Disclaimer: I do not ooooown SSBM, SSBB, anything else you may see grace the page of this MMO :D

A/N: Greetings my friends. Have a nice Halloween? I sat alone at home, ate some candy, and cried while watching Ghost Hunters LIVE for 6 hours straight. Best. Holiday. Ever. Anywy about the story... we're in for a rough ride these next few chapters. I personally didn't feel any motivation behind them, and this whole next... um, 3 chapters I havent really enjoyed writing. I hope you enjoy reading them, though! On a different note, I should totally make a forum based on this story so we can all RP as characters in this made up MMORPG right D:? I'm a fricking genius.

Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE
LOGIN #13: Reunions and Disillusions

---

--Hyrule Castle--

Zelda stood alone in her normal spot, staring outwards towards the huge doors at the other end of the castle. No one else was in the chamber, only herself. However, she was busy talking... on her guild's chat.

ZELDA: How are things going you two?
PIT: Eh, alright so far.
LUIGI: Decent. How bout you?
ZELDA: No recent information.
LUIGI: Ah. Okay.
ZELDA: I'll keep you two posted.
ZELDA: For now, just keep searching that area. Peach said there should be a Wire Frame nearby.
ZELDA: And let me remind you, do not engage the Wire Frame until I can confirm it with Peach. Understand?
PIT: Got it.
LUIGI: I know.
ZELDA: Good. Keep up the good work.
ZELDA: Oh, and Pit, I trust you are enjoying the guild's guest pass?
PIT: ...If that was some kinda joke, I'm not laughing.

The Hylian closed her guild chat just in time to see a familiar swordsman in a green tunic approaching her. She waved and smiled. "Hello, Link."

Link stopped in shock. "Oh, wow, you're there? Ha, cool."

"You're getting pretty strong, Link. Almost level forty five."

"Yeah. Somehow, even while training Marth, I've managed to take that time to raise my own level a bit." He laughed. "I'm not complaining though!"

"Oh yes. How is Marth doing? Do you know what level he is?"

Link stopped giggling. "He's level twenty. I was about to log off for the night after playing with him, but I got you mail on the forums and logged back in." He plopped onto the floor. "So, whats up?"

Zelda sighed. "I just sent Pit and Luigi to Jungle Japes to see if Peach's leads on a new Wire Frame were correct. I was kinda hoping..."

"That I could have gone instead of Pit?"

"...Pretty much."

Link frowned, which caused Zelda to gasp. "Sorry, I had to finish up the quest with Marth... and after it, I was kind of sleepy so..."

Zelda shook her hand, dismissing the Hylian's apology. "It's fine, don't worry about it. I told them not to start fighting unless they get in contact with me first. I'm sure Pit will be fine. Luigi knows the risks, anyway."

"So, do you need me for anything else?" Zelda shook her head. "Alright, then I'm going to head back to town and log off. I'm exhausted."

Link stood up and started to walk away but was stopped by Zelda's voice. "Oh, and the next time you log on... I think it's time to start teaching him how to use his 'Final Smash', don't you?" Link didn't answer. He turned around and gave Zelda a thumbs up, then dashed out of the castle to log off. "...I certainly hope he can handle it."

--Kanto--

"GANONDORF! GANONDORF! GANON-"

SLAM!

Ganondorf slammed the door to the waiting room of the Battle Dome shut, silencing all of the chanting of his fans. He was alone in the room, his only company the unopening lockers, three benches and a score board reading in bold gold letters: 'Ganondorf: Champion!' The Gerudo walked over to the closest bench and sat down, letting out a loud sigh. "That wasn't much fun..." He muttered in a bored tone. "Single battles just aren't fun anymore."

"So, why don't you switch to team battles?" Came a voice from the shadows of the waiting room. Ganondorf began to glance about the room, seeing no one. "Or better yet, leave the arena all together?"

"If you want an autograph, sorry, I already used up all five of them." Ganondorf scoffed. "Why don't you log off and just leave me alone for a bit."

The voice began to chuckle. "Autograph? I'm not here for something that silly. I'm here for something much more important."

"I don't give my GID to normal players."

"But you see..." A hand was placed upon Ganondorf's shoulder, shocking his avatar and causing him to turn around to meet the brown cloaked Blade. "I'm not a normal player."

Ganondorf stood up and backed away. "Who are you? Only the champ is allowed in the waiting room after the tournament is finished."

Blade chuckled. "Are you familiar with The Warlocks?"

"That loser Bowser's personal servants. Yeah, what..." Ganondorf stopped mid sentence and quickly raised his fists. "So, can I ask what I did to offend his turtleness so much as he needed to send one of his hackers after me?"

"We can't fight here, you know this room is non-PVP."

"I never trust the game laws when I'm around a hacker..."

Blade shrugged. "Eh." The cloaked hacker took a seat on the bench and began to talk once more, "You haven't done anything to make Lord Bowser angry at you. I'm not sent here to PK you or anything, if thats what you think."

The champion lowered his fists and gazed on the smaller figure with watchful eyes. "So what do you want then?"

"Lord Bowser wants to meet you."

Ganondorf looked puzzled. "Bowser wants to meet... me? May I ask why? I am no hacker."

"Oh, there is a reason." Blade replied with an evil giggle. "Long story short... Lord Bowser is interested in filling a position in the Warlocks. And you're his first choice."

"And become an outlaw? Hardly. There is no way I will join your little gang of hackers."

Blade sighed and stood up. "Okay, look. You don't have to join with the Warlocks right here and now. But Lord Bowser truly wants to meet you. How about me and you head to Bowser's Castle and have a little chat with him there, mmm?"

The Iron-Fist burst out laughing. "Oh, yes! I'll just come along to some illegally hacked area to meet the best hacker, who could very well reduce my level to one with a snap of his claw. Yeah, I'm totally getting excited."

The cloaked warlock sighed again. "Have you ever wondered... why there are thirteen male Gerudos... yet we only have twelve million users playing the game?" Ganondorf's laughing slowed as he let what Blade said sink in. "You do know that a male Gerudo is made only once per ever millionth sign up, right?" It was then that his laughing came to a complete stop. "Can you tell me, what does your account number on your GID say?"

"It's... seven million eight hundred ninety-one thousand two hundred and twenty-three..."

"And you do know that if you were a true Gerudo your number would be a simple seven million, right?" Ganondorf didn't answer. "Haven't you wondered why your character is so very much like the Gerudo King in the prologue to the game? Don't you ever find it weird there is such a powerful attack that you and you alone can use?"

"I figured it was all a fluke."

"Hardly." Blade placed a hand on Ganondorf's shoulder once again. "If you come with me to meet Lord Bowser, these questions and more will be answered for you. So?" He didn't respond. "You said yourself that these battles were getting boring. How about we spice it up a bit then?" Silence. As the silence grew longer, Blade grew more impatient. "Well? Any answer?"

He said nothing.

"Ugh. Well, my friend, I have places to go and people to see." Blade started to walk towards the door of the waiting room. "Here is my GID. If I don't hear from you, I'll be waiting in Hyrule, by the items shop tomorrow if you wish to meet me. Till then... chao!"

Blade opened the door... and was trampled beneath thousands of players whom had thought it was Ganondorf.

--

--The Next Day--

RIIIIIIIING!

I opened my eyes and flung my arm across the bed, smacking the annoying ringing clock with my full sleepy force. Once the buzzing had stopped, I pulled myself from bed and glanced over at the clock to see what time it was. "Ten AM? ...Uh-oh..." I missed my class for the day! ARGH! I didn't even go to bed that late yesterday!

Oh well.

I hopped out of bed and quickly found myself double clicking on the SSBO icon. I was about to yell at myself, but... I stopped caring about five days ago. I was a hooked. And I hate it. But I couldn't help but wonder just what Link and the others could be up too, so I just... had to log back on. Only for a moment or so. Just to check up on them.

As the game loaded I noticed what a wonderful day it was outside. "Dear God... I'm playing a video game on one of the nicest days of the year." I felt my face nearly go pale. "I'm... turning into a NERD!"

Suddenly, I felt the desk shake and a ring-tone start playing.

I turned to my left and noticed that my Final Phonetasy cell was busy ringing off the... erm, table. I leaned over and answered the vibrating phone. "Hello?"

"HEY! Wow, you're out of class early!" It was Shannon. Huzzah.

"Yeah, I kinda overslept... again. So, whats up?" I asked, leaning back in my chair.

"Mike and I are going to go hang out in the city today. Jan is sick and we were wondering if you wanna come along?"

"I'd like too, but uh..."

I glanced at the computer. Then I looked outside at the sunny day. Back at the computer... back to the window. The computer... the window... the computer... ah, it's finished loading the game. "Sorry, I'm feeling a bit under the weather too."

"Really? Wow, sick again. Geez, I hope you two get better. I'll talk to you later! Bye!"

"Bye."

I closed my phone and put it back on the table.

Yes...

I was indeed hooked.

But I never thought it'd be this addicting!...

Upon realizing this, I slammed my head and screamed, "I CAN'T BELIEVE I JUST CHOSE TO STAY INSIDE!"

I slammed my head a few more times onto the table...

And I might have cried.

--

-Hyrule-

Marth loaded into the busy square of the server only to be struck by a large amount of what Link said was 'lag'. "Wow, its getting worse by the day." Once his computer finally accepted the area, he began to walk towards the portal. "I better go get some items." The swordsman picked up his pace and jogged over to the items store, walking inside and walking up to the desk. A small, ugly looking male with a green jump suit, red nose and rosey cheeks was there too meet him. "Hellooooo and welcome to my store!" He spoke, turning about in a circle.

"Uh... yeah, this is...odd." Marth muttered to himself, opening the items menu. "Let's see... a few tomatoes should cover it." Marth accepted the offer and was about to pay when the item screen disappeared and the creature jumped up and down, with a furious look on it's face.

"What is this? Gold? We only take Rupees here! Begone!"

"Rupees? What the heck are rupees?" Marth asked confused.

--

I heard a player behind me sigh and I knew what was coming next.

"Newbie."

Bingo.

--

"Different servers take different amounts of currency. In the Mushroom Kingdom, you use gold. In Hyrule, you pay with Rupees. Go to the bank, it's on the left edge of town, and get your gold transfered into Rupees."

Marth turned around and smiled. "Tha- uh..." He was shocked upon seeing that the player who gave him his information was covered from complete head to toe by a long black cloak.

The figure crossed his arms and hissed, "What?"

"Uh, nothing. Thank you... uh." Marth rolled his mouse over the player, only to find that no name came up. "...I'll be going now." He turned and left, moving as fast as he could away from the cloaked player.

Marth walked outside of the store, nearly getting trampled by a group of players chasing someone, and began to head towards the left side of the town. "I wonder where this bank is..." He muttered to himself as he wandered the side-streets. It only took Marth a few minutes, but he found the bank near the edge of town. He smiled upon seeing the large golden letters claiming what building it was, but was more shocked at who was standing infront of it. "Jigglypuff!" He cried.

Jigglypuff was standing infront of the bank, talking with a small, mouse like pokemon. She laughed and waved to the other player, who logged out of the game, then turned to see Marth. She only looked at him for a moment before she turned and began to walk away. "Wait, Jigglypuff!" Marth called out, giving chase. Luckily, the pokemon's speed was lower then Marth's, allowing the blue haired player to reach her quickly once she walked down the wrong path into a dead end. "Jigglypuff, whats up! It's been like forever! Wow, look, you're a Healer now! Thats cool!"

"Oh, um... Hi, Marth." Jigglypuff muttered, looking away from Marth. "I'm kind of in a rush, so-"

"Please, Jigglypuff, just wait a minute." The puffball didn't reply, keeping her eyes a safe distance from his own. "Have you been ignoring me?" When she didn't answer again, Marth sighed and turned away as well. "It's because I joined this guild, huh? I see. So, I guess as long as we're in rival guilds we can't be friends."

Jigglypuff shook her head. "No, Marth, thats not it! It's just..."

"Just what?"

"If they see me with a member from SSBM... I might get kicked out of the guild. They might think I'm a traitor. And, I... I don't want that to happen."

Marth looked surprised. "Why would they kick you out of a guild just for hanging out with your friend?"

"I don't know... all I know is that SSBM and SSBB are rivals and that I'm not suppose to have any connections with anyone from that guild. But... I am sorry I did that. I should have responded to your messages... they can't read those. I guess I just tried too... I don't know." Neither of the players said anything for a bit, until Jigglypuff spoke up again, "Well, I have to go. Our leader is holding a meeting in a little bit, so..."

"I understand."

Jigglypuff walked past Marth and was about to leave when she turned to him. "I still want to be your friend, though."

"You do?" She nodded and both players smiled. "Okay. Uh... maybe we could do a quest together sometime? We don't have to let anyone else know about it."

"Uh... we'll see."

Marth smiled again as the small healer waddled off. "Alright then. Now to get some Rupees." He walked into the bank and was quickly met by another small man in a green suit. "Um... I'd like some Rupees please?" Marth asked, clicking on the NPC. Selecting the small man brought up an exchange screen, asking Marth how much gold he wished to convert to Rupees. After a moment of so of fighting with the controls, he found out that he had gone from having about three thousand gold to having near sixteen thousand rupees. "WOAH! I'm rich!" He cheered, bouncing about the bank happily. "YES!"

"You're not rich. The exchange rate for gold to rupees is high, but they make up for it by making everything on this server so god damned expensive." Commented a lizard looking beast named Leon.

Marth sighed and looked to the ground depressed. "I knew it. But couldn't have you just let a newbie celebrate in peace?"

"I don't call level twenties newbies, but whatever floats your boat dude." Leon chuckled and left the bank. "Newbie!"

Marth growled and followed the beast outside. He was met by Jigglypuff, who was waiting outside of the bank, timidly looking around the area. "Oh, uh, hello Marth." She whispered when the swordsman stepped outside.

--

Marth and Jigglypuff warped into a majestic room. The floor was covered in beautiful white tiles, and large pillars emerged from them, holding up the dark blue ceiling. Between each of the pillars were golden banners, each touched with blue, and infront of the duo was a large doorway with stairs leading downwards. It looked as if they were inside a castle. "So, he's suppose to meet you here?" Marth asked, glancing about the chamber.

"Yes. Well, not in this very room, but in this area." Jigglypuff explained, walking towards the nearby staircase. "I think I remember him saying he was going to be down a floor or two, to avoid lag issues."

Marth nodded and the two began to descend the stairs. The small staircase winded downwards in a spiral, the only light coming from torches along the way, somehow emitting enough light to brighten up the entire pathway. "Temple of Time... sounds dynamic." Muttered Marth as they continued down. "You'd think this place would be more important to the story line and be part of the 'Event'."

"Well... it is, this is where the group goes to find the stone of Hyrule." Jigglypuff explained, looking up at Marth. She continued, a hint of confusion in her voice, "Didn't you... watch the opening movie?"

"Uh..." The two reached the end of the stair case and walked out into an identical room. The same pillars, banners and staircase at the end of the room. The only difference was that in this room, two groups of other parties were busy fighting about waist high cylinder looking pieces of mud, that when Marth rolled his cursor over revealed their names to be 'Like Likes'. "Creative. Is he here?"

"No. Let's go down another floor."

And they did that, wandering down another flight of the spiral staircases, ending in yet another look-a-like room. This room was empty. Marth began to walk through the room when a group of three orbs began to flutter up from the ground. Marth ripped out his saber and stood ready for combat as Jigglypuff did the same. "This shouldn't be too tough." Marth said as the Like Likes' formed infront of him. They let out a low moan sound and began to sluggishly move towards Marth.

"Becareful Marth!" Warned Jigglypuff from behind. "Now that I'm a Healer, I only have healing spells. You're on your own for hurting them."

"Okay." The swordsman didn't wait for the beast to reach Marth, instead he ran forward and slashed the closest Like Like across it's center. It dealt 30 damage to the lower level creature, and took a small chunk out of it's life bar. He swung his blade two more times and delt about the same amount of damage, destroying the first Like Like with his third and final strike. The creature dissolved into a puddle of muck at Marth's feet upon it's HP bar disappearing.

"They seem pretty weak." Marth spoke, glancing back at Jigglypuff. "I don't see why-"

"LOOK!"

Marth turned back only to see a circle of darkness grow larger, larger, and finally bringing the entire screen into darkness.

--

You are currently being devoured. Please wait for a party member to rescue you or for the attack to end.

"...Uh, thats not good..."

Only about five seconds later did the Like Like spit Marth back out. I watched my avatar fall to the ground and the world flood back onto my screen. Although the Like Like were a slightly lower level then me, the monster had done a number on Marth, reducing his HP bar to around a quarter. "Ack! Jigglypuff, could you-"

"Life Up Beta!" I heard her cry. The spell surrounded Marth and returned my HP bar to a safe range. As Marth stood back up, I tighten my grip on my controller and began to attack once more.

--

"Thanks Jig-" Marth thanks was cut short by a Like Like quickly lunging forward at him. He dodged, and his avatar called out, "Dolphin Slash!" He swiped his sword down on the recoiling Like Like and split the beast in two after dealing a major hit. Although the Like Like's HP had not reached zero, the beast fell to the floor in a puddle of muck after being spilt in two by Marth's blade.

Marth was about to say something when Jigglypuff called out to him in a panic. "Help Marth!" He watched as Jigglypuff began to run about the chamber, being chased closely behind by the third and final Like Like. "I don't have the same defense you do! If they get me, I'm dead!"

"Hang on!" Marth called out. He began to run towards the healer, but found that he couldn't move from his spot. "Huh?"

You are bound by the PUDDLE OF LIKE LIKE JUICE. You can not move for thirty seconds.

"Jigglypuff, run over here, I'm stuck!"

The puffball bounced across the room towards Marth, stopping only when she herself was caught in the puddle of muck left behind by the other Like Like. The chaser, although moving slowly, was closing in on it's victim. "Marth! Oh, I hope this works." She pointed her staff at Marth's feet and shouted, "Recover!"

A baby blue aura surrounded the swordsman and the puddle of muck around his feet sizzled and disappeared. Marth was free to move again, but he noticed that Jigglypuff had used most of her MP to cast that spell. "What was that?" He asked.

"No time! Kill the sludge thing!"

Marth jumped over Jigglypuiff and landed in the pathway between the monster and herself, slashing the beast twice and finishing it off quickly. The flourish sounded in their headsets and Marth grew a level. "So, you couldn't come here by yourself because you knew those things would be able to kill ya, huh?"

Jigglypuff nodded at Marth's assessment. "Yes. Once I chose Healer as my main job, my armor went down even lower then it did before. I'm pretty much a walking target for monsters... which sucks."

"So I wonder why he'd chose this place to meet with you, instead of a level one area in Mushroom Kingdom..." Marth thought outloud, to which Jigglypuff made a small sound.

"Cause he likes to challenge me sometimes. Besides, he doesn't want others coming. So I guess a higher level area makes it more... uh, private?"

"Oh. Well, that makes some sense. I suppose... Anyway, let's keep moving."

The two continued on their way, walking down another flight of stairs. The duo emerged into a similar looking room, only this time, the white tiles of the column and walls were a faded gray with a purplish glow. "This is spooky." Said Marth as they entered the next room.

"It means we're getting closer to the final chamber. There doesn't seem to be any monsters here... let's go." Marth and Jigglypuff crossed the chamber and continued moving downwards into the dungeon on another flight of spiral stairs.

--

-Hyrule Castle-

"Are you sure thats what you saw?"

Pit nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. Luigi was there too."

Pit sat on the stairs in the grand room of Hyrule Castle, with Zelda standing behind him and the system administrator Peach standing to his left side. "Where is Luigi?" Peach asked, looking down at the player.

"He's not online at the moment, Peach." Zelda interjected. "I believe he has work today."

"Oh, yes, today is Monday, I forgot. Next time he comes online, I'll have to speak to him then."

Pit sighed and stood up. "Well he'll say the same thing. I'm surprised you don't believe me, Peach."

Peach looked shocked for a moment. "Don't believe you? I do, I just need to have more proof. Nothing against your testimony, we know that you have been a long and noble subscriber to Smash Brothers Online, I'd just like to hear it from both of the witnesses first before I can confirm it is true."

"We already knew it was true, geez! How dumb to you have to be to not know that Bowser was going to be interested in those Wire Frames!"

Zelda looked about the chamber after Pit's loud shout. A large amount of players were gathered around the area, staring and whispering to each other. "Keep your voice down Pit." She muttered. "We may be in a protected zone right now, but they might still be able to hear us."

Upon Peach's arrival to the castle, she placed a small protection code around the section of the castle that Zelda, Pit and herself were talking in. Within this area, which admins called the PF (Protective Field), their avatars could not be seen by other players. Most of the players who had gathered in this area were simply there, shocked, to see that the Waiting Lady had finally, to their eyes atleast, moved from her spot.

"Don't worry, they can't." Peach assured them. She turned back to Pit and nodded. "I don't doubt you're words at all. Go over the encounter one last time so I can make a log of it for future reference."

Pit sighed and crossed his arms. "...We were in Jungle Japes."

--

Pit and Luigi ran through the thick jungle floor, finally reaching a small clearing. The clearing had a small a lake in the background, a waterfall forever dropping into the waters of the lake. On either side of the clearing were tall palm like trees, their branches filled with leaves and bananas. "Looks like this is the end of the area." Luigi said, scratching his head in confusion. "Not a Wire Frame in sight!"

"I guess Zelda's info was wrong for a change." Pit replied with a laugh.

The two turned to leave, but as they did, their computer screens were filled with a bright purple glow. "Is that it?" Pit asked, turning around to see the large symbol of the Wire Frames appear, floating infront of them over the lake.

"A circle with an off-centered cross... Yup, thats it!" Luigi took a step backwards. But as he did, Pit fluttered forward, taking out his bow and placed an arrow in it's holding place. "Pit! What are you doing? Zelda said-"

"She said what? Not to fight it? I'm not going to fight it!" Pit said with a smile. "I'm gonna destroy it! Big difference, you see."

"No there isn't! This isn't the time to be joking around."

Pit sighed and lowered his bow. "You know, you're nothing like Sheik. Now SHE would-"

"WATCH IT!"

Pit turned around just in time to jump out of the way of a sword being thrusted towards him by a small, cloaked figure. The angel landed a few feet away from the player and lifted his bow. "And you are?" Asked Pit.

The player withdrew his sword and began to chuckle. "Pit, I presume? And Luigi? Both from the guild SSBM, correct?"

"Well, you got the name part right." Luigi muttered.

"I've been informed about you two. Lord Bowser figured that your pathetic excuse for a guild would try to meddle in our affairs."

Pit chuckled. "You're the one who is meddling. We were here first."

"Hardly." The figure took out his sword and stood ready to attack the two. "I will give you both one last chance to run away. From what I heard, you two shouldn't be fighting this monster, anyway."

"Who are you?!" Pit shouted, ignoring his last comment.

"Learn, and fear what I am about to tell you. Return this information to your guild leader, so that she can keep you out of our way. I am the Lonely Devil, one of Lord Bowser's Warlocks! You, and the rest of your pathetic guild, are now being hunted by us! So take this warning back to Zelda, stay out of our way and we will not harm your characters."

"Warlocks?!" Exclaimed the archer in shock. "That bastard... HE LIED!"

"Who lied?" Both Devil and Luigi asked in unison.

Pit gripped his bow and shook his head. "No... it's nothing. Forget it."

Luigi smirked at Pit's attitude. "Well... I figured as much."

"What do you mean?"

The green fighter pointed an angry finger at Devil. "...That these guys would be coming after us! It was only a matter of time before Bowser sent his personal lackies to stop our guild!"

"Why you!" From the back of Devil shot out two wings, both looking as if they had been taking from the back of a gargoyle. They flapped twice, lifting the small player off the ground and then began to flap wildly as he flew towards Pit and Luigi.

Pit's wings also began to lift him into the air. "You handle the Wire Frame if it shows. I'll take care of the idiot."

Pit broke his bow into two daggers and flew towards the Devil, whos own sword was lifted into the air. The blades collided with such force that both players lost 2 HP from just the shock wave of the blades. After a few more swipes on both parts, all of which were countered by the other, the two aerial players shot upwards, soaring into the jungle's blue sky to continue their battle in the clouds.

Once in the sky, Pit rejoined his daggers, recreating the bow, and shot a couple of arrows at the still ascending Devil. He managed to dodge the first, but the second struck head on. Pit began to-

"Wait."

--

"What?"

Peach coughed. "Uh, as... exciting as your battle may have been, please, there is no need to go into detail about it. Skip right to the end, I wish to know only what he did with the Wire Frame and the 'Broken Character'."

Pit crossed his arms and huffed. "Fine."

--

Pit fell to the earth, his HP bar having fallen to all but zero. Behind him, Devil fluttered down, hovering above his body and chuckling to himself. "Pathetic. I can see why Lord Bowser said Serpent should look over you. You're so very, very weak."

"You're just... a hacker!" Pit muttered, his character trying to stand up, but failing due to the nature of his HP.

"Yes. And whats your point?" Devil floated to Pit and slashed his saber across the angel's back, removing what small HP the archer had left and forcing his player to return to town.

--

"And you see, Pit, I do not doubt your words up until there." Peach explained. "But since you were not present-"

"But Luigi was!" Pit exclaimed, causing Zelda to wince again. "Since when don't you believe what he says?"

Peach sighed. "Thats not it. It's hard to make an official document based off peoples words only. Even harder when they're not theirs directly."

"Can't you just look up the log of the event?"

"Kongo isn't my server. Even so... Jungle Japes was... well, it wasn't being watched at the time of the incident."

Pit crossed his arms. "Our subscription fees at work."

"...This game is free."

"...Uh... Whatever! AOTH wasn't."

"But-"

"Let me finish."

--

Luigi punched the wired beast, this one known as WirFra./SEMUZ, backwards into a tree. The fighter was about to continue his assault on the beast when Devil flew over to him and slashed him with his saber, knocking the fighter to his side. "You're just as pathetic." Devil cackled, landing infront of the Wire Frame. "And you... well, I don't know what you-"

WirFra./SEMUZ held out it's right hand and shot a powerful beam of light out at Devil. Only given a moments notice, Devil barely managed to escape the attack, taking about 100 damage in the process and lower his HP to less then half, as he was still wounded from his battle with Pit. "You don't seem too strong yourself, Devil." Luigi chuckled, standing up and using a Maximum Tomato. "I'd expect more from the number three Warlock!"

Luigi jumped towards Devil, who was regaining his balance after escaping the last attack, his fist balled. But Devil saw the attack coming and lifted his blade, jabbing Luigi in the chest as he apporched. Luigi's avatar screamed in pain and fell to the ground, his HP slowly decreasing and his body unmoving. "...Thats-"

"Cheating? Yes, I know." Devil said with a laugh. "An attack that can bleed and paralyze in the same moment. I made it myself and it's quite helpful against pests like yourself."

WirFra./SEMUZ took a few steps out of the tree it had been stuck in and began to walk towards Devil. She was about to charge forward when a gray rift opened up in the middle of the area, revealing the 2-D Broken Character. "And it arrives." Devil spoke quietly.

The Broken Character floated over to WirFra./SEMUZ and struck the monster on it's forehead with it's bell. As it did, the entire area filled with a bright white light, blinding Luigi and Devil alike. As the light reached its brightest, a vacuum sucking sound rang through the area, disappearing as the light vanished from the screen.

Once the light faded, WirFra./SEMUZ fell to its knees and exploded into tiny purple squares, all of which disappeared as they rose into the sky. Devil and Luigi watched as The Broken Character returned to the rift, leaving nothing behind. Once gone, Devil floated over to the spot where the Wire Frame had died and surveyed the area. "Drat... it left nothing."

"Looking for those stones too I see?" Luigi said with a smirk as his HP crept closer and closer to zero.

Devil spun around and walked over to the fallen warrior. "Heh. Well, wouldn't you like to know? Even if we were looking for the stones, I'd never tell you. And this would be the point where I finish you off... but." He began to chuckle quietly. "That bleeding and paralysis won't end anytime soon, so I'll just leave you like this till your HP reaches zero." The Warlock bent down and whispered. "And don't forget, tell your guild leader to stop messing with our work, and maybe your guild won't be deleted."

With that, Devil warped out of the area, leaving Luigi alone to bleed to death.

--

"I see. Thank you, Pit, I have it all logged now." Peach said with a nod. "And this is all from Luigi himself, right?"

Pit nodded. "Every word."

"Okay. I'll make sure to run this question by Luigi next time I see him. Still, I-"

"STAND ASIDE!"

Zelda, Pit and Peach all turned towards the crowd of players, whom up until the sudden shout, had been whispering furiously. A tall man, wearing a helmet and purple spandex made his way through the crowded seen, pushing players aside and stopping infront of the protected area. He scanned the area briefly, then looked up and angrily stared right into the eyes of Peach.

"Ugh. He's here." Peach muttered.

"Is that... Falcon?" Pit asked, to which Peach and Zelda nodded.

"...EVERYONE HERE HAS THREE MINUTES TO LOG OUT OF THIS AREA!" Boomed the moderator of Hyrule. "THIS AREA WILL BE CLOSED DOWN FOR REPAIRS. THOSE WHO DO NOT LOG OFF NOW SHALL BE DISCONNECTED, THEIR PROGRESS DATA FOR THE DAY WILL BE LOST!"

The crowd of players quickly began to dash for the front door of the castle, and once outside, were swallowed up by green warp pipes, taking them back to town. Captain Falcon watched as they left, and once making sure that the last player had left from the field, he lowered the protection of the area, revealing the chatting trio.

"Well, well, well. What a surprise. Peach, mingling with the normal players again." Captain Falcon spoke, crossing his arms and looking down at Peach. "I'm sure that the boss won't be happy to hear this again."

"Oh, shut your mouth for a moment Falcon and let someone else speak for once." She quickly snapped back. "For your information, I am here on an official administrative task to interrogate a player on the encounter of a Wire Frame."

Captain Falcon smiled a crooked smile and his eyes fell upon Zelda. "Yes. Isn't it odd that it's the same people each time that have this encounter?" He looked over to Peach. "The same people YOU have been interacting with?" Peach glared at her co-worker who returned the favor. "Peach, please, I'm begging you. Stop this! You know what could happen if I, or anyone else reported you! Infact, with all the talk around the office about the overview of 'his' performance and interaction of normal players, you should be doubled as worried for getting caught."

"Don't you dare mention him!" Peach shouted back, pushing the administrator away from her. "You know you set him up!"

"I did not!" He screamed back. "All I did was report his actions! Something that, by the agreement you signed when you came to WORK here said you would do!"

Peach's glare seemed to be so strong that it was coming from the player of Peach itself. "He was your FRIEND!"

He was about to retort back when he was interrupted. "What's happened to you, Falcon!" Pit quickly spoke up. "I may not have known you that long back in AOTH, but I did know you weren't like this! Geez, when did you shove a stick up your ass buddy?!"

Captain Falcon turned to the angel and held his hand out towards Pit, causing a block of white to engulf the player. "Pit!" Zelda shouted in fear, watching as the block slowly descended into the floor of the castle. She looked back at Falcon and shouted, "What did you do to him!?"

"Relax." Peach calmly whispered.

"I logged him off and banned his account for the week." Falcon replied. "For the use of foul language. It's against the user-term agreement."

Peach scowled. "Oh grow up, Douglas!" She cried. "You knew Pit from back then, didn't you? Why are you being such a-."

"What? A good moderator?" Falcon asked, raising his eyebrows. "A worthy worker? I'm following the rules, Pauline, which is something you should be doing too!"

"You're just a... a bully! Thats all!" She shouted back.

Falcon began to laugh. "Bully? Really? For doing my job?" Peach didn't reply, but she continued to glare at her co-worker. Captain Falcon took a few more steps towards her and pointed a finger in her face. "Now listen here. The ONLY thing keeping me from reporting you to the boss is-"

"What? That the fact that the players I'm 'mingling' with are the only ones who can stop this problem that WE can't fix?" Falcon looked shocked and withdrew his finger. "You ever think the reason I'm not worried about getting fired is because I am with people who are important to the well being of the server, where as 'he' was simply hanging around players for fun? Maybe thats the difference, why 'he' may be fired and I am not!"

Captain Falcon's digital face didn't show it, but his voice showed that he was near speechless. "Why you-" Was all he could muster after her outbreak.

"Geez! Guys, come on, come on!" Came a male voice from the entrance. "We can hear you guys fighting from our offices." The group turned to see who had warped into the area, only to be greeted by the cheerful smile of Ash. "If you two are going to fight, do it offline so we could atleast place bets on who wins!"

Peach smiled at Ash's stupid joke, whereas Captain Falcon just gave another glare. "Get out of here, Ash. Your server has already gone to pieces and they need all the help they can get." Ash shrugged and logged off.

"Why don't you go take your break, Douglas." Peach said in a taunting tone. "Isn't it time? Afterall, you don't get paid overtime to play a game."

Captain Falcon looked back at her and glared once more. "...Get off my server. I won't tell you again."

After he said that, Captain Falcon warped out of the building using his moderating powers, leaving only Peach and Zelda alone. "I'll un-ban Pit's account later tonight." She said calmly, taking a few steps towards to the entrance.

"Uh, Peach."

Peach noticed the doubt in Zelda's voice. It was one of the few times Zelda had ever shown she had such a quality. But the blonde haired mage turned and smiled at Zelda. "Don't worry, Zelda. We're not having any change in plans. That idiot might try to report me, but he won't. And even if he does, we'll, you guys won't get in trouble, it'll be me. And I'll still be able to use Peach, you know. Those higher ups can't delete her if they tried."

"They can block your account though, right?" Zelda asked, her voice returning in strenght.

"Nothing a little... well, let's just say, debugging, won't fix. If you know what I mean." Peach winked at the Hylian and waved. "I'll make sure to run this encounter by Luigi and inform you on anymore movement of the Wire Frames." She paused for a moment and smiled. "Oh, yes... Zelda, you do remember our deal, right? About the upcoming event?"

"Oh! Yes, I do. When will-"

"Today, very soon. Don't worry, I'll send you a message before we do it. But... Till then... I'll be seeing you!" She walked outside of the castle and vanished in a flash.

--

-Temple of Time-

Marth and Jigglypuff found themselves in the middle of a dark purple chamber. They were at the very bottom of the dungeon, the spiral staircases being traded off for rooms with three different pathways, leading to more rooms in the maze like cellar. Each chamber looked the same, their walls a dark purple instead of the pearly white. The columns, if any remained intact, where cracked along it's length. The banners were now nothing more then shreds that lined the floor.

"Which way now?" Marth asked as they apporched the center of the room. To their left, right and ahead of them were all entrances.

Jigglypuff glanced about the room. "This is our ninth room, right?" Marth nodded. "Then we go to the ...right."

The two walked down the right corridor and disappeared into the darkness. They only stayed in the dark for a moment, as their characters emerged into a new room, which looked 'oddly' like the other one. "Tenth room." Marth announced, looking about. "Which way now?"

"Oh, uh... drat, hang on." Jigglypuff muttered. "I need to find the instructions. I've only been doing this so far on my memory and I'm not sure on the tenth room."

"Okay. Well hurry." Marth said as Jigglypuff's player began to search around her computer desk.

As Marth and Jigglypuff made their way lower and lower into the dungeon, they noticed a scary trend with the monsters - each floor they grew stronger and stronger. By now, the beasts were at about level fifty each. Needless to stay, the level twenty one Marth and level twenty Jigglypuff were worried about running into one of these monsters, so they took ever precaution they knew, from sending one of them to enter the room first to see if they survive, or waiting and watching for other players to run out screaming in bloody terror, they wanted to make sure they made it to the final floor of this dungeon.

"Okay, I can't find it..." Jigglypuff muttered upon returning. "But I think it's too the..."

She and Marth looked towards the left corridor, only to moments later see a player, badly wounded and bleeding race out, screaming aloud, "The horror! THE HORROR!" From behind the darkness of the path, the cries of his party were heard for a moment, and then were suddenly silenced.

"...Straight. I think it's straight."

Marth nervously nodded and the two continued on their way. Finally, after a few more rooms, Jigglypuff finally said, "I have no idea which way."

Marth sighed and the two fell to the ground. "Aw man. So close to the ending, yet so far..."

"I'm sorry." Muttered Jigglypuff.

"Don't say sorry!" The swordsman said quickly. When the gloomy look on Jigglypuff's face didn't leave, Marth spoke again, "How about I walk down one of the paths? If I die a quick and painless death, the it should give you a fifty-fifty shot of making it to the next room! Sounds good?"

"No..."

The two remained quiet for another moment.

"Aaaah!"

Marth and Jigglypuff looked down the pathway they had just come from. "Looks like someone went the wrong way." Marth muttered.

"AAAAAAH!" The scream only got louder.

"Uh... Marth?" Jigglypuff said standing up and lifting her staff. Marth did the same, only he took a few steps backwards. "We should run right?"

"Yeah!"

"GET OUT OF MY WAAAY!"

The two turned to run, but were quickly past by a small, pink looking puffball. Infact, to Marth, it had looked like another Jigglypuff from behind. The new player turned down the right corridor and disappeared. From behind them, however, they heard the thundering noise of what sounded like the feet of atleast twenty different monsters. "Follow it!" Marth cried as he and Jigglypuff chased after the frantic character.

To their dismay, the hall was a dead end. "Uh-oh!" Jigglypuff squeaked.

"Shush!" The two looked to their side to see the pink character gazing around the corner of the hall. "You two better be quiet if you don't want them to find me!" It whispered, not once looking at them. Marth and Jigglypuff looked at each other and nodded, joining the player in hugging the wall.

From the entrance that the small character had just emerged from emitted a terror worse then ten hundred Like Likes - teenaged fangirls. "Which way did that squishy go!?" Shouted a mage, glancing about the room.

"I'm not sure." Said another, by her armor it appeared to be a ranger. She pointed to the right and left path. "But both of these corridors lead no where so..."

"STRAIGHT!" Announced their leader, a small, blacked hair girl in a green dress. She looked more like a painter then any other class. But on her command, she and her army of girls charged through the chamber and into the next room. After a moment, the sound of their stomping faded into nothing, and the small character sighed.

"Phew. That was-"

"Oh, Kirby!"

The small puffball turned to come face to face with Jigglypuff. Once seeing the healer, the puffball's face lit up with joy. "Jiggly!"

Character: Kirby
Race: Beast
Level: 32
Class: Shifter
HP: 320
MP: 110

"So, you're Jigglypuff's brother?"

The group was standing back in the middle of the room, Jigglypuff and Kirby smiling and chatting with each other. Upon hearing Marth's question, Kirby turned and nodded. "Yup. Made him a few days before Jiggly here did."

"Oh. Thats cool." Kirby smiled and went to talking with his sister. "So, how have you been sis? Is Marth here your friend?"

Jigglypuff smiled aswell. "Alright. And, uh... yes, he is! He's my very best friend."

--

I couldn't help but blush after hearing that. What a sweet girl, I suppose.

--

"Well, Marth, I'm glad to see you've been taking care of my sister!" Kirby smile beamed. "And it's a pleasure to meet you!"

KIRBY has given you his GID!
Give yours?

Marth looked shocked for a moment but quickly sent back his. "Here, Kirby! Sorry it's late, but... Happy Birthday!" Jigglypuff traded Kirby the shield that she and Marth gained so long ago.

"Oh, The Star of Twilight! Thanks, Jigglypuff!" He hugged Jigglypuff and the two smiled once more at each other.

"So, why were those girls chasing you?" Marth asked, sitting down on the ground so he was at about eye level with the two.

Kirby sighed. "Well, you see... to other players, I'm kinda... a squishy." Marth and Jigglypuff's blank expressions confused Kirby. "A squishy? You know, a very cute avatar that players tend to chase after to try and hug? Haven't you ever heard that term before?"

"Nope."

"Uh-uh."

He began to laugh. "Haha, you guys must be sorta new then, huh? It's just one of the games many slang terms. Hm, speaking of newbies..." Kirby examined the two of them. "You guys are... pretty weak to be down this far. How'd you two make it here?"

"You gave me instructions over the e-mail, remember?" Jigglypuff said. Kirby, however, looked confused.

"I... did?"

"Yes, you wanted to meet with me."

The cute fighter paused for a moment and thought. "Don't get me wrong, I'm really glad to see you Jigglypuff, but... I didn't ask you to come. If I did want to meet you, I wouldn't bring you here, anyway. This place is dangerous for low levels. I'm only here cause I know all the pathways by heart!"

"Really?" Jigglypuff asked surprised, to which her brother nodded. "Hm... thats very weird."

"Well, there is no harm done since the two of you are still well and in one piece." Kirby said with another smile. "Why don't we warp back to Hyrule and talk a bit more in the city? This part of the dungeon always gives me the creeps."

The two others exchanged glances, then looked back at Kirby and nodded. Not a moment later did the three of them disappear down green warp pipes, leaving behind the Temple of Time. However, they did not notice the bright flash of purple light shoot out from the corridor the girls had just disappeared down, vanishing only moments later.

CONTINUE...?