Do I need to even put a disclaimer anymore? Do you still need to rub it in!?

--

The Shadow Syndicate: Thanks for the compliment. Yeah, that's Jabu-Jabu for you, every other game developer wishes their fish could be as cool as him. Yeah, that's Marth for you as well, what a chivalrous fellow. Let's see if anything else happens to him next chapter. Kirby is fun to write for, I don't even need to explain that one though. Ness, Marth, and Kirby will continue their adventures next chapter, but please enjoy this one as well.

Army of perverts: Well, I knew a bad review would come along eventually. However, it makes me happy to know that another person bothered to review. I suppose that I should apologize that the first chapter was too tedious for you, however I figure if you can't even make it through that, then I'll just have to live with the crushing loss of such an amazing reader. Was that too harsh? Oh well. I'm glad you reviewed anyways.

--

Ancient Warrior: A once legendary hero, who now continues to exist to fulfill some unknown purpose. Capable of form shifting and able to move wherever desired. Seems to have some past connections.

Jabu-Jabu: Known as the guardian of the Zora. This giant fish is decorated with treasures as a sign of reverence from the Zora. Due to the actions of Exodus, Jabu-Jabu has become sick, and begun acting strangely.

Diggers: Treasure hunters from Megaman Trigger's world. They travel deep into ancient ruins to find treasures left behind by the ancients. It is often dangerous work due to the reaverbots left behind as well. Diggers are backed up by Spotters, who monitor their progress, and alert them of directions and enemies.


"How long have we been walking in this desert!?" Sonic shouted, eyes full of exhaustion. He panted heavily, and looked to his companions, looking for an answer.

The four heroes stood atop an enormous dune of sand. Yet, the dune was minuscule compared to the endless sand that lay before them.

"It's my guess that we've been walking for about," Ike pondered for a moment. "Ten minutes, give or take five." His huge rock form kept him completely indifferent to the blistering heat.

"Which wouldn't be so bad," Falcon panted. "If it wasn't so damn hot!"

"I agree." Kafei gasped heavily. "This is very hard to bear with."

"Well at least you aren't an aquatic race!" Sonic roared, skin sizzling slightly. "I'm a few minutes away from being fish-sticks!" He kept on walking despite his complaints, refusing to lose to the masked child. Suddenly, he halted in mid-step. He gazed at a massive sight in front of him. "It's a wall." He muttered in awe.

Before the group towered a massive wall, it stretched as high and wide as their eyes could see.

"This isn't a desert." Ike muttered.

"It's a humongous room!" Kafei exclaimed.

"I was wondering if you'd ever figure it out." A voice taunted.

"Oh god... don't tell me." Sonic muttered, not even turning towards the voice.

"Of course it's me!" Shouted the masked child, floating in the air with ease.

"Why haven't you approached us until now?" Kafe growled at the child.

"I just thought it'd be fun to watch you guys squirm for a bit. It was!" The child broke out into a fit of laughter, rolling around in the air.

"I'm gonna kill you!!!" Sonic shouted, running towards his fresh prey.

The child easily floated out of Sonic's reach, cackling the entire time. "Should you really be focusing on me? After all, my friend's already in this room"

"Already here?" Ike asked. "Well, where is he?" Ike and the group looked around, searching for their new foe.

"He's bluffing." Falcon scoffed. "He's just lying because he really doesn't have any friends."

"Take that back!!" The child shouted in rage. "Everyone in Exodus is my friend! I have tons of friends! They all care about me!" He was practically spitting in his fury.

"Well then where is he?" Falcon taunted.

Rmblrmblrmbl!!! The ground began to shake with intensity.

"Right here." The child laughed, before disappearing.

"What is it!!" Kafei shouted, looking around wildly.

"Don't worry." Sonic smiled. "Whatever it is, we can ta-."

The nearby sand exploded in a massive cloud! A massive shadowy beast tore out of the ground. It's body was thick and incredibly long, stretching for an incredible distance. It's head was decorated with two massive pincers, guarding it's three bright-green eyes.

"What the hell is that thing!!!?" Sonic shouted, as the beast flew through the air.

"Don't panic." Ike attempted to calm Sonic. "We can take thi-."

Another explosion of sand erupted nearby. A second shadowy beast, identical to the first, came bursting out of the ground. It too flew around, circling it's prey.

"Okay then." Ike's confidence quickly began to falter.

"We have no time to worry if we can do it!" Kafei shouted, looking at the beast's as they drew closer.

"Yeah! Let's just pound them into nothing!" Falcon roared.

"Fine whatever!" Sonic shouted. "Kafei! You're with me!" He gestured for Kafei to follow him. "Falcon and Ike, you two take the other one!" He ran off, Kafei following behind.

"Alright then." Falcon pounded his small fists together. "Let's get to it!" He and Ike ran towards the other.

The first creature roared towards Sonic, crashing into the ground nearby. Sonic leapt onto the beast's back as it resurfaced, sticking his sharp fins into it's body to act as a hold. The beast roared in pain, spiraling through the air.

Ike rolled along the second creatures back, Falcon trying to keep balance atop the fast-rolling Goron. Falcon jumped off upon reaching the head, landing atop one of the beast's pincers. The beast snapped furiously, trying to shake off it's small peeve.

"Whoa!" Falcon held on for dear life, as he was thrown about. "I hope this works!" He shouted to himself. A bubble began to emerge from his gaping mouth, growing to a large size. The bubble shot out into one of the creature's eyes.

"Good shot!" Ike shouted, as he continued to pummel the roaring beast.

"Do I have any other kinds of shots?" Falcon bragged, as he fired several more bubbles off.

With a sudden roar, the beast dove back into the sand, knocking it's attackers off of it.

"Where did he go?" Ike asked.

Sonic continued to scale up the enormous monster, wedging his fins into the beast with each move. Kafei stood at the ready on the ground below. Sonic finally sunk his fins into the head of the beast, and yanked towards the ground. Like a tamed horse, the beast complied without argument. Kafei pointed his dagger forward, as Sonic steered the beast to him. He leapt forward to stab the creature, ready to end it's existence.

"Whoa!" Kafei shouted, as the second monster burst out from below him. He tumbled backwards, and grabbed a hold of it's darkened hide. His head now sported a large wound from the sudden attack, but the blood was not enough to deter him. He stabbed his dagger repeatedly into the beast.

The beast sped towards the ground, hoping to crush Kafei into the sand. Before it could reach the ground though, Ike and Falcon darted in front of it. They each drew back their fists, preparing to obliterate their foe.

"Falcon Punch!" Falcon shouted, as Ike opted for a loud grunt. Their attacks crashed into the beast's head, and the beast simply faded away, defeated.

"Thank you." Kafei gave a chuckle. "That was close!"

"Don't mention it." Falcon grinned.

"I'm just glad we got there in time." Ike smiled.

They stood there for a moment, feeling as if they had forgotten something.

"A little help here!?" Sonic shouted, holding onto the raging beast.

The beast was moving exponentially faster than before, a dark aura surrounding it's body. Sonic was tossed off of the beast, his fins sliding right out of it's body. Sonic landed in a roll right next to Kafei. The beast charged towards them, it's pincers snapping fiercely.

"We've got this." Sonic told Ike and Falcon. "Now just like I said Kafei. Okay?" Sonic grinned.

"Of course." Kafei smirked.

The two stood staring at the beast. It was now moving even faster, closing in fast. Finally, the beast drew within feet of the two.

"Now!" Sonic shouted.

Sonic and Kafei gave a sudden dash forward, narrowly missing the snapping pincers. The two stabbed into the beast's head, killing it instantly. Like it's companion before it, the beast faded away into dark nothingness.

"Alright! Nice moves!" Shouted Falcon, jumping into the air.

"I was surprised you could move so fast Kafei." Ike laughed, as he picked up a single mask that had fallen from the slain beast.

"Must be in my blood or something." Kafei laughed, panting from the adrenaline.

"What about me!?" Sonic shouted. "Am I chopped liver or something?".

"We wouldn't expect any less of you Sonic." Ike smiled.

"Damn right you wouldn't." Sonic snickered. "What would you guys do with- hey! When did we get back to Termina Field!?" Sonic shouted. The rest quickly took in their new surroundings as well.

"We didn't go through a portal or anything!" Falcon shouted, fists clenched in rage. "What was the point of all those damn vortexes then!!?"

"More importantly, when did all of you return to your normal state?" Kafei pointed at them. Each warrior was back to their original body, a mask clenched in each of their hands.

"I'm me again!" Sonic shouted, dashing around in circles, causing a small wind tunnel.

"Good for you," Ike shielded himself from the winds. "But you don't have to make such a scene!"

"I'm awesome again! Yes!" Falcon punched a burning fist into the air.

"I suppose I can't be quite so lucky." Kafei muttered, eyes slightly sad. "But I'm glad you all are normal again. It was my fault that this happened in the first place."

"Quit talking like that!" Falcon shouted, causing Kafei to jump. "We did it because we chose to, and for no other reason." He turned his head to the side, embarrassed to give such a speech.

"Besides," Sonic added. "We can ask this guy if he can return you back to normal." Sonic pointed towards another figure.

The masked child floated in front of the group, arms crossed, head down. He seemed to be pouting about his loss. "I can't believe you beat me in my game...." He muttered dejectedly.

"That doesn't matter right now." Ike cut in. "We need to know if you can return Kafei back to normal."

"And give us those masks while you're at it!" Sonic added.

"Fine!" Shouted the child. "You already have the masks of my friends, and you have the masks of the three races. So I only have a few left!" The child tossed several masks onto the ground.

"But what about my mask? And my body?" Kafei asked.

"Do you really want to return to normal?" The child asked. "Being a child is soooo much more fun!"

"I'm sure. Please, I need to return to normal." Kafei begged.

"Well–, alright. But, you need to play one last game." The child turned around, fiddling with something.

"I'm fine with that." Kafei agreed without a second thought.

"And we're fine with it too!" Sonic shouted.

"Alright then!" The child tossed the Mask of the Sun in front of Kafei.

"My mask!" Kafei shouted, picking it up. "I can't believe I've really got it back!" He shouted. He looked at it in awe. "I wonder if it'll fit me like this." He muttered, bringing it towards his face.

"Kafei! Wait!" Ike shouted, noticing one of the spines on the mask was a shadowy color. "Something's not right with that mask!"

However, it was too late. Kafei placed the mask on his face, and before he could even think, his body began to contort. "Ahhh!!! It hurts!" Kafei's warped voice cried out. A shroud of darkness covered his writhing form. Finally, the noises stopped.

"Kafei!" Sonic shouted, rushing towards the dark veil. "Oof!" He grunted, as a large arm crashed into him.

Kafei's body was at least twenty feet tall. He was just as wide as he was tall however, his body round and stout. His entire form was covered in golden armor, large spines jutted out of his shoulders. His arms were thick and powerful, covered in massive gauntlets. His legs also seemed incredibly strong, able to hold his massive body. A large head sat atop the round body, a golden helmet atop it. Red eyes stared from the hole in the helmet's visor. From the back of his head, an enormous shock of purple hair waved in the wind.

"Kafei!" Falcon shouted. "What's wrong with you!?" He stared up at the massive creature, clenching his fists in apprehension.

"It's time for the final fight!" The child shouted. "If you win against Heliault, then I'll return him to an adult." He cackled, obviously pleased with himself.

"I think we've got a problem on our hands." Sonic sighed, staring up at the massive behemoth.

--

Metaknight gave a powerful grunt, as he slashed another Formless to pieces. X and Sigma brought up his rear, quickly dispatching of any enemies to the back or sides.

Getting on the ship had gone even smoother than expected. And once they had boarded, Metaknight's suspicion was confirmed.

The enemy had planned on ambush, attacking the moment the Halberd took into the sky. Somebody must have suspected Metaknight's true intentions, and had been ready for any treachery.

"There's no end to them!" X shouted, firing rapidly at the ever-growing crowd of pursuers.

"I know! It's great!" Sigma shouted, diving into another group of Formless. "I forgot how much fun it was to be on the front lines!" Sigma laughed.

"We only have so much further until we reach the controls." Metaknight grunted, slashing another enemy in two. Not a single movement escaped his eyes, as he destroyed everything in his path. His golden blade sliced through it's enemies like butter, tearing them to pieces with it's burning form. "There's the elevator!" Metaknight shouted.

The group sprinted towards the elevator door, attempting to flee from their chasers. They dove onto the elevator, and hammered the up button. The Formless reached them one second too late, unable to do anything but watch their targets escape.

"It will be a moment before we reach the top." Metaknight explained, closing his eyes in an attempt to focus.

"So this is your ship?" X asked, staring at the walls as they sped by.

"Yes, although this one's fairly new." Metaknight explained.

"Why would such a guy need a ship like this anyways?" Sigma asked. "Maybe you're not such a good guy after all." He grinned.

"Sigma!" X shouted angrily, but looking slightly doubtful himself.

"No, it's okay." Metaknight held a hand out to stop the potential dispute. "There was once a time, in which I indeed attempted to take over Dreamland. The planet, that I now am trying to liberate." He sighed deeply.

"But, why?" X asked.

"My sole purpose in life has always been to seek power. Eventually I grew sick of the carefree life of Dreamland. So, I attempted to change it to how I viewed it should be." Metaknight explained. "But, a single warrior defeated me whenever we faced each other. He never viewed strength as trying to rule those weaker than you, but as protecting them instead." He nodded his head appreciatively. "I still walk on the path of strength, but with a different direction now."

"That's a good mind-set." X smiled. "That's how I've always felt about strength too."

Metaknight nodded at X, glad someone shared his sentiments.

"Psh! Whatever! Bullying the weak is great!" Sigma scoffed. "You guys can follow whatever path you want, but as long as your eyes are on others, you'll never see your own demise coming." He gave an ominous laugh.

X opened his mouth to argue, but the elevator stopped it's ascent at that moment.

"Here we are." Metaknight growled, walking into the room.

"I don't see anyone." Sigma complained.

"Where could they be?" X wondered aloud.

The group continued to walk towards the steering wheel of the ship. They stopped dead in their tracks, when a voice spoke up.

"Glad you all could make it."

Before anybody could react, an amazingly large spiked ball crashed into the three, hurling them out of the room's window.

"Oof!" Sigma shouted, as the three hit the open deck of the ship.

The wind blew fiercely at the warriors, but they hardly noticed it at that moment.

"I always knew you were a traitor." A booming voice spoke out. An enormous figure, decorated in mostly gold armor, stared at the three from the window. His mouth was the only part of his true person that was visible, a crude fang protruding upwards. Two red eye-like circles seemed to glare from either side of his chest-plates. The symbol of Exodus was emblazoned on the center of his chest. He held a flail, with a spiked ball bigger than Metaknight's entire body, in his hands.

"Onox!" Metaknight shouted. "I have come to reclaim what is rightfully mine! Give up quietly, and I will spare your life!"

"Rightfully your's?" Onox mocked. "The only thing that rightfully belongs to you, is a long and painful death!" Onox shouted, hurling the spiked ball at his the warriors. The weapon sped across the enormous distance, seemingly stretching further than physically possible.

The three jumped away, just in time to avoid the enormous impact.

Metaknight dashed forward, straight towards Onox. He quickly spun himself into a tornado of blades, and clashed against Onox's arm. Onox smashed his arm into Metaknight, sending him flying backwards. X peppered Onox's armor with rapid shots, but most of the attacks had no effect.

"Is that all you've got!?" Onox shouted.

"Then how about this!?" Sigma shouted, speeding towards Onox from above, scythe held above his head.

Onox threw both hands into the air, and caught the weapon at the pole grip. He gave a small smirk, before swinging Sigma around at intense speed. Onox sent Sigma flying back into the control room. Before Onox could even say a word, Metaknight was back on him, slashing ferociously.

"Gah!" Onox cried, as a charged blast from X hit him in his back. He grunted again, as Metaknight slashed his right arm. "That's it!" Onox began to swing his flail, causing Metaknight to leap backwards. He swung the weapon at X, landing a successful hit into X's chest. X held onto the weapon, pulling it in his direction. Onox gave a laugh, before tugging it back towards himself.

"Gotcha!" X laughed, placing his feet on the spiked ball, and pushing it away with his dash-boosters.

The spiked ball crashed into Onox's armor with tremendous speed, creating a deep crack along it's front. "You'll pay for that!" Onox shouted, swinging the weapon with even greater speed. The weapon became practically invisible, an omnipresent danger around Onox's body.

Metaknight dashed in again, dodging each invisible swing with supernatural perception. He stabbed his sword directly into Onox's stomach, earning a roar of pain from the general. Onox grabbed Metaknight with his enormous fist, slamming him into the ground.

"Did you honestly think you could beat me!?" He shouted, drawing Metaknight up to his face.

X dashed towards the two, trying to reach them in time.

"You will pester me no more!" Onox held Metaknight up into the air. "Goodbye! Meta-GAH!" Onox shouted in surprise, as the ship suddenly made a huge turn to the right. Onox lost his balance, and fell towards the ship's edge. He grabbed onto the side of the ship, hanging over the massive drop.

"How's that for all we've got!?" Sigma laughed, clutching the ship's steering wheel tightly.

Metaknight gasped for breath, getting up slowly to his feet. He noticed Onox's predicament, and dashed towards the villain. "So long." He growled, as cut at Onox's fingers.

"It's not over ye~t~" Onox shouted, as he plummeted towards the ground.

"That was a dangerous one." X gave a sigh of relief.

Metaknight closed his eyes, trying to regain his calm. "I suppose this ship is back in my control now."

"We sure showed him didn't we!?" Sigma laughed deeply.

The moment of joy ended abruptly, as the sky suddenly turned black. Bolts of lightning shot out from seemingly nowhere.

"This battle isn't over yet!" Metaknight shouted, turning to look at the sky.

Suddenly, an enormous dragon flew into the sky! Two giant horns jutted out from the red crystal on it's forehead. It's enormous front claws flexed murderously. It's enormous wings rocked the Halberd with their enormous beatings.

"I told you it wasn't over yet! Now you will all die!" Onox bellowed, screaming towards the Halberd.

--

"You almost have it!" Shouted the spiritual warrior, knocking Link to the ground with a thrust of his shield. "You must read further into your opponent! Let their thoughts be an extension of your own!"

Link quickly brought himself back to his feet, spat some blood onto the floor, and charged once again. "Haaa!" He shouted with all his might, slashing at incredible speeds.

The two warriors entered a dance of blades, moving back and forth, narrowly dodging each cut. The ancient warrior was unbelievably skilled with his sword, each movement flowed perfectly into the next. Link also fought with surprising skill, employing many techniques he had learned from his opponent.

There! Link noticed the warrior's shoulder twitch, and leapt into the air. He sailed over the warrior's stab, and cut the warrior with a flipping-slash.

"Agh!" The warrior clutched his shoulder with pain. "Good work, you've finally got the technique down. With this counter, you will be able to take down much more powerful opponents."

"About time." Link panted, collapsed on the ground, exhausted from the training.

"You finished just when the other did too." The warrior pointed to an exhausted Saria, also on the ground.

Saria looked to Link, then gave a very tired smile and a wave.

Link returned the gesture, both children exhausted and wounded, but still laughing happily.

"You have both done well, I hope the moves I have taught to you will be of great use to you in the future." The mirrored warriors bowed, bodies pulling back together at the same time, until one warrior stood in front of them. "There will be many ordeals for you two ahead. I have geared you with strength to overcome some of them, but physical strength will only carry you so far in this world. When the time comes, it will be up to you on how to deal with it."

Link and Saria nodded their heads, eyes fixed on the grand warrior.

"I have one last thing to give you." The warrior held out his hand and dropped a small trinket into Link's hand.

The trinket resembled the one given to Geno by Mario, yet it had it's own differences. This object was decorated with several brilliantly colored shards, making it look almost like some type of wing.

"With this, I have completed my task." The warrior's body began to glow. "I believe we shall meet again, if that is what fate has in store for us."

"It was nice meeting you." Saria quickly quipped, giving a polite bow of her head.

"It was not the first time I have seen you two." The now-resonant warrior shook his head sadly. "I saw both of you many years back." His tone began sound of regret. "Forgive me for putting such a burden on you two. Please, find a way to fix my mistakes." The warrior's body disappeared into light, and flew from the room.

"What did he mean by that?" Link asked, turning his head to Saria.

"I'm not sure." Saria muttered, deep in thought.

"No use worrying about it though." Link said, pulling himself to his feet and dusting himself off. "We should get going." He held out his hand towards Saria.

"Right." Saria nodded her head, gratefully taking Link's hand.

The two exited the large room, once again finding themselves in another hallway, this one with an end in sight.

"How are you guys doing?" Megaman's concerned voice buzzed in over the communicator. "We just finished up with that warrior, he's gone now."

"Us too." Link replied back. "He gave us something, I think it goes with Geno's piece.

"He gave you one too? Yeah, your hunch is probably right."

"How's Geno doing?" Saria asked, pressing her cheek against Link so as to talk over the communicator. "No problems with him?"

"I am doing fine, thank you for asking, Saria." Geno's voice replied.

"Geno's probably doing the best out of all of us. He doesn't even have a scratch on him." Megaman's voice held a hint of contempt.

"Hey I think I see you guys." Saria gasped, waving to two figures in an identical looking hallway across the room in-between.

"Hey you're right!" Megaman replied, waving back. "Let's cut out communication then." His communicator fell silent.

"Let's go Link!" Saria shouted.

"Shyaria? Could you gyive me a bit of space?" Link asked, indicating Saria's cheek.

"Oh, sorry!" Saria blushed, quickly moving away.

"It's alright." Link mumbled, rubbing his numb cheek. "C'mon, let's go." He grabbed her hand, and pulled her towards the room ahead.

"Hey there!" Megaman greeted them happily. He also looked to be in pretty bad shape, scratches on his face and armor. "You two look like a train-wreck." He laughed, but not unkindly.

Saria and Link looked to each other. "Train-wreck?"

"Err... Never mind." Megaman laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "So how was your training? Did you learn a bunch of new moves too?"

"You bet!" Link smiled, Saria nodded too.

"I feel loads stronger now!" Megaman pumped a fist into the air. "Although Geno was on par with that warrior the entire time." He gave a sigh.

"I hate to interrupt, but all of you should see this." Geno finally spoke up, pointing to the wall in front of him.

The other three quickly turned to where Geno had indicated, and muttered a collective "Whoa..."

An enormous mural stood in front of them, it's picture faded, but still powerful. It depicted what looked like an enormous red sphere pulling in many smaller ones. Something about it seemed truly ominous. Below the picture, an odd set of symbols were carved into the wall.

"That's the ancient language of the stars!" Geno gasped, walking over to it. "It has not been used for eons!" He ran his hand over the carvings.

"Can you read it?" Link asked.

Geno nodded his head, bringing his hand along the symbols. "Yes, I have studied this before." He began to read aloud, as he walked alongside the words. "The purpose of the stars is to watch over the people below, to grant their wishes. The stars do this with only the purest intentions in mind. Kindness and good intentions help provide the power for these wishes, which then take on the form of a star. But, negatives exist in the world as well. Cruel thoughts, greed, wanton violence; they all too have an energy behind them. The power of the negatives does not gather as much though, due to the fact that the stars do not aid it. But, due to a lack of release, they slowly gather together growing evermore powerful." Geno paused for a moment, looking back up at the picture.

"What's after that?" Saria asked, partially dreading the answer.

Geno paused for a moment, before reading on. "The dark thought's will eventually take form, one that threatens the universe. They will gather to form the "Star of Death", an entity formed of pure evil. The star will grow at an alarming rate, fueled by the intentions of the wicked. Chaos will break out, the dark energy causing a break out of anomalies among the universe. But it will not stop there, the star will not stop growing, and eventually, it will swallow the entire universe." Geno finished in an awed tone.

Saria gave a gasp of shock. "That's terrible!"

"Is there anything we can do to stop this?" Megaman gulped.

"It just says that it will take the true powers of light to stop the darkness." Geno sighed. "There's no specifics or anything of the sort."

"What are we gonna do!?" Saria shouted. "Link?" She asked, staring at her silent companion.

"What do you think that is?" Link pointed to a bright blue shard attached to an old looking necklace. He walked forward, and pulled the necklace out of it's nook.

"There's writing below it." Geno pointed to the text. "It says that it shall point the way to the objects with powerful light energy."

"So it's like some sort of radar?" Megaman asked.

"Essentially so, but if it's ancient star technology, then that means it is immensely powerful." Geno remarked.

"I guess we should be getting out of here then." Link muttered. "There's nothing left in here, and we really have to get moving. Plus, it's a long walk ba-."

Link's suggestion was interrupted, as the ceiling above them opened, and a set of stairs rose from the ground.

"It looks like the necklace was the trigger to open up the shortcut." Megaman chuckled.

"Well I wish we could've gone this way in the first place!" Link griped, walking up the old steps.

"Link!" Saria shouted in a panicked voice.

The other three quickly wheeled around, to see Saria being held with her arms behind her back by a strange looking man.

"My my." The man laughed. "You already seemed to be tired out from something else. This makes my job even easier than I thought."

"Saria!!" Link shouted, thrusting his sword at the man, only to meet with thin air.

"Now let's have none of that." The man spoke from the opposite side of the room, still holding Saria captive.

"Who are you?" Geno demanded.

"The name is Dimentio." The man bowed his head, his strange jester-like hat swaying along. It was hard to discern whether he was wearing a mask or not. Half black, half white, half smile, half frown; it looked just like a classic theater mask, but it's mouth moved when he spoke.

"And why are you here?" Geno's tone held venom in it.

"I have been ordered by my lord Ganondorf, to capture a member of your little group." Dimentio laughed. "And I am more eager to serve him than a child is to serve his mother breakfast in bed on mother's day." Dimentio chuckled at the dialogue he believed to be witty. "And when I noticed that somebody was open for just a minute, I took my chance."

"Let go of me!" Saria struggled to break free, but she was too drained from the previous training to use her abilities.

"Now calm down, I don't plan on killing you or anything, yet." Dimentio laughed. "We simply need a bargaining chip in case the need ever arises."

Geno moved with incredible speed, pulling out his wand and firing a beam at Dimentio.

"Yikes!" Dimentio shouted, teleporting again, but not without part of his hat being blasted apart. "I believe I should not remain here any longer." He turned to Geno. "But I do look forward to getting payback for my hat. I believe the expression is: an eye for an ear?" He laughed again. "So long for now!"

"Wait! Saria!" Link dashed towards Dimentio.

"Link!" Saria shouted, still trying to break free.

Dimentio continued to laugh, as he teleported away. "I hope we meet again soon." His mocking voice echoed.

"No..." Megaman gasped, staring at where Dimentio once stood.

"Blast!" Geno shouted, cracking the nearby wall with his fist.

Link stood stone-still, hand still outstretched. He had been centimeters away, he had almost saved her, but he hadn't, and now she was gone. He clenched his fists, and shouted to the sky, hoping she could hear him. "SARIA~!"

--

"I believe this cell will be perfect for you." Dimentio laughed, letting go of Saria, and teleporting away before she could attempt to attack him.

"Oof!" Saria grunted, as she landed on the hard stone floor. She was now in a dark dungeon cell, with hardly any light to see with.

"I hope you enjoy your new home." Dimentio laughed from behind the bars of a large door. "And don't even bother to try breaking this door. It's made of powerful dark magic, and this cell seals off almost every power." He laughed.

"Let me out!" Saria shouted, ramming against the door, succeeding in hurting her shoulder.

"They always try anyways." Dimentio shrugged. "Well I hope you enjoy your cell mate, you do look like a dog person after all." And then he was gone.

"Cell mate?" Saria looked around, but it was too dark to see anything in the cell. She stiffened up as she could hear shallow breathing nearby.

"Who's there!?" A gruff sounding voice echoed around the cell, but it did not seem to come from one place in particular.

Saria felt a drop of cold sweat run down her face. This person could be very dangerous. Suddenly, she spotted a deep blue glow appear nearby, the glow lit up part of the cell, giving her a view of the other prisoner. Saria gasped in shock at the sight of the new figure.

"Hmm.. Your aura, it is neither blue, nor red. It is green, like the serenity of the forest and plants." The voice echoed again. The speaker was like no one Saria had ever seen before. His appearance very loosely resembled that of something like a dog, but most of his fur was blue. He stood on two legs, and the rest of him couldn't be seen in the darkness.

"I was created by the Kokiri Forest, I am it's sage." Saria tried to speak confidently, confused by this talk of aura. She continued to stare at the strange one before her.

"I see, interesting." The speaker seemed satisfied.

"Umm... Excuse me?" Saria nervously asked. "Since you're in here, that means your not with Ganondorf, right?"

"Ganondorf!?" The figure clenched his hand in anger. "I would never follow the likes of someone such as him!"

"Sorry!" Saria apologized.

"No... Forgive me. My name is Lucario, and I have my reasons to be angry at that abomination." The speaker let his tone mellow out.

"Because you were captured too?" Saria asked.

"Yes, because I was captured." The figure leaned down towards Saria, and pulled a large tuft of hair from over his left eye.

Saria gasped, and put her hands to her mouth.

The eye lid of the left eye was sewn shut, dried blood under several stitches. "And because he took something of mine."

--

The hand of evil takes many things in this world.

Onox has taken Metaknight's most precious posession.

Ganondorf has taken an eye from Lucario.

Dimentio has taken Saria from Link and the others.

And Kafei's very humanity has been stolen by the masked child.

Our heroes will fight with all their might,

but will it be for regaining what they have lost?

Or is it for nothing more than pure vengeance?

In the face of loss, it may be impossible to tell who is the hero

and who is the villain.



Haven't seen you people in a looooooong time. How's it going?

Sorry I've been gone for so long, I had a major case of writer's block, so I tried my hand with other stories until the inspiration came. I'm still working on other stories though, so I'm not sure that this will be updated very frequently, but I want to reassure whoever still cares that this story is not dead!

Heliault is not from anything particular. I just had to think about what you would transform into if you wore a cursed mask of the sun. So I decided to go with a monster named after the sun-god Helios. Expect another large battle soon.

Onox was an odd choice for the one on the Halberd, but I thought his dragon form would make for an interesting battle. I hope it ends up sounding at least somewhat as good as I want it to be.

Gasp! It's Dimentio! Why isn't he paper!? Yeah... sorry about that. I actually debated him being paper somehow, but that would of just ended up to strangely. So I decided we'd just have to have him be three-dimensional. I'm going to have difficulty with his odd sayings, but they're also fun to write.

Oh noes! Lucario lost his eye! That's the first major dismemberment I've had all this story! His eye was taken for a reason, you'll find out soon enough. Although I bet you may already have a few guesses.

As for that whole prophecy thing. Strange things will begin to happen in their universe due to it's powers, it's going to be much fun.

I think we'll go back to Marth, Kirby, and Ness next chapter. It'll be interesting to see how they fare against the opponents they are going to meet. More fun battles, hurray!

As always, please review(I don't know if I've earned it, but still), and let's continue this adventure together.