Has anyone been keeping up with the official SSBB site? Listed on the musicians page is Michiko Naruke. She composed the majority of Wild Arms games, so I guess it's not so out of place after all ;)

On a more relevant note, this is the biggest chapter yet, with action, revelations, and more. And it's only going to escalate from this point!

Chapter 14: A Bar Full of Firearms

"How dare you show your face in Corneria!" Samus roared in anger, her left hand balling into a fist near her chest. The man in black simply chuckled in response, upsetting the bounty huntress further. Her arm cannon hummed to life as a globe of orange energy grew near the tip. She was prepared to attack until Captain Falcon grabbed the cannon and pointed it towards the ground.

"Samus, stop it!" he pleaded. "This place is full of people and they might get hurt. You don't want to hurt them, do you?"

Her arm shook with anger, but the energy buildup was finally quelled and her cannon returned to normal. His words echoed in her head, and she wanted to chuckle. He sounded so juvenile, but it was one of the things she liked about him.

"That's right. You don't want to hurt them, do you?" The man mocked with a wicked grin.

The activity in the bar was dying down as attention started to shift to the opposing forces. The fight many had hoped would occur seemed to be only seconds away.

"Why are you here?" Claude asked, a hand loosely placed on the hilt of the sword he had yet to wield.

"If you must know, Claude, it wasn't just to eliminate your lowly friends," the man said in a civil manner. "But that's all I'm willing to divulge to you at the moment. Oh, and please don't die yet." He snapped his fingers, getting the attention of Jack and Rudy. "Deal with them," he muttered.

Rudy and Jack stepped forward, both bearing cold smirks of their own that sent a chill through Claude. It was so uncharacteristic of them. What happened? He was determined to find out eventually.

Jack flung the bottom of his brown overcoat behind him, revealing the sheathed sword wrapped around his jeans, while Rudy tightened the red bandanna under his blue hair before grabbing the ARM strapped to his back.

"Is that how it's going to be?" Fox said, appearing from behind Link. "Good, because I was itching for a fight with you guys." He brandished his blaster and a long silence ensued, both parties waiting for the other to act first. The patrons of the bar teetered on the edge of their seats in anticipation. Would the fight happen? Maybe someone would back out. After all, the man commanding Jack and Rudy was armless beyond what appeared to them as a normal black briefcase. He would leave his grunts to do the fighting for him.

"ELEVEN!!" Clyde screamed drunkenly, breaking the silence and drawing attention to himself. The wallaby clutched Don's shoulder, vaguely aware of the situation.

"You guys are still here!?" Claude exclaimed, turning to the skunk and wallaby. "Go! Get out of here! Everybody!"

But no one moved.

Don gave Claude a solemn look upon his striped face. "Look, if these guys are bothering you..."

"We can handle this," Samus said, with emphasis by Link's gesture of nodding his head. "You look like you're in no position to fight anyway, with your friend and all..."

"I guess you're right," Don said, clutching onto Clyde before he slid off of his shoulder and onto the floor. "There's a back door. I think I'll go use it."

Claude watched as Don led his drunken buddy towards the back of the bar while Samus joined Fox in keeping weapons trained on Rudy and Jack. Unfortunately, Don and Clyde were the only two with enough sense to leave when they had the chance.

"A nice gesture, but I would have suggested that you didn't waste your time," the man in black said. They had almost forgotten about him. "Those two will die eventually."

It was the opportunity Fox was waiting for. "That may be so, but you're going to die NOW!" He opened fire on the man, but his shot was deflected by the quick swordsmanship of Jack, who had appeared before him in a blur.

Fox glowered. This guy was fast. And accurate. A deadly combination, but not impossible, so Fox continued to unload laserfire upon the black-suited man. The confident, cool look behind the glasses that occasionally reflected the light of gunfire was unsettling to say the least, which provoked Samus into joining in with shots of the Power Beam. Claude soon assisted them with the Phase Gun, as did Captain Falcon with his newly returned pistol, and it truly became a bar full of firearms.

Jack's movements became nothing more than a blur, a testament of his inhuman skill with his blade. He deflected shots in all directions, sending most of the bar's patrons under tables for shelter from the ricocheting, whizzing laserfire. Rudy was not to be outdone in the gunfight, and wielded a familiar ARM: The Hand Cannon.

"This isn't working!" Captain Falcon cried over the rapid sound of the firearms, and looked out of the corner of his helmet's visor just in time to see Rudy open fire on the group. They all scattered, save for Yoshi, who took the brunt of the blast and was sent reeling into tables and people, which triggered the first signal that all hell broke loose: animals of all shapes and sizes, caught up in the mood, began to turn onto each other. A brawl had finally broken loose in The Bronze Horn.

"Animaland went to hell real quick!" Claude yelled out. The layout of the bar had suddenly changed with chairs, tables, and animal people now strewn about the floors. He could no longer see Jack or Rudy through the crowds of fighting, and instead took it upon himself to locate Yoshi and see if he was okay.

"Ooooh," the dinosaur in question moaned, finally realizing what had happened to him. "Ugh! This has to be some kind of sick joke! Everytime we fight these people, I get blown up!" His body slid off of the broken table he landed on, and he got a clear view of who was standing over him. Even on his back with his world turned upside-down, Yoshi recognized that smug look from anywhere.

"Ganondorf!"

"On your back as usual, I see." Ganondorf chuckled at his own joke. "Looks like your poor fighting skills can't even be compensated for in an all out brawl."

Yoshi rolled over and picked himself up off of the floor with a frown. Ganondorf's arrogance always did remind him of Boshi, and vice versa. "You wouldn't be talking all of that trash if we had a match right now!"

"I wouldn't have to. Your predictable loss would speak loud enough on its own." He let out a particularly haughty laugh over the chaos of the bar. At least one person was enjoying the conversation.

Yoshi growled. "We'll see about that, but there's something more important at the moment. Those people that came into the bar work for Sony and want to wipe us all out!"

Ganondorf held a fist under his chin, contemplating the situation. "Hmm...maybe I'll deal with them myself, after they've killed you all off, of course. I wouldn't exactly be the King of Evil if I helped you people out too many times."

"Yoshi!" Claude ducked under two brawling horses only to watch the King of Evil rise into the air and shoot to the other side of the bar. "Was that Ganondorf!?"

"Yeah, and clearly he's good for nothing!" Yoshi finally noticed that Claude was alone, and his frown twisted into an even more sour face. "Oh, I see no one else could be bothered to see if I was okay!"

"Actually, I don't know what happened to everyone else." Claude looked around before ducking a flying glass. "But let's stick together and find 'em." The duo dived headfirst into the brawl.

Ganondorf flew over the fights below before shooting straight through a glass window, laughing the entire way. It was an odd sight to see someone willingly go barreling through a closed window, but that was Ganondorf for you, leaving the shattered glass to clatter near Link's feet.

The Hero of Time had taken it upon himself to engage Jack since no one else was around. He broke into a dash and met Jack's slash with the Hylian Shield, jabbing at the enemy swordsman with the Master Sword. The blade didn't make contact with the enemy, but it did brush against Jack's overcoat, making a small tear.

Jack was both displeased and impressed. He really liked his overcoat, but it wasn't often he got to fight swordsmen of this caliber back on Filgaia. However, his emotions were quickly suppressed with the continuation of the battle.

He jumped back near the entrance to the bar, making distance between himself and Link. He held his sword back behind him and made a clean and wide slash with the blade that created three glowing crescent shockwaves in the air: His Sonic Buster attack.

Link knelt and held the Hylian Shield firmly ahead of him. The shockwaves struck and bent around the shield, threatening to push Link back and away before continuing onward past him and into the fights behind him. He retaliated quickly, aiming the Hookshot and launching the chain. It narrowly missed Jack, who dashed to the side, and embedded the pointed head of the chain into the bar's wall.

The Hookshot retracted, pulling Link in, who met Jack with a clash of the blades. As they held their position, blades locked, a blue mouse crawled out of Jack's pocket and along his shoulder, jumping over and onto Link. He swore he heard the mouse chuckled as it crawled down his side and grabbed the Hookshot before jumping away with it and scurrying into the fighting crowds.

Link broke the struggle and countered with a spin attack. Jack blocked the attack with the sheath of his sword, but the force was strong enough to knock him off his feet and into the crowds, where Link gave chase.

At another portion of the bar, Rudy stood away and alone from the brawling patrons of The Bronze Horn, as if he had no interest or purpose in being there. Navigating the crowds were Fox and Samus, who he caught a glimpse of and aimed at with the Hand Cannon. Instinctively, they took cover behind an overturned table, but no gunfire came.

"That's odd," Samus muttered. "He's not shooting at us through the crowds."

"Which makes this a lot easier," Fox said before making two shots with the Blaster over the table.

Rudy didn't retaliate.

"That IS odd," Fox finally admitted. "If he's not even going to defend himself then we're wasting our time." They both fell into silence when they spotted movement near the blue-haired youth. It was the familiar attire and briefcase of the man in black that caught their attention immediately.

"That's who we should be focusing on," Samus said. Fox nodded in agreement.

"Rudy, attack them by any means necessary!" they heard him command before slinking off to the side of the bar and through the crowds. The sudden restraint the boy held before was cast away in an instant, and he opened fire on the crowds. The flying bodies signified that the brawl became more of a massacre. Rudy was clearing the area out.

"Someone's got to stop him!" Samus yelled over the explosive shells of the Hand Cannon. "We have to get the gun away just long enough to immobilize him..."

"FALCON KICK!"

Captain Falcon dived straight for Rudy in a flame powered kick. Rudy dodged just enough to avoid direct contact but lost the Hand Cannon in the process; it was kicked out of his reach and into the chaos of the bar. Rudy attacked the recovering Falcon with a spin kick, which his leg was caught in mid-spin by his opponent. Captain Falcon closed the gap before rocketing away from Rudy with his Falcon Dive attack, sending his opponent barreling away in a burst of flames.

Rudy was quick to react, regaining his figure in midair and landing in a kneeling position. He prepared another ARM, his fourth one...which he was saving for particularly pesky adversaries. He released the Twin Orbs, and the two satellites went to work immediately by swarming Captain Falcon and ramming into his head relentlessly.

"Make them stop!" he cried, running into the crowds in hopes of losing the satellites.

Fox and Samus quickly closed the distance, surprising Rudy who's focus had been entirely on Falcon before. Samus released two low-charge bursts from her Ice Beam, sealing his hands and feet together in a thick sheet of ice. Rudy toppled over before Fox pushed him against the wall and began interrogating him.

"Why are you here!?" Fox demanded.

"..."

"What does your master want!?"

"..."

"Trying to be a Link?"

"..."

"I'll make you talk!"

"Fox, stop!" Samus grabbed his hand as he raised it to strike Rudy. "We are not torturers."

"He deserves more than the slap he was going to get!" Fox barked, staring angrily into Rudy's gray eyes.

Gray? That was a strange color.

"Beating him until he talks is not something characteristic of neither you nor I, Fox." Samus scoped the room. "Instead, we should use him as leverage against our mystery man. It'll be interesting seeing how he responds, don't you think?"

"Whatever you say," Fox muttered, hauling Rudy by the shoulder. "Get up, punk. You're our prisoner."

"Did you see anybody?"

"You mean besides the people that were just blown up?" Yoshi managed to say while ducking under a flying mug of beer, its owner still attached to the glass.

"Wait, I see somebody," Claude said, pointing through the crowds. They recognized the black suit at once.

Yoshi was caught between anger and excitement. "That sneaky slimeball...let's get him!" he declared with a newfound passion.

Somehow, Claude ended up leading the way.

"Give it to me," the man demanded, his hand outstretched as if expecting to receive what he sought at the moment. His stern face gazed down upon the white rabbit on the floor before him.

"I-I don't know what you're t-talking about..." Randy stuttered, his arm placed over an outline in his jacket.

"I have no patience for you, rabbit."

"Alright..." Randy complied, reaching into his jacket. He pulled out a blaster and opened fire, only for the shot to be deflected by the black briefcase. With one motion, the briefcase was slammed into Randy, knocking the blaster away. The locater device slipped out of his jacket and clattered to the floor. As the man kneeled to pick it up, Claude and Yoshi burst through the battling patrons.

"Get him! GET HIM NOW!" Yoshi commanded excitedly, but Claude was already on the move and leapt onto the man's back.

"Got you!"

And that's when it happened.

Though they didn't move, Claude could feel the sensation tingling through his body, and his eyes only confirmed that something was happening. Everything around him was cast in multiple shades of blue. He jumped back only to find that himself and the man in black were the only things in natural color. He soon realized that the chaos in the bar had become a dull echo, and he said the first thing that came to his mind.

"Well...how 'bout it?"

The man in black dusted himself off. He seemed completely relaxed and calm. "I was starting to worry that I'd never manage to get time to talk to you alone."

"Alone?" Claude looked around. They were still in the bar, even if it did look like the place was doused in blue food coloring.

"Where'd he go!?" He heard Yoshi whine.

"I'm right here, fool," Claude replied. He waved his hand in front of the oblivious dinosaur's face before Yoshi stepped right through him. "The hell!?"

"We're on another plane of existence. They can't see or touch us, and we can't interact with them," the man explained. "It's just one of my...gifts. And only I can bring us back." He smirked.

Claude folded his arms and found himself walking aimlessly in a circular pattern. "What do you want?"

"Like I said before, we need to talk."

"Alright, spit it out."

"My name is Ken Watanabe. I am an Executive of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc."

"Whoa, you mean the same Ken Watanabe who's in the credits for like, every video game ever made?"

Ken's normally calm or grinning face seemed to become slightly sour from that question. "...no."

"Oh," Claude said. "Well you can't be related to the actor, right?"

"No!"

"So basically what you're tryin' to tell me is that you ain't nobody."

"If that's how you want to put it," Ken spoke quietly. "But this 'nobody' has a job offer for you."

Claude let slip a skeptical laugh. "What kinda job? It can't be any good comin' from you."

"Well, you'd consider yourself quite the accomplished gamer, right? To go from your simplistic life to...this place in a matter of hours. It's quite a few leaps and bounds out of the ordinary, don't you think?"

Claude didn't respond.

"You and I are one of the few humans to experience such a unique piece of history. It should be cherished and preserved."

"Cherished and preserved!?" Claude remarked, unable to control his outburst. "Then why are you tryin' to ruin everything!? You break down cities, you set villages on fire, and you definitely had to manipulate the Wild Arms characters because they would never lift a finger for your cause. And all for what!?"

Ken didn't immediately respond, but glanced to his side instead. "That reminds me!" he said cheerily. "Cecilia, come here."

"Cecilia!?" Claude said in disbelief as he finally noticed the woman standing near the entrance of the bar. Like himself and Ken, she was in full color.

The woman was Princess Cecilia Lynne Adlehyde. Her blond hair was cut short and she wore a blue jacket with an orange hood. It was an unfitting outfit for a princess, but it was what she wore as a 'disguise' when she didn't want to be noticed as royalty. And she had gray eyes...that wasn't right...

As odd of a time as it was, Claude had the slight feeling that Cecilia and Zelda had a lot in common and would bond if they ever were to meet. Under better circumstances, of course.

Cecilia walked towards them, but moved at high speeds, almost appearing as a blur. The movement on this plane was strange. That explained how Ken got around so fast when he was 'teleporting.'

"It looks like your comrades need your help," Ken said once Cecilia approached. Looking through the crowds, he noticed that Rudy was apprehended and that Jack was struggling to hold his own with Link in another lock of the blades that had his back against the wooden floor.

Ken shifted the locater from under one arm to the holding the briefcase, giving one arm complete freedom. He locked hands with Cecilia and sure enough, her body became devoid of all color but blue. Judging by the startled cries of Randy and Yoshi, she had phased into the normal plane, most likely appearing out of thin air to the two of them. Ken remained behind to continue the conversation.

"Where were we...? Ah yes, the job offer! Claude, I've done what I've done by the orders of my superiors, who I happen to agree with. Judging by your face, you don't agree with my methods, but I wouldn't expect that many would. It is simply a way of preserving the Sony Corp."

"You say that like it's some kinda routine that just...happens! Like you're not wipin' people out!" Claude stated with a fiery passion.

"Claude, you're becoming clouded in judgment, most likely due to the Digital World Animation Machine. Think about it...would you feel this passionate about the subject if you had never stepped across the dimensional barrier? If these things didn't seem so real?"

"But they ARE real!"

"Yes, but who made you their hero? Why are you the one given the task of 'doing the right thing?'"

Claude didn't immediately reply. He heard another cry and noticed that Cecilia was on the attack against Yoshi and Randy.

"I might not be anybody's hero," he finally said. "But I'm definitely not helpin' you."

"Then let our civil conversation end with our return." Ken held out his arm.

Was this guy serious? Claude wasn't sure what to think. He couldn't have been that bad if the guy wasn't going to leave him stranded on this plane.

Taking his chances, Claude grabbed Ken's arm and they returned to their normal plane, everything gaining color once again. Randy shrieked at their sudden appearance, probably halfway to a heart attack after all this excitement. Yoshi, on the other hand, was busy trying not to get roasted by Cecilia, who cast a fire spell that sent a ring of flames spiraling towards the dinosaur.

"A little help here!!" Yoshi cried. His backside was nearly hit with the spell. The spinning flames collided with a table, making it explode into flaming wood chips and blast Yoshi away.

Claude turned around to find Ken already on the move, heading back towards the entrance of the tavern.

"Claude! SOMEBODY!!!" Yoshi screamed as Cecilia held her staff high in the air, preparing another spell.

Claude didn't want to fight Cecilia, but he wasn't going to let Yoshi get hurt or killed over his guilt. Rather than grabbing the Phase Gun, he unsheathed the sword at his side and held it in front of him in an offensive stance. It was the first time he would wield the sword – and this technique – since he arrived in the Nintendoverse.

The blade started to glow white, and was covered in a blue aura. Claude took a deep breath and prepared to strike. "AIR SLASH!" He shouted, swiping the sword against the ground and creating a blue and white shockwave that glided across the floor, smaller shockwaves snaking behind it. The blast plowed into Cecilia and tore the ground up around her, sending her to the floor.

"Whoa..." Claude uttered in disbelief staring at the sword, then at his own hands. "I can't believe that worked," he said with a grin.

A moan brought him out of his trance. He rushed over to Yoshi and grabbed the dinosaur by the shoulders. "Hey! You can't lay here, she's goin' to get back up!"

"Claude..." Yoshi whispered. "Hey, thanks for helping me..."

Yoshi's sudden modesty caught Claude by surprise, but not quite as much of a surprise as the vortex that suddenly swallowed them both and a few of the bar patrons. Claude's world had become a blur as he spun in the vortex. He knew immediately that it was Cecilia's doing, since it was one of her spells in the game after all. It would wear itself out, and he'd just have to ride it out. And avoid the flying furniture.

The vortex began to expand and the fights in the bar were beginning to disperse once the drunks began to realize that punching each other out wasn't cutting it here. They were quickly outclassed by the people with extraordinary abilities, and couldn't compete with lasers, shockwaves, and spells being tossed around the bar. Not to mention the vortex.

Link had Jack cornered until the vortex had throw a chair his way. He raised his shield, just blocking the chair. It exploded into splinters on contact.

Jack took advantage of the opportunity, initiating his Accelerator ability. He disappeared right before Link's eyes in a speed blur, then appeared behind the hero and struck him in the back. He held his sword out to his side and it turned a sinister red.

Jack then leapt high into the air, nearly touching the ceiling, and came down near Fox and Samus. He used his Meteor Dive attack, slamming his blade into the tavern's floor where it ignited into a fiery explosion, blowing Fox and Samus away. Rudy smirked as the two satellites returned, smashing into his icy restraints and freeing him.

"Bastards!" Fox screamed in frustration, grabbing his blaster and preparing to open fire on the duo. He was beaten to the punch. Literally.

"FALCON...PUNCH!" Captain Falcon slid out of no where, his form engulfed in a flaming falcon heading directly for Jack and Rudy. They dodged, leaving Falcon to be struck by a pillar of purple lightning.

Samus reacted instantly by firing at the source. The shots from her Power Beam were reflected back towards her by an orange barrier surrounding Cecilia. Another spell.

Fox and Samus rolled out of the way of the reflected shots. Cecilia quickly dashed between them and towards her comrades, her barrier engulfing them too.

The vortex had died by now, dropping everything that was caught in it to the floor. Claude got up and noticed the trio standing together. Gripping his sword tightly, he prepared another Air Slash. He struck the ground and the familiar blue and white shockwaves ripped across the floor. The barrier was trigger and his own attack was sent back in his direction, barely giving him enough time to jump out of the way.

Soon enough, a boomerang ricocheted off of the barrier and back towards Link, who caught it with his free hand. Nothing was breaking through, and just when another strategy was to be adapted, a whistle sounded.

There was another person who had been standing with Ken near the entrance. His silver, spiked hair stood tall and he seemed to have an affinity for the color black, because he wore a sleeveless black vest, gloves, and pants. There were also a few chains and zippers where chains and zippers didn't need to be. Was he waiting outside the whole time?

"Come," Ken commanded. "We have another stop to make." He looked down at the map on the locater in his hands and gave one of his characteristic wicked smiles. "There's a baby we should visit."

Rudy, Jack, and Cecilia complied. The blue mouse that had stolen Link's hookshot earlier scampered to Jack and climbed onto his shoulder.

To make sure no one followed, Cecilia released another Vortex spell as they slipped through the entrance, and everyone made an attempt to stay as far away from it. Samus launched a missile into the center of the vortex and the magic was dispersed from the blast. Ken was long gone, but at least she learned that she could stop the spell before it grabbed anyone.

The battle-worn Smashers picked themselves up. The mood wasn't too happy, even though no one was seriously hurt. The adversaries they had been hunting managed to attack them, steal a powerful artifact right from under their noses, and successfully fled. Not to mention it seemed that more and more people were added to their ranks everytime they appeared.

Captain Falcon couldn't help but notice his friends' gloomy faces. Even Link look disturbed as he retrieved his discarded hookshot from the floor. He didn't quite know what to say about what happened, and instead looked towards the future, which he realized seemed equally as grim.

"Well guys..." Falcon said. "Now what?"

I've been taking advantage of my free time this summer and have been getting more writing done than usual. Heck, I'm halfway through chapter 16 right now, which means it won't be long before I update with chapter 15!