ground combat, but he had no idea if they had been successful or not.

Indeed, the army was coming closer, and they seemed to nearly double in size. Within a minute or two they would start firing, and again the tower would be under siege. How long they could last, Falco was not sure.

"Heck of a fight were in for," Ratchet said over the com-link.

"Yeah . . . I think I'm starting to figure out why they called this insanity . . ." Falco said in a voice that faded as the sound of marching footsteps drew ever closer.

Authors Note: Hello everyone-feels great to get out this new chapter-check the profile page for the full update. Should be up within a day or so.