Super Smash Bros 3D: World of Realities

by NX WORLDS

Nintendo gamer Jace Riders has stolen a limited-edition 3DS console, only to find out the console has magical properties that brought Smash Bros. characters to life in New York City! (New Ep update Sept 27th '18! Back after a long hiatus): Bayonetta sets her plan in motion. Jenn steals the 3DS from Jace. The Super Smash Bros. track down Bayonetta and Star Wolf and falls into a trap

10. Ep8:: Uprising in 3D

Disclaimer: I don't own Smash Bros. The series itself belongs to Nintendo.

A/N: Happy Wii U Day! Hope you're enjoying your brand-new console! But if you're currently taking a break...

...there it is. The last episode of the year. This one is full of action. So pace yourself. Enjoy it at the fullest.

And to those who are tempted to skip to the end, make sure you don't. ;)

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Super Smash Bros. 3D

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Uprising in 3D

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-The Day the Nintendo Characters came to our World-

Palutena's olive eyes glimmered back to life. The goddess gasped, as she stared about ominously before her. Thousands of cars and people zipped past her. She stood right in the middle of skyscrapers and millions of lights towering over her. She's never seen such marvel before…ever in her ever-loving life in Skyworld. She never thought she'd ended up here in this place—Times Square, New York.

"Oh my," she stopped to take notice, drowning in the wonders of the city, the boutiques, the bright lights covering the towers like zits, the flashing billboards of ads and movies trailers, the honking cars, followed by the cries of the drivers hissing at her to get out of the way … and the onlookers staring at her as if she was a complete total crazy stranger. All under one clear night sky.

"Pit?" she whispered at first, but when she got no response she shouted all the loudest, "PIT?" still no response but she pressed, "If you can hear me, I want you to listen carefully." She glanced at the crowd who now glowered at her like she really was crazy.

"I just found myself wandering in this strange world where they are a lot of humans. And they are all…" she glanced at them once more before a small smile formed over her lips, "…marveling at my beautiful form. It's like they've never seen me before in my life. They must want my autograph."

She shook her head and her frown deepened, "But I am in another world filled with humans and I want you to find me if you can. I don't know where you are, but I'm worried about you and your fellow comrades of the Nintendo World. Everyone could be in danger of an impending disaster. I must seek help."

She turned to one of the onlookers: a mustached man with glasses, and approached, "E-Excuse me? Human." she called out to him. "Could you please point your goddess the direction to—?"

He fled before she could finish her sentence. Then she heard them whispering words like, "Did she say call herself goddess?" "She must be another one of those cartooned characters." "She needs to leave." They were all saying.

Soon their collective muttering turned into jeers and angry protests like, "Hey, get outta here!" "You don't belong here!" "Go back to where you come from!" "You're not a goddess! Ah! Ha! Don't make us laugh!"

"Hey!" Palutena formed an angry fist, "I AM your goddess whether you like it or not! I demand you give me some respects if you wanna-!"

HOONK!

Palutena whizzed her head back and headlights flashed on her face. A taxi cab driver put on his brakes, but was too late. His car slammed right onto Palutena and the goddess flew into the starry sky, screaming. Everyone gasped. The taxi driver got out of the vehicle and watched the mint-haired deity fade into a speck among the city stars.

xXx

-Present Day-

Jenn and Jace were inside Noir's rich penthouse. They were with Luigi, Zelda, Link, Fox, and Falco. The huge fancy room was filled with expensive furniture gleaming white walls, projecting a futuristic but Modern-Day feel.

Unpleasant memories of Noir blackmailing Jace flooded back to Jace at being in that room again. But for Jenn and our beloved Nintendo characters, it was going to be a pleasant one due to the fancy room that'll have people talking.

There was a dining room table with a dozen leather chairs to the northwest corner, a black piano before a grand corridor to the northeast corner which led to a glass elevator, and right in the middle of the room was a sunken area with black leather chesterfield and a coffee table equipped with tiny tea glasses, a thermos, and a TV remote. A huge Samsung HDTV was hooked near the ceiling, facing the sunken area and all corners of the room.

Luigi approached the HDTV. "Whoa…" A finger moved toward the black screen, "…is that an actual TV? Since when do they hook-a it to a wall?"

"DON'T TOUCH IT!" Falco barked, pulled out his ray gun and pulled the trigger. A red beam zipped past Luigi. Luigi jumped and tripped, plopping right on one of the sofas of the sunken area.

All eyes turned to the TV, now emitting a black smoke from a broken screen. The smoke triggered a fire alarm.

"Wait to go, Falco." Fox scolded, "Couldn't you be a little less panicky?"

"Hey, that was expensive!" Jenn scolded the bird.

"Dude." Jace sighed disappointedly.

"Hey, don't blame me for being paranoid." Falco exclaimed. "When I'm told to escort Jenn to the house of the White Knight's worst enemy, I had to come prepared and ready."

Jenn then turned to her cousin, "yeah I can't believe you told them about my date with Noir." She shook her head, "I don't want a double date… or a triple, quad, quint or sect…date? I want a regular date!"

"I know." Jace said, "But he's Noir. He can't be trusted."

"I'm right here." The voice of Noir caught their attention. Noir gracefully stepped into the living room and stopped a couple of feet away from his guests. Luigi quickly shuffled off the sofa and stood firm. Link, Zelda, and Fox hunched uneasily before the broken TV screen.

"Sorry about that black thing, Mister Noir." Link said to him.

"It was an accident really." Zelda added, and Fox agreed, "A rather unfortunate accident."

Jenn stepped before Noir, "It's not their fault Noir. Really, it wasn't." She said, "But I'll make sure it gets taken care of."

Noir shook his head and smiled broadly, "hey, don't worry about it." He said, placing a hand on his chest, "I don't watch TV that much anyway. But if I did, I can always buy a new one."

The group, except Jace and Falco who tried to, all smiled. Noir then looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows that gave a breathtaking panoramic view of the city.

"Beautiful weather we're having. Wouldn't you say?" Noir noted the sun sneaking its head behind the crowd of Northern Manhattan skyscrapers.

"Yeah." Jenn agreed, "It is kinda beautiful—!"

"Actually I was talking… to these Nintendo guys." Noir grinned sheepishly, "Sorry Jenn. I'm just… really trying to let the shock of seeing my favorite idols sink in my mind."

"Oh!" Jenn blushed as Jace rolled his eyes, "R-right! Of course!"

Noir approached Link and Zelda and reached out for a handshake. The duo returned the handshake. "It's because of you that I enjoy going to work every day." Noir said firmly, "I should give you all a proper welcome to our beloved City of New York. We have many places to go. People to see…"

"Thank you… uh, Sir." Link said politely. And Zelda added, "…for the proper welcome."

Zelda then turned to Jace and whispered, "Seriously, he is nice!"

"Ugh… kiss-up." Jace muttered, almost out loud for Noir to hear. But the suave teen ignored him.

"But first—!" he said, walking toward the kitchen and through its drawers, "I must offer a proper gift."

He pulled out a small box and turned to Jenn. Jenn smiled wildly, blushing and raising one shoulder coyly, "…for me?"

"Actually," he turned to Jace, "it's for him."

Jace raised an eyebrow, almost taken by surprise. "Me?" He pointed at his chest, creasing his frown.

"Just a gift of condolence." Noir opened the box lid and went for its content, "From yours truly." He said, pulling out a key with a ruby red keychain. "But you can only pick one."

He tossed him one key. Jace caught it midair. Noir then went for the next item: another key with a lime-green keychain. He tossed them again to Jace and he caught it midair also. The young teen still gazed with squinted eyes, flabbergasted.

"What are these for?" He asked.

xxx

"A Green Ninja Sportsbike? Or a Ruby Red Ferrari?" Noir said, "Both paid in full. Your choice."

"Whooaaaa…!" Jace breathed in awe.

Jenn looked back at Noir, taken aback to the extravagant gifts he gave Jace. The group stood by a parking lot, at the main level of the skyscraper residence. "Noir. Are you sure?" she asked him.

"Positive." He replied, "Oh, and would you excuse me for a second? I'd like to speak with Jace in private."

Jenn, Jace and the Smash Bros. all exchanged nervous look.

"Careful. It's a trick!" Falco muttered with narrowed eyes. Noir bashfully scratched the back of his head.

"No it's not Falco!" Jenn scolded again before turning to Noir, "We'll step out for a minute." She started walking away as the Nintendo characters followed her.

"But don't you think it's a trick?" Falco argued again and Link added that it shouldn't concern them. Zelda agreed Jace can take care of himself, while Fox let out a snort, declaring a different view. "Have you seen his room at night?" she'll point out she never saw his room as it was private. Falco argued that a sign that says "Keep Out" is not private but a call for adventure. And Jenn raged at the colorful cast's invasion of privacy. Luigi was looking back at Noir and Jace, feeling rather nervous.

Finally Noir and Jace were alone and Jace turned to the suave teen.

"All right Noir. What are you up to?"

Noir shrugged, "What am I up to… what?" he said nonchalantly.

"The gifts!" Jace pointed them out, "The sports bike! The Ferrari! Are you bribing me?"

"You want a million bucks? 'Cuz I can give you a million bucks."

"No I want you to leave Jenn alone. You're not worth her time, or mine!" then there was a pause, "…after you hand me the check. Come on." He opened his hand to Noir.

Noir chuckled, "Oh come on now, Jakey. I make one mistake and I get labeled for life."

"Dude, you blackmailed me!"

"And that was the old me." Noir pulled out a small envelope from his jacket, "this is the new one." He handed the letter to Jace. Jace stared at it briefly before eying Noir, "The new you is in an envelope?"

Noir shook his head without a word but his million dollar smile remained. Jace finally took the letter and opened it to reveal its content. It was a gold business card with the word Nintendo engraved over a Star picture.

"Congratulations." Noir declared, with almost a forced sympathetic excitement in his voice, "You're now officially a premier member of Nintendo's League of Video Gaming Legends in London. Of course I will pay for all the traveling fees and lounging."

Jace looked back to Noir, surprise glittered in his olive eyes.

"The League of Video Gaming Legends?" Jace raised his brow at him, "As in the League of Video Gaming Legends? Are you sleazy sneaky business boy for real?"

He narrowed his eyes and cocked his head on one side, "What's the catch?"

Noir shook his head innocently, "No catch."

Jace squinted hard.

"What?" Noir shrugged, "Don't believe me. Don't care. Ever since the Nintendo characters made their way here to New York, we in the company thought it'd be fitting for any gamer and fan to literally join in on an adventure with Nintendo characters. So the Company and the famous League of Video Gaming Legends have merged together to endorse this plan to have gamers and video game characters join force together on various side quests. Only members get this special gaming treatment and I immediately thought of you."

Jace danced his fingers around the business card and held it up to the sunlight, admiring its shimmering glow, "Gee uhh… thanks?" he bleakly said, not sure whether to be really excited or really nervous about this.

"I will make arrangement for you to meet the League before we can offer you your first mission. Which I think is very crucial for the sake of the Nintendo characters and our world."

Noir then paused briefly, "And you might wanna start going now. You'll be leaving on a jet plane in one hour."

Jace looked up with wide eyes. "Wait… what?"

A limo suddenly pulled up behind Jace. The door swung open and a huge hand grabbed him from behind. "Whoa!" Jace felt yanked into the limo, plopped down on his seat and before he could even scream, the limo sped out of the parking lot.

Noir simply gave a two-finger salute as he watched the limo disappear into a dust speck, "Have fun now." He said to himself before turning around and casually walked back to the lobby of his skyscraper apartment. The walls of the apartment were all made of glass and skylight, and there were few residents in fancy suits coming and going and checking at the reception desk which was made of a white marble abstract. He found Jenn and the Smash Bros. there.

Jenn had a look of concern as she was glancing by the window for her cousin.

"Hey, that limo just took Jace with it." She met Noir's dark gaze, "Where did he go?" she asked.

"He took off." Noir replied, "Left with his two gifts too."

Jenn's brow creased. She and the Nintendo characters all exchanged puzzled glances. Fox then cocked his head on one side. "Okay, now that's a vague answer." he said.

"…but… where did he go?" Jenn pressed.

Noir pursed his lips and his eyes scrolled up to the skylight.

xXx

"In London?!" Hunt shouted out loud back at the MiiVerse section of the Nintendo World Store. He, alongside Mario, Peach, Kirby, Pikachu, and Pit were currently on FaceTime with Jace via one of the floating screens around the MiiVerse.

"I'm on my way to London man!" Jace said gleefully from the comfort of his private jet seat. The plane was already suspended in the skies when Jace made the call from his iPhone. "In a private jet! Isn't that exciting?" he gushed.

"That's-a not exciting." Mario shook his head in disagreement and so did Peach, Kirby and Pikachu who all uttered different mutual noises.

"Yeah man! That's not exciting!" Hunt barked in agreement also. "We need you! Your uncle and Samus just found another Nintendo character here in the city and it turns out to be a really hot babe!"

"Really?" he put on a disbelieving smile.

"Really!" Hunt said out loud, trying to prove he's not lying.

"…and how do you know that?"

Mario stepped forward, "Because your zio registered woman as current ID of unknown Nintendo character found."

"W—well," Hunt stammered as the other Nintendo characters laughed along to Hunt's nervousness, "we… really don't know who she is right now, okay? She could be attractive. And I get nervous around attractive ladies."

"Or she could be Cackletta." Peach said sweetly, and the group laughed out loud. Pit wiped a tear off his eyes, "…or Medusa."

The entire MiiVerse exploded with laughter. Jace joined in. Hunt stared around the laughingstock, his face flushed red of humiliation.

"Guys, come on! It's NOT funny!" Hunt stammered, unable to get his voice heard through the flood of amusement.

"Dude," Jace said, "I don't think you need me for discovering the identity of this new Nintendo character. You'll be fine."

"What about Jenn?"

"She'll be fine too." Jace replied, "As long as Noir doesn't make a pass on her."

Hunt hesitated, frowning at the mention of Noir, "Err… Jace?" he asked, "Do you think it's such a good idea to take on Noir's proposal?"

"I know it's risky taking a business trip endorsed by my worst enemy; but whatever this guy is up to, I'll make sure I'm one step ahead of him."

"We've finally identified our target!" the voice of Samus caught the Nintendo characters' attention. Hunt briefly glanced back before returning to Jace, "I gotta go. Be careful man!"

Jace ended the conversation with a chlick and a wink. (A/N: look up chlick under Urban dictionary) Hunt pressed the screen and it went black. He ran to join Samus. Mario, Luigi, Peach, Pit, Fox, Falco, Kirby and Pikachu stood before Samus and Dr. Dimentio.

"So… who is she?" Fox asked calmly.

"Maybe it's Krystal." Falco teased, and Pikachu agreed with a nod, "Pika. Pika." Fox blushed.

"I bet it's Cackletta." Luigi muttered.

"You always believe it's-a Cackletta." Mario said and Kirby agreed with a cooing sound.

"This time I'm-a confident!" Luigi said.

"It's actually her." Samus pointed at the large screen hovering before them. Green flowing hair, white shimmering gown, and equipped with a shield and a staff. Almost the entire group didn't know who she was, but Pit did.

"Lady Palutena?" he gasped her name and all eyes turned to him.

"You know her?" Peach asked.

"She's my goddess!" Pit exclaimed, "Back in Skyworld!" he turned to Samus and Dr. Dimentio, "WHERE IS SHE?"

"She's currently at the University hospital. Presbyterian." Dr. Dimentio said, "She was injured in a car accident. Like a year ago."

"Car accident—?" Pit's eyes widened, "A year ago?! Was that car another monster?!"

"What? N-no Pit!" the doctor said, shaking his head, "It's a—!"

Pit sped out in a mad dash, "I'M COMING FOR YOU, LADY PALUTENNAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" his scream filled the entire MiiVerse. Soon they could hear faint car swerving, crashing, and honking from a distance.

"I've had a bad feeling the auto insurance won't sleep tonight." Hunt said to Dr. Dimentio and the Nintendo characters.

Then another screeching of a car was heard and a loud bang followed.

"…or any other nights."

xXx

The door to the private jet shifted open, allowing Jace outside to gaze at the mass private plane runway of Heathrow Airport. A blast of arctic air speared through his flannel shirt and prickled along his tan skin. The wind forced his black spiky hair to one side, unable to stand still. His olive eyes trickled a few tears as he tried to gaze over the hazy fog at a group of people in business suits waiting for him down the jet's stairs.

His iPhone buzzed on his pocket and Jace hurryingly shoved his fingers down for it. He winced as the frostbitten fingers stung on contact to his jeans' fabric. He finally pulled the iPhone and examined the screen: FaceTime with Noir Deroi!

He slid the arrow icon across the screen and Noir's face came up. His suave grin never left his face.

"Told you to bring a coat." Noir said, sporting a ruby red wool housecoat. He was on his Louis XIV chair with a hot cup of cocoa cusped to his toasty hands. The fire in the fireplace was crackling in the background.

"I thought you were joking." Jace's teeth clattered angrily, feeling taunted by Noir's current home comfort.

"I never joke about the brutal weather of London, England." Noir replied, "But you of all people should've known that."

Jace descended down the stairs as Noir went on, "Anyway, I'd like you to meet… the League of Video Gaming Legends."

The fog cleared up before Jace. Once Jace could identify the faces behind the suits, he froze up like an icicle.

Stefano 'Signore' Vermichello stood right at the center of a group of businessmen, with a boy a bit older than Jace.

The business suits people all sported dark sunglasses and had their hands behind their backs like they were from the Secret Service. The boy next to Stefano was around 5 feet, skinny, had short black hair and brown eyes and sported a cape and a large grey glove with buttons and wires coiling around it arms like a robot.

"Salud, Jacen." The Signore smirked, "Remember me?"

"Uhhhhhhh…" Jace hesitated, taking a step back toward the jet again until he felt two shadows behind his back. He whizzed around and there were two more of these business suits guys, only this time they were Donkey Kongs and in Polygon-shaped: Fighting Polygon Teams!

"Why, don't-a be afraid of us, young man." The Signore laughed, "We're only here to help." He then turned serious, "Actually, you are here to help."

Jace slowly approached the group until he was inches before the Signore and his group.

"Now, Jacen. I'd like you to meet my other members of the League of Legendary Gamers." The Signore said.

The boy rolled his eyes and turned to the Signore, "Signore, for the last time, it'sLeague of Video Gaming Legends."

The Signore rolled his eyes also and dismissively tossed his hand, "Whatever." He pointed at the boy, "Signor smarty-trousers here is my godson, Ryan Somith, famous gamer and hacker alive. Ryan, this is Signor Jacen Riders. You'd probably know him as—!"

"...the guy who stole that Nintendo 3DS prototype and brought all the magic of Nintendo to life?" Ryan offered his hand to Jace for a handshake, "Who wouldn't know him?" he smirked "He's famous. Even on the playground."

Jace frowned at that last statement, then quickly dismissed it with a tense laugh, "Hey, I guess I'm that guy." He shook Ryan's hand, "It's nice to meet you man."

Ryan just smirked.

"Could you… excuse me for one second?" Jace said with teeth clenched and a fist curled around his iPhone, "I have a business boy to bankrupt."

He turned around and angrily hissed at Noir, "You tricked me, you bakayaru!"

"What?" Noir said innocently, "Now why would I trick you? They are the real deal. Stefano? If you can hear me, tell this nincompoop that you're the real deal."

"You should probably know Mr. Jacen," the Signore said, "that I own about 300 stocks and bonds from 300 different companies. And one of them is this League. So I happen to be a very successful investor and key member too."

"And I, godson, happens to be a key investor also thanks to my hack-full power of persuasion."

"You mean threat," muttered the Signore.

"Whatever, Signore."

"Okay, so what do you want from me, Signore?" Jace asked, almost desperately, "You want your 3DS back, is that it?"

The Signore laughed, "On the contrary, Mr. Jacen." He approached Jace and placed a hand on his shoulder, "we need your help. It's a matter of life and death."

Jace swallowed hard.

xxx

"Lady Palutena?!"

Pit's voice echoed across the hospital, catching doctors, nurses and patients' attention. Then Pit zipped past them, leaving a powerful gust of wind that blew all paperwork, ripped doctors' coats and lifted nurse skirts and patients' robes at the same time. There were screaming involved.

"LADY PALUTEN—!"

Pit froze midway after crossing a room and turned back to it. There was a doctor in his 30s with faded gray sideburns on his jet black hair, and a dark-haired Asian nurse standing before Palutena, floating in a standing position by the windows overlooking the city. A glowing radiance overwhelmed the layers of the goddess's body.

"She's just… standing there. I mean…" the nurse turned to the doctor, "…floating there for the past two hours."

"That's quite disturbing." The doctor replied, "Do you think it's some sort of… craziness?"

"Doctor I'd be crazy for not waking up from this dream."

"Would you mind talking to yourself in low volume for like five minutes?" Palutena muttered, glaring with one eye open fixed on the nurse and doctor, "I'm trying to meditate."

The doctor and nurse glared at each other before facing Palutena, "Meditate?" the doctor asked, "Meditate to whom?"

"Lady Palutena!" Pit entered the room. The doctor and nurse turned to his attention. Palutena's face lit up. "Pit!"

The goddess slowly descended to solid ground and she stopped glowing. She moved past the doctor and nurse and embraced Pit, "Oh, Pit! I'm so glad I've finally found you!"

"And I you, my lady!" Pit said, "But you're chocking me!"

Palutena let go off Pit and peered into his blue eyes, "Sorry. Come on, we should leave this place." She turned to stare at the doctor and nurse, "Mortals here keep staring at me like I'm crazy. Obviously they're the crazy ones. What's with the attire and the… not-so-animated look? They're everywhere!" she turned to Pit, "and they make fun of me when I plead to them that I'm their goddess!"

Right on cue, Mario, Link, Samus, Hunt and Dr. Dimentio came in, as Pit responded with a sadden look on his face, "Palutena… you're not a goddess anymore." He quickly added, noticing Pal's grim face, "At least not in this world!"

"What? What do you mean I'm not a goddess anymore?" she angrily wheeled to the doctor and nurse, "Did anyone of you have something to do with this?"

The doctor hesitated as Palutena pointed a stern finger at them, "I know you did!" she turned back to Pit and the other Nintendo characters, "They were putting sharp stuffs in my shiny goddess body and pumping some sort of vile potion they called saline. It was HORRIBLE! I've been in this place for almost a year, EXPERIMENTING ME!"

The doctor couldn't help but smile as he turned to the nurse, "It was a pretty good experiment." The nurse nodded in agreement.

"Have you no shame doctor?" Dimentio snarled at the doctor, "Experimenting on a human?! You could have your medical license revoked!" he then pointed at the nurse, "And so could you!" he hissed.

"She clearly isn't human." The doctor protested, "And neither are all of you! You're all cartoons," he paused, noticing Mario, "…or video game characters? Is that Mario?!"

Mario waved cheerfully at the doctor and nurse. "Hi Mario!" the nurse cheerfully squealed, waving back.

"HEY!" Palutena snapped, "I am a goddess! And I'll prove it to you!" she stepped to the center of the room and clasped both hands together and slowly pulled them apart, creating an electric ball surging and growing, "I'll summon my trusty Palutena's Mirror and by gazing upon it you'll see your true reflection! Palutena's Mirror? Come out!"

She shot her arms up to the sky and the ball exploded into a mere spark. Silence befell the group.

A stunned gasp left the goddess's lips. She lowered her hands and stared at them. There was no mirror on sight.

"What…" she muttered, "how…"

"Looking for this?"

All eyes turned to the doctor. He pulled out from his back, as if by magic, a huge mirror with a gold frame with carved wings to its borders. The group's gaze drifted from the mirror to the doctor in confusion and disbelief.

"What the hell?" Hunt stepped forward just as the doctor pulled out a Nintendo Zapper from under his white coat. Hunt froze in place and the group gasped at the mere sight of the weapon.

"My Mirror!" Palutena shouted. She tried to step forward but the doctor moved his weapon to her, forcing her not to take another step. "Lady Palutena, careful!" Pit warned.

"Careful, my lady Palutena." The doctor said, "You don't want me to use this zapper on you. It's been hacked by North Street Labs," a wide grin filled his face, "but I stole it from them to make it better."

Palutena turned uncomfortable, "How did you know my name?" she frowned, "For a year, I've never told you my name."

"Who are you?" Dimentio exclaimed.

"Glad you asked." The doctor handed the mirror to the nurse who couldn't stop staring at the doctor like he was an alien. With one hand he pinched the skin of his neck and tear off his face. The Smash Bros. except the humans screamed in disgust, until the skin and the 30-year old face turned out to be the mask of a younger 20-year old face instead, with short dark hair and brown eyes. He removed his coat to reveal his skinny form, his power glove on the hand not holding the zapper, and a cape.

"A mask…" Dr. Dimentio and Hunt both snarled.

"A creature!" Mario and Link exclaimed.

"Who are you?" Samus asked sternly.

"Ah, Samus. So great to finally meet you." The boy said, "And you Link. And you Mario! Big fan, big fan! Name's Ryan. Y'know… Ryan Somith?"

"One of Nintendo's greatest Gaming Legends." Hunt explained to the group, "He's trying to conquer every leaderboard there is in the video game world and owns almost ALL game consoles out there!"

"And how do you know that?" Link asked.

"Because he used to be my best friend before Jace." Hunt's eye twitched, "Now he's my cold-blooded rival."

"Ding-ding-ding! We have a winner!" Ryan cheered on, "Congratulations, Huntin' Daisy."

"It's Hunt."

"And as a reward, I'll be taking this Mirror back to London. Don't wanna keep myself waiting. And no, that's not a figure of speech." He tapped the mirror with his zapper and the mirror revealed another image of Ryan meeting Jace, "I'm currently in London too! Y'know, meeting your BFF?"

Hunt's jaws dropped, "What?"

All stared in shock at the image in the mirror and then back at Ryan. He was in two places at once! How is that possible?

"HEY! That's my mirror!" Palutena shouted, "You don't mess with a goddess's mirror!"

"I'll handle it my lady!" Pit summoned his twin blades and stepped before the faux doctor and nurse. Ryan pulled the trigger on his zapper and a light laser shot, grazed past Pit's hair and past the heroes. All ducked down, screaming.

Ryan grabbed the mirror from the nurse, "Thanks for the mirror, Nurse!" he pulled her into a juicy kiss and leapt out the window with the mirror. All screamed at the sight of him plummeting down the earth, then they watched him fly back to the air with metallic-shaped wings on his back. He flew into the skies.

"My mirror!" Palutena screamed.

"After him!" Mario ordered and the Smash Bros. all leapt out the window.

Mario pulled out his golden cape and into the skies he went. Link blew whistle on his finger and a loftwing shot out of nowhere and whisked him away. Samus swung across building with her grappling hook until she landed into the top of a building where her spaceship was waiting. She hopped into it and took flight.

Hunt tried to leap out the window also but Dimentio grabbed him by the shoulder, "HAA! Stop! Are you crazy? You gonna get yourself killed!"

Hunt looked down at the 400 feet drop, then back at Dimentio, "…yeah, bad idea." He moved away from the window.

xxx

Ryan spotted Mario flying behind him over the city skies. He swerved and swayed past the skyscrapers, trying to lose his predator; but the plumber was still hot on his trail.

"Don't lose him Mario!" shouted Link from his loftwing. The two characters flew side-by-side. Ryan knew he was in trouble if he didn't move fast. He pulled out his zapper, turned around and shot at Mario, piercing his cape.

Mario screamed, watching his cape yank him down to a deathly plunge. Link's loftwing screamed in panic as he swerved out of the way to avoid getting struck by another bullet shot from Ryan.

"Mario!" Link shouted.

He then looked up, staring at Ryan aiming his zapper at him. He unsheathed his sword and raised it up high. Its sharp blade emitted a bright glow.

Ryan fired more bullets but the loftwing managed to dodge them all. Link's sword suddenly glittered, giving Ryan the sign that Link's attack is fully charged. He quickly put away his zapper as he struggled at holding on to the mirror with one hand.

"HIYAA!" Link swung down his sword and a crescent-shaped beam left the blade and sped toward Ryan. Ryan turned around with the mirror held with both hands. The beam struck the mirror and reflected, heading straight for Link and struck the bird. The loftwing and Link plummeted down the earth, screaming.

Ryan continued his flight until he reached the Empire State. Samus's Spaceship flew before him, blocking his path. Samus summoned a laser from under the ship. Power surged from the laser's tip until a powerful laser shot from it, straight for Ryan. Ryan vanished and the laser struck a building. People were heard screaming from the building.

Ryan reappeared, floating above Samus's spaceship as Samus looked around for her enemy.

Ryan looked down to Samus by the window, "Cuckoo."

Samus jumped back. Ryan threw a punch with his power glove, through the window and struck Samus hard, knocking her out.

Then a huge fireball took over the ship, lighting up the city skies and Ryan departed from it with the mirror, leaving behind a body plummeting down the earth from the explosion. People were still heard screaming but soon came the sound of sirens.

xXx

Now, here's your latest news report. Once again, the Nintendo cast is making headlines as they have taken on a rogue bandit who apparently stole a magical mirror belonging to a famous goddess from one of Nintendo's video game Kid Icarus. The theft resulted in a rather short explosive battle between the rogue, Mario, Link, and Samus. The explosion of course affected one of the buildings, but luckily there were no casualties. And our characters are also reported to be okay. Now back to you.

xXx

A taped crime scene circled around a corner of 4th Street. A few paramedics circled around a slightly wounded Mario sitting inside an ambulance. Veterinarians were there for Link's loftwing. Link patted the groaning bird's head in comfort. A nurse tried to put gauze on Samus's arm but she flinched in pain. Samus's armor was completely destroyed, but the spaceship warrior was on her blue suit which was luckily undamaged.

"Sorry." The nurse said sympathetically to her.

"Tsk." Samus uttered, "Never thought we'd be fighting one of the players who actually admired us. Some admiration we got."

"It's all my fault." Palutena said with her head down. She was nearby with Pit, Hunt and Dr. Dimentio. "If only I knew that doctor was an impostor, I would've done something."

"Please Palutena, don't beat yourself up!" Pit said to the goddess. "You were too shocked about the situation you were in."

"Yeah." She grumbled, "Shocked. For a YEAR! This place was not my Skyworld. People were weird where they held me. They fed me some… tasteless food… and I didn't know how to contact you for help!"

One of the police officers approached Palutena with a pen and a small pad, "…and how long were you in the hospital?" he asked, "Sorry for being upfront. It's police procedure."

"Well…" Palutena began, "It's been a year."

The officer nodded, "Mm-mhm. And was the hospital a mental institution or something? Cuz you look like… not from around here with the goddess speech."

Palutena scoffed. Pit was about to say something mean to the officer in Palutena's defense when Hunt interrupted, "Excuse me, officer. I think you should speak to me. I know the suspect."

The officer turned to Hunt's direction, and soon Dimentio turned to his attention also.

"Yeah, I want to hear how you have another best friend before my nipote?" Dimentio sternly said to Hunt, and soon all eyes turned to the young geek. "You know it'll crush him right?"

Hunt sighed, "Ryan is not my best friend! Well, not anymore after what he did to me."

All eyes were exchanged before turning back to Hunt. "And what did he do to you?" Mario asked.

Hunt's face tightened. He felt a tear was about to be shed. He quickly looked away, wiped the tear away and sniffled, "I don't wanna talk about it. The memory is too painful. Long story short, Jace rescued me. I was with Jace for a while for protection throughout that time. But we eventually became fast friends."

He turned back to the police officer, "But this Ryan… he's cold and calculated. I am actually shocked that he's part of the League of Video Gaming Legends! It's been my dream to be part of that League!"

"So he's part of the League of Video Gaming Legends?" the officer asked and Hunt nodded. The officer paused, "Well… we know the League is based in London now. So he must be headed that way… or hiding somewhere else in the state. And his name is Ryan Somith right? We'll put an APB on him."

"Don't bother, officer." Link said, "He has a double in London."

The officer's eyes widened in shock, "Excuse me?"

"Oh my gosh, yeah!" exclaimed Hunt, "He showed it to us through Palutena's Mirror!"

"…which I need back!" Palutena exclaimed.

"I'm warning Jace." Dimentio offered and went for his phone, stepping out.

Palutena turned to the officer, "Sir authority guy, sir… you've gotta get to this Ryan boy and take my mirror back!" she grabbed the officer by the shoulder, "It's a matter of life and death!"

The officer stared at the hands of the goddess on his shoulders, before turning to the goddess. He briefly blushed but then quickly shook his head, "uh…please let go off me, goddess."

Palutena let go off the officer, "Sorry. But if that mirror falls into the wrong hands, it'll spell disaster!"

"What disaster?"

"THAT disaster!" a strong female godly voice filled the city skies. The clouds all turned red and black and moved together to form Medusa's face. The snakes danced on her head. All heads turned to Medusa. People nearby screamed in panic and spread out like ants before a fire.

"Medusa!" Pit shouted.

"Hello Pit. And hello to you too, Palutena." Medusa greeted, "By the way, thank you for allowing Ryan to hand me your Mirror. I truly appreciate it."

"I didn't hand you my mirror you reptilian wighead!" Palutena hissed, "You had your henchman stole it from me!"

"…yeah. A team effort, was it? By the way, I'm gonna use it for a while and then I'll bring it back to you… in pieces."

Palutena gasped.

"What do you plan on doing with the Mirror?" Mario shouted at the dark queen. She turned to him, then gazed past Link and Samus, "Hm? Well, who's this? If it isn't Mario and Link and Samus all together. Where are the others?"

"None of your business!" Hunt shouted, "Just tell us what you plan on doing with the mirror?!"

Medusa glared back at Hunt. Hunt cowered, "…p-please? Your dark Majesty, ma'am."

"What a weird kid you are. And so are your people in this world." She gazed, staring at everybody's live-action forms, "What skin are you wearing?"

She shook her head and threw a dismissive hand, "Anyway I don't care, you'll be gone anyway. Thanks to my all-mighty, all-powerful beast I've summoned."

"Wh-what beast?" Pit stammered.

"You've heard of the Freakish, yes?" Medusa asked, "Well, it's coming your way soon. But if you want more info about it, come and meet me at that tower over there!" she pointed at a tower with a weird hexagon shape and had a large antenna to the farthest side of the city. Hunt, Dimentio, and the people there immediately recognized the building. "Freedom Tower…" Hunt breathed.

"But you better come soon, or I'll start to decimate your kind!" Medusa vanished in a puff of clouds, leaving behind a cold trail of laughter.

"What is a Freakish?!" Pit screamed to the skies, "You're not getting away with this, Medusa!"

xXx

Navi: HEY! LISTEN! How about we take a short break, ya? And then we can get back to the adventure!

xXx

"A Freakish?" Luigi's scream filled the entire MiiVerse, which was now filled with Nintendo characters in panic. Palutena was pacing back and forth, and Pit, Mario, and Samus among the others helplessly watched her and Luigi freaking out.

"What's a Freakish?! Is it a ghost? Is it dangerous?!" Luigi turned to Falco, "What in mustached mushroom is a Freakish?!"

"I dunno; I was hoping you would tell me." Falco sarcastically replied, "Since you've traveled to so many mansions."

"This isn't-a funny!" Luigi snapped.

"Luigi is right." Palutena replied, "This Freakish may be a very dangerous entity and we need to do some time-constrained research to find out just what that creature is supposed to be."

"Don't-a worry Lady Palutena." Mario said to the goddess, "Hunt and Dr. Dimentio will find a way to contact Jace and warn him of the impending danger. He could help us! He is the White Knight!"

"Okay… and just how are we supposed to do that?" Dimentio asked, "We can't just tell him that some nasty creature called the Freakish is out for our blood! He's miles away from here!"

Peach and Zelda approached the tense group. They briefly exchanged glances at one another then a smile and an exclaimed gasp broke from Peach's lips, "OOOH! I know!" she said, turning back to the group, "Why don't you have one of us go to London? Or better yet, BOTH of us?"

"WHAAT?!" The characters gasped.

Link scurried to Zelda's side, and Mario and Luigi went to Peach's side, "B-but Zelda! We can't risk putting you in danger! Not after what happened with Ganondorf!"

"Link, we'll be fine." Zelda said.

"Oh yeah, now! But what about later?" Luigi argued.

"But no one would suspect us." Peach argued back.

"You're princesses." Hunt stated, "From the Nintendo world. Prone to get kidnapped any second. So yeah, there will be suspicions!"

"Oh come on, everybody!" Peach begged, "We'll be careful!"

"We'll just find the White Knight and bring him to—!"

"NOO!" all the characters shouted, their loud protest filled the Miiverse, rudely interrupting Zelda.

Peach scoffed and crossed her arms, pouting. Zelda sighed, frowning in defeat.

"Okay, so how are you exactly gonna get to Jace without endangering us then?" Zelda asked. "Any ideas?"

"Ah, princesses." The voice of Toadsworth caught their attention. The mustached steward flounced toward them with a giddy smile, "Have you seen the latest issue of Travel magazine? Apparently Europe is supposed to be very beautiful this time of year. Perfect place to meet with all other stewards like me wouldn't you say?"

There was a short silence. All exchanged glances at one another, with smiles and with one accord.

xXx

-London, England-

"Jacen Riders. There's someone we want you to find."

Stefano sat before a large round executive table with Ryan by his side and the rest of the Legends members. "It's a dragon called the Lame One."

Jace furrowed his brow, "Lame One?"

"The Lame One is a powerful sage," explained the Signore, "A wise great serpent from ancient past, always ready to lend its strength to the famed White Knight."

The League of Video Gaming Legends was in a fancy boardroom. Behind the large round executive table were widescreen windows projecting a breathtaking view of the English city. The Big Ben was spotted to the east. London Eye was across the bridge from the tower. A couple of palaces were barely visible at the other side.

Stefano snapped his fingers and Ryan stepped forward with Palutena's Mirror. The mirror displayed an ancient drawing of a flying dragon and a knight in a white armor riding on top of it. Both entities were suspended over a sea of trees, mountains and waters.

Jace chuckled nervously at the sight of the dragon, a huge lump was clung on his throat, "This is… big…"

"Don't worry about it," Ryan reassured, "Right now the serpent is in baby form and its wings are like sugarplum fairies. So you should be fine."

Jace tried to breathe a sigh of relief, but he could tell he wasn't okay with it, "Right." He forced a faint smile, "Because I don't do well with snakes. They're my biggest…" he breathed again, this time louder, "…baddest fears."

"Well, he does evolve into a dragon." Stefano went on, "And he could also be the key to restoring Nintendo World from the curse I've been hearing so much about."

Jace looked up from the mirror and to Stefano, "A curse?"

"Yes. That which is called 3rd Dimensional Curse. It got inflicted when the 3rd Dimensional Sphere was used to terrorize the Nintendo characters. And when its counterpart 3rd Dimensional Screen was used, those who got terrorized by the curse were miraculously rescued and brought here in this world via the 3D screen of the Nintendo 3DS." Stefano replied, "So called 3rd Dimensional Screen."

"You know when you stole that 3DS and summoned the Smash Bros. here?" explained Ryan, "That was you lifting the curse off the characters by transferring them here to New York. By doing that also, you've opened up a haven for the characters."

Master Hand's message quickly flooded back into Jace's mind. "… JACEN RIDERS… ONLY YOU KNOW WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE NINTENDO WORLD AND WHO IS RESPONSIBLE…"

"So a curse happened to the Nintendo World. And those responsible are the Nintendo Villains possessing the 3D Sphere…?"

A broad smile came to Jace's face, "So it's not my fault after all!" he exclaimed, "Stealing actually paid off!"

Stefano's face darkened. Jace's smile swiftly vanished, "S-sorry. Minor setback. You were saying?"

"As a savior of the Nintendo World, the White Knight," Stefano went on, "you are not only responsible for saving the Nintendo characters from their curse, but are supposed to help them get rid of that curse that is still currently plaguing their land. There are still more Nintendo characters trapped in the Nintendo World, and knowing their predicament we're here to help you save them. With your help and that of the Lame One."

Ryan rolled his eyes, "Ohh for the love of hacking, do you ever stop talking? When do I get to talk?"

"When I'm good and ready, Ryan." Stefano scolded, "Don't try my patience."

"…so…" Jace muttered, "This Lame One is supposed to help me on my mission?" he blinked, "Why is it called the Lame One anyway? Bad skin? Surgery gone bad?" He laughed.

"I dunno. I don't play video games. I only own stocks." Stefano mumbled.

"But I do!" Ryan shoved Palutena's Mirror to Stefano's hands and walked to Jace, "I can give you some tips and tricks on literally finding the Lame One. Just follow this map right here on my smartphone and before you reach the London Tower, I'll call you. And don't worry about the serpent."

Ryan pulled out his smartphone—a Samsung Galaxy SIII—and handed it to Jace. Jace examined the picture and held a sharp breath at its sight, "It's a picture… of London's map… in MiiVerse?"

He gazed back at Ryan with a broad smile, "You have a WiiU?"

"Dude, you're speaking to the one who owns all video game consoles on the planet since his diaper years. Of course I own a WiiU. Now, are you gonna get in the game and find that Lame One for us? It awaits you at the London Tower."

Jace stuffed the phone down his pocket, "Buddy," he confidently patted Ryan's shoulder, "I won't let you down." He then turned to Stefano with two pointed fingers at him, "And you sir won't be disappointed!"

He rushed out of the building.

Finally he got out into the city street and approached his brand-new sportsbike Noir gave him.

Then he stopped, stunned and taken aback by who he saw instead, tied up to the bike, muffling through the duct tape over his mouth. "Toadsworth?"

He rushed to him, pulled the rope off the mushroom steward and the duct tape off his mouth. Toadsworth gasped; his breath shallow.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, "You're supposed to be with the others back in New York."

"Yeah!" Toadsworth barked, "In my spare time apparently! But that's not what they want. They want to ship me to Europe to I dunno… protect you!"

Jace cocked his head curiously, "Why?"

"Because they're crazy about you, that's why!" Toadsworth shook his head, banishing the angry thought, "No wait. It's actually to warn you… or… to get you back…" the Toad steward grinned, "I have to apologize in advance. My brain is not functioning properly due to all of that excitement of being a one-day shipment!"

Jace picked up his bike helmet and strapped it over his head, "Don't worry, Sir. You're safe with me. Hey, let's go on a trip while you try to refresh your memory." Jace hopped on his sportsbike.

Toadsworth shuffled to him nervously, "Hey, uh… wh-where're we going? Big Ben? London Tower? Does this thing have a seatbelt?"

"No, no, and uh…" Jace winked, "just hold on to me."

"Wh-what?" Toadsworth turned pale. Before he could protest, Jace already revved up the bike and it pulled away from the building into the London streets in a mad street dash. The steward's scream filled the chilly London air.

xxx

Back at the League of Video Gaming Legends Bureau,

"Everything is going according to plan, Medusa." Ryan said, still staring over the direction where Jace exited the building.

Stefano raised an eyebrow, "Medusa?" his Italian accent turned rough, "There's no female here, Ryan." He looked around, "Who is this Medusa you speak o—!"

His voice came up short and held his breath. The Underworld goddess emerged out from a corner and approached the League. Then from another corner came out Bowser, Ganondorf, Mewtwo, and Dedede. They appeared eerily silent with eyes as sharp like cats and glittering pure gold as if possessed.

"You've done exceedingly well, Somitheus." Medusa complimented.

"It's Somith." Ryan corrected.

Ganondorf threateningly towered over Ryan, casting his shadow over him. Ryan turned around. "When your name is addressed as Somitheus by Her Majesty, it's Somitheus. Got it?"

Ryan glared back with narrowed eyes.

"It's okay Ganondorf." Medusa said with a gentle yet sharp tone, "He may be new, but he has a spine of steel."

The villains approached the other members of the League. The members quickly stood up and went for their weapons concealed under their tux. Bowser breathed in and shot a blast of fire at one member, scorching him till he turned to dust of charcoal. Ganondorf threw a heavy backfist across the jaws of another member, sending him crashing through the window to a deathly drop. Mewtwo grappled on another member's face and dark smoke slowly filled in the member's body, intoxicating him till his body turned limp. Dedede repeatedly body-slammed another one with his butt.

Stefano instinctively reached up to cover his face in disgust, with one arm wrapped around his chest. The Nintendo villains finally went for their new seats.

"What is the meaning of this?" Stefano barked, "To think that animated characters could actually kill human beings? That is unfathomable! Insondabile!"

Unfathomable in Italian.

"It's more than that, Stefano." Ryan said, "It's real."

"I must thank you so much, my dear Signore Vermichello," Medusa began as she wormed her way to seat in the middle of the table, "for giving me and my colleagues a chance to seat with you at the League of Video Gaming Legends Lounge here in this fine world you call…the United Kingdom? How united are those kingdoms anyway? Is Palutena's kingdom part of it? Because I've put an appraisal on it."

"It's pathetic." Bowser rudely commented, only to meet Medusa's cold gaze again. His smile came back anew, only broadened, "Pathetically exquisite for your taste."

Medusa turned back to Ryan, "Somitheus. You have the Mirror right?"

Ryan handed the mirror to Medusa. "What do you need a mirror for?" Stefano asked.

"For summoning." Medusa said.

"Summoning?" Stefano raised an eyebrow, "Like evil spirits?"

Medusa cackled and the villains joined in the laughter.

"Ho! Ho! Ho! You silly Cappy!" Dedede laughed, "Evil spirits are so yesterday!"

"…so last Century." Mewtwo muttered.

"We're talking about the Freakish here you bum!" Ganondorf barked.

"What?" Stefano raised an eyebrow.

"You know when we told Jace that the Lame One was a wise ancient serpent?" Ryan said, "That it was in baby form and all that mumbo-jumbo? …yeah, we lied. There's no such thing as the Lame One."

Medusa waved her hand over the mirror and it displayed the Freakish: an anaconda with the scaly skin of a python and the size of six skyscrapers glued together. Its eyes were sharp and dark-blue like the midnight sky; fierce and sharp and gripping enough that anyone who gazed upon them would die of a petrifying fear. Its jaws unhinged, revealing the fangs of a mountain lion and shark combined, enough to make a grown wrestler man cry. Its ferocious roar violently shook the mirror, as if the beast was trapped inside it.

Stefano's eyes widened. He couldn't look away. He knew only that he did not ever want to cross path with that beast even if the opportunity presented itself.

"Well…" his voice trembled, "…you were right about it being a serpent."

Medusa moved toward the mirror and Stefano quickly pulled away from the beast's grip. He furiously turned to Ryan, "Are you mad?!" he barked, "I've thought you to be conniving and heartless, not conniving and heartless and sick!"

Ryan shrugged nonchalantly. "It's for the Smash Brothers." A grin broadened, "If they can handle the monstrous forms of the villains, like Ugly Giga Bowser or Pig-headed Ganon or Skinny Mewtwo and Dedede with one eye on his stomach, why not this?"

Bowser, Ganondorf and Mewtwo exchanged offended glances before turning to Medusa. Medusa just shrugged in agreement, "He's got a point, I'm the beautiful one."

Ryan chortled, "Sure you are, Miss Cyclops 2012."

Medusa glared. The snakes on her head hissed loudly and snapped their venomous jaws at the young villain with hate.

The Signore sighed, "…guess the student has become the master."

xxx

Back in New York City, our heroes and Nintendo characters Pit, Palutena, Fox and Falco were at Church St. The characters gazed at the new Freedom Tower and the site where the World Trade Center used to stand.

"He's still not picking up his phone!" Dimentio sighed in defeat. This was his fifteenth time trying to reach Jace's phone but to no avail. He hung up the phone and turned to Hunt. "Any sign of Jenn?"

"Her phone keeps sending me to voicemail." Hunt sighed. "I just hope Toadsworth was able to warn Jace of the danger ahead."

"I could try calling Viridi." Palutena proposed. She stepped off the curb into the busy streets before Pit, Fox and Falco could stop her. "Wait it's not going to—!"

"VIRIDIII!" She shouted to the skies, catching only the attention of bystanders near and far, "Viridi! Can you hear me? We need your help!"

The bystanders chortled and sniggered.

"Medusa has stolen my Mirror and I need you to help us out! Can you lend us your forces of Nature? We'd truly appreciate it!"

Dimentio and Hunt covered their faces with their hands in shame as the city crowd laughed in reply to Palutena's plea.

Palutena's frown creased, looking ready to cry. She quickly returned to her group.

"Gee, even for a goddess, you lose respect pretty quick." Falco said.

"Falco!" Fox groaned, annoyed by the put-down. Falco shrugged, "What? It's the truth!"

"It's ringing!" Hunt exclaimed, still on his phone. All heads turned to him. "You got Jace?" asked Dimentio.

"No, Jenn! She should be picking up her phone."

A brief silence fell in the group then…

"Hello?" Jenn's moaning voice was heard.

"Jenn!" Hunt exclaimed, "Listen up! We got a problem."

"Who is this?" Jenn's voice almost came out a giggle.

Hunt frowned, "It's Hunt. Where are you? You sound weird."

"No I don't!"

"Yes. You do. Are you drunk?"

Dimentio turned to Hunt, "WHAT?!" He snatched the phone from him and barked, "Jennifer Ortega Dimentio! You BETTER not get drunk on a school night!"

"Dad, I'm not drunk…" Her voice suddenly slurred out a weird Australian accent.

"Then why do you speak like an Australian?"

Jenn was lying half naked on her stomach. A white sheet covered her body as a masseuse was working on her back. "I'm having a massage here." She muttered to the phone, "A really…reaaaaaally…DEEP…tissue massage."

The heroes briefly looked at each other.

"Noir arranged it for the two of us for our first date. Isn't he romantic? Ohhh it feels so goooood…"

xxx

Medusa pulled out from under her robe the 3rd Dimensional Sphere. Its midnight shine filled the boardroom with sheer brilliance. "Somitheus, the Mirror."

Ryan took the mirror from Medusa and stepped back, aiming its reflection at her. The villains patiently watched.

Medusa tossed the sphere into the air and swung her staff across, striking it like a baseball. The sphere plunged into the mirror like a stone to a body of water and the scream of the Freakish filled the Boardroom in agony. The mirror glowed gold and rippled on contact. Then a brilliant flood of light shot out of the mirror startling the villains. The mirror glasses flew from its frames as if in pieces.

"Yeah… I'm not investing on a company that plans a mass murder on its creations." Stefano turned around, "I'm out of here."

"Where are you going, Signore?" Medusa stepped in front of him as if by teleportation. Stefano froze. Medusa raised her staff over to his face and her sharp eyes glittered, "…we were just getting started. The fun is just getting started."

Stefano stared back into her gaze. His head moved and swayed briefly as if in a trance.

xxx

Back in New York, an explosion suddenly slammed the city ground. Skyscrapers windows blew out on contact and glasses were shattered, raining on surprised citizens.

Force and wind knocked stunned bystanders across the street to the floor. The earth split up and Dimentio plummeted into the abyss. Hunt dropped his phone and grabbed the screaming engineer by the wrist, hanging onto him. The surprised characters all tried to stay on balance as the earth continued to rock. The entire city evacuated and thousand sped out with sheer panic like ants.

"Could this be the Freakish?!" Fox exclaimed.

"I hope it's not!" Pit exclaimed.

The pounding of the ground weakened till it stopped just as the skies darkened again and the clouds morphed to reveal Medusa's gigantic shape. "Why, hello again my pests." She greeted.

"Medusa!" Pit shouted just as Hunt, Fox and Falco pulled Dimentio out of the split earth to safety.

"Got a little surprise for ya!" The Underworld queen said.

The image of the Freakish hovered over Medusa like a spirit. The gang could only decipher his dark shadow. The beast roared again. Citizens continued to flee, tearing up and running for the best place to hide.

"Behold! The Freakish." Medusa said, "Unfortunately for you it's recovering from its thousand-year old sleep far from here. So I can't terrorize you with it yet. But give it time. Soon you won't be able to save anyone. Everyone including you two Palutena and Pit will be doomed to an eternity of Hell!"

Her godly form and that of the Freakish vanished from the clouds and Pit immediately took off into the skies, "MEDUSA!" he screamed.

"FLY, Pit!" Palutena ordered, and Pit's feeble wings grew twice its size. Pit then took off into the skies.

"That Freakish can only be summoned through that Mirror!" Palutena explained, "Medusa must be defeated and the Mirror must be retrieved before the Freakish can fully recover and terrorize the entire city!"

The entire crowd of New York watched Pit depart toward the Freedom Tower. But then an army of Monoeyes, Micks, and Specknoses morphed before him, filling up the city skies like fighter aircrafts.

The specknoses sneezed out bombs into the streets, igniting explosions everywhere and driving citizens into a frenzied panic. A spotted Mick threw a tongue slap at a window washer of one of the skyscrapers, almost launching him a thousand feet to the ground. A monoeye zipped past drivers and launched an attack ball to a taxi, sending it flying.

Shemums shot out of manholes cornering businessmen and builders. Octos vomited smokescreens, blinding teens and young adults. Reapers and Reapettes came out of buildings' glasses, chasing after women and children. The sudden Underworld army was growing unexpectedly.

"Where are these creatures all coming from?" Dimentio screamed before a Komayto grabbed him by the head from behind and started pulling on it. "HEEY!"

"Medusa." Hunt exclaimed, swinging aimlessly at more taunting Komaytoes. Monoeyes and Micks were watching nearby. Fox and Falco pulled out their laser gun and shot them down. "Come on!" Fox shouted at Falco and took off. Falco followed, "Right behind ya!"

Fox and Falco found a police car and jumped into it, "Excuse me. Pardon me. Intergalactic freedom fighters coming through." Fox exclaimed, taking the driver's seat.

"Move it!" Falco barked. The cops watched their police car drive down the street at high speed. "We're coming to help you out Pit! Just stay put!" Fox exclaimed through a walkie-talkie.

Pit pulled out his twin blades and swung consecutively at his close army. He then summoned a Sonic Cannon and launched sonic bursts at the faraway enemies. One sonic burst struck a Mick who was about to knock out the dangling window washer. But the impact snapped the cord of the platform. The window washer headed for the ground, screaming.

"Uh-oh!" Pit flew after him and grabbed him by the jacket at the last second. The window washer stared at the ground, breathing heavily, then back at Pit who grinned, "Sorry. Didn't mean to snap the cord."

Pit gently put him down the ground. The washer sighed, "Th-thank you, Pit."

Pit took off for the tower but more Specknoses shot more bombs at him. "WHOA! HEY! What's the big idea?! There are people here!"

But the monsters weren't listening. They continued wreaking havoc. Dimentio tried to keep his head from popping out by the Komayto, but the Komayto kept yanking on it. "OW! OW! AAAOW! CAN ANYONE OF YOU GET THAT BRAIN REMOVER OFF MY OWN BRAIN?!"

Hunt rolled his eyes, "Oh for the love of…" he ran toward Dimentio and the Komayto, "HIII—YAAH!" he struck a leg blow to the Komayto's face. The Komayto finally let go off Dimentio's head and stumbled back with a sharp gasp.

"AYYY—!" Hunt then grabbed the Komayto by the gooey jellyfish-like head and swung it over his shoulder to the concrete street, WAA!"

The Komayto exploded into mini hearts. Hunt turned to the underworld monsters who had taken pause to witness the attack. The terrified citizens stood still also.

"WHAAT?!" Hunt took a threatening step. The monsters quickly dispersed out in panic. The specknoses sped into the skies. The Micks zoomed across the ocean, past the Statue of Liberty, the Shemums jumped back into the manholes, the Octos plumped into nearby pipes and the Reapers and Reapettes hopped back into the building glasses.

Palutena knelt before Dimentio. His neck was like a young tree branch, causing his head to boggle. "Are you okay, sir Dimentio? Here let me heal you." She placed her hand over his head and a warm glow coursed through his neck veins. His neck grew to normal size again and his head stopped boggling.

Dimentio felt his head in place and let out a sigh before turning a dark eye at Hunt, "Next time, Hunt. Rescue me faster with your little Karate! Got it?"

"It's Kung-Fu, but thanks for the advice."

Dimentio then turned to Palutena, "Thanks, lady. But I thought you weren't a goddess anymore."

Palutena shrugged, "I guess I retained some powers somehow."

Medusa laughed again, her dark elegance formed before the Freedom Tower again. She herself towered before the skyscraper and Pit, casting a shadow over them.

"Pit!" Palutena cried out.

"Medusa!" Pit cried out to Medusa.

"WHAT?" Medusa barked.

"Queen of the Underworld hovering before me! It's time for you to atone for your crimes!" he tossed in a few performance moves in the air, "I am Pit, servant of the goddess of light! And you…are—!"

"History?"

Pit paused.

"…yeah. I know your motto. It's getting really old." Medusa muttered.

"Then could you NOT interrupt it next time?!"

"How about you don't interrupt me taking over the world?" Medusa flicked Pit into the sky. Pit screamed as he vanished.

"PIT!" everyone shouted as Medusa laughed. "Who's next?!"

Police sirens were heard. A large squad of police cars and SWAT teams pulled before the Freedom Tower and the enforcers got out with their weapons ready. Helicopters soon hovered before her, buzzing around like pesky little flies.

We have you completely surrounded. Surrender yourself, creature!

"Creature?" Medusa sneered, "Who're you calling creature?"

Fox and Falco jumped out of the police car they have hijacked. Then Mario, Luigi and Link followed to join the group.

"You all want to see the true face of a creature? Get ahold of—!" Medusa bent down and stretched up again, "…THIS!"

The crowd gasped and half the population screamed and dispersed in a panic again. Luigi jumped behind Mario and Link in hiding.

"Oh my gosh! Her head!" Dimentio exclaimed.

Medusa frowned in disgust. "Now this is the Medusa I remember."

"…and know and love." Hunt plumped his cheeks as if he's about to puke.

"That's disgusting." Fox cringed, "She's a Cyclops too?" Falco muttered.

Suddenly her body vanished, leaving the head gracefully floating up before making a fast descent toward the citizens.

"A Cyclops with detached head!" Luigi screamed and took off, "RUN AWAAAAY!"

The rest of the crowd took off in a panic, even the police, as the head closed in. Some brave officers tried shooting the approaching head with their loaded guns and AK47s but to no avail. The head launched multiple dark balls at the officers, sending them flying. The snakes on her head turned most of them into statues, and cars stuck in traffic were telepathically launched off the streets, almost striking helpless people. The head zipped past Palutena, Hunt, and Dimentio.

"You're not getting away from this, Medusa!" Palutena barked, "I'm gonna have Pit and my Mirror back whether you like it or NOT!"

"The Freakish!" Hunt exclaimed, "Don't forget stopping the Freakish!"

"Yeah, that too!"

xxx

Back in London, England

Jace pulled over before the Tower of London. Stalwart walls circled together with four towers at each corner. Another great wall surrounded the building. Dead trees hung by the outer walls. The tower carried no sign of life, and the cold chill air of the city brought the feeling of venturing into the tower's dark halls worse than before.

Jace removed his helmet and stared at the place, suddenly feeling a sudden bloom of cold across his face. And it wasn't just the wind caressing his tanned structure. He felt his heart racing, but for the sake of his companion Toadsworth, he kept his cool.

"Are we there yet? Did we stop?!"

Jace looked over to the mushroom steward who clung on to his sides like a tree and clattered his teeth like a nutcracker.

Jace couldn't help but laugh. He's never seen Toadsworth like this before... well except in the Mario and Luigi game series and other Mario titles where he has been seen freaking out on several occasions. "Yeah, we're here sir." He said, "London Tower. That's where I'm supposed to meet the Lame One."

He hopped off his bike and put the helmet on the bike's handle. Toadsworth gazed at him like he had lost his mind.

"Do you know what this place is, Sir Jace?" He exclaimed, "This is the notorious London Tower. According to history it is the home of many prisoners, tortured and terrorized for centuries."

"All ancient history." Jace said, trying to dismiss this info.

"Aren't you scared?"

"…maybe a little. But I'm not a chicken."

"You should be!" Toadsworth barked, "And it's not just the prisoners! Legend has it that ravens live here. Ravens are birds of darkness."

"Raphael the Raven?"

"Hellooo! Lives on a Moon! Moon represents darkness!"

Jace turned to Toadsworth, "Don't worry about it Toadsworth. They're just legends, and I only came here to find the Lame One in this castle." The duo crossed the courtyard, "and besides, London legend has it that Ravens protect this tower from collapsing. So they cannot fly away from the tower unless the tower…"

Jace stopped, noticing the courtyard feeling empty and eerie.

"…will collapse." his sentence slowly died.

"What's wrong?"

Jace turned to Toadsworth, now barely silent. Toadsworth immediately bought his silence, "Oh no… the Ravens are gone are they? The Ravens are GONE! WE'RE GONNA BE GONE!"

"WHOA-WHOA-WHOA! No!" Jace grabbed Toadsworth, "Don't jump to conclusions man."

"THEN WHERE ARE THEY?" Toadsworth barked.

"Well…" Jace paused, "they could be in the tower still. I'll tell you what? Why don't you stay here and I'll go find them. I've heard the tower has a Raven king the size of a Golden Eagle. Maybe he can help me find his comrades. And the Lame One."

"Wait! You're going alone by yourself?" Toadsworth barked. Jace was about to cross a door when he turned back to Toadsworth and nodded, "yeah." He paused, "by myself. Don't worry about me. I just want you to stay put and be safe."

"You're awfully resilient, are you?"

"Got that from my father." Without another word he took off.

"Be careful!" Toadsworth shouted out, watching with concern.

xxx

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Medusa's Head continued her haunting flight past the citizens, launching dark balls at every street corner and petrifying unfortunate victims.

"Can't you do something?" Hunt barked at Palutena, "You're the Goddess of Light!"

"I wish I could but my powers are limited." Palutena said with a defeated sigh.

"But you just healed me!" Dimentio barked.

"I can't summonmy Mirror back!" Palutena barked. "If I could I would!"

Hunt groaned frustratingly and stuffed his hand down his pocket, "Then you leave me no choice."

"Hunt? What's going—?" Dimentio cut himself short as Hunt pulled out the magical 3DS from his pocket and flicked the portable open, "…wait? What are you doing?" he quickly snatched the portable from his hand, "You can't use this!"

"Hey! Give it back!" Hunt barked.

"No you can't!" Dimentio exclaimed.

"Why not? Jace used it!"

Palutena pointed at the portable the duo fought. "Is that… the 3rd Dimensional Screen?"

"YES!" the duo barked.

"And if we want New York to be saved, it's our only chance at using it!" Hunt exclaimed.

"This device may be for video game, but one missuse of it can be very dangerous!"

"You want the world to fall?"

"No but I'd rather fall from a world by evil then to be fallen by a reckless hero!"

"I'm not a reckless person! I happen to have 4.0 GPA in BOTH HIGH SCHOOL AND MIDDLE SCHOOL!"

Palutena snatched the 3DS from Dimentio's hand and stepped out. "HEEY!" the guys screamed.

"Power Return!" Palutena threw a finger to the touch screen and all of the sudden a powerful circle of light shot from the 3D screen and flooded through the entire city like a powerful gust of wind.

The panic citizens took pause, wondering what just happened. Clueless Mario, Luigi, Link, Fox and Falco gazed at each other.

"Mamamia. What-a just happened?"

Medusa roared in agony. Her giant body regained appearance before the Freedom Tower again and so was her head attached to it. She bent down, hand clutching on her face. "ARRGH! The Pain! The 3rd Dimensional paaaiiin…"

"The solution to all of our problems." Palutena closed the handheld and handed it back to Hunt and Dimentio. "What did you do?" Hunt asked.

"I fully restored everyone's powers. And nullified Medusa's." Palutena said, "Now—!" a hand shot out. Huge chains magically clung to Medusa's legs and neck. "What?!" the Underworld queen hissed.

"Pit! Come on out!" Palutena ordered.

There was a brief quiet in the sky before Pit was heard in reply, shouting, "WITH PLEASURE!" as he zipped past the crowd like a rocket. Pit was sporting the Three Sacred Treasures! The Wings of Pegasus, the Arrow of Light, and the Mirror Shield made him glow with radiance before the stunned crowd and Medusa.

"WHAT?" Medusa barked.

"Medusa! You thought you have defeated me? Well then prepare to think again!" Pit paused, "Oh, wait. It's supposed to be think again. Not preparing to think again." He broke the fourth wall, "I should read my lines more."

The Nintendo characters hooted and cheered. "Get 'er, boy!" Falco howled.

"Take that wench down!" Fox shouted.

"For the city!" Link exhaled.

"For everyone!" the Mario brothers hooted and the crowd roared in cheers. Hunt and Dimentio were at a loss of words, amazed by the epic battle unfolding.

"You know what to do Pit." Palutena exclaimed, "Strike her down!"

"You're finished, Medusa!" Pit drew his bow, pulled it and let go off the arrow which flew and plunged right into Medusa's one eye. Medusa grabbed her face and roared in pain. Her body lost shape and quickly she shrunk from taller than building to a regular human size. The dark skies quickly lightened up.

xxx

Medusa was back to her regular self when she went down the ground. She looked up. With one eye gouged by the Light arrow, she gazed at the New York crowd, the police enforcers and SWAT Team. Some flashes of light buzzed around her, all coming from strange devices held by these humans. They were temporarily blinding her silly. Flying crafted machines—what they called helicopters—buzzed over her and the many towers encircling her. The shouts of human ordered to stay where she was for she had the right to remain 'silent'… whatever that meant.

It was at that moment that Medusa felt like no goddess. She felt inferior. Worse than these human fleas. And Palutena and Pit towering before her didn't make her feel any better.

"Game over, Medusa." Palutena spoke. She was inches close to her with Pit right next to her, "You lose."

"That's right, Medusa!" Pit taunted, "Looks like the Dominator has become the Dominated!" the flightless angel victoriously pumped a fist in the air. "Oh yeah!"

Palutena stretched out a hand to the Underworld Queen, "My Mirror." She said, "And you better not lie to me that you had it destroyed because I can sense a great amount of light pouring out from that mirror just by standing before you."

"tsk." Medusa tutted. She opened up her palm and a bright glowing light orb hovered from above her hand and slowly made its way toward Palutena's hand. The light morphed into Palutena's Mirror. Palutena moved both hands toward it and caught it at the right moment.

"My mirror!" Glitter of happiness danced in her olive eyes as she hugged her precious gold mirror. Pit turned back to Medusa, "Too bad Medusa that we got to defeat you and gotten our Mirror back before you could use it to summon that Freakish of yours. Looks like the Freak has been tamed!"

Medusa slightly chuckled. An uneasy feeling suddenly fell on the group just by the sound of her muted laughter. She slowly stood up. The police and SWAT team alertly aimed their weapons at her.

"What?" Hunt angrily approached Medusa, ignoring the many guns pointed to where he was heading, "What's so funny, you venomous hag? You've been defeated! ACCEPT IT!"

Medusa raised her face up. The snakes on her head hostilely snarled, forcing Hunt to backstep a couple of feet. Her cold grin stunned her mass guests into fear.

"Congratulations." She said, "You've managed to defeat me and get your Mirror back. But you haven't managed to stop the Freakish's recovery. It is now free from its prison."

Palutena's eyes widen in horror. The crowd could only watch with dark anticipation, murmuring words of worries.

"What?" Pit gasped, "What do you mean it's free?!"

"Is it loose in the city?" Hunt asked.

"Is it circling around the skies as we speak?" Pit desperately asked.

Medusa cackled again, turning to the crowd. "No, you silly pesky humans. You've won this round. YOU are all safe."

Her smile vanished and she stared daggers at her enemies, "But is it over? Is it really?"

Her hands suddenly produced a puff of dark-crimson smoke and formed her staff. She struck the staff on the ground and her whole body got engulfed into a screen of crimson clouds. The Police and SWAT team got ordered to shoot and fired their weapons, only the bullets passed right into the clouds. The clouds vanished and Medusa was gone, leaving a trail of cackles behind.

The crowd breathed a sigh of relief, but the Nintendo characters could only wonder.

"She's gone…" Palutena breathed.

"Is it over?" Dimentio barked, "Is it really over? What the hell does she means?!"

xXx

Back in London,

Jace stepped into a room. He stopped walking. He stared, ominously, at a rack on one side, a manacle machine on the other side. "What the…?"

He slowly crept forward, "Helloooo?" he called out, only to get an echo. Further down was a huge hole of broken walls which led to stairways. He headed for the stairs when he caught sight of a spiked chair with half a skeleton body on it. A sharp gasp left his throat. Gaping, he slowly approached the chair and examined the skeleton. Its bony wrists were bound to metal cuffs on the chair. Dry blood was left tainted on the side of the chair.

"Was it…?" he slowly gazed over from the spiked chair and the color on his face immediately drained at more skeletons and more machines like closing walls with spikes and a huge hole with a 50-feet drop to a pool of lava, still boiling.

"…a torture chamber?"

BUUZZZ!

Jace jumped. Ryan's phone was ringing in his pocket. It was a Skype call from Ryan. Jace breathed an exasperated sigh, quickly pulled out the phone from his pocket and answered.

"Ryan?" he began sternly.

"Hello, Jacen." Ryan replied with a smile, his voice was almost ghastly.

"Dude, you scared me. Like, just now."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. You sent me to a torture chamber? Are you NUTS?"

"I guess I am." Ryan casually replied. Jace walked to the staircase and gazed up to see the end of the tunnel, "…but y'know," Ryan went on, "that's what the map told me. It's where you're supposed to meet the Unwise One. Right there."

Jace walked up the staircase and ended up at another section of the torture room. More horrible torture devices like a spiked roller and a hanging cage resided there. The room however appeared darker than the previous one.

Jace creased his brow, glancing at the phone, "Wait a minute… I thought you said it was the Lame One, not the Unwise One."

"No I didn't."

"Yeah you did."

"No I didn't."

"…you said Unwise One."

Silence fell on the other line. An uneasy feeling burned inside Jace.

"Ryan, what's going on?"

Ryan sighed, "…guess you gonna have to find out sooner or later. By the way, next time you go on an adventure requested by the League of Video Gaming Legends, don't bring in a pathetic Nintendo character with you."

"Toadsworth?" Jace chuckled, "Oh come on Ryan. He's not that bad of a fella, he's…!"

His eyes widened in sudden realization. He left Toadsworth all alone. He could be in danger. "…oh no. Toadsworth!"

He turned back for the stairs when a pile of rocks crashed before him, causing a cave-in. Phone slipped from Jace's hand and dropped in a clatter.

Then a low hiss came. It sounded like it was amped up on stereo mode. It was very loud and very close. Jace froze, slowly turned around and looked up. A large trunk-shaped body weighing 1000 pounds and stretching more than 100 feet filled up every corner of the hall. It looked like a massive gigantic tree trunk, scaly, arid with a greenish-brown color and black oval spots and markings.

The slithering body stirred and a low hissing filled the echoing hall.

Ryan peeked in from the phone, noticing the mass body hugging the ceiling and every corner of the wide room. "Well," he grinned, "would you look at that? You actually found it. Behold Jacen Riders, your worst nightmare: the Freakish."

Jace turned cold all over. Despite his courage, Jace was deathly afraid of snakes. Last time he encountered one was in his bedroom back in Italy. He was 8, it was a python and his family had killed it before it could go for the chokehold.

But today was different. Snake was massive and this time he was alone. He stepped back with a huge lump in his throat.

"This…t-this is…" he swallowed hard, "…the Freakish…? …what is that?!"

Ryan faked a gasp, "Oh that's right!" he then sounded serious again, "You don't know what it is, do ya? This giant Titanoboa-Python Hybrid here is called the Freakish, a mortal enemy to the Nintendo World AND the White Knight."

"Oh man…" Jace trembled violently. He turned back, heading for the rocks that blocked the entry. He paused again before it, unable to think of a way to escape.

He went for it anyway. His hands slammed on the heavy rocks. He knew they weighted a ton. He searched for any small opening. Anything to pull these rocks down with one arm swing so that he could get out of that place.

But then he caught himself. One noise, one sound from these rocks could provoke the snake further.

"Just so you know, Jace," Ryan went on, "the Freakish just got done with its dinner: a delicious Raven king. Too bad Ravens are now extinct here in this tower. Apparently it was the last one of its kind." Ryan's voice taunted from the Samsung phone, just as Jace noticed the slithering body curling around the room.

The body revealed something churning on its insides. And it did look like a large bird about as large as a ten-year old boy. Jace's heart raced.

"But it still looks hungry though." Ryan went on, "Care to see the look on his face? Oh wait… you can't see it standing from waaay over there."

Jace slowly reached down and grabbed his phone back. He glared at Ryan on the Skype, "You monster…" he whispered.

"Why thank you. It's a gift." Ryan replied.

"But why…? Why did you do this?" Jace tried to contain the volume of his angry terrified voice, "I thought I was helping you guys! And the last one of its kind? How can you be so cruel?!"

"It was all a team effort." Ryan said, "Medusa had to keep her enemies busy in New York, while the villains and the league teamed up together to create this pure concoction of darkness that is the Freakish, Devourer of all heroes, just for you. Could've been sent to New York, but the Smash Bros. would've messed up our plan. So… we had to lure you with a very special connection."

"Noir." He spoke the name in vain, knowing exactly what Ryan was talking about.

"I know right?" Ryan relished, "Who knew your own worst enemy could do this to you? And knowing your childhood fear of snakes, getting rid of you is gonna be a piece of cake!"

Jace immediately pressed End, ending the Skype before he could hear Ryan's evil laughter. He desperately looked around until he saw another set of stairs far into a corner, leading to the top of the tower. He was about to dart for the stairs, but the slithering body led up to those stairs. He hesitated. The snake body moved.

"Oh god, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna d…" he went for his iPhone and furiously dialed 9-1-1, "…die…"

Dial tone. Then… "911. What's your Emergency?"

Jace was about to speak when laughter broke out from the end of the line. It was Ryan again, "Ah! Jace you're so naïve."

"Would you stop hacking my phone?" Jace hissed.

"Sorry. It's also a gift. And an impulse." Ryan said, "by the way, 911 don't work here in London."

A loud crumble resonated. Jace whizzed his head and there he was, face-to-face, with a massive snake. Head the size of a huge rock it slowly approached. Once again Jace dropped his phone.

"…but screaming for help does." Ryan laughed.

Jace screamed… but his cry of help only came out as a gasping croak. He slowly stepped back, to a wall, then toward the staircase, his teary eyes never left the snake weaving its head left and right, closing in. The snake unhinged its jaws, revealing its terrifying combo fangs of mountain lion and shark.

Then in a split second, the snake struck.

Jace ducked and screamed, this time louder. The predator's head plunged through a wall and rains of bricks pummeled near him. He scooped his phone back and sprinted up the twisted stairway just as the beast unhinged its head off the wall and stretched in pursuit of its next meal, its tail thrashed out the tortured devices in the way.

Jace cascaded up the stairs. Looking back he could see the snake's head closing in. But the stairs felt like a long-winding road to nowhere. Shortly his breath turned shallow, his knees felt weak, and he was damp in sweat. But he wasn't ready to slow down and the snake wasn't about to stop its pursuit.

He finally tripped and landed hard on the steps, scraping an elbow, chin, and knee. He wheeled around. The Freakish unhinged its jaws. Jace screamed, shot his arms and boldly grabbed on the fangs. The beast threw its head up. Jace let go off the fangs and soared above the beast. The beast then slammed its head on its prey. The impact sent Jace soaring through more staircases. The beast then threw its tail across him and he flew through a door, sprawling to the tower skybridge like a ragged doll.

Jace cried out in pain, the broken bones and throbbing joints assaulted him from recovering. The snake followed mere seconds! He wheeled toward it. He barely could see the beast through a thick veil of blood coming from his skull dripping and obscuring his vision.

The snake unhinged its jaws again and struck. Jace rolled to his side and the beast's head brought down half of the bridge, almost taking him down to an infinite drop.

Jace was quickly slipping. He threw his arms far to the bridge floor and quickly pushed his body back up from falling. He jumped back to his feet and ran. The snake turned back at him and gave chase.

Another cry of help was heard below. Jace caught sight of Toadsworth, tied inside a bag by a group of shadowy figures. The mushroom steward was struggling inside.

"Toadsworth!" Jace shouted for him. The shadowy figures looked up to Jace. Then Jace looked behind him. The Freakish was fast approaching! He continued to run. The snake closed in again. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" Jace cried out.

The snake roared ferociously and threw another head slam across him, rocketing him through the bell tower into its belfry. His body slammed on the bell and his body slumped down to an upside down position.

Feeble and in pain, he glanced up at the bell, then back at the approaching snake. The snake unhinged its jaws again and lunged. Jace rolled again to his side and lunged for the bell's soundbow just as the beast headbutted on the bell. A loud gong resonated and the beast fell back, roaring with a sharp throb. The bell swung back and forth, attempting to shake Jace off it as he struggled to climb to the bell's head. His sweating hands stained with his own blood slipped on the cold bell metal.

But the terrified wounded teen held on tight to the bell, his blurry vision never left his predator. His breathing remained in labor.

xxx

Back in New York,

Noir paced back and forth. His cellphone glued to his ear, he was unable to stand still. Finally he stopped pacing.

"What do you mean you fail to transfer me to the League of Video Gaming Legends Director line?" the suave young man hissed, "I just need to check on the status on my referred client, Jacen Riders. I'm keeping tabs on him and the 3DS that he stole!"

Pause.

"Oh yeah, that's rich. Like the 3DS even has a GPS tracking device."

He pressed the End Call and angrily stuffed his phone back to his pocket. "Guess I'm gonna have to find out what's going on, on my own."

He glanced back to a slightly closed door then quickly walked away. The closed door slowly creaked open and Jenn emerged from him, peeking outside. She had just heard Noir's conversation and looked rather grim. "Jace…?"

xXx

Jace glanced around, sensing the walls gradually closing in on either side even though they weren't. He felt trapped. The fear of the snake has now turned him claustrophobe.

The snake slowly moved its throbbing head, slowly waking up from its unconsciousness. There was no time to dawdle. Jace looked up. A long rope was before him, leading up the ceiling of the tower. With all his aching strength he pulled out of the bell and to the rope. His fingers barely missed
the rope and he slipped. He quickly tightened his grip on the rope before he lost his balance. The rope felt hard and sandy. Definitely not good for his bloodied, bruised palms. He winced and bit his lower lip, forcing himself from not yelling in pain.

The snake has woken up. The beast looked up and spotted its prey. It angrily hissed, projecting its displeasure that its meal was slipping away from its jaws.

Jace suddenly felt his phone vibrating. With one good hand held tight on the rope he quickly pulled out the iPhone from his jeans and caught a glimpse of Ryan's name on the Skype Caller ID. His agonizing fear turned to boiling bitterness. He answered.

"Give up?" Ryan couldn't contain the amusement in his voice.

"This isn't funny, man!" Jace yelled.

"Do you hear me laughing?" Ryan's voice turned serious again. "But hey, if it makes you feel any better this is all your fault."

"My fault?" He whispered. "How is that…MY fault?"

"To think that Dr. Dimentio has a pathetic criminal running around the streets like you." Ryan spat, "You stole a priceless console from corporate and you didn't even bother returning it back to its rightful owner: ME!"

"It was a PROTOTYPE! You aren't an owner of this either!"

"But it didn't bother you to own it now, did it? And you knew something was wrong with it but you still kept it as your own. Just like you found Hunt and kept him away from me!"

"Hunt? What does Hunt has to do with—!"

Jace stopped talking, gazing into space in shock, then slowly turned to the phone, "…oh no. You're h-h-hiiim! Creepy Somith."

"The one and only." Ryan now sounded cold and bitter on the other line.

"Is that what this whole thing is about? Hunt? My best friend?"

"No, he's my best friend! Not yours! Me and Hunt were like two halves of the same heart. Bonnie and Clyde. MARIO AND LUIGI! But then YOU showed up and spread that nasty rumor about me being a creep trying to kill him!"

"Dude, you hacked ROB the Robot and used him to wedge Hunt's neck! At the school's crawl space! FOR A WEEK! I had to step in and expose your evil ways!"

"We were in Kindergarten."

"So?" Jace blasted, "Now what? I save Hunt and now you're trying to get rid of me with that… Freakish beast?"

"Ding-ding-ding! Another winner!" Ryan cheered, "All in a day's work to get Huntin' Daisy back."

"It's Hunt. Don't butcher his name."

"But I don't take all the creds of course." Ryan went on, "I thank you of course for summoning the magic of Nintendo to life, and Noir and the Signore for most of the financial scheming. I, however, did all the bloody work."

Jace gnashed his teeth, "You son of a bitch. I swear if I ever survive this, I'm gonna kill you."

"I'd like to see you try, buddy." Ryan chuckled on the other line.

The phone suddenly made a vibrating sound. Someone else was calling Jace. It was Hunt. He quickly hung up Ryan and picked up Hunt's number.

"Jace!" Hunt exclaimed.

"Hunt?!" Jace let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"Oh thank god you called! Listen man. I need you! You've gotta help me!"
"Oh thank god you picked up! Listen man, something bad's happen—!"

Hunt froze, "Wait, what?"

"I'm trapped inside the London Tower with a giant snake! And—!"

"Dude, slow down!" Hunt exclaimed, "You're breaking up! What's going on?"

"Creepy Somith!" Jace barked at the phone. "That creep from Kindergarten. He's back! He had this snake, this Freakish, summoned out to get me!"

"What?" Hunt jumped from his seat, "F-Freakish?!" his shout alerted the crowd in the Miiverse.

"You've gotta call Jenn! Ojisan! ANYONE! I'm—!"

The phone slipped from his grasp and plummeted right into the snake's mouth. The snake chopped the iPhone. Its tongue slurped with satisfaction.

Jace gazed back. Tears streamed down his bloodied face. His voice quivered.

"I've got to get outta here…" he looked around, hopelessly. He closed his eyes and with a mighty shout…

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLP!"

xxx

"Jace?" Hunt called out. Nothing but static on the other line of his cell, "…I—I can't hear you. Jace? Jace, are you there?"

"Mamamia! What is-a happening?" Mario called out.

"Where's Jace?" Dimentio demanded.

"Is he okay?" Link asked.

"I heard Freakish!" Pit said.

"What about Toadsworth?" asked Peach.

DK and Diddy grunted as if asking. Soon all characters bombarded Hunt with questions. Hunt pushed past the crowd and went for one of the floating screens. He pressed the screen and the on-screen keyboard displayed. He quickly typed in 'Freakish'.

"He's not okay everyone." Hunt said, "He sounded really scared."

The characters protested some more. "What do you mean-a, scared?" Luigi demanded, "He's the boldest man I know!"

Hunt solemnly shook his head in disagreement. "I think the Freakish got to him."

"I thought we prevented that freak of nature from coming back to life!" Fox said. "Now, he's after Jace?"

"What is that Freakish anyway?" Pit demanded, "And why is it after Jace?!" he turned to Palutena, "Could this creature be really dangerous?"

Palutena was about to respond when Jenn's shout caught the crowd's attention, "Hunt! Father!"

Hunt and Dimentio jumped to Jenn's cry. She appeared frantic, "Guys, something's wrong."

"Jace?" Dimentio asked her and she nodded furiously.

"I saw Noir talk about him briefly and then he left in a hurry." Jenn said, "He had that look on his face like he knew something bad happened." She then turned to Dimentio, "What do you think is happening to my cousin, daddy? What do you think? Please tell me it's not bad!"

"Honey, it's okay." Dimentio hugged his daughter, "He's strong. But the only thing I fear the most is his fear of snakes." The doctor nervously laughed, "…b-but I don't think the Freakish is one of them, right?"

"Freakish." Fox read from the floating screen, "this medieval powerful beast can only be revived in London, England. Weight: 1000 pounds. Size: 100 feet. Form…"

A sharp gasp of panic filled the MiiVerse at the sight of the large Freakish gazing from the screen. "…Titanoboa/Python Hybrid. Carnivore Snake."

Everyone exchanged glances of worries. "noo…" Palutena groaned.

Fox went on, "…to read more, subscribe to Nintendo World Research, only 699 Gold Coins."

"This is… this is madness!" Pit exclaimed.

"I know!" Falco said, "That beast cannot exist, we prevented its awakening."

"No, I mean it's madness that we have to pay 699 Gold Coins for an article!" Pit exclaimed, "Who can afford Gold Coins? I can only afford hearts, not gold!"

All eyes glowered at Pit. Falco struck him hard on the head. "OW!"

"Guys, focus!" Hunt exclaimed, "Jace has a massive fear of snakes! The Freakish is a massive snake! He is FACING a massive snake!"

"Yeah we get that!" A frustrated Jenn barked, "we can ALL establish he don't do well with snakes! Can we go to London now?!"

"Gladly." Mario rubbed his hands together and raised his arm up, summoning a green pipe.

xXx

Back in London, England,

"What's going on?" the voice of Noir filled the room. But it didn't make the Signore and Ryan flinch a bit. Noir approached them, noticing them watching something from a huge translucent circle. "What are you all watching?"

He gazed at the image. It was Jace, hanging on for dear life before the Freakish. His heart skipped a beat at the sight of the colossal reptile.

"Something I'd like to call, BFP," Ryan replied, "Best Friend's Peril."

"Okay don't you think this is a little harsh of a mission to give this boy?" Noir said.

"We're merely toying with him." Ryan replied.

"Yeah, well playtime's over." Noir ordered, "Call off the mission. Doing this won't get us anywhere near the magical 3DS."

Medusa suddenly emerged from behind Ryan like a shifting shadow, "That's what you think!" She turned to Noir with sullen disapproval. Noir's eyes widened. He didn't flinch but he was really taken by surprise.

"Playtime to me is never ending when it comes to humans!"

"Medusa?" Noir's eyes flickered. "But…" he turned to the Signore, "…and you're allowing this?"

Medusa faced the Signore and Ryan who said nothing. The snakes on her head danced in celebration, "The 3rd Dimensional Screen is ours for the taking." Her scowling gaze turned back to Noir, "No matter what the cost."

"Nooo…" Noir argued, "It's not yours for the taking. It's a prototype and it belongs to Headquarters."

"Do NOT speak to the Great Medusa that way, Noir!" barked the Signore, "You should learn to know your place!"

"Hey, I know my place!" Noir barked back, "It's my company of Nintendo. What about yours, Signore? Isn't it up North to your mother's bum?"

The Signore let out a sharp gasp. Medusa stared at Noir with shocked expression. Ryan giggled, "Oh no he di'nt."

"I happen to own stocks of your Company! So I happen to be your BOSS!" Stefano barked.

"Hm." Noir stepped forward, pursing his lips. His nose barely touched the Signore's, "You wanna fire me, boss? Bring it."

The Signore raised his chin and deepened his brow.

"No." Medusa stepped forward, slowly pulling the Signore behind her. She now was facing Noir, nose-to-nose, "Allow me to do the honor."

Noir stood firm, despite feeling his palms sweating and his heart beating by Medusa's presence. Ryan licked his upper lips, pressing the tips of his fingers together with heavy anticipation.

xXx

Back at the London Tower,

The green pipe reemerged into the tower's green pastures. Mario, Luigi, Hunt, Jenn, Dimentio, Pit and Palutena all shot out of the pipe.

"This transportation mode sure feels weird." Palutena said, glancing at the disappearing pipe.

Jenn looked around, unfamiliar with her new setting, "are we in London?"

"HEEEEAAAAAALP!"

All heads whizzed to the source of the scream. They spotted a group of shadowy figures carrying a moving sack.

"Hey!" Mario exclaimed. The figures turned to the heroes and froze up.

"Drop that man!" Mario shouted, running after the enemies. Luigi followed and so do the rest of the heroes. The enemies vanished into thin air, leaving the sack behind.

Mario and Luigi tore the sack open. "Jace?" Jenn called out as the rest of the group gathered around the free sack.

A mushroom head pulled out of the sack. "Toadsworth!" They exclaimed.

"What happened?" asked Luigi.

"Oh, Master Mario. Master Luigi." Toadsworth sighed with relief, "oh thank the heavens you're here. I was waiting here as Jace told me to wait here and then BAM! These creeps showed up out of the blue and-!"

"Wait. So you were with Jace?" Hunt asked, "And now he's gone?"

All turned back to Toadsworth.

The mushroom steward's eyes widened. "Gone? What do you mean gone?" His lips quivered, then soon his body trembled, "ohhhh no, I failed to protect Jace did I? It's just like me failing the princess! Ohhh what a cruel world! If anything happened to Sir Jace, I don't know if I can even live!"

"Don't worry Toadsworth." Mario said, "we're-a just glad that you're-a safe."

"Father, what are you doing?" Jenn asked, noticing Dimentio pulling out his smartphone and going to a secure website.

"Going to a secure GPS Tracking site." He said, "When Jace was rebelling after his father passed away, his mother implanted a GPS tracking device on him."

"Really? On him?" Hunt gasped.

"Not literally." Dimentio replied, "You know that Smash Ball necklace he has? That's the GPS device." He turned back to his smartphone, ignoring the stunned look on Hunt and Jenn's faces, "all I need now is his Social Security number."

Mario, Luigi, and Toadsworth noticed Palutena glowing again, the mirror was held by Pit before her.

"Hey, what's going on?" Mario asked.

Pit shook his head, "I dunno. She told me to hold the mirror and then she started glowing before it."

"She must-a been sensing something." Luigi guessed.

The characters suddenly watched the magical 3DS morph back to Palutena's clasped hands. They gasped.

"The Screen...?" the brothers breathed.

"If all else fails," Palutena muttered, "this is the only way."

"Only w-! What's the only way?" Toadsworth demanded.

The 3DS briefly floated midair before it shot straight into the mirror. Once again the mirror glowed gold and rippled on contact. The brilliant flood of light shot out of the mirror again startling the heroes, then the mirror glasses flew from its frames as if in pieces.

Beep-Beep-Beep-Beep!

All eyes turned back to Dimentio's smartphone. "Did you find Jace?" Jenn asked.

"Where is he?" Hunt asked.

Dimentio stood still. The beeping was still heard. Only it was coming from two places: the smartphone and something else glittering a couple of feet from the engineer.

The heroes approached the object: it was Jace's Smash Ball necklace. Its chain had been snapped off as if by a great force.

Dimentio gently picked it up and all stared hopelessly at the lost jewel. "...found it."

The ground started shaking violently. The heroes immediately lost footing and Dimentio dropped the necklace by surprise. The whole tower wobbled, unable to stand still.

"What's going on?!" Jenn exclaimed.

The clouds thickened and the clear-blue sky darkened again. All heads looked up to the sky and a bloodcurdling scream left their throats.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

xXx

To be continued...

- New episodes coming in 2013.

- Warning! New Challenger Approaching: The White Knight is here! And his name is Simon! He's dark, brooding and he's the spitting image of Jace. But what makes him better than Jace?

- Noir's destiny will also be revealed!

- But the big question on everyone's mind is... did Jace survived?

- ...but if you can't wait that long, stay tuned for Twitter updates in the near future to satisfy your appetite.

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Next Episode:: White Knight in 3D