Chapter 5: Fallen Soldier


The Copyright Wars

Battle of Delfino Island


Nintendo never stood a chance. Even with their feeble island-based defenses, compared to the combined Microsian and Sonian fleet, it was going to be about as difficult to take Delfino Island as winning a soccer game against a bunch of Lums from the Glade of Dreams. No, their victory was assured.

And it made Snake sick.

They advanced from the south like an artificial tidal wave. Most of them, of course, were from Sony's reserves: the sleek cobalt flying machines from Megaland; Snake and the rest of his elite squadron, FOXHOUND, in their armed helicopters; and the formation of fighter jets from Strangereal. A few Spartans accompanied them in a single gunship to oversee the operation—mostly to ensure their obligatory allies did their job and didn't try to defect. And far below, a few Rapturian subs—known as Bathyspheres—made their way quickly toward the languid shore like giant mechanical eyeballs, bearing their cargo of dreaded Splicers and Big Daddies.

The island resort, not at all used to such assaults, was woefully unprepared. They had marshalled what little defense they had along the southern beach: a myriad of Piantas armed with nothing but pineapples and durians; Nokis bearing sharpened seashells; Cataquacks—round blue creatures with tiny feet, huge green-and-yellow eyes, and large bills—poised to attack; and the enormous yellow caterpillars called Wigglers, their dangerous tempers on edge. Even a few diversely colored Yoshis joined the mix, ready to launch their spotted eggs.

It was a massacre. The FOXHOUND copters rained machine gun fire upon the vulnerable Piantas and Nokis; the fighter jets blasted Wigglers apart with missiles; the Spartan gunship's lasers seared through the Cataquacks like so many ducks lined up for the hunt. The Bathyspheres began to land and their pupil-like hatches opened, through which the ten-foot Big Daddies lumbered toward their opponents, clad in their thick diving suits with eerie, featureless faces behind their helmets, their yellow bulb-like eyes glowing as they drove their drill arms into the helpless Yoshis. The zombie-like Splicers, enhanced by the dangerous red substance known as ADAM, rushed forward and picked off any survivors with their decaying claws and sharp, ravenous teeth. The yellow beach soon became bleached with red.

Before they could move further inland toward Delfino Plaza and the rest of the plushy paradise, a wide yellow beam suddenly shot from the heart of the city, piercing and obliterating two Strangerealean jets at once. Snake's eyes followed the beam in alarm to the tall tower that was the source, the white arch curving over a shining golden bell.

It was the Shine Gate. What Snake had taken for a bell was actually a radiant, sun-shaped object with two beady black eyes like the Power Stars in the Mushroom Kingdom. It was Delfino Island's power source, and apparently it not only sustained the residents' sunny, peaceful lifestyle; it was their ultimate defense system.

Snake was impressed, but he knew what he had to do.

He reluctantly gave the command for FOXHOUND and the Megalandian vessels to make for the Shine Gate. They crossed above the gleaming city, the bright colors of the stucco buildings laid out beneath them like a perfect little collection of children's playing blocks, the cobblestone streets and fruit-laden markets deserted, the beautiful water fountains flowing in blissful ignorance of the chaos around them. All this would no doubt be reduced to rubble in a few short minutes once the Rapturians breached inland.

A desperate volley of eggs and drop-kicked durians rose from the rooftops. Snake had to give the islanders credit for their fearlessness in the face of certain doom. He didn't even slow down to destroy them; their efforts were futile, and though he knew they'd all soon be dead one way or another, he would avoid personally attending to innocent slaughter if he could help it.

"Take 'em down!" someone bellowed.

It was only when they had nearly reached the Shine Gate when Snake realized that its arch was not unoccupied. A line of helmeted Hammer Bros stood behind black cannons, which had already fired their first wave of Bullet Bills—sheepdog-sized bullets with vicious shark faces.

His men easily outmaneuvered these and the hail of wooden hammers that followed, but the copter to his right was caught off guard by another, much bigger cannon hidden behind a water tower. The Banzai Bill, about as large as a blimp, rocketed toward their formation. They took evasive action, but the bullet was just so huge that the copter in question was crushed by it, the propeller snapping and sending it rolling and smoking to the surface.

But the Spartans and Strangerealeans coming behind them made quick work of the Hammer Bros and their cannons with a rapid barrage of lasers and missiles. This left the smoking arch all but clear, except…

Two Koopa Clown Cars, one much larger than the other, hovered protectively over the Shine Gate. Bowser and his son, Bowser Jr., held their ground even as Snake and his men were nearly upon them.

What are they thinking? Snake wondered. It's suicide.

Bowser and his smaller likeness grinned, and the elder spoke.

"Welcome to Delfino Island, Sonian scum!"

Out of nowhere, a swarm of Boos faded into being from all sides, their cackling chorus sending a pervasive chill in spite of the sunny sky. They simultaneously rushed the remaining copters, fighter jets, and gunship, creeping up behind the aircrafts' occupants, floating inside, and creating havoc from within. A few Spartans screamed as they fell a hundred feet onto the unforgiving stone below.

Snake swore as three Boos invited themselves into his own vessel. He ordered the pilot to maintain his course toward the Bowsers as he opened the door on his right side, the air rushing by in billowing torrents. He drew a flare from his pocket, lit it, and waved it back and forth, causing the Boos to retreat with ghostly cries of discomfort.

As the invaders engaged the Boos, Bowser and his son laughed.

"You roaches might take the power of the Shine Sprites," he bellowed, "but that'll do you no good once we turn up the heat!" With that, the Clown Cars floated away, making a beeline for the location Bowser had clearly been referring to: Corona Mountain.

The electronic voice of the Spartan commander came over Snake's radio. "What does that mean?"

Snake stroked his chin, watching them head up toward the craterous peak.

"Corona Mountain is volcanic; I'm afraid if the Koopa's bark has any bite, he may have figured out a way to weaponize its superheated interior."

The Spartan appeared to take a moment to consider Snake's words. "We can't risk it. Take the Robot Masters and go after them; we'll stay and destroy the Shine Gate."

"Yes, commander." Those wouldn't have been Snake's first choice of words had he the freedom to speak his mind, but he had no choice if he valued the safety of his own world.

The three remaining FOXHOUND copters rose up the steep rocky slope with the sleek cobalt airships, soon reaching the steaming crater at the peak. Snake saw Bowser Jr.'s Clown Car disappear into a wide lava tunnel, although it wasn't big enough for them to fly inside themselves.

They landed on a rocky outcropping safe from the steaming vents and stepped onto the sulfurous surface. Snake had a dozen FOXHOUND soldiers at his command, but the meat and potatoes of their force consisted of the thirty Robot Masters that disembarked from the Megalandian vessels. They were humanoid robots, all created by the famous Dr. Light with the intention of protecting the innocent. Most of their metal armor were various mixes of red, orange, and yellow—a fiery blend—though their shapes and sizes varied widely based on each of their unique talents.

The one who stood out among them was in blue armor, his arm cannon directing the others toward the lava tunnel, his boyish face devoid of emotion.

"Ready for your orders, sir," Megaman said, as if he and Snake had never had anything but a purely professional relationship.

What has become of us? Snake couldn't help thinking, the sadness welling up inside him all over again. We used to be friends…but now we're all tools, to be used at the whim of the Master Chief.

Snake nodded, maintaining equal passiveness. "Let's go, then, soldier."

The dark tunnel wound haphazardly down the mountain until they were at what appeared to be the very core, FOXHOUND's flashlights and several Robot Masters' abilities illuminating the way. It was hot, but Snake had expected no less; he had much greater sources of discomfort than the blistering heat.

At last the path opened out into a spacious central chamber. Snake had to give the Koopa props for presentation. The roughly circular room was covered in rugged brimstone with large splotches of bubbling lava. And as if that wasn't enough, the entire wall encircling it was composed of a sort of magmatic waterfall; one foul slip and your body would be melted like a marshmallow in a campfire. Bowser and his son awaited them in the middle, their Clown Cars parked on the opposite end. The Robot Masters filed into the room, each training their weapons on the two enemies.

Snake stepped forward. He hoped this didn't have to get any uglier than it already was.

"You have nowhere to go, Koopa," he said. "What was your plan? Cause an eruption? Channel the energy into some kind of weapon?"

Bowser just laughed again. "Frankly, scum, Delfino's a lost cause. I wouldn't care that much about flooding over its pathetic residents with lava, but it wouldn't really help us cream you, would it? No…I just thought you'd like to join us for a little family reunion of mine. Koopalings, attack!"

From the tunnel behind them and several others on the rocky ceiling, seven additional Koopa children joined the party: Larry with his sky-blue mohawk; Morton with his dark gray skin and arsenal of hammers; Wendy with her pink bow and golden bracelets; Iggy with his crazed, cross-eyed expression and weed-like sprout of green hair; Roy with his hot pink sunglasses and Bullet Bill bazooka; Lemmy with his spiky rainbow hair, balanced on his star-spangled bouncy ball with Bob-omb in hand; and Ludwig with his two Eintein-ish blue tufts and his single prominent tooth. All wielded wands of different colors, and all were eager to impress their papa.

Pandemonium ensued. Clusters of geometric magic spun across the room. Bob-ombs and Bullet Bills and golden bracelets flew through the air. Lemmy's bouncy ball rolled and rebounded. The very earth shook as Morton pounded the ground. Bowser joined the fight with claw swipes and bursts of fire, while Bowser Jr. whipped out his Magic Paintbrush and created colorful death trap portals that would transport unlucky wanderers directly into the lava walls.

But the Koopa family was not the only one with wild cards up its sleeves. While Snake and FOXHOUND struggled to fight back with hand to hand combat and occasional gunshots that were unlikely to hit such dynamic targets, Megaman and his Robot Masters were bred for elemental fights such as this. Among many others, adding to the conflict were Cut Man with snaps of his scissor head; Guts Man with his boulder-throwing; Heat Man with his spiraling rings of fire; Spark Man with his small electric spheres; Metal Man with his razor-edged throwing disks; Quick Man with his speedy strikes; Crash Man with his drill arms; and Hard Man with his detachable rocket fists.

Had their numbers been equal, it might have been an even fight. But the unfortunate truth was that Bowser's clan was far outnumbered. He roared as he watched his children fall, one by one, tossed unceremoniously into the lava like he himself had been by Mario so many times—only this time, there would be no coming back. In his fury, he shoved several Robot Masters into the magma at a time, ripping their mechanical heads off with his teeth and tearing out their core processors with his claws. The Megalandian beings had been reduced nearly by half by the time Bowser and Bowser Jr. had been hopelessly surrounded. They were the only Nintendonians left alive.

Snake stepped up to them. "Surrender now and you will be allowed to live."

"No."

But it hadn't been any of the fighters who had spoken. The Spartan Commander had entered the heart of Corona Mountain, flanked by two of his comrades. He approached the two beaten Koopas with obvious disdain.

"The Koopa King must be taught a lesson—one that he will never forget. Kill the youngling."

Snake's eyes widened with horror; why were they requiring this of him? Any additional deaths would be completely unnecessary.

"Sir, I really don't think—"

"Did I flinch, lieutenant? I said, execute the youngling…unless you'd like to discuss your failure with the Chief."

Snake's face darkened as he was forced to accept the terrible reality: He had no say in this. He finally nodded to Guts Man, who grabbed Bowser Jr. effortlessly, hauling him toward the lava wall.

"Papa!" Bowser Jr. squealed and struggled and cried.

"Junior!" Bowser boomed, making to attack Guts Man but blocked off by ten other Robot Masters.

Guts Man wasted no time shoving the Koopa Kid into the lava, the Magic Paintbrush clattering onto the ground in his wake.

Bowser roared louder than he ever had, with mourning and unhindered rage in his voice. But then he hung his head, broken and defeated.

"Take him away," the commander said.

They filed out back up the lava tunnel, Snake bringing up the rear behind their prisoner.

"I'm sorry," Snake said quietly so only the Koopa could hear, knowing it wouldn't mean anything. He was right.

Bowser gave one last defiant snort. "No you're not….Not yet."


There was nowhere for Pit or Quill to go, with a horde of angry robots behind them and one somehow even more dangerous figure barring their escape.

Pit couldn't believe it; Professor U. Reeka had supposedly been vanquished by Gadd along with his laboratory over a year ago. How could he still be alive? And more importantly, what was he going to do to them now that they'd seen one of his secret projects?

Reeka's grin seemed inhumanly wide, although to be fair, there wasn't much that was humane about the evil scientist to begin with.

"I hope you enjoyed your tour of my facility," Reeka hissed, "because it's the last thing you'll ever see."

"What are you doing here?" Quill asked, stalling for time while trying to work out a plan.

Reeka began pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back, appearing unconcerned about being unarmed in front of Pit's bow.

"The whole evil plan explanation thing is terribly cliché, I'm afraid…but just because you came such a long way to get here, I'll give you a dreadful little morsel of information before I kill you…just enough to cause your bodies to squirm in their watery graves."

Pit thought about surprising Reeka with a sudden Light Arrow, but then he saw Quill shake his head ever so slightly, reaching ever so slowly toward his mail pouch.

"This is Atari Island, almost at the dead center between the Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft Worlds. After my dear cousin destroyed my Wire Frame factory, I had a rather special experience that brought me to this place, which I decided to make my new base of operations. Over the past year, my travels have yielded some wonderful materials with which to construct these lovely bots of mine, which I call Robotic Assault Weapons—R.A.W., as opposed to my cousin's pathetic Robotic Operating Buddies.

"But best of all, that magnificent machine you see before you…" He gestured toward the giant machine that was being slowly disassembled by the R.A.W.s. "…is what they call in their world a 'Metal Gear.' It is rather like a walking fireworks launcher…fireworks that are a bit more nuclear in nature, that is."

Reeka giggled and stopped pacing. "But enough chatter. My revenge on the Nintendo World must be delayed no longer by insipid, trespassing—"

Quill chose that moment to make his move. In one flourish of his winged arm, he flicked a trio of Deku Nuts at the monologuing maniac, which burst upon contact, stunning the professor and eliciting a squeaky scream.

"Now, Pit!"

Pit obliged, splitting his bow and diving forward, plunging both blades into Reeka's chest.

He held his position expectantly as Reeka stood for several seconds more, vibrating and immobilized by the Deku Nuts. But to Pit's surprise, when the nuts' effect wore off, the impaled body did not slide to the ground.

It remained standing.

Reeka laughed as Pit still held his twin blades in his target's chest. The scientist grabbed both halves of the Sacred Bow and wrenched then out, pushing Pit onto the ground. Both Smash Brothers watched with revolted amazement as the holes in the professor's body sealed themselves up with a colorful, gooey substance.

"I do have one thing to thank my cousin for," Reeka said. His body suddenly became a glob of liquid paint and sank into the ground. The puddle oozed across the narrow entrance, separating into several separate puddles. Then, the shiny brown matter rose from the ground once more, forming Reeka again as he had been in the center, but also two dripping brown replicas on each side. The magic paint in the clones molded itself to form sinister-looking guns in each pair of arms, the weapons also entirely composed of the goop.

What are those? Paintball guns? Pit quipped to himself in a vain attempt to assuage his fear.

"He has pushed me to my limits, forced me to outdo even myself; and by having me consumed by a Polluted Piranha created by my own Magic Paintbrush, he inadvertently made me immortal. And with that despair, I bid thee farewell, Smash Brothers!"

As one, the R.A.W.s discharged their lasers and the Reekas fired their paint guns, giving the heroes less than a second to act.

But this time, Pit had anticipated the incoming danger. He pulled Quill close and held up his fabled Mirror Shield, which not only reflected the projectiles, but reflected itself on all sides around the two targets, protecting them from all harm.

The R.A.W.s exploded and the Reekas were knocked over. Quill took this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of catching Reeka off guard to pull Pit with him past the real Reeka and into the open air.

"We must go…now!"

For once, Pit had no objections. They got off to a running start and then pushed off into the air, rising quickly above the palm trees and away from the black "egg sac" laboratory.

"Kill them!" they heard Reeka's fading voice scream behind them, not daring to look back.

For a few seconds they thought they'd escaped, just like that. But then the whirring and subsequent laser beams shooting past them on both sides corrected that impression.

In spite of himself, Pit risked a backward glance and immediately regretted his decision, for in their pursuit were at least twenty R.A.W.s, propelled forward by rockets both underneath their bases and behind their torsos—a feature Gadd's R.O.B.s lacked. They were after the two escapees like a green and gold hornet's nest that had been felled with a baseball bat.

Then, as if that wasn't enough, the lasers were joined by missiles and machine gun fire. Pit could hear some of the bullets whistling literally right next to his ears; the only reason they hadn't been shot down immediately was that they'd gotten a decent head start.

And the best part: Ten of the R.A.W.s converged and meshed their machinery together like Transformers, forming a giant version of themselves with lasers as thick as Samus's Zero Laser, and missiles the size of small horses.

They flew as fast as they could, outmaneuvering nearly every shot, with only the occasional singed wing or pierced clothing. Pit yelled in excitement as they neared the ocean. They were going to make it. Against all odds, they were going to make it.

And then it happened. It wasn't even the Giant R.A.W. that inflicted the fatal wound; one of the smaller ones had crept around from above, using its superior boosters to surpass even the experienced flyers. It charged up a Gyro—a steel top with a deadly point—and launched it at its quarry.

Quill's eyes widened and he gasped as he looked down and found the tip of the Gyro piercing his chest. He flapped his wings harder, but his course had already been thrown off and there was no way he would recover enough to keep going. He managed to shout one line to his young companion before he fell.

"Pit…deliver the message at all costs!"

Then he plummeted, the air currents causing him to spiral erratically until he crashed onto the border between sand and ocean, his mission coming to an end mere feet from the finish line.

"QUILL!" Pit instinctively tilted to come back around and go to his friend. But the Giant R.A.W. and the others were so close that he couldn't risk it, and the Rito's last words seared themselves into his pulsing brain, instilling him with unwavering purpose even at such a crippling moment.

He looked one last time at Quill's crumpled body before diving away from Atari Island to gain more speed. The projectiles kept coming for a few more seconds, but he soon realized the R.A.W.s didn't dare venture past the shore for fear of running out of fuel and short-circuiting in the water. They swiveled and beeped angrily as the angel boy slipped out of their reach, their programmed consciences worried about how their master would receive this bit of bad news.

Pit's face was cold from wind and tears as he tore across the sea, dreading the prospect of spending another night—this time alone—at the pirate outpost where less than a day ago, he had made one of the greatest and most short-lived of friends.


With the destruction of Dedede's Castle, K. Rool's outpost, and most of the defending armies, the Smash Brothers had relocated their gathering place to Saffron City, where the newly constructed Pokémon Stadium served as a convenient location to discuss the ramifications of the recent attack.

Because they wanted to have some kind of game plan before taking their ideas to the entire body, the meeting was composed of only a select few leaders, among them Professor E. Gadd, Bowser, King Dedede, Kirby, Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong, Marth, Link, Zelda, Mewtwo, Gary, Lance, and Princess Éclair. They were seated around a table that had been placed on the center of the stadium itself—the tabletop, of course, resembling a Pokéball.

To begin with, DK was furious. He had been doing his pushup routine on a peaceful morning in his cabin when all the while lives were being lost…and he hadn't been invited to join the fight. And the one responsible? Gadd.

"You can't just pick and choose which of us gets to help protect the Nintendo World, professor," he said, barely keeping his cool. Actually, to be perfectly honest, he wasn't keeping his cool at all. "What gives you the right to decide who's fit to fight what? If the Pokémon hadn't shown up when they did, we'd be facing a full-blown invasion right now!"

Gadd was unusually stern—the result of several sleepless nights and indescribable stress and sorrow for the losses they had sustained.

"In case you've forgotten, lad," he said, "I'm the leader of the Smash Brothers. I have every right to make judgment calls during such downright nasty situations. You didn't see the tech the Microsians've got, young'un; if you or the Akaneians or Hylians had shown up, you'd have gotten blown to bits just the same as the rest."

DK folded his arms, fuming. "King K. Rool may have been my enemy, but he didn't deserve to die like that. He and many of his Kremlings were murdered in an unbalanced battle, and I blame you!" The Kong withheld mentioning that in truth, he really missed the crocodile; despite all of K. Rool's insane attempts to cause trouble for his family, he had been an integral part of the Kongs' world, just like the bitter core of a mango was an essential part to the juicy goodness around it. DK didn't know what they would do now without their nemesis to keep them on their toes, and besides that, he was a nemesis who had ultimately gone down a hero.

"I understand your frustration, Donkey Kong," Zelda said. "But the professor is right; swords and fists would be useless against their machines and guns. Even my magic—"

"Then why did Mario and Luigi get to go?"

There it was: the second half of DK's anger. He and Mario went back even further than Bowser, Luigi, or Peach, and just because the plumber had a few power-ups and fireballs up his sleeve, that didn't make him any more formidable than the ape or anyone else.

"I'm sorry things didn't work out the way you wanted, DK," Gadd said rather testily. "Believe me, they didn't work out the way any of us wanted."

There was a moment of silence, and then most people jumped as DK slammed his hand on the table and stood up. He glared at Gadd and left, slamming the door with ill-concealed contempt.

Gadd sighed. This was just what they needed: internal conflict while they were facing perhaps the most formidable foreign threat they'd ever encountered. The awkward silence was finally broken by the entrance of one of Gadd's R.O.B.s, which delivered its report in a Game & Watch-like voice.

"Status report on Patient 0128, L.O.G."

"Proceed."

"Patient suffered severe damage to head and internal hardware systems. We almost lost him, but we were able to sustain him on emergency power in sleep mode. We are hopeful that we may be able to restore his core processor with time, but for now he is straddling the line between life and death—electronically speaking."

Gadd's sullen look brightened just slightly. "That's excellent news. Thank you, R.O.B."

The R.O.B. took the professor's nod as an invitation to leave and rolled out of the stadium without another word.

Gadd turned to Bowser next. "Any progress with the prisoners?"

Bowser grunted and shook his head. "Those two Serans got their butts kicked by Mario pretty good, but even with their head injuries, they're being extraordinarily uncooperative."

Mario held out his gloved palm and caused a swirling fireball to ignite. "It's a-time we get some answers; Luigi and I can a-go have a word with them…."

"Yes, perhaps you're right," Gadd said. "They may be more receptive to you two than anyone else considering your recent encounter. But that still doesn't address our main concern…how are we going to respond to this attack?"

"I saw we stick it to 'em," Bowser growled. "I lost more Troopas than I care to count; they need to know we're the wrong world to mess with."

Several of those around the table nodded their assent, particularly those who had witnessed the attack.

"Still," Marth said, "if we do choose to launch a counterattack, it shall be the end of our peaceful negotiations with Microsoft—perhaps even with Sony as well."

"Those 'peaceful negotiations' ended when they done exploded my castle to bits and fried my soldiers like a buncha drumsticks." Dedede twirled his hammer angrily. "We can't just sit here an' hope they don't come back for seconds—and this time with even more mechanical monsters."

Princess Éclair nodded. "The King of Dreamland is right. We cannot wait for them to return; yet, if we declare war too hastily, it will surely bring destruction upon all of our southern islands as terribly as it did last time." She and the rest of the Waffle Kingdom had no clear memory of the Copyright Wars, but enough vestiges of its devastating destruction remained as a tangible reminder that the war had indeed taken its toll.

"I may have a solution."

Everyone turned to Mewtwo, who communicated not through verbal speech, but telepathically.

"Before this happened, we were already planning on sending a party to investigate the other islands between here and Microsoft, were we not?"

"Indeed we were," Gadd said.

"Though it is almost certain the Microsians will return for revenge in time, I believe we do have a window of time to work with. The Master Chief clearly knew our world's population had been weakened by Nightmare…but he hadn't counted on the strength of the Pokémon, almost all of which survived the war in the Battlefields."

Lance nodded. "I think I see where Mewtwo's going with this. Chances are, they'll take some time to regroup and figure out how to get past our Pokémon armies so they don't get humiliated again like they were last time. So while we wait for The King's Krystal to establish contact with Sony and for Pit and Quill to explore Atari Island, we can move forward with our investigation of Timber's Island and the Isle o' Hags."

"Precisely. Only, it would be wise to send a stronger force rather than a small party, considering these islands are more likely than not under Microsoft's control. We haven't heard from either of them since they joined us in the Battlefields, which leads me to believe this strike has been the culmination of years of planning, slowly working its way across the ocean toward our mainland."

"By the way," Gary said, looking around the table. "Weren't there a few people here from that Isle o' Hags place? Where've they all gone off to?"

"Banjo & Kazooie are with The King's Krystal," Gadd said. "The shamans and the moles requested leave to return to their island soon after the ship left, feeling they should gather some intel for us in advance. They left using the magic of the Jinjos and took communicators with them, but I haven't heard back from them yet."

"Hm," was Gary's only response.

"One thing I still don't get," Link said. "Why did Microsoft attack our southeastern shore first? Wouldn't it have been faster to go directly from Microsoft to the Kongo Jungle?"

Bowser, who had considerable experience with military strategy, jumped on the question. "The way I see it, there are two possible explanations. One, they might have seen Dreamland and the Mushroom Kingdom as an ideal starting point before launching a wider assault across the rest of the continent, as opposed to basing themselves in a jungle or on a frozen mountain." He looked a bit uneasy as he went on. "Or two, they didn't come here directly from Microsoft at all—maybe from Timber's Island or Atari or even Sony."

This prospect seemed even more daunting than that of Microsoft's inevitable return; were their enemies already in control of every land except Nintendo? And if so, did they really have any hope of stopping Microsoft's expansion north?

"Either way," Gary said, "I agree with Mewtwo. The only way we'll know how far-reaching Microsoft's influence has become is by exploring all the islands and other worlds. I'll bet Red and the others are already almost at Sony, and Pit and Quill could easily be back here in a couple days. So we need to get ready to go to Timber's Island and the Isle o' Hags pronto with enough support so we can take them back from Microsoft if we have to."

"Agreed," Gadd said. "Only problem is…we're still pretty weak, even weaker after the invasion. We'll need some serious tech upgrades if we're gonna stand a chance against them."

"Would it not be wise to turn to the Federations and Lylatt for help?" Marth said.

"Yes…" Gadd's expression grew even more tired. "Believe me, lad, that's the first thing I thought of; but I've contacted all three of their governments, and I'm afraid they are all currently occupied with internal conflicts of their own. General Pepper at least said he would try to send help when he could, but he couldn't give me any definite timeframe due to the insurgent space pirates that have apparently been spawning all over the place…there, and in other galaxies as well."

"That's strange…" Mewtwo remarked.

No one spoke for a moment; they all felt the disappointment that came from their extraterrestrial allies' inability to aid them in their time of need.

"I did speak with Dr. Clash in Mute City," Gadd said in an effort to maintain positivity. "He offered to redesign the F-Zero racers he built for the Original 25 to be suitable for battle. I am putting together some Gaddgets as well…though they still won't be nearly enough. I'm afraid when it comes to technology, our world comes up rather short."

For the first time during the meeting, Luigi spoke, although he was somewhat loath to voice his idea. "There is a-someone who could a-help us get better technology…but it a-might be hard to a-win their support since we put them in a-prison."

Bowser groaned and covered his face with a claw. "Oh, please not them…I thought their company was hosed after that disastrous Fourside Tournament, anyway?"

"You'd be surprised how long a business can stay afloat on a few extra Coins even without its CEO," Gadd said. "I hate to admit it…but it's the best chance we've got. We must return to Fourside and contact the Wario Brothers."


Shadow Moses Island looked about as inviting as an abandoned Jurassic Park. It wasn't a particularly large island—quite small, in fact—yet it seemed to have a presence that would make a Moblin quiver on its hooves.

It was dark and almost barren, with gray boulders and tall, isolated pine trees covering most of what they could see from The King's Krystal. A conveniently thick mist stretched sullenly across the land like a wet blanket, obscuring most everything deeper into the island except for a protruding flat metal roof at the center. There might have been more land on the horizon behind the island, but it was too blurred by the gloomy shroud to make out.

"Looks like quite the vacation spot," Falco commented from the prow beside several others. Most everyone had come out on deck in the morning after they'd moored far enough offshore to be safe from whatever might be on the island. It was already overcast, but this place seemed to take gray to a whole new level. Tetra and Niko were back at the wheel, Samus and Captain Falcon still up in the crow's nest, and the five Mobians crowded at the very front.

Sonic turned to his friends. "Is this how you guys remember this place?"

Shadow shook his head, his arms folded. "None of us remember much about the Copyright Wars or even the Sony World as a whole except for Mobius itself. But I do seem to recall…didn't you come here on one of your missions during the war?"

"Yeah, I think so…." Sonic strained his mind, trying to bring back the details of what had happened here, but it was no use. It was as if there were an opaque white cloth covering almost everything besides the memories of his home and the very beginning and end of the war when he'd ended up in the Nintendo World.

"I do know we're not far from Mobius," Knuckles said, staring out at the gradient of the horizon. "Angel Island is just past the bay south of Shadow Moses. We're almost home."

"Home…" Tails sighed as he thought of the bright Mobian skies where he'd used to fly in his biplane, the Tornado, admiring the green plains and the cheerful wildlife.

"Well," Amy said, leaning on the handle of her hammer and crossing her legs, "we'll be there soon enough. But first we have to figure out what's happened here. It looks like a pile of post-apocalyptic ruins."

As the ship approached the rocky beach, the island loomed above them like some kind of terrestrial monster, eager to consume any vestige of civilization that dared step foot on its shores. Finally, with only the wind and the waves filling the silence, they anchored and set out in several small boats, leaving only Niko and the remaining Kremlings behind to watch The King's Krystal. In a matter of just ten minutes, all 31 voyagers were standing together on the first solid ground they'd seen in almost two weeks.

Lanky yawned and stretched his disturbingly long arms. "Thank goodness; I thought I was gonna go loopy on that ship."

Diddy didn't bother pointing out to the orangutan that he was already loopy enough as he was. He put an arm around Dixie, who was brushing back her blond ponytails that were flapping in the wind.

"You all right?"

She nodded with a grin and hugged him. "Just brings back a lot of memories, you know? Crocodile Island…Gangplank Galleon… DK Isle…"

"We'll find out what happened to it," Diddy said, rubbing her back. "I promise."

"All right, all you jelly-legged landlubbers," Tetra called, getting their attention. "Here's how this is gonna work: Since none of you wanted to stay back with Niko and the crew—and personally, I don't blame you—we're heading into this place together. No one wanders off…understood?"

Lots of nodding and no objections.

"Good. Now let's see what this heap of dirt has to offer."

And with that, they set out, beginning with a fairly steep climb up the boulders until it leveled out and became more thickly forested with dark trees. They traveled more or less together, with several smaller clusters of individuals sticking close, such as the Ice Climber twins climbing casually with their hands held, and Peach, Perry, and Toadsworth carefully navigating their way up at the rear. But despite the wide range of physical prowess, Tetra made sure they were all up before they proceeded into the patchy forest.

The moist fog chilled Red's skin as he and his father followed the group toward the ominous metal roof they'd seen from the ship. He shivered and crossed his hands over his goosebump-covered arms.

"Have you been here before?" he asked Quentin.

"No…I have never made it out to either the Sony or Microsoft Worlds. There are many other islands throughout the sea where I have meditated and developed my Spirit Bond with the Pokémon over the years."

"Oh." Red wondered how his father could stay sane after so much isolation…but then again, he supposed Quentin had had the Pokémon to keep him company. Even so…he still didn't know why the man had never returned to Kanto. It was a question that nagged at the back of his mind perhaps more than any other, but he knew he would have to wait until his father deemed him ready.

The woods were unnaturally silent, as if even the birds and forest critters were bothered by the island's ominous history. Mr. Game & Watch and Prince Peasley walked side by side near the front, bickering about how Beanish delicacies measured up against G.W.'s charred black sausages. Then the latter stopped and unsheathed his rapier, pointing it at the gap through the trees.

"By the might of the Great Bean…look yonder, comrades!"

There it was. As the trees thinned out, the Nintendonians beheld the tall metal structure they'd spotted from the ship. It was a severe square shape, towering above them with rusted walls and climbing ivy like some kind of high-tech Indiana Jones temple. Catwalks and metal crates and ladders lay abandoned around the walls and a faded helipad, behind which there was a large rectangular indent in the building that led to two garage-sized doors.

As they cautiously approached, the door slowly creaked open, perhaps from an automatic sensor.

"I see no way this could pos-sib-ly go wrong," G.W. said.

"I see no way you could possibly have a brain," Kazooie said.

Captain Falcon and Samus came up beside Tetra, who stood with uncertainty, never having seen such a place anywhere in the Great Sea.

"We'll handle this, Captain…if it's all the same to you."

Tetra nodded. "This looks to be a bit out of my depth. We'll let you techies take the lead on this one."

The two bounty hunters neared the entrance—only for it to abruptly slam shut again.

"What the…" Falcon noticed the edges of the sliding door were sparking intermittently. "Looks like it's just a faulty door."

Sure enough, within a few seconds the door slid open again.

"Come on!" Falcon ushered the party inside. Toadsworth yelled as the door shut once more behind him, nearly snagging his trousers like a guillotine.

They were in a dark corridor that branched off in opposite directions with similarly corroded metal surfaces and a few flickering fluorescent lights on the ceiling, although most of them were burnt out, leaving long stretches of nearly indecipherable shadow.

Unlike most of them, Meta Knight for one was not at all bothered by the darkness.

"Allow me," he said, spreading his bat wings and gliding ahead down the right hallway. No booby traps or hostiles appeared from anywhere, so the rest felt safe following in the Star Warrior's wake.

"What is this place?" Roy wondered out loud.

Banjo grabbed Kazooie's beak before she could utter another snarky remark. "I dunno; maybe some kind of bunker or industrial plant?"

They reached a point where a secondary hallway led a short ways to the right and up a few steps to a steel door. Meta Knight led them up, followed closely by the most tech-savvy among them (namely, Captain Falcon, Samus, and Falco). He tried the door and surprisingly found it unlocked, although it took Falcon's muscle-power to slowly wrench it open, the hinges squealing loudly and echoing throughout the building.

They filed inside and found the command center, with the windows looking out over the rest of the island and assorted technical instruments arrayed on numerous panels with worn swivel chairs scattered behind them. But these screens and switches and other devices were dull, cracked, and lifeless. Falcon doubted that any of them would still work.

What caught his attention were the dark stains on the ground, one particularly large one near the middle of the semicircular room.

"Is that…?" Ness paled.

"Blood," Falcon confirmed, crouching down to inspect it. "Must've been quite a tussle in here."

"Sonic, are you okay?" Amy placed a worried hand on Sonic's forehead. The blue hedgehog seemed to be almost painfully disoriented by the place.

"Something…familiar…Spartans…Master Chief…"

Samus made an executive decision. "Let's move on; there's nothing else to learn from this room. Whatever happened here must have occurred years ago—maybe decades."

And move on they did. For another half hour, they slowly made their way around the facility, finding only dusty storage rooms filled with empty crates, closets with cleaning supplies, and a few rooms with long metal tables that appeared to have been made for chemical research and mechanical assembly. Finally, a door on the left took them into a huge central chamber—one fit to house jets and tanks, although that was not what they found inside.

It was much like a hangar, with a high ceiling and unattractive, unadorned floors and walls. Like other areas, it contained any number of empty crates, but it also had some larger machinery—power tools and wrenches and drills and even some forklifts, stacks of pallets and clusters of nuclear hazard barrels, and two large cranes whose extensions could no doubt reach the ceiling. And then there was the thing in the middle.

A big metal monster was how most of the Nintendonians would describe it. Those who knew a little more might have labeled it as some type of battle mech, for it happened to look almost exactly the same as the one Pit and Quill found in Professor U. Reeka's secret lab. Only, this Metal Gear was clearly past its prime, pieces missing, metal plating rusted and crumpled and ill-fitting.

"What is that?" Peach asked, voicing all of their thoughts.

But they had no further time to ponder her question, for at that moment, a small metal ball rolled into their midst, beeping and flashing red at a faster and faster rate.

Captain Falcon didn't know exactly what it was, but he could pretty well guess.

"Get away!"

He grabbed the grenade and hurled it away. One second later, it exploded, sending sparks raining from the ceiling and metal crossbeams tumbling toward the ground. Falcon rolled forward to evade the falling objects, while the rest of them backed toward the door.

Just when he thought he was safe, he heard the blast of rifle fire, the bullets whirring past him like kamikaze hornets. He dived behind a cluster of barrels and peered around the corner.

"Show yourself!" he shouted.

There was a perplexing silence for several seconds…and then the captain found himself kicked to the floor with a gun pointing at his head. He looked up and beheld his assailant.

The man was as weathered as Quentin, although clearly quite a bit younger. His dark brown beard and hair surrounded his leathery face like a poorly made mask, his muscled camo suit suggesting a physical fitness equal to Falcon's own. He clutched the rifle in his hands with the tension of one who knew too well how to use it, and was too familiar with what it was capable of. His iron-gray eyes were as callous as any armor.

"You are not welcome here," Solid Snake spat with a slightly Russian accent.

"Yeah?" Falcon panted. "Well, your gun isn't welcome near my face." He extended his hunched knees, kicking Snake in the chest and sending him backward, though he was too well built to be knocked over entirely. The soldier threw his gun to the side (to Falcon's surprise), but then lunged at him with his fists.

They engaged in rapid, intense close combat, each demonstrating a mastery of multiple martial arts with their expertly timed jabs, kicks, and dodges. Captain Falcon was soon sweating; he hadn't fought someone hand-to-hand with this much skill since Samurai Goroh. And even then….

Behind the large pile of fallen debris, the heroes watched with mixed awe and alarm.

"Oh, my…somebody please do something!" Toadsworth cried, worried for Captain Falcon.

But Falco shook his head, standing beside Samus. "They're moving too fast for any of us to have a good shot without the risk of hitting Falcon. He's on his own unless he can somehow get them apart from each other."

Falcon back-flipped away several times in a row in an attempt to do just that, but Snake was onto him like a cobra on a fleeing vole. He snatched the bounty hunter by the nape of the neck mid-flip, flung Falcon's body over his head, and slammed it hard onto the metal ground, following up with a series of quick punches to the gut.

Falcon's head ached inside his helmet, along with most of the rest of his body. He decided it was time to bring out the heavy artillery.

"Falcon Kick!"

He slid on a fiery trail created by his foot, striking Snake in the face and speeding far enough away to put himself at a safe distance. Or so he thought.

Snake quickly recovered from Falcon's kick (although it took effort to ignore the sting of the lingering flames) and balanced a remote-controlled missile launcher on his shoulder, aiming the gun at Falcon's figure and firing.

The smart rocket flew just over Falcon's head as he dived toward the ground. He rolled and jumped behind a pile of crates, recalling a similar experience against Samus in Fourside Colosseum. The resulting blast sent shrapnel in almost every direction, but he remained safe behind whatever remained of his cover.

He leapt through the smoke and drove his knee into Snake's chest, sending the man spinning through the air onto the ground a short ways away. This time, the soldier didn't get back up.

Captain Falcon smirked as he stepped toward his fallen opponent. "Well fought, buddy. I'd imagine you might even make a decent tournament fighter back in Nintendo. But the game's up."

He was about to knock Snake unconscious with a final kick to the head, but when he was just a few steps away, the ground beneath him suddenly exploded.

The landmine left Falcon in even worse shape than Snake had been as a recipient of the Smasher's Knee of Justice. He thrashed on the ground in an effort to put out the flames that had engulfed him, the flickering red darts haphazardly searing his body until he finally extinguished the last of them, lying on the ground in exhaustion.

Snake slowly stepped up to Falcon, but he wasn't grinning at all. He drew a pistol and pointed it at the bounty hunter's head.

Samus's Charge Shot sent him to the ground in a similar state as his opponent, both men groaning. While Peach ran up to Falcon to administer a healing turnip remedy, Snake found himself pulled at the neck by Samus's Grappler Beam until the two of them were literally face to face (or face to helmet at any rate), the electric blue cord strangling its captive.

"Why are you trying to kill us?" Samus demanded.

Snake's response came in choking spurts. "Go…to…Hell!"

"Hold the phone," Sonic said, dashing up to Snake with the other Mobians and peering closely at his face. "I think I remember now…this is Solid Snake! We used to work together during the Copyright Wars…until…"

"Until…Master...Chief…"

Samus decided to relinquish her hold, allowing him to drop to the floor with her arm cannon pointed at his head. "Talk."

Snake breathed heavily, staring at the Mobians. "Sonic…? Is it really you? What are you doing with these…" He glanced at the rest. "…murderers?"

"Murderers?" Falco joined the huddle of peering Nintendonians. "You're the one who chucked a grenade at us and tried to blow our friend's brains out!"

"Snake," Sonic said with a concerned expression. "These aren't Microsians. You're not in your right mind. We're with Nintendo's heroes. They've come to help us set things right."

Snake lay and breathed for a long while, looking from one face to the next. His eyes slowly began to clear, as if there had been a dark haze overshadowing them until now. When he next spoke, he seemed much more subdued—even ashamed.

"Forgive me…Sonic is right. I have been holed up here for so long…so many years…that I've forgotten the difference between my friends and my enemies." He looked at Samus. "Although it's unlikely your people would see me the same way."

Samus slowly lowered her gun, sensing the danger was over. "Why would we be your enemy?"

Snake blinked, uncomprehending at first. "You mean you don't remember?" He shook his head, as if to dislodge his confusion. "Of course you don't. Almost no one does these days…"

"It's all coming back," Sonic said, snapping his finger. "The heroes of Sony undertook a covert mission to Shadow Moses Island during the Copyright Wars; our objective was to take it back from the Microsians, who had just overrun it. We made it all the way to the command center, but then Master Chief came and…" He looked down at Snake sadly. "…and he killed one of our friends."

"That was the turning point in the war," Snake said, picking up where his fellow Sonian had left off. "Master Chief threatened to destroy our homes and everyone we cared about unless we combined forces with them against Nintendo. We had no choice…" He shuddered from the returning memories that pierced him with greater coldness than any icicle. "…but still, we did terrible things to your world. If it hadn't been for those shape creatures that came at the last moment, the Nintendo World would likely be under Microsian control now."

Meta Knight chose to set aside the curious detail about the "shape creatures" and spoke his mind. "So the war ended in a truce; everyone went back to their homes except for Sonic and his friends; and you chose to remain in this dark realm alone?"

"You cannot understand…" Snake clenched his fists and tears began to streak from his tightened eyes. "After what we did…what I made us do…I could never face my people again. I was no better than Master Chief, slaying innocents for no justifiable purpose. I exiled myself here to atone for my crimes…to ensure I could never hurt anyone again…."

"You're wrong, Snake." Sonic knelt down beside the man so they were eye-to-eye. "Everything you did…everything we did…was to protect those we loved. We had no choice; the Microsians just used us as tools to satisfy their lust for world conquest."

"It's true," Diddy said, reflecting on everything that had happened to his former island home. "The real enemy is Microsoft; just because they forced us to fight each other doesn't make you responsible." He extended a hairy hand toward Snake. The man hesitated, as if repulsed by the idea of his own forgiveness, but finally took it. Diddy grinned. "As far as I'm concerned, we're on the same side. And now that we've found you, you can help us do whatever it takes to stop Master Chief once and for all."

However inappropriate it might have been at the moment, the Kongs erupted into a chorus of simian cheers at Diddy's words.

"Let's go blast their metal butts off!" Conker squeaked, waving his machine gun in the air and accidentally shooting a few rounds into the ceiling. They ricocheted and sped across the hangar, eliciting a slightly apologetic look from the squirrel.

Snake thought long and hard about what the newcomers had said. Could this really be happening? Had Nintendo sent its best not to exact vengeance, but to extend the hand of friendship? Was it possible that everything wrong with his world could finally be fixed? It was hard for him to believe…but it was the first shred of hope he'd had in years, and he clung onto it like his last lifeline in spite of the layers and layers of hardened distrust he'd accumulated overtime. Sonic's presence had helped to break through it like a hot knife of promise through his dense crust of skepticism. He nodded.

"Very well. I will help you." He allowed Diddy to help pull him to his feet. "But we are not ready to face Microsoft yet."

"How do we get ready, then?" Banjo asked.

For the first time since the day he lost Meryl, Snake's mouth curved into the faintest inkling of a smile. "First, we must recruit. You Nintendonians think you are the only ones with a team of heroes? It's time…that the Sonian All-Stars reunite once more."