Fox dashes down the hall at top speed. His goal: to find Foxpilot before the crowd gets wild. He soon reaches the room of the author/host, who he finds asleep at the desk with music playing from headphones that are hooked over his ears rather than being inserted in them. He goes over to the dozing guy and shakes him gently. "Hey, F-p, you have to wake up now!"

"Mmmnnh…what're you talking about? It's only…" Foxpilot looks at the clock on his laptop. "Three minutes after the show starts…Oh, crap! Thanks Fox. Let's get back to the stage." The author runs out the door. Knowing he's faster and can catch up, Fox looks at what is on the screen.

"'Andross Slayer?' 'We Fight On?' What is this guy writing?"

"Hello, and welcome to…" Foxpilot lets out a loud yawn. "OOOOOOuuuuuhhhhh… 'scuse me. We're back with 'The Week of Blue Sun,' Chapter 7!" The crowd goes wild. "Yes, thank you. You are all so kind. As are my reviewers. As far as I know from this announcement, I have yet to see one flame for this story. Amazing!" Cheers are let out again. "Yes, it's wonderful. But now, here for the disclaimer is Fox McCloud!" Less cheering occurs, but it's still quite apparent that the crowd want to hear from the pilot. Fox steps out.

"Hi everyone. Foxpilot does not own Smash Bros. or any other licensed content. If he did, he'd be rather rich. That good?" Foxpilot nods. "Okay, now I have a question. Why did you get more cheers than me?"

"Because many fans think your recent games suck. I like them, but…Which reminds me. There's something I've been meaning to say."

"If you tell me to 'do a barrel roll, I will pop you in the jaw."

"Hmm…I like that idea." Foxpilot backhands Fox across the muzzle with a loud smack! "That's for kicking Krystal off the team, you idiot! Wow, that felt good. Pretty sad actually. Meh, moving on. Let it…Begin!"
"Owwwww…"

SSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSB

"It's too hot here." The complaint was only the most recent of many that had pervaded the chamber that the Smashers were in. Around them blazed an intense fire that gave off an odd blue glow. Zelda looked across the room, under the bright light that floated mysteriously in the center. Link, the Hero of Twilight, looked back at the sweating princess and only nodded. They had been trapped in the hellhole for an unknown amount of days. Possibly weeks, even. Most of the Smashers were becoming upset and agitated. It didn't help that they each had a five-foot bubble to walk around in. Orbiting the floating light in the center were more than two dozen glistening and translucent orbs, each guarding their respective Smasher from the heat of the flames above, below, and around them. While the bubbles allowed sound in and blocked most of the heat, it seemed that they didn't let anything tangible out. The Smashers had tried all of the attacks at their disposal, but not even Ganondorf's Warlock Punch could so much as scratch the fields.

Link gave the princess an encouraging smile. It seemed that he wasn't being bothered by the heat as much as others were; that may have been from his experience in the Goron Mines. Link, always optimistic, knew that once the princess of Hyrule lost hope, many of the others would too. Link knew that he was the only one left that could make her smile; oh, how he longed to run over and hug the princess, tell her that everything would get better and that they would be saved before all that was left of the great warriors was charbroiled matter. Still, even Link had his limits. Once Zelda had returned the smile and looked away to assure Lucas, Link cut his gaze to his right. The great Hero of Twilight, reincarnation of the incredible Hero of Time, was running out of hope; he was giving it all to his princess. The only thing that gave Link comfort was that some of the Smashers weren't there. Perhaps they had been spared of this horrible fate.

Zelda's eyes held back tears as she consoled the young PSI psychic. Though timid, Lucas was still brave and was holding up well for the current circumstances. Zelda looked back over at Link. His gaze was on the wall of flames to his right. Zelda, though she wouldn't admit it so easily, loved how those eyes danced in the firelight. Though she could barely see them from their current proximity, or lack thereof, Link's eyes had always been one of his more attractive features. Even as a wolf, those eyes glistened with spirit and integrity. And his heroic efforts had touched her very soul. Even after she had given her physical form in the Twilight Realm to save Midna, his one-time companion, he hadn't stopped looking for her. It was thanks to Link and Midna that she had her life here. Midna had given most of the credit to Link, who had humbly accepted it. He had even seemed embarrassed! Even though they had fought together to defeat Ganondorf, who was several spheres to Zelda's right, the two had never been able to speak openly with one another. Link had returned to his life and Zelda to hers.

When they had been summoned for the Smash Bros. again, they had each entertained some hope of seeing each other again. Their prayers had been answered, and the two had expressed joy at seeing each other again. Secretly, Zelda knew that Link felt the same as she felt for him; it was in his eyes, his movements, and his reactions around her. She just wished that he'd say something already so that they could be open with each other once more.

Zelda looked up at the pulsating ceiling. The more he looked, the more it looked like gas rather than standard fire. It didn't even give off smoke…

SHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSH

The smoke cleared from Ike's viewpoint. The last thing he had seen was a blinding flash that gave off smoke. But before that, he had seen an ovoid shadow drop down from above…

It took Ike a moment to realize he was holding something. He had caught it purely on instinct; his hand hadn't even registered the object until he had looked down. Ike realized that he was holding the shell of a creature. But there was only one creature that had a shell like this!

A bald blue head popped out of the brown-and-tan oval. "Squirtle!" Though the hard backbone was covered in soot, it appeared undamaged. Of course! Squirtle had used withdraw from its post above and leapt down to intercept the missile aimed at Ike! The Pokémon had saved the mercenary's life. "Squir-Squirtle…?" Oh, wait…Ike was holding the tortoise upside-down.

Ike inverted the heroic turtle and set it on the ground, dusting off its shell. "Thanks, Squirtle. You really saved my ass!" Squirtle gave Ike a cheesy thumbs-up before running off. previously, the tiny turtle had been acting as a lookout for more enemy forces, since its small size meant it could easily have been trampled in the confined battle zone. Now, it was headed in Lucario's direction.

Looking up, the powerful mercenary noticed Falco and Amy finishing the last of the half-bots. As Amy smashed the last one with her giant mallet, Falco looked back and smirked. "You owe us, Ike."

Ike smirked and made to stand. Though his back was on fire and exposed to the dust due to a giant hole burned in his clothes, the Greil leader managed to straighten up and wield Ragnell once again. "Tell you what. We'll call it even by me not mentioning that little 'bird incident' ever again." Falco's eyes flashed with fury, but he nodded his head before rejoining the battle.

By now, most of the robots had been smashed, slashed, or otherwise disposed of. Parts littered the battlefield, creating hazards for any living creature unlucky enough to step on or near them. Ike surveyed the clash. Many of the Smashers had taken hits from the surprise missile attack. Marth's arm was badly burned; fortunately it was his left one. Lucario seemed to have taken a direct hit to his chest-spike, as the whole of his front was charred, but he didn't seem to have taken much damage. The coyote-like Pokémon was now conversing with Squirtle. Looking up, it could be seen that Tails had been hit in one of his twin appendages, which hung limply over the edge of the cliff. Strawberry had some cuts on her cheek from where a rock had exploded by her head. Looking back at the main battle, Ike saw that Knuckles' fists were burnt; he'd probably used his amazing strength to block missiles with his gloved, clenched hands. Even more incredible was that he was still punching away at the remaining robots. Ike had to admire his resiliency.

The only warriors that didn't seem to have taken a hit from the barrage were Falco, Amy, Meta Knight, and Sonic. They had been able to escape damage using their innate skills or equipment. These four comprised the main fighting force that had rounded up and, along with Knuckles, had begun finishing the last few androids. Only about five were left.

These five were quickly pounded into scrap. Knuckles lunged forward and decapitated one, which collapsed on the ground. Amy went next, firing the heads off of the one on the far left with her hammer like it was a baseball. Meta Knight used his Dimensional Cape to dodge the gunfire of the third and appeared above the droid, cleaving it's head in two with a downward slash. As the fourth fired, Falco kicked out his reflector. The glowing energy hexagon knocked the missile back into its gun of origin before frying the armor of the robot. The droid remained standing, but was quickly dispatched as Sonic ground down on its head with a Homing Attack. The move ripped apart the casing and exposed wires to the spines of the hedgehog, which severed cables like a knife through noodles. Finally, the last mechanical being tried to charge Falco, seeming to believe he was the biggest threat. This advance was stopped as Knuckles preformed a vicious uppercut that ground through the armor on the front and ripped off the head from below. As the machine fell, Falco muttered something about Knuckles being a "glory hog."

Ike worked his way over to the group. Though damaged and roughed up, the group had managed to survive the onslaught. As congratulations were passed around and wounds were compared, Lucario, who seemed to be having trouble standing, walked over to the group. It was holding its paws around the area of the spike on its chest, and Ike could see that the burns were afflicting the Pokémon desperately. Ike thought back to something Red had once told him: Pokémon, except for fire types and ones with certain abilities were quite vulnerable to burns. This burn covered most of Lucario's front, meaning that the creature was taking constant damage at a high rate. It occurred to the mercenary that Lucario wouldn't be able to fight anymore until the burns were removed. Where before its Aura was only flaring slightly, the flickering indicators around the Fighting/Steel warrior's paws were now blazing brightly. Lucario needed help, and fast.

Marth seemed to have noticed, too, and was about to express his concern when Lucario removed a paw from its abdomen to wave them into silence. The team gathered around the suffering Pokémon as it began to speak through its incredible telepathic powers. "Squirtle has brought it to my attention that there is one more robotic enemy on the way. Though it could not discern any specific level of power or weaponry, Squirtle does believe that this robot is capable of breaking through our rock barriers."

Sonic was not impressed. "So what? We'll just give it a beat-down like we did these other losers! Who's with me?" Falco, Amy, Meta Knight, and Knuckles all expressed their agreement, but the others weren't so sure. It was clear that fighting in their states could be disastrous. After all, there were no doctors around, nor was this a Brawl where all injuries were mitigated for the fighters' safety. The grueling battle had worn down the Smashers' strength, as well as their hopes.

Strawberry, who had stayed on the cliff to get a better look at this incoming enemy, finally joined the group. The left side of the vixen's face was covered in blood-matted fur, but the wounds seemed to have sealed into soft scabs. After calling the attention of the others, Strawberry began to describe the robot.

"This robot is rather tall and has a large head that tapers out slightly towards the top. It doesn't seem to have legs, but kicks up dirt behind it, so it must have some sort of propulsion underneath its wide base. It has what looks like a light upon its left shoulder area and has massive fists. I can't see in color, but the dominant shade can be identified as green for those who can." As Strawberry talked, Amy's face grew continually darker. Eventually her face was completely covered in a shadow of irritation and rage. Noticing this, Marth decided to ask what was wrong.

Amy's response was quiet but full of malice. "I know that robot. It's known as 'Zero.' Eggman made it as the first of the E-100 series. If he sent it after the Emerald, then we have a real problem. That thing is nearly indestructible. We need a large electric force to stop it."

Falco was quick to respond. "Psh! No problem! My blasters and Reflector give off of electric charges. They'll make short work of that rust bucket!"

Amy shook her head slowly and mournfully. "No, these charges have to be massive. I'm talking hundreds of thousands of Joules. If we don't have that, then we can't stop it. My strongest hit with my Piko Piko Hammer didn't even dent it. That's the kind of defense we're talking about. Plus, it can break through walls while barely stopping. We need some way to zap it hard, or else we can only knock it off balance."

As the group began to despair, Tails had an idea. "The plane! It uses an electric motor! If you can push it down the mountain to where the plane is, I can zap it with wires and we can end this robot once and for all!" The fighters' faces crossed with different emotions. Some had worry, some had fear, but all of them had at least a glimmer of determination and resolve. It wasn't a perfect plan given their current conditions, but it was all they had.

SHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSH

Tails had made for the bottom of the mountain where the plane was. He had expressed his regret that he couldn't just hover down, but with one of his tails burned horribly, nobody was going to blame him. The fox was being escorted by Sonic; that is to say, Sonic was dragging Tails down the mountain at top speed, leaving the odd vulpine to trail like a pennant in the wind. The other four uninjured fighters were travelling down the mountain trail in order to head off Zero before it could get too far. Amy had begun to detail the attacks the large robot would throw at them so that the warriors would be ready at a moment's notice for anything the mechanized titan could throw at them. The wounded Smashers were trailing behind so as to keep out of the fighting while still remaining capable of catching up or, if need be, receive help.

Before too long, Falco, the tallest of the bunch, was able to see the biplane from a vantage point near a break in the rocks. Tails was there working on the engine, but there was no sign of Sonic. Falco figured that the annoying rodent had gone off to fight Zero on his own, the annoying little freak. As he turned around, he saw the blue hedgehog in question chatting with Knuckles almost casually. Hiding his shock, Falco rushed to catch up to Meta Knight, who had been leading the charge. The warrior didn't seem to have taken damage, but close inspection showed that his mask had taken a large amount of pitting from the shrapnel caused by exploding robots.

"So, do ya think the kid'll have the engine thing rigged up by the time we're there?" Falco was confident in their ability to push Zero down the slope, but he wondered how someone like Tails, who clearly wasn't much of a fighter, would hold up against the pain of his burnt tail while modifying an engine.

"I think that it is best that we don't think about it. We just have to have fai--." Meta Knight was cut off by the need to dodge a rock coming in from down the trail. Using his Dimensional Cape again, the short warrior phased out of the way as the boulder crashed down on where he once was. He appeared behind Sonic and Knuckles and pulled out Galaxia, instantly ready to counterattack.

The group of warriors looked down the trail and saw the origin of the boulder. Settled next to a large divot of a radius similar to that of the rock was a large robot. Its green paint glistened in the sunlight and dust floated off of its fingers, swirling in the gentle breeze. Amy's attitude quickly descended to anger. "Zero…"

The pink hedgehog immediately rushed forth, hammer held high for a crushing blow. She never made it. The droid slammed its massive fists into the ground, creating a shockwave that threw the unfortunate creature onto her back. As she fell, Amy lost her grip on her hammer, which landed on her left hand. Though the only force propelling the hammer was gravity, the other fighters could hear a sickening crunch as bone broke under the mallet's considerable mass. Amy's screams of pain grated against the ears or other hearing organs of the present beings. Even Tails looked up from his work a mile down the mountain. The only one not affected was Zero, who, sensing an opportunity, began to charge forward.

As Zero reached Amy, it was met with a surprise hit from the Piko Piko Hammer. Having no concept of emotion, the robot didn't realize that the screams had changed from pain to sheer rage. Amy's hit, though only half as powerful due to only being able to use one hand, still knocked the droid back several feet. The healthy warriors took this as their cue to launch their counteroffensive.

Knuckles, Meta Knight, and Sonic charged forth first, using fists, blade, and spinning spines to force Zero on the defensive. Falco came next, side-smashing the robot with all of his might. The robot shrank from the onslaught, but didn't run. Amy followed up with another right-handed swing of her giant mallet. Each blow kept the droid off balance long enough for the next warrior to deliver a blow. Fists flew, a Reflector was kicked, and handheld weapons worked their hardest to push back the automaton to keep it away from the prize it so desperately desired.

Zero wouldn't be beaten so easily, though. About a third of the way down, from the initial position, Zero managed to get a punch through the desperate offensive push to smash Meta Knight in the face. Though the Star Warrior's mask took most of the damage, the blue sphere was forced back into the opposing trail wall.

There was no time to stop to be concerned. Marth, who could wield Falchion one-handed, took Meta Knight's place just as Zero was about to break through. The Altean noble used a Dancing Blade to keep the robot from breaking through. This stunned the robot long enough to let Amy and Knuckles use a joint attack to knock the droid back a little farther than it had started.

As the battle dragged on, the sun went from midday to early afternoon. The Smashers were now nearly at the plane, but their fatigue had begun showing long ago. The force of narrowly-dodged punches had ripped off fur, feathers, and clothes, even scraping off skin painfully. The once well-groomed fighters were now ragged and tired. Sweat poured off of them in small rivers as the sun beat down on them and their exhaustion increased. Amy had retired to nurse her hand, which had swollen and torn her glove across the top of her hand. Meta Knight had, fortunately, caught up and was able to replace her. The Star Warrior's mask was cracked somewhat, but the Smasher seemed otherwise unharmed.

Finally, the group forced Zero around the last bend and caught sight of the biplane. They only had a few hundred feet to go before Tails could connect the robot to the wires, which were sparking in the fox's hands.

Falco took the first leap and knocked Zero back a several feet with his Reflector. Knuckles followed up with bleeding hands, placing a punishing blow in the center of the robot. This was followed by a joint sword strike by Marth and Meta Knight. The two got in close and swung their blades at the droid's center, causing two metallic clangs in tandem with one another. The strength of this sent Zero far back, almost to the plane. As Tails ran forward to finish the aggravating automaton, the robotic minion performed another ground-shaking pound with its fists. At point blank range, Tails had no chance to dodge. He was bowled over and the wires were released from his grasp. The other fighters were able to jump over the shockwave, but the fact remained that the wires were now too dangerous to grab.

Tails got up and ran towards the plane in an attempt to shut off the engine. If he could cut the power, restart the plane, and grab the wires quickly enough, the plan could still work. Falco, Sonic, Knuckles, and Meta Knight all took this in within seconds. Marth, not being uused to electricity, made an attempt to knock Zero into the flailing wires. It almost worked; as Marth knocked the robot off balance one more time with a Shield Breaker, Tails shut down the engine and the wires stopped their dangerous dance just centimeters away from frying the droid.

The whole field stood still for a moment; even Zero seemed to sense that there had been an awkward lapse in the warriors' plan. The robot took advantage of the pause and made to grab Marth, who dodged back just before the massive hands closed around him.

"C'mon, c'mon," Tails muttered to himself as the engine began to warm up again. Sonic had grabbed the wires and was ready to nail Zero at any moment. The robot was still focusing on Marth, who had just countered one of the automaton's punches. But that was about it for the swordsman. Once the swipe was ended, Marth fell to one knee, the great Falchion planted blade-down in the earth. The royal descendent of Anri had used the last of his strength to keep the automated creation of Eggman from caving his face in. Now E-100 Alpha, aka "Zero," loomed over him. Marth could almost see the victory in the robot's dead eyes.

'So this is it, I die in the hands of a creature of metal protecting my friends. So be it.' Marth closed his eyes, waiting as the long moment between the robot's lunge and his death stretched out into infinity. As he waited, almost impatiently, for his doom, Marth heard a loud thrumming, thunder-like sound and the crackle of lightning. The air around him became charged; he could feel the ions brushing against his skin. Death had a rather strange feel, like that time he had been blasted by that one mage's Thunder spell…but there was no pain. Only an ear-shattering metallic screech told him that something strange was happening.

Marth's eyes flew open. In front of him, mere feet from his face, Zero was convulsing wildly as electricity coursed through its body. Marth looked towards the "thunder." The plane! Tails had managed to get the plane engine started just in time for the swordsman. Suddenly, Marth saw the ground below him move. Turning his head, he caught a glimpse of blue feathers as the scenery changed rapidly. Falco was dragging him away from the automaton.

And not a moment too soon. Zero's screams went so high that Tails had to cover his ears. The robot then began to explode in a brilliant fireball of burning machinery. As suddenly as the tank of a droid had appeared, all of its mechanical life ended. The screaming stopped as overloaded circuits roasted the droid inside out, turning it into a pile of slag.

For several long moments everything was still, the only sound being the hum of the biplane's engine, which slowly began to wind down. As the motor stopped humming, Marth became vaguely aware of laughter behind him. The chuckles became full-blown peals of mirth. Falco's voice was soon joined by Knuckles', then Sonics, then Marth's own. Soon, the entire field seemed to be shaking with the victory over the mechanical monster that once was E-100 "Zero" Alpha.

SHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSH

"Are you sure you have to go so soon?" Tails' eyes were pleading, but they also showed that he understood. Sonic rested an open palm on his younger friend's head.

"Sorry, Tails, but we've still got a mission to finish. Plus, hopefully the next area will have some medical place where we can rest." Sonic had made a valid point. Most of the Smashers had burns that would need treatment. Lucario's burn had ended up worse than anyone thought. The jackal-like Aura master was now draped limply in Ike's arms, fainted from the constant burn damage. Marth was being helped by Falco, and Strawberry was trying unsuccessfully to lick the blood off of her face. Most of the Smashers were in no condition to fight anymore, but they had to go on. Their friends and their shared world were all at stake.

"I understand. Just be careful, alright?" Tails bumped fists with Sonic as Strawberry lead the way towards the ruins. She was followed by Ike and Lucario, then Meta Knight, then Squirtle, then Marth and Falco, who exchanged a violent glance with Knuckles. Leave it to Lombardi to start a rivalry with one of their most potent allies. Sonic waved goodbye one last time as he raced off to catch up with the rest of the group.

As the Smashers retreated towards the temple, Amy, hand cradled in a sling whipped up by Tails, looked at her two friends. "I hope they'll be alright. Of course, Sonic's with them, so they'll be fine." Tails just grinned while Knuckles shook his head. Some things never changed, no matter how strange the circumstances were.

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"Oh my lord, I'm sorry that I took so long. Things have kept popping up and this was the best chance I had to finish this chapter, which sat half-done for way too long. Okay, time to explain.

"'Zero' is Amy's final boss and continual tormentor in Sonic Adventures. He's nearly indestructible and was only beaten when shocked by an electric fence. I figured that he could be rebuilt and used here, since he was basically a success except for poor circumstances. Also, the robots from last chapter and the start of this one are based off or E-102 Gamma, Zero's 'younger sibling,' so to speak. It's been copied a lot, so I figured I'd copy him again! How original, right?

"Third, Anri is Marth's ancestor. He receives Falchion 100 years ago and used it to be a hero. More on that when we reach Altea…oh, crap, I gave away a chapter XD!

"Finally, most of us know what happens when we leave a Pokémon out of its Pokeball for too long when it has a damaging condition. It loses health and eventually faints. That holds true for Lucario, as does the fact that he'll need a Revive or a Pokémon Center before he wakes up. Sorry, fans.

"The little LXZ part at the beginning is a gift for my friend and constant reviewer, LxZrulez. Thank you! Also, thanks to those who reviewed my April Fool's Day songfic. I still sing it, though I have to look up my lyrics again XP. But that's easy since I have them!

"Ciao chow, people. I don't know when I'll have the next chapter out, but I'll be sure to write it eventually. Auf Wiedersehen!"