Okay, Last time on Saint Zearth, We saw a Mary Sue become de-sue'd, The Elements of the show finally came together, and we had to say goodbye to one of the Rangers. And now, the first episode without our shining light Sarah...

Reevee21: Please stop with all the sadness - oh wait, this is kind of a mourning chapter. Huh. You know what, I think this is a great example of how an author uses their own emotion and experience in a book - *Accidentally walks off stage again* (CRASH! CRACK) ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-

1: Tears of the Light - Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep
2: Sit Boy - Inu-Yasha
3: Gourmet Race - Kirby (Smash Bros. Remix)
4: Lord Koyemshi (Y'know, that theme when Koyemshi first shows up in:) - Bokurano
5: To The Factory - Code Lyoko
6: Indiana - Wolf's Rain
7: Beaming Sunlight - Fullmetal Alchemist
8: A Happy Scene - Madoka Magica

Twas Late into the night at the Komoda residence, Daughter Takami has told her parents. the story thus far.

"I never expected you kids to get caught up something as big as what's happening right now..." stated father Kouichi.

"The fact that children like you are moving such a monsterous thing amases me to no end," added mother Sakura. "and we're so sorry about what happened tonight."

"At first, We were told it was a game. We signed up for it, unaware of the drastic consequences that it entailed." murmured Takami. "But we're more than prepared to make up for what we've done."

"Either way, what matters now is that you contact the police and tell them the story you've told." spoke the father. "I've already lobbied to start an investigation, establishing a counterforce headquarters for the case in question."

"You don't believe me...do you, father" said Takami. "Have I ever lied to you like every other member of the senate?!"

"Alright, I get it. Calm down, Takami. You're honest, kind and very precious to my heart. You've never even lied in your life. I'll see what I can do, I promise to look into whatever the government has planned for this operation." assured Kouichi, bringing a hope to his daughter before glancing to his wife. "I guess having my secretary's assistance would be a help."

She nodded yes as he looked at his watch. "Would you give her a call to see if she's still at the office?"

Dairantou Saint Zearth

Reach into your soul
embrace the power of the stars
pushing onward
with your strength
we await our
miracles

We must never fail
Lest our home would feel our pain
There's a world far away
'Tis our final destination

Praise the Helix Fantasy
for it shall reach beyond your dreams!
use the wings of your heart
to ascend to the world
where miracles come true

Saint Zearth! Even if we're just children...
Saint Zearth! New heroes we will soon become, Oh Yeah!
Saint Zearth! The Dieties shall guide us
Saint Zearth! Keep Going! Go Fly Away!

Episode 4: The Secret

Chapter One: Absent Friend

Kirie is writing down stuff in his journal, noting that nothing has really changed about his life... except, of course, for the obvious.

At first he wanted to go see Kako, but Kirie stayed put, afraid of the bullying Kako might deal to him.

Then he thought of something to cook for his dear mother—stir-fried rice—but she's already planning to make curry.

Kirie was lost on what to make of it, but his mother gave him an unmarked box, "It's probably Kazu's" she said. "Say thank you the moment you see her, okay..."

Kirie took out the gift and saw a figurine of this young woman with blonde hair, and clad in blue and white garb you'd see in days of ancient Rome, but the thing that caught his attention was her face. She seemed as brave as his cousin... She would always protect him whenever she's in town. She was kind and smart, not to mention a snark surpreme. But the thing that made Kazu special was that she would never give up on him.

He put the trophy up the highest shelf within reach and gave it little mind, unaware that the figurine's eyes started glaring at him.

The Waku residence was relatively quiet this morning. And yet nothing has changed about the scenery, Aqua was still struggling to clip her bra on, Ninten was still serving breakfast, Junko was still prepping herself and her husband for work. So what was missing?

Takashi's smile.

1

The boy merely stared at his plate of Bacon and Eggs, thinking about Sarah and the past week and a half she's lived out with the group.

"Takashi?" This snapped the boy out of his trance and directed his attention to Aqua, who had just snapped her Bra on and is now putting on the undershirt of her uniform. "Bust a move, kid. You don't want to be late to school again, do ya?"

He nodded and took a bite out of his toasted egg. Tears began to flow, Alerting the Parents.

"Takashi, don't tell me you're-" Aqua stopped herself at that point to prevent any proverbial bean-spilling from occuring.

"What's wrong, don't you like your breakfast?" Ninten asked.

"Course I like it, It tastes great as always..." Takashi sobbed. "I'm alive... That's how I know... Your cooking tastes so good, Dad."

"Yesterday, at 10:15pm, a behemoth appeared off the coast of Martyr Bay not too far from the Tri-State Area." The reporter stated on the screen before showing a shaky hand-held video of the previous battle. Anko shyed away from the sight of the Mech they've fended off for it had reminded her of Sarah.

Alas, they wouldn't receive much help fending off such tough memories as she (alongside Grace, Machi and Kana) were questioned about the incident at a burger joint. "We were scared, we just... didn't know what to do in when the attack came our way, y'know."

"Yeah, it must have been pretty rough for you girls, having survived what happened and all..." The man said nonchalantly. "It was scary for you girls, too, right."

"It's not too clear what I recall had happened that night," Machi mentioned. "All I do recall is that someone special was with us at the Freddy Fazbear's at sundown who was missing by the time we came back that evening."

"I really hate to say it, but I'm drawing a blank, too." Grace cheerful added, despite the fact that deep down, she was hiding a depression towards losing Sarah that rivaled that which is shown on Anko's mopey expression as she saw her father continue his report.

"With 128 victims injured and 2600 confirmed dead, this will shape up to be a disaster that will be recorded in the anals of history, even with the victims that are unaccounted for."

Sora couldn't help but look out the window, someone made the giant robot and someone sent in the familiar. He figured that someone is beyond the stars, so he dials Ushiro's number to see if he knows a viable answer to his question. "What is up with M.Z.?" choosing to keep the abbreviation intact.

"Who knows?" Ushiro replied. "It came here, It's being pursued by enemy after enemy, Kokopelli dropped it off for us to continue the fight, at least."

"Look, I get that, it's just..." Sora sighed as he rubbed his temples, "What with what recently happened with Sarah, I just can't stop thinking about the thing."

"I thought I told you it was an accident!" Ushiro reminded.

"Yeah, We've been over this plenty of times." "It's just that...how do you feel about Sarah?"

Ushiro's mind raced back to his mother every time he saw Sarah smile, but he couldn't let Sora know that! "...can't say."

Sora became silent, disappointed that he may never know Sarah's Impact on Ushiro.

"Look, I'm not too much into heavy thinking," Ushiro groaned as he got a glass of water. "So just ask your friends, they'd probably have a much better answer for you."

"And if I'm not satisfied?" Sora asked.

"Well...we're just gonna have to wait and see."

Marco got better and better at sparking the toys as the days flew by, and could eventually do it without passing out. Freya revealed the smasher's stories to him, though how she did it so accurately was beyond the group. Caitlyn speculated it had something to do with the dark circles forming under her twin's eyes...

Speaking of Caitlyn, she and Cress were about the second most dangerous stunt possible by a child...

...they've already done the first in the previous episode and they'll be doing it again about three episodes down the road.

2

"Ready for this?" Cress stated in a humorously serious manner.

"Y-yes, I think so..." Caitlyn gulped nervously.

"One of us might die..." Cress narrowed his eyes at their fate, the mid-sized door in the ceiling leading to the attic. "It'll probably be you."

"What?!" Caitlyn whimpered.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" Cress laughed. "The worst in there is just a huge load of dust. The worst that could happen to us is an extra shower."

"Oh," Caitlyn nodded before perking up. "And you say there might be more of the smashers in there?"

"Smashers? When did we start calling them Smashers?" Cress repeated in a confused manner.

"It's just what me and Freya call them, since they're pretty powerful for such little guys," Caitlyn answered.

"Ah," Cress nodded, heading up the ladder as he spoke. "That's actually not a half-bad name."

Meanwhile, in the playroom itself, there was solid evidence that Freya and Caitlyn's name wasn't a half-bad idea. Marco had taken a break from working with the bouncy, ever-cheerful Jigglypuff to watch the exchange, which Harold was documenting and Freya was narrating.

It all started earlier that morning, when Harold had smuggled in a plate of breakfast for the smashers to try out. The resident bottomless pits, Yoshi and Kirby namely, had both gone after the same piece of egg. They wrestled over it for a bit, then switched to more unique tactics; Yoshi had used his tongue to eat Kirby himself and seal him in an egg, while Kirby had vacuumed in the dinosaur and spat him out over the edge of the table. If it wasn't for Yoshi's odd, kicking jump, he would have been done for.

Since they refused to go over more gentle measures, the two were about to head into a full-on brawl with one of the tables as the field. A few 'hazards', like pencils or knocked-over cups, had also been laid out on the field for sport. The other ten, Mewtwo, and the kids were watching, perched about various locations.

"Alright, just so you two don't kill each other..." Marco snapped his fingers about a foot above the tabletop, which in return made an odd shield of blue appear that surrounded the edges and top. It faded out of view after a few seconds, but not out of mind.

"WHOA!" several smashers awed.

"What was that?" Ness asked.

"I learned that protection spell when I was working with you guys," Marco explained. "If one of them flies out of the boundaries, they get K.O-ed. The more they get hit, the farther they fly with each hit, the greater a chance that they'll get knocked out by the barrer and loose. Think of it like the ring of a sumo wrestling match or something."

"Oh, so they don't murder each other?" Fox summarized. "I guess that's cool."

"Okay, winner takes all!" Freya declared as Harold held his hands out over the field. Yoshi was in one, doing some tongue-stretching-exercises; Kirby was in the other, looking ready to bolt at Yoshi.

"Three..."

Harold dropped Yoshi first, who rolled into an egg and hit the field with style.

"Two..."

Kirby was next, and didn't disappoint with his hitting-the-ground-as-a-star act.

"One..."

The smashers gazed excitably, Jigglypuff leaning forward on Marco's head to get a better look but failing and floating into his waiting hands instead.

"GO!" Freya called.

3

The two were on each other in an instant, and a fast-paced battle ensued. Kirby landed threesomes of punches as fast as lightning, knocking Yoshi away early. The dinosaur just tucked into an egg-covered roll and smashed into Kirby instead, dealing just as much damage. Kirby jumped onto one of the cups and hopped over Yoshi, formed into a stone and crushing the unsuspecting fighter. Yoshi wiggled out from under Kirby and licked him up with a "bum", spitting him back across the field.

The two went on and on, a chaotic fight to the naked eye. But Harold noticed something more; each fighter was using his own specialized attacks over and over, but in such a manner it was more of an at-their-disposal type way instead of a patterned one.

For instance, Kirby's rock attack was used several times and was executed in the same general way; jump up, float over, and crash down. It was like they had a move set in their head, as the girls would put it.

Maybe that's how he would put it too...

He took out his trusty clipboard with a gleam in his eye and sketched an image of Kirby's "down special" attack.

"Maybe you're right...maybe one of us will die in here... L-Like Sarah..." Caitlyn murmured nervously, ringing her hands to hopefully lessen the pain of the splinters. "Although I don't know if it'll be me..."

"Relax!" Cress hollered from the other side of the attic. "The last time I was up here, there wasn't anything alive!"

A mouse promptly scurried the room, one that had somehow escaped the killing spree from days ago. Both siblings saw it, their gaze following it as it dove back into the insulation.

"...okay, nothing dangerous and alive. I promise!" Cress quickly added.

"Alright...what did the crate look like?" Caitlyn asked, shoving away a shoebox with her foot.

"Uh, it was around your height," he relayed, pushing away a tower of boxes, "just an ordinary, wooden crate. It has an open lid and a broken broom next to it, though."

"A broken broom?"

"Long story."

Caitlyn nodded and squeezed past two large stacks, looking around harder for a crate with her brother's description. She wasn't sure what else would be in it, or what she was hoping would be in it; more of the smashers? Extra pairs of those strange gloves her brothers had? More of the magic cloth Nakama used to make the Kyuseiger suits? Who knew...?

Her toe knocked against a wooden pole, making her look down while still in thought. She snapped back to reality as soon she realized the pole was actually a broom-one with a broken tip. And the broom was next to an ordinary, wooden crate with a broken lid.

"I found it!" she called to Cress.

While Cress stumbled over the obstacles between them, falling on his face every now and then if a particular box got in the way, Freya peered into the crate. It contained little more than three intricately-decorated, small chests and a ton of dust, but that was mainly because of a tanned tarp covered the lower levels of the box.

Cress finally caught up to her and looked in as well, picking up one of the two chests with a curious hum. "Weird," he muttered, looking it over. "I don't remember this being in there..."

"That's because you barely remember stuff at all!" Caitlyn giggled, taking the other.

Cress ignored her and furrowed his brow at the box. It, too, had the family emblem on it; but unlike the rather plain chest that the smashers had been inside, this one had a coat of silver paint and etchings in a detailed, braiding pattern. There was some sort of name etched into the bottom, but it was in a foreign language...

"What's in yours? Mine just feels...powerful," Caitlyn asked. It was true; her box was a dark shade but with strange, rainbow edges, and gave off a somewhat strong pulse of energy.

"I have no idea," he answered, holding it up to his ear and shaking it slightly. His eyes widented when he heard a whispering from inside. "I...I think it might be alive," he added.

"Maybe it's a smasher!" Caitlyn gasped.

"Let's find out!" Cress declared, yanking the paperclip he had brought along out of his pocket. After a few tense minutes of lock-picking, the only item between them and whatever was in the box gently snapped off. "Dunanana dunanana dunanana dunanana-"

"What are you doing?" Caitlyn asked, dumbfounded at the odd ringtone.

"...it just feels like instinct to open a chest with that music playing," Cress shrugged, flipping the lid open plainly.

An unexpected rush, like a stange wind, poured out of the box as soon as it was opened. Both of them yelped and shielded their eyes when a bright light flashed from it, bathing the attic in white. Cress ended up dropping the box in surprise. It only lasted a second, and then everything was back to how it was before they opened the box...albeit there was now dust floating everywhere from the odd gust.

"What-what was that?!" Caitlyn coughed.

"I don't know! But let's get out of here!" Cress shouted, gasping for breath. "I can't breathe!"

The two darted out, covering their mouths and eyes the whole way, Caitlyn still clutching the other box tightly.

Back downstairs, the battle seemed to be dying down. Both warriors were damaged to very high degrees, and it would only take a good knock from the other to send one flying. Everyone else was watching wide-eyed, flinching at every good hit, and just waiting for their balanced brawl to be over.

Except Harold, who was seemingly ignoring the taunts and hits like they were background music and was entirely focused on lining up the other smashers' blank movesets. He had no idea what skills they were holding back, only occasional glimpses; one time Fox had been knocked off a table, but propelled himself back up in a torpedo of flame.

Suddenly, the door slammed open and a dusty-looking Cress and Caitlyn ran in. They slammed the door behind them, Caitlyn falling against it while Cress ran to the others. Pure panic was in all their eyes at the state of the two, Freya immediately coming to Caitlyn's side; leaving the three boys to talk.

"Whoa, what happened to you?!" Marco exclaimed.

"Long...story..." Cress breathed. "But I might...have accidentally...cursed the house."

"WHAT?!" everyone shouted, the speech-challenged smashers even yelping at the word 'curse'. Link's left hand instinctively wrapped itself around his sword's handle, having experienced many absolutely wonderful hexes in the past. One left his voice in this shakey state, and he can still barely form a word without it cracking.

"Whaddya mean, you 'cursed the house'?! How does one ACCIDENTALLY curse a house?!" Mario shouted.

Cress was about to speak up and tell the whole story when a sudden clamor, yelp, and very minor explosion from the field caught their attention. Yoshi's limp doll state hit the floor and went still, Kirby giving a victory cheer from the table.

"Aw, we missed the climax," Fox sighed.

Someone new made their prescence known that very instant, after the two girls had rejoined the table and Fox lamented about their loss. He had actually been there fore a while, watching the battle, remembering the skirmishes these characters have been in before. And he made himself known in a vary startling way...

"GAME!"

"AUUUUUUUGH!" "HOLY MILTANK!" "WHATWHOWHERE?!"

A much less startling chuckle, emanating in such a way that the whole room seemed to be laughing, rung in the group's ears. Cress was clutching the table in a death grip, Harold had fallen to his knees and was staring at the ceiling, Marco's chair was overturned and he lay groaning, the girls were hugging each other for dear life (not as tightly as they expected as they've seen worse things happen in the previous episode); Link, Mewtwo, and Ness' hands were clamped on their heads with pained expressions, Jigglypuff and Pikachu were staring around them in wonderment, Mario was shify-eyeing the whole area, Fox's blaster was smoking from a shot, Samus had a hand on 'his' arm cannon, Kirby blinked in confusion, Yoshi was a doll, and Donkey Kong and Luigi were cowering.

"...Creeeeeeess," Samus hissed.

"We just opened one of the boxes," Caitlyn whimpered in protest, "it was whispering, we thought it was another one of you, a-and-"

"You are all seriously overreacting to this," the same voice sighed. It had a masculine tone and sounded somewhat raw, like it had been shouting commands like that his whole life.

4

"...Okay, which box did you open?" Mario demanded Cress.

"Uh, it was silver...had all these weird carvings," Cress relayed, shaping his hands in explination, "there was some name or something on the bottom-"

"UGH! IT'S YOU!" Ness shouted, pointing at the roof of the room. "I SWEAR, that first time around, you gave me a freakin' MIGRANE!"

"I've gotten better!" the voice protested. It was clear he was speaking through some means of telepathy, or else Link wouldn't look so distressed and Mewtwo wouldn't be so puzzled.

"No, Announcer," Ness winced with the exclamation, "you really haven't."

"The Announcer? What?" Harold blinked.

"Okay, long story short, some idiot in the village had been messing in one of the temples," Fox began. "A bunch of weird curse stuff later, we have THIS IDIOT-" Fox raised his arms into the air at that name. "-shouting out who won or who lost or whatever."

"I have a title, you know. And what's a disembodied voice to do when he's locked up in a chest?" the Announcer grumbled. "Speaking of which, beware that young girl's cargo...BEWARE..."

"Caitlyn, what's he yappin 'bout?" Harold asked.

"Maybe this?" Caitlyn inquired, setting the chest she still had on the table. Marco had deactivated the barrier by then, meaning the chest could be placed in front of them without any resistance.

"Hey! I thought we lost those in the trade!" Ness laughed at the sight.

"Oh, so you know what's inside?" Marco inquired after setting his chair back up.

Donkey Kong ook-ed something in response, strolled over, and flipped open the lid. Pikachu jumped right over him and launched itself into the box, knocking a handful of the items out.

"Oh my gods! Smallest baseball bat EVER!" Cress gasped, holding a wooden rod looking much like one between his fingertips. It was exactly half a finger long and looked rather harmless...

"Hey, everything's in here!" Luigi spoke up, head-deep in the items. Said items were rather odd; large paper fans, barrels and crates, tomatoes with the letter M stamped on the front, heart-shaped gems rimmed in gold, bombs with legs and eyes, turtle shells of red or green, rods tipped with stars, beam swords, the list went on and on.

"What the heck are those? Trophies? Figures?" Harold asked, picking up a bottle-shaped capsule with something red inside.

"No, they're items! And they do stuff like this," Ness stated, snatching the bottle from Harold's finger and smashing it on the ground. A Small explosion ensued, knocking the recovering Yoshi off the table again. Several more of the items were left behind, one of which being a baseball bat that Ness gladly accepted. He rushed over to the box and took out a small sandback about as tall as himself, then proceeded to drag it over to a clear spot on the table.

"...OKAY, NINE INNINGS, THE SCORE'S TIED, COME ON NESS, WE NEED THIS, WE NEED THIS NESS, COME ON, COME ON, COME ON," the Announcer narrated as Ness prepared to swing the bat.

The young boy hit it full-force and spot-on, sending it flying across the room-

CRASH!

-and right through the window. All eyes instantly went to the hole left behind by the impact, jagged and branching cracks like a tree's roots. A breeze began blowing through it, whistling through the smaller cracks; they would have noticed, if they weren't so petrified in fear of the punishment.

"Oh, crud," Marco gulped.

"...Cress, Marco?!" the boys' mother called from downstairs. "Was that one of you?!"

"Of course she blames me first," Cress sighed.

"Hey, you broke the living room lights twice," Marco muttered back.

"We're hosed," Harold whimpered. "My mom normally doesn't care if I break stuff, but on your turf..."

"We mighthavepossiblyaccidentallybrokenawindow!" Marco yelled back quickly.

"You did what now?" her voice was closer now, probably a few steps from the door-they could hear her coming.

Acting swift, Freya swept her arm across the table so that the Smashers were knocked off the table. This was met with several "hey!" and "we can hide ourselves, you know!" before they scurried off. All except Mewtwo, Pikachu, and Jigglypuff; Mewtwo gathered the other two creatures before encasing himself in a purple glow and vanishing into thin air, taking the unsuspecting Pokémon with him. Unknown to the bewildered kids, he teleported to the entrance of an old mouse hole and led them to the girl's room.

The four sibling's mother, a young woman with black hair, opened a small opening in the door befor swinging it open and gasping at the broken window.

"I can totally explain everything!" Cress shouted, jumping in front of the window with his arms flailing before ultimately falling on his side. He pulled an awkward smile and a pose after the impact, since falling on his side happened every now and then he was used to it. "there was this ball, you see, and Freya-"

"Hey!" from Freya's side of the story.

"-bounced it too hard towards the window," Cress continued.

"Alright then-will you get off the floor? There's glass over there!" she groaned.

Cress scrambled to his feet and strutted back over to the others less than casually. Freya was glaring daggers and Harold was hiding a laugh under a cough, Caitlyn was still bewildered and Marco groaned in his facepalm.

5

Kodama crossed the street to the real estate agency building his father had owned, walking up the receptionist at the lobby to see him at his office. After a brief phone call, the receptionist directed him to the elevator where he collected his thoughts.

Lives are created in a constant cycle of survival and desolation. Sarah was a soul destined for survival, and yet it the soul destined for Destruction: that of Takashi Waku-that managed to survive while the shining light of the chosen would be the one to perish that night. To say that I was amazed by this was an understatement, I knew he was meant to die especially after seeing his father at work.

DING!

The Boy walked into the room where he awaited the end of his father's meeting. Kodama looked to the door as an argument ensued.

"At this rate, we've gotta land this deal right now before we're forced by the law to kiss those permits goodbye!" hollared a familiar voice. "You go call the chairman this instant!"

"Stop this, Father!"

"Why should I?"

"If we make a bid for Mount Wukonga now, we'll be chewed up by those eHippies and eaten alive by public unrest!" argued Shinichi, Masaru's elder brother.

"eHippies? Seriously?!" complained Shoukachi "You think I'd bend over backwards for a group that put an 'e' in front of a 70s subculture just to sound important."

"Says the dastard who calls the US Congress a gaggle of easily-manipulated shoobies on a regular basis!" snarked Shinichi. "Arn't you forgetting that society's been panicking since that behemoth showed up?! If you're really thinking of buying up a sliced-up mountain at a time like this...!"

"Who cares about that blasted contraption?" Shoukachi declared as proud as he could. "I'm just supplying Society with a restoration of the devastated land it needs right now."

"What makes you think this 'restoration' plan would require a freakin' golf course?!" roared Shinichi.

"It's been completely flattened by the attack last week," reminded Shoukachi "We can't just leave it all barren and empty like that."

"Well, that mountain is a crown jewel of mother nature! And has withstood the damaging decay of Mankind's powers of industrialization!" fumed a woman with platinum blonde hair.

"The least you could do is ask for a nature preserve so that the community can have a place to relax!" Added Shinichi.

"Well, the least you can do is let me add this country club so that this place can actually turn a profit." Shoukachi rebutted.

"So what you're saying is that you'll do whatever it takes to squeeze money out of anything you get your mitts on?!" Shinichi roared in anger.

"Isn't the job of a realtor investing in real estate?" Shoukachi barked back.

"Screw this blasted scam!" Shinichi fumed as he stormed out of the room in a huff.

"Blast it, Shinichi! This is how you repay me for making you the senior director of the family business?!" Shoukachi roared in anger as the fellow walked away, resulting in the old man sighing to himself "Sometimes, that boy doesn't get it..."

At that moment, he glanced at Masaru, smiling that his favorite son had come to visit at such a pivotal moment. After the meeting was finished, the two went to MgRonalds to gorge on a Flame Broiled Bopper (Shoukachi) and a Bacon Ultima Bopper (Masaru) each with a big ol' plate each of bacon cheddar potato wedges and an Ice Cream Shake as well (Oreo for Masaru, Strawberry for Shoukachi) with the father buying himself a little Chocolate Overdose Cake for himself.

Shinichi and other brother Kyomaru both hate my father, Both have different reasons but they all boil down to one thing: As the city's resident contractor, The only thing Dad cares about is Victory. Master of Greed, and looks down on his underlings. If my father wants something out of life, he'll do whatever it takes to get it. That's how I know he is a chosen man.

That's how I understand why my brothers hate him so much.

The playroom was evacuated, and the girls took any toys they 'needed'; the kids somehow got away without a punishment, most likely because they were just playing around (as far as the adults knew) and didn't mean any harm to the window itself. It would need to be repaired, a difficult task considering it was on the second story, but only a fraction of the window was broken-a small tarp was put up to block out the incoming winds.

They didn't see the smashers for a good while afterwards, though.

They knew it wasn't beacause Freya had shoved them off, as she had meant well and they had survived worse. The mouse holes provided ways out, so it couldn't have been because they were trapped, even with all the adults now focused on it and putting a general no-fly zone over the place. In fact, Mewtwo was probably already leading the smaller Pokemon to safety.

So what could possibly trap ten very capable fighters in a room where exits were available?

Fear.

An emotion he felt when he saw the face of that one night.

Koyemshi.

The only solice he had was that he was present to act as a channel to connect to a nearby friend, which happened to be Moji, crossing the street with his friends gossiping about the project.

'Hey, Moji?' Marco asked telepathically. 'We need to talk...'

'Not now, Marco. Not in front of my friends...' Moji glared at his comrade with a look of concern. 'Maybe we can talk at the wake later today.'

6

"We've got to get out of here," Samus spoke quietly from his spot behind a tabl leg. He held a defensive stance, legs poised to bolt and arm cannon at the ready, though being caught by one of the adults would lead to disaster.

"Are you sure?" Luigi asked, pressed against the wood leg just adjacent to Samus. "We don't know what's out there..."

"Mewtwo says it's safe," Ness offered. "And he's a pretty reliable cat, if you ask me."

"Yes, and he's also a psychic who could tell if someone's coming," Fox argued. "We've been in here when people who don't know us are in the room; why can't it stay that way?"

"Because adults are unpredictable and very, very suspicious," Samus stated. "They'll think the house is infested with mice-which it was-and whatever they send to kill the rodents would also kill us."

"So we need to get out of here," Mario swallowed his suspicion. In reality, instinct was binding the smashers to stay in the room: it had taken a while to convince them to come with Freya when she was writing down their stories, and even traveling in the ducts made the brave Samus nervous. An invisible force was binding them there, and they wern't sure what would happen if they left that bind for too long.

Whatever it was, it was better than being poisoned by bait or smoked out of the house or whatever people did with mice those days; they eventually came to the unanimous agreement that they had to leave the room until the window was fixed.

Link went first, the courage he was born with shining through ("Or maybe the idiocy," Samus had argued). His path consisted of quickly darting to the shadows of table legs, ducking behind scattered toys and other objects, even taking the dare to walk silently in the wake of an adult. He made it to the slightly-ajar door, and Samus could see him signaling for them to follow through 'his' helmet's magnification.

Fox was voted next, using a slightly louder system of 'barrel rolling' to hiding places. Luigi kept wincing when a carpeted thud reached him, afraid they would attract unwanted attention, but he also made it and joined Link at the door.

Samus folded into 'his' Morph Ball and simpley rolled through the room, as unnoticed and unseen as the orange-shielded marble 'he' had contorted 'himself' into. They had seen this trick before, and still had no idea how 'he' did it. All 'he' hinted was the Chozo, whom they knew equally as much about.

Mario and Luigi both went at the same time, one with too much courage and the other with practically none. The brothers weren't the best at stealth, but managed not to be spotted by any othe four humans. There was a bit of a breath-holding moment when Mario jumped too high and made one of his electronic blar! sounds, making the humans look their direction. A teddy bear hid them, though, and the people eventually shrugged it off as the wind.

"I'm going to kill him for doing that if we all make it," Samus muttered. Link flashed 'him' a surprised glance before turning back to where the five left were about to cross.

Back underneath the table, Ness, Captain Falcon, Yoshi, Kirby, and Donkey Kong were thinking about just how they would make it. The pattering of Yoshi's boots, the stomping of Donkey Kong's run, the plodding of Kirby's feet, and the clattering of Captain Falcon's metal could each give their owners away-or, at the very least, make the next person's passing impossible. Only Ness could really slip by undetected, but he wasn't about to abandon the other three for his own safety; what kind of a hero does that?!

"Hm..." Captain Falcon squinted across the room to where the others were tensely waiting. He turned around to their group, where Ness was posing philosopher-style, Kirby was blinking innocently, Donkey Kong was glaring at the terrain ahead, and Yoshi was observing the humans. "Anybody got any ideas?" he asked, drawing their attention.

"I could light a fire to distract them," Ness offered, throwing a spark between his fingers and shouldering the adults.

"We don't want to do damage, and they'll get suspicious, anyway," Captain Falcon dismissed.

Kirby inflated himself quietly and flapped his arms, silently asking if they could fly.

"What about ol' DK?" Captain Falcon prompted. "Flying's even more eye-catching than a fire, too."

Yoshi curled up and summoned an egg around him, his chirp from inside asking about egg-rolling.

"You know you can't lead that many eggs, Yoshi," Captain Falcon sighed. "Plus, I'd rather not be an omelet..."

Donkey Kong plucked Ness off the ground, ignoring the boy's protestant yip, and aimed it for the crack in the door.

"And if you miss...?" Captain Falcon asked.

"Hey, what about me? I can help!"

They had forgotten about the announcer when he shouted-whispered in their personal space, causing them to flinch.

"You're a disembodied voice, what can YOU do?" Ness growled, covered his ears again.

"Dont underestimate the power of a narrator!" he chuckled mishcievously.

Ness felt his presence recede, and cautiously peeked out from behind the table leg to see what could happen. Nothing did for several patient moments, and it looked like the parents were about to leave the room; hence, spotting the five who had already made it.

The clearing of a familar voice caught him from his fears...

"AS OUR BRAVE HEROES ARE CAUGHT BY THE ENEMY," the Announcer narrated in an attention-catching voice, making the adults call out in panic, "WE CAN ONLY WONDER WHAT THEY CAN DO! WILL THE BRAVE FIVE FIND A WAY OUT OF THIS MESS...?"

The smashers were halfway across the room, and the parent's faces were priceless as they kept looking around for the invisible voice.

"...OR SHALL THEY BE GIVEN AWAY, FOREVER DOOMED TO DO THEIR ENEMIES' BIDDING?!" the Announcer's voice was triumphant, somewhat ruining the fate he was telling; that didn't matter to the four people about to declare their house haunted, though. "STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER, SAME ZEARTH TIME, SAME ZEARTH WEBSITE!"

...jerk.

Terra was driving Aqua and her friends home after going to see a movie at Nagisa's Behest—One based on Power Rangers, to be more precise—and Nagisa's behavior shows it loud and proud. "And they were all like 'Pew-Pew-Pew! Howling Cannon!' even though it's called that only in the Super Sentai it was based on, Zyuranger," Nagisa rambled on about this latest obsession until Mami gently spoke. "Hush, now, Nagisa. Hold still."

"Okay, Mami-sempai..." moaned the middle school las before redirecting her attention to Aqua "It's a shame Miss Aqua couldn't get her brother to join us. He'd be so hyped to see it!"

"I don't think so, Kid." retorted Sayaka. "He's a bit old for Power Rangers, don't ya think?"

"Is not! He's around the same age as me!" Nagisa rebutted.

"Calm down, Nag-Nag." comforted Momo. "If he didn't wanna come with, then more power to him, yo. Don't be negative."

"Yeah, It doesn't matter whether he came or not, right, Aqua-sempai?" chimed Yuma.

"Oh, uh... course not. Eh-Hey! Did you know the movie opened at #1?" Aqua announced.

"That's Awesome!" Kyoko exclaimed as everyone agreed with mutterings of such phrases as: 'Adios, Feminazi Ghostbusters!' and 'Sony really had it coming this time!' and 'She has a point, I am fat.'

"Hey, Party at Mom's childhood and everyone's invited!" declared Sayaka to a crowd of utter silence. "Eh-heh... Something tells me I should know when to stop saying words."

It was then that the Keyblade Glider they were sitting on came to a complete stop. "We've arrived at our destination, ladies."

7

The eight got off the glider before Terra drove off for home. Aqua waved goodbye to her friends as they all went their separate ways. Upon returning home, Aqua came to her brother's bedroom to check in on him. "Takashi, I'm home."

No Answer.

No words.

Just the sound of a baseball bouncing off a wall.

A perfect indicator that something was wrong with him.

"I got you my refill of Popcorn for you to eat. Well, it's Technically Nagisa's, I barely scratched the surface of mine so I gave it to her in exchange for her empty one so that I could refill it for you." Aqua stammered only to receive no response. "Are you even listening, Takashi?!"

No voice.

silence.

A chill went down her spine, He never turns down a treat, especially not without saying anything.

Not even a thank you!

"Takashi, Open up! It's me, Madoka!"

Still nothing.

Aqua could not believe what she was witnessing. Takashi, His radient little brother, was muted, cold, isolated from herself. And if there was anyone who knew him like the back of his hand, It would be her.

"C'mon, please open up!" Aqua sighed and she got no answer. With nothing else to try, Aqua merely sat against the door and sobbed to herself.

Any sort of household, even one without Takashi would be more habitable than this.

"Now do you understand?"

She was surprised to find that Homura was right in front of her.

"You are so lucky that I'm here, Homura!" Aqua barked to her friend. "If it were my parents, They'd have you locked up for breaking and entering!"

"Your family doesn't matter right now, you do." Homura stated as she paced to the sidetable where the Bucket of Popcorn had been placed. "You say you've tightened your emotions, hardened your heart to overcome any obstacles that come our way, but it just made it easier for you to crack when the obstacle in question is your family."

"Shut up!" Aqua yelped in anger, Furious that her very best friend would call her weak, even after everything they've been through the three years she's known her.

"You still cherish the life you live and so you desperately try to hold on to both lives at once in a pathetic attempt at humanity!" Homura sighed in bitterness.

"What do you know about loss?!" Questioned Aqua. "You keep thinking back to that girl you failed to save and yet I haven't heard a peep of her since Walpurgusnacht!"

"Because if you knew the truth, there would be no way for you to comprehend."

Homura munched on some of the Popcorn auspiciously as she said: "So... Not even Ghostbusters could take them down."

"Apparently, they were bogged down by Feminist Propaganda" Aqua sighed, merely going along with her friend's sudden change of subject.

"Well, you know Sony. Always pandering to whatever specific trend pops up in an effort to stay alive." snarked Homura.

"Guitar Hero scene in Smurfs." Aqua noted.

"Borne Identity featuring James Bond" Homura spoke, mouth full of popcorn as she referenced the neutering Sony had done to James Bond.

"Naughties." Aqua deadpanned, remembering the Characters Gargamel cooked up In Smurfs 2

"Amazing Twilight" Homura smiled, The Amazing Spiderman 'Franchise' still fresh in her mind.

"You mean the one that thinks an Aunt May Movie would work?" Aqua giggled.

They shared a laugh or two as fire forged friends often do after a few years worth of bonding.

8

With a gentle shove of the flat of her palm, Caitlyn pushed the fire-type evolution of Eevee back into its place. She sat back on her haunches, legs folded beneath her, and admired the shelves upon shelves of creatures.

Both the twins had accepted that Marco's sparking didn't work on these specific toys, and they would be forever looking over the bedroom for as long as their fabricated pelts lasted. And more would join them, as long as Caitlyn had fabric and Freya had ideas, until eventually they would need to resort to piling them on the floor or in boxes or maybe even hanging from the ceiling; the three legendary birds were already up there, each strung higher than the one before it, flying in an upwards circle above and between the two's beds.

She fell onto her back and cast eyes on each one, from the terrifying Aerodactyl they had formed out of clay to the warm and cuddly Torchic stuffed with downy chicken feathers. Most of them were made of cloth, true, but if the art teacher let her use an extra hunk of clay she would make a Pokémon out of it. Some were fully clay, like the replica Golem and Onix; some were made of both, like Omanyte and Parasect; and a few were a kind of their own, like the Porygon made of scrap plastic or the Oddish that was actually a flower pot.

Pikachu, Jigglypuff, and Mewtwo were all perched upon the dresser in various actions. Mewtwo had his legs dangling over the edge, tail swerving gently as he picked up Caitlyn's relaxed mood. Jigglypuff was curiously poking at a Charlizard doll on the windowsill, wondering if it woulc come alive and attack. Pikachu was watching some toy fish decorated as Magicark float about in a fish tank Freya had acquired at one point, as well as the bobbling Seadra and the plastic Gyrados coiled at the bottom.

Freya opened the door to the room and closed it without turning, stumbling to her bed like a zombie and falling onto it. "I'm boooooooored," she complained.

"What are your brothers doing? I am sure they are entertaining," Mewtwo offered.

"They're looking for the rest of you guys and said I can't help because it would look suspiiiiiiicious," she drawled.

Mewtwo turned his attentions back to the shelves as Freya let out a sigh. He had memorized most of their work on the first day he was let in the room, now able to know each by species name and evolution. He was still working out type advantages, and the moves each could learn, which the girls themselves had to look a cheat sheet for.

"...Freya?" Caitlyn asked.

"Yeaaaaaa?" Freya groaned.

"Do you think we should try and find that extra cloth that we made Mewtwo out of?" she continued.

"I don't know..." Freya huffed.

Caitlyn put on a determined 'I know what I must do' expression and rolled off her bed. Crawling over to Freya's bedside, she kneeled and set her chin on the sheets.

"Do you wanna build some Poke-moooooon," she sang to a certain Disney princess movie's song lyrics, "c'mon, I'll find some clooooth..."

Freya turned her head to give Caitlyn an amused smile.

"I really can't take anymore, I'm really bored, let's go and craft a 'mooooon! We only have each other... and those three-" she shouldered in the smasher's direction, "what do you wanna doooooo?"

"Do you wanna build some Poke-moooooon, it doesn't have to be Poke-moooooon..." Caitlyn waited for Freya's reaction.

"...HECK YEA!" Freya shrieked, jumping out of bed. Caitlyn laughed alongside her as they ran out of the room, leaving a bewildered trio of Pokémon behind.

"...what in Kanto just happened."

Huh, of course you'd be around to join us in the commentary section.

Announcer: But of course, I am the Announcer after all!

Well to keep things unpredictable, I hereby summon a narration platform character from your PC!

Reevee21: Oooh! Who?

*Enter Percy Jackson*

Percy: Reev, what's going on? A Voice mentioned someone being summoned.

Yeah, me. I want you to join her, me, and the Announcer in the Narration platform for this fanfic of a fanfic.

Percy: So a recursive adaptation of a fourteen-year-old girl's interpretation of the lore of the Super Smash Bros. franchise.

Yes. and in the form of a Shonen Anime involving Giant Robots!

Percy: REEV, EXPLAIN.

Reevee21: *on crutches* He asked for the rights, I gave them the rights and he made an awesome book about it!

Percy: I was talking about why you're on crutches.

Reevee21: I fell off a stage...for the third time...

Percy: Third?

Reevee21: Yep.

Percy: Third.

Reevee21: Yea-huh. Now if you excuse me, I have a medical bill to pay-

Car being driven by Zelda: *Breaks through wall and drives across stage in a blur of light, ramming into Reevee21 and crashing into the other wall* (You'd understand this joke if you've read What Goes Down in the PC)

Zelda: I'M ALIVE! ...err, sorry, Reev!

Reevee21: So...cold...

Bonus Nerd Points for guessing which Disney flick the song came from and it's place in the Second Great Disney Renaissance. Alright, if you want to see a specific scene happen later in the next episode let me know in the reviews below. Have fun and Hug an Eevee, PIEGUYRULZ Out.