I had this done for awhile but didn't get around to posting it...there's been a sudden flood of essays due on a daily basis in college, and it's becoming more difficult to balance them with writing several fanfics at once. Still, I think the wait is worth it, since this was one of my favorite chapters to write so far and features the debut of a trio of mindless characters I've been long wanting to introduce into the story.

Chapter 10: Back to Earth!

"They're...wah...huh?" Iris couldn't finish her sentence, and looked to Fox for support.

"Er...uh...yeah," Fox was equally at a loss for words. He finally cleared his brain from the shock and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I recognized them, right down to the way they fought," Claude stated firmly. He stood from his seat and said with confidence, "they're definitely from Sony."

"How the heck did Sony characters get here? And what do they want!?" Kirby was starting to panic. Out of all their insane adventures, this revelation was a curveball. "It can't be true!"

"But it all adds up," Samus defended Claude's answer, coming upon a revelation of her own. "When I scanned the Gunner, I received absolutely no information whatsoever on him. With the extensive amount of data I have access to, I can identify info on everything in this universe...except for three people in particular. The two Sony characters, and...you, Claude."

Samus started to pace around the room as everyone watched her. It seemed that she was deep in her own thoughts, but was speaking them aloud. "Yes, it makes perfect sense now! The reason why I have no information on Claude is because he literally didn't exist in this dimension until today. The same must be true for these two Sony characters." She abruptly stopped and looked directly towards Claude. "Claude, you must tell us everything you know about these two people. It may be a long shot, but I think they may be connected with the Saffron City incident."

"What incident?" Captain Falcon asked, but was shushed by Iris.

"Well, I have to think about it for a minute," Claude said, racking his brain. "My memory's a little rusty, but the Gunman was Rudy and the Swordsman was Jack. They're from the game 'Wild ARMs,' but they're the good guys so it doesn't make sense that they would just up and attack a village."

"Wait, how do you know all of this?" Yoshi asked, skeptical of the entire situation.

"I have a Playstation, you know," Claude said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You can't be a hardcore gamer and only have one game console. It's just not possible."

"What!? Traitor!" Yoshi screamed, pointing at Claude accusingly.

The sound of metal smacking against scales echoed through the room.

"Hey!" Yoshi complained, rubbing his sore snout. "I thought we got over this slapping thing!"

"Shhh! Let him finish!" Samus commanded. Yoshi looked towards the floor and grumbled, but he complied.

"Rudy specializes in using ARMs," Claude continued, "which was all of those different guns he was using in the fight. Jack uses 'Fast Draw' techniques, which is kinda like Quick Draw but with swords. That move Jack used on you was Psycho Crack. It confuses people if it don't kill 'em first."

"With this information, we may stand a fighting chance," Samus said, entering new info into her personal database.

"You're kidding, right?" Yoshi said mockingly to Samus. "We don't know where they are now, when they got here, and HOW they got here! We don't even know if there are more of them!"

"I can find out!" Claude announced. "The DWA Machine is like a big computer. I can get Mr. Miyamoto to check the logs and see exactly what happened when, and how. I mean, it's gotta have logs, right?"

"That's a good idea, Claude," Samus commended him. "But how do you plan to get back to Earth?"

"All I have to do is say the magic words and I'm back on Earth," Claude said.

"Wait, you traitor! You're not going anywhere!" Yoshi screamed. "Repent!"

"Exit Command," Claude said firmly after stepping away from the group. Near instantly, his body emitted a bright light and began to turn into streams of data.

"No, REPENT!" Yoshi proclaimed again, this time diving for the 'traitor.' But Claude's transformation was nearly complete, and seconds later, the data shot through the ceiling of the Great Fox and into the skies, leaving a brilliant flash of light in the room. Once the lighting returned to normal, Samus began scoping the room, when she realized what happened.

"...where did he go...?"

"Back to Earth, I guess," Iris said.

"No, I mean..." Samus gestured ahead.

"...oh."

The home of the DWA Machine was visited with life again as Claude materialized in the same tube he used to leave his own dimension. One quick look of the small room told him that Miyamoto wasn't around, as it was empty save for the machine's components and the humming of the mechanism at work. He began to step onto the metal floor when he felt something against his legs and nearly jumped a mile.

"I said repent, damn you..."

"What the hell? How did you get here!?" Claude exclaimed in total shock.

Yoshi sat up groggily, recovering from his first jump between dimensions. He gave Claude lazy but slightly grudgingly looks periodically in between glances at the small room.

"What happened to your clothes and hair?" He asked as casually as ever. "And where are we?"

Claude folded his arms with an amused smile and said, "You're on Earth, fool."

"Wait, what?" Yoshi said, becoming more attentive. "You brought me to Earth!?"

"I didn't bring you to Earth," Claude stated, walking towards the panel in the center of the room. "You must've jacked a ride." He started looking at the screen for any answers on this particular phenomenon.

"The first Yoshi to cross dimensions! Damn, I rock!" Yoshi announced proudly. "And just for that, you've redeemed yourself, and I hereby reappoint you as leader of the Official Yoshi Fanclub."

Claude would have had some amused response but was too busy worrying himself over the repercussions of bringing a video game character out of their world and onto Earth. As far as he knew, it had never happened before, and if he explained to Miyamoto that it was an accident, just maybe he wouldn't be thrown to the Metroids. Yoshi, on the other hand, was too busy inflating his ego even more.

"Hey, maybe I should write a speech," Yoshi said.

Claude looked up, "for what?"

"For when I show myself to the public. Or better yet, maybe spontaneity is better. What do you think?"

"I think you need to go back home," Claude said, pushing Yoshi towards the Transportation Tube.

"Are you crazy!?" Yoshi exclaimed. "I can't miss an opportunity like this! And neither can the public!"

"Okay, how about this. I'll let you stay here while I go find Mr. Miyamoto, and you can give him all the speeches and spontaneity you want."

Yoshi frowned, "I don't see what the big deal is about why you don't want anyone to know I'm here, but okay."

Claude found Yoshi's sudden cooperation a little strange, but took it over anymore arguing and left the room, missing Yoshi's mischievous smirk.

He stepped into the small hallway, letting the metal door close behind him. He walked to the other end and cracked open the door, peeping through the opening. The Nintendo World Store was packed more than ever with the overwhelming business of opening day. The ridiculously long line of people waiting for their autograph from Shigeru Miyamoto didn't help calm the hysteria, either.

"That's a lot of people," Yoshi whispered from behind Claude.

"I know," he replied, then did a double take. "I thought I told you-" But it was too late, for Yoshi had whipped by him like green lightning and out into the open.

"HEY EVERYBODY, LOOK AT ME!" Yoshi yelled to the masses. Many heads turned with perplexed expressions, expecting to find the cause of the commotion...but no one was there.

'He's fast, but I'm faster,' Claude thought with a triumphant look on his face, having thrown Yoshi back into the hallway before anyone had seen him. He took a nearby chair and jammed the door with it, leaving the knob turning furiously from the other side, and then made his way over to the makeshift autograph signing area.

Security was a little tight, but Claude did make out Miyamoto's usual smiling face as he signed an elated girl's DS. She giggled and attempted to make some sort of conversation when she received her DS back, but was nearly bowled over and out of the way by the anxious people behind her. The gap toothed man from before appeared beside Miyamoto and whispered something to him. The smile had faded a little, but he continued the signing like a trooper once the man had left. Claude got a bad feeling in his gut, thinking that maybe they knew he had let Yoshi onto Earth, and that they had sensors or alarms for this sort of thing...and that Miyamoto was finding out for himself. Then he brushed it off when he though of the odds.

Squeezing through security, the man made eye contact with Claude. "Ah, you're the contest winner Claude, right?" he asked.

"Yeah," Claude replied. "What was that all about?"

"Oh, nothing," he dodged the question, looking around nervously. "Was there something you wanted to tell Mr. Miyamoto?"

"Something important needs his attention."

"Like what?"

Claude thought about how to word what he wanted to say. "We have a...interdimensional visitor."

The man gave an odd look but returned to Miyamoto and relayed the message. The smile was broader than ever on his face, which Claude thought was a good sign if he truly understood what was going on. He was quick to step away from the signing, to the dismay of the people waiting in line.

"Mr. Miyamoto will be right back," Mr. 'Gappy' announced to the bustling line. Miyamoto waved off security and wasted no time heading with Claude towards the door leading to the DWA Machine. He looked a bit perplexed by the chair jammed against the door until Claude made a simple gesture and removed it. Yoshi bolted out of the doorway, but was apprehended this time by Miyamoto himself and pulled back into the hallway.

"Hey! Wha...oh," Yoshi uttered as he was dragged down the hallway, a little stunned by his captor. Miyamoto whipped out his familiar access card and unlocked the thick metal door at the end of the hall, and they all entered the lair of the DWA Machine once again.

"Is there a problem?" Yoshi said, trying to give Miyamoto one of his most charming, innocent smiles. He was a bit confused when the man turned and walked away from him.

"You might want to wait a bit before askin' him anymore questions," Claude said while Miyamoto fastened his headset.

The Nintendo Legend himself opened his mouth to speak but stopped. He was contemplating what he wanted to say, which Claude knew would lead into some kind of chastising. Yoshi continued to smile at him.

"I see we have a guest," Miyamoto said.

Claude couldn't read his face. "I can explain," he said hurriedly. "What had happened was, I was on my way out of the Nintendoverse when Yoshi must've jumped on me and got brought to Earth."

Miyamoto smiled. "I had no idea the Machine could bring the natives out of their own world." He walked over to the dinosaur and looked him directly in the eyes. "Hello, Yoshi."

Yoshi looked slightly offended. "Hello!? Is that ALL you have to say to me?"

"Welcome to Earth!" Miyamoto replied. It didn't help.

"Where's the confetti? And the cake!?" Yoshi ranted. "What kind of welcoming party is this? Claude won't even let the people see me!"

Miyamoto's smile never faltered. "I'm sure you understand, Yoshi. The public is not ready for such a...treat." Yoshi beamed proudly at those words. "The Digital World Animator Machine is a secret project. If we were to reveal you, then everyone would be asking 'Where did he come from?' and 'How did he get here?' We would need the word to unveil the DWA Machine project to the world before doing so."

Yoshi looked as if he was told the nicest thing he ever heard in his life. He then turned and glared at Claude. "Why didn't you tell me that from the start!? I can't jeopardize the project by exposing myself to the people out there!"

Claude rolled his eyes and turned to Miyamoto. "Speakin' of out there, what was Gappy telling you about?"

"Gappy...?" Miyamoto nodded and smiled even broader when he realized who 'Gappy' was. "It was nothing. It seems that a Sony executive was spotted snooping around the store. Maybe it's paranoia talking, but I think he may be up to no good. This isn't the first Nintendo World Store to open, so I wouldn't believe that this would be his top priority. But, it's always wise to check out your competition. I've done so myself before. So," he said, changing the subject, "how was your trip? Why are you back so soon?"

Claude's face lit up and Yoshi gave him a knowing glance. "That's right, that's why I came here! You might not be so paranoid after all. The Yoshi Village was attacked by some Sony characters."

Miyamoto gave him an odd look. "Are you sure?"

"He's telling the truth!" Yoshi said. "We were face-to-face with them! Kicked their butts, too!"

"I...I can't believe Sony would stoop to such levels," Miyamoto said, with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"We need logs," Claude said. "We want to know as much as possible on how and why they came. There're logs, right?"

"Yes, there are," Miyamoto said with a distant look on his face, approaching the Viewer in the center of the room. He typed away on the keyboard, bringing up a window over the image of Hyrule, having changed from the image of Dreamland that was there before. He pressed a key and papers began to pour out of a printer on the left wall of the room, which he went to retrieve.

"While you're doing that, I'll go over here and..." Claude trailed off when he reached the Viewer and starting tapping away at keys.

Yoshi looked around the room and noticed that no one was paying attention to him. He felt a deep nagging feeling and decided to do what he did best: annoy people.

"What's that?" he asked, standing next to Claude and looking down through the glass.

"The Viewer," Claude replied.

"What does it do?"

"It views stuff," he replied flatly.

Yoshi frowned. "So, what are you doing?"

"I'm adding a Counter Aura to the Protect Barrier."

Yoshi was puzzled. "The who to the what?"

Claude sighed. "It's from Star Ocean 3. The shield of hexagons in the fight was the Protect Barrier. A Counter Aura, Anti-Attack Aura, or whatever you want to call it is supposed to trigger when the shield goes off, but I never set one, so nothin' happened."

Yoshi looked even more confused. "Okay..." He replied. The ensuing silence eventually began to drive him crazy, and he looked back and forth between Miyamoto and Claude as if expecting it to be a sick joke that would end any second now. When no one reacted, he snapped.

"Dammit, you're going to pay attention to me!" He yelled, slamming a hand down onto the keyboard.

"The hell is wrong with you?!" Claude blurted out. "Look what you did, fool!" He pointed through the glass as a swirl of clouds began to form in the fields of Hyrule.

The clouds swirled in the blue skies over the fields of Hyrule until they formed a vortex, its path leading to another universe. In the center of the vortex appeared three blurred figures, slowly but surely inching their way from one world to the next. As they emerged from the wormhole of mist and cloud, the conduit of otherworldly travel disappeared behind them without a trace, as if the portal had never existed.

The three of them flapped their wings high in the sky, bearing mischievous grins towards one another. The self-proclaimed leader had a body of purple feathers, trimmed with blue. Her two accomplices looked identical, one with brown feathers and a yellow trim, while the other bore green feathers with an orange trim.

They were the Harpy Sisters, half-women and half-bird menaces from another world. And they did what they were known and feared for throughout their homeland.

They laughed.

And they laughed some more.

And then they continued laughing.

One person...one child, bore witness to it all. Young Link had been taking a routine stroll through Hyrule Field, expecting it to be a normal, boring day. What he didn't know as he watched the harpies with pure curiosity was that this would be the turning point of his day, and that the ensuing harassment would be just one of many events to follow.

The harpies congregated amongst themselves with a series of laughs until one harpy, the green sister, noticed the young child watching them from the corners of her vision. She let out a stifled laugh which alerted her two sisters, and the trio peered down at Young Link with a newfound joy. He would be their next victim.

The child was alerted when the three sisters had formed a ring and rotated high over his head. He had never encountered such creatures, and knew from previous adventures to be cautious with the unknown.

Laughter reverberated from the skies for longer than Young Link could remember. He became annoyed and eventually offended by the screeches of laughter and silent insinuations that went along with it. He could finally take it no longer and hurled his boomerang to the skies, barely missing the green sister.

His attack, which was meant as a warning, only seemed to make things worse when the sisters cackled harder and louder than ever in result.

"Stop laughing at me!!" He commanded desperately, switching to his slingshot and hurling a storm of Deku Seeds into the air. The sisters hovered and continued to laugh as shots missed them.

"aHAhahahahaha!!!" They cackled.

Young Link reeled back one more seed and let if fly with godly precision. The brown sister, who's mouth had been wide open for another burst of laughter, had fallen to the ground before she realized what happened. The other two sisters lowered to the ground and surrounded their fallen sibling. The Deku Seed had lodged itself in her throat, which she had finally managed to cough up.

The two sisters hatefully glared at Young Link, and began casting a spell. The brown sister recovered and joined in on the casting. Young Link wasn't quite sure what was going on, but he backed away slowly.

"FIREBOLT!" The Harpy Sisters cried in unison, unleashing a flurry of fireballs in Young Link's direction. The child let out a terrified scream as he broke into a dash, the balls of molten rock magically following his every move...

Claude and Yoshi stared at the screen of Hyrule, having witnessed the entire event.

"If you didn't kirk out and slam on the keyboard then that would've never happened," Claude reprimanded. "Now we've got another problem to handle when we get back."

Yoshi scowled. "It's not my fault! You did the typing!"

"Is there a problem?" Miyamoto asked, organizing the printed paper.

"No," they replied in unison with shifty glances.

Miyamoto approached, looking through the logs. His eyes flashed. "There is no doubt that these Sony characters are running amok. Very mysterious..." He said, mostly to himself. "They were materialized on Yoshi's Island."

"And that's where they struck first!" Yoshi said, balling his fists.

"Any way to find where they are now?" Claude asked.

"I would have to search for them using the Viewer," Miyamoto replied. "It may take some time, though. That universe is very big, you know."

Claude looked slightly puzzled. "...but how'd they get into the Nintendoverse anyway?"

"They were inserted manually," Miyamoto said, tapping a slot under the keyboard attached to the Viewer. "It is a disk drive where you can download and upload information. It was downloaded in bulk, so the exact contents could not be disclosed, but it is the only time that downloading characters into the universe would be feasible."

"What about Saffron City?" Claude asked. "It was attacked and-"

"Also a manual command, entered from the Viewer," Miyamoto replied.

"Does that mean somebody broke in and messed with the digital machine thingy?" Yoshi said, eying the Viewer as if it had all the answers. "This is sounding pretty bad."

A small grin emerged on Miyamoto's face, "Not to worry. I believe it would be best if you returned to your friends and relayed this information to them. I have some business to attend to back in the store, so it will be awhile before I can search for the culprits. You may have better luck than I would if you searched for a solution to this problem immediately. Meanwhile, I'll have security tightened."

Claude found it a little odd how quickly Miyamoto's mood changed and how he was trying to herd them back into the Nintendoverse, but didn't say anything. Miyamoto typed away on the Viewer's keyboard, inputting the digitalization command that would interpret and transfer the flesh, blood and DNA of a being from Earth to the data of the Nintendoverse, and then the coordinates that would return them from where they originally left.

The transportation tube lit up, inviting everyone for the trip. Claude stepped inside for the second time of his life, surprising even himself at how ready he was to be transported into another universe previously thought to be purely fiction.

He noticed that Yoshi hadn't moved. "Come on," he said.

"But I just got here!" Yoshi complained, but reluctantly complied when he entered the tube as well, pushing Claude further back as if he needed all the space he could get.

Miyamoto hit the enter key and waved with a smile as the duo were turned into data and shot through the unknown that separated the two realities. The light in the tube died down and they were gone, leaving the Nintendo Legend to his own presence and thoughts.

The smile quickly faltered from his face as he looked over the logs again. The situation was worse than he wanted to let on to either Claude or Yoshi. The last thing he wanted was to panic the two people that could help rectify the problem. Though Miyamoto would have normally lingered in the awe and fascination that came with meeting one of Nintendo's creations, he was too troubled by what he read on the paper.

'Yoshi...is right,' he thought to himself. Someone did break in, and it wasn't just to admire the Digital World Animation Machine. They destroyed a Pokémon city and inserted malevolent beings to cause further destruction. So they knew what they were doing and how the DWA Machine worked. And they never left a trace of physical evidence he could detect. So not only did they bypass human security, but mechanical security as well when they managed to get through the thick metal door closing off the room to the rest of the world. He had never seen anyone inch there way towards the backroom before Claude emerged...

And then there was that one last problem. He stared at the mechanical text applied to the paper, hoping and expecting what he had read to warp itself into something, anything else than what he was understanding. That one last problem...information he purposely kept from both Claude and Yoshi regarding the Transportation Tube and the last time it was used.

Someone else had entered the Nintendoverse after Claude.