SBS Time!
Souldin: The scene with Link and the 4 statues look familiar.
Game2002: It's inspired from a similar scene in Rave Master.
Mystery-guy: Do the Hands fear that there will be something more powerful than the Holy Weapons appearing in the future?
Game2002: It is never said that the Holy Weapons are the most powerful weapons in existence. The power of the weapons depends on how one uses it. In the hands of a skilled person, it can be very destructive, but if one does not know how to use it, it is only as powerful as a normal sword or a normal gun. Since most of the Smashers are skilled fighters, they are able to use the weapons in various creative ways which makes the weapons powerful, but as powerful as the Smashers are, they are nothing but grasshoppers compared to the real powerhouses of the world. They still have a long way to go…
Mystery-guy: Will you work together with Specter24 to create a crossover story?
Game2002: While the idea sounds neat, it is not something that will see the day of the light anytime soon or in the future. Working with another author to create a story using character representations from both sides would require lots of work as well as good knowledge on each other in order to get things pulled out perfectly, and there may always be disagreements and difference in opinions on how the story should be.
Chapter 21
Roy's Homeland—Lycia
"We're going to the continent of Elibe next?!" Roy said with surprise after hearing Master Hand's announcement.
"The final six weapons are hidden in various part of the continent," the voice of MH continued broadcasting. "Fear not, for I already know which weapon is hidden where, so rest assure that we will have an easy time finding it. And by the way, since we are arriving at the place Roy was born in, we might as well pay a visit to his old home. Not a bad idea, you think so?"
Zelda turned to Roy and said, "You must miss home a lot, don't you?"
"Yeah, it feels happy to know that I'm returning to my homeland after being gone for some time," Roy said happily. "I wonder how dad is doing. Too bad Lilina isn't here; otherwise she would be happy too… Anyway, I can't wait until we get back to my castle! This is probably the first time you guys will be seeing it."
-
One handy thing about stories is that you can fast forward and go back in time whenever you want to, and thus we zoom all the way ahead of time to when the Smashers finally arrived at one of the countries of Elibe, Lycia. Now they are all standing in front of Roy's castle, which isn't exactly what they were expecting.
"WHAT HAPPENED TO MY CASTLE?!?!?" Roy screamed, not believing what he was looking at. It was a large medieval castle like in the olden days of Europe, but it was badly damaged with holes all over the walls and the towers were torn down.
It looked like something out of a battle aftermath.
"So is that how your castle look like?" Pichu asked.
"Yeah right…" Mewtwo told him. "It was probably under attack."
Crazy Hand then flew over to them and said, "I flew all around the castle and failed to see any signs of people. Nope, not a single soul in there at all! No groaning, moaning, uttering, crying, and orgasmic sounds."
"Stop, you're ruining innocent ears…" MH said to him.
Roy angrily kicked away a pebble on the ground and yelled at the top of his voice, "WHO DID THIS?!?!? THE PERSON WHO RUINED MY HOME STEP OUT AT ONCE AND I WILL KILL YOU!!!"
"Calm down," Marth said while patting his shoulder. "I doubt the person who did this is still here. It's useless if you simply yell."
"You willing to bet that this is King Starman's doing?" G&W said.
"Doesn't sound farfetched if you ask me," nodded Dr. Mario.
"That guy! He's going too far with this!" Roy growled. "Everyone that I know who lives in this castle better be alive or else his head will roll!"
"But why would King Starman attack this place?" Zelda asked. "Does he know that this is Roy's castle and attacked just for the sole reason that he detests us Smashers?"
"I see, so he is going with psychological torture," Mewtwo thought. "He's trying to enrage us by destroying things that we love and know in hope of ruining our moods. A rather smart move if you ask me, though it only works for one people in this case…"
"Actually, I may know the reason for his attack, assuming that it is him," MH said. "One of the Holy Weapons… is in the hands of the Pharae House…"
"What?!" everyone said in shock.
"It's true! The royal family of this country has been responsible for looking after one of the weapons. King Starman must've found out about this and attacked the castle, trying to claim the weapon for himself."
"I see…" Ganondorf commented.
"But that leads us to the question of what happened to the people in there? If they are still alive, where are they now?" Link asked.
"I don't know that unfortunately…" MH said. "Perhaps they evacuated to other places? It's useless trying to speculate. We should go and ask the people in town for more details about this."
They all agreed that this was the best thing to do, and thus they all headed for the city to gather more information.
-
Now the Smashers were wandering around the city. Some of them moved in groups but some went off on their own. "This place is unique!" Peach commented. "Even though this is the present age, they still keep lots of medieval architecture!"
"Eetz good-a to know that-a there are people who still preserve da old-a traditions!" Mario said. They stopped in front of a large coliseum-type building and took a good look around it. "Whoa!"
"Lots of people are going in there," Luigi said. "Is there a competition in there or what?" A random person walked past him and he went to ask him, "Excuse me, but what is going on inside at the moment? Is there a race or sport event?"
"They're having a battle in there!" the guy replied. "You make bets on who you think will win and one can win big bucks out of it!"
"Sounds fun!" Bowser thought.
"Gambling through people fighting each other? That's inhumane!" Peach said with disgust.
"It's not what you think," the guy told her. "They do not use sharp weapons, so the fighting is not dangerous and no lives are ever lost. Just think of it as betting a horse race!"
"So you want-a to go in there and check-a eet outta?" Mario asked.
"Wouldn't hurt to kill some time," Bowser said. "Why not?"
"But we are supposed to ask people about the whereabouts of the royal family," Peach said. She turned to ask that person but he had already left.
"We won't have to worry about that. We can leave it to the others," Luigi assured her.
They went to the front gate and learned that if one only wants to act as a spectator, they can enter for free, but those who wanted to bet must pay up first. Bowser looked at the list of fighters that was posted on a large bulletin board. "Let's see the name of the people who are fighting. Bartre, Karla, Lucius, Farina, Matthew, Generic Fodder Character, Raven, Dart, Wallace, Abnormal Lee…"
"Are you coming or not-a?" Mario called out to him.
-
"Prince Roy! Is that you?!" said a balding blue-haired man with a moustache. He rushed up to Roy to get a closer look and suddenly burst into happiness and tears as he gave him a great big hug. "Prince Roy! It really is you!"
"Whoa! What the?!" Roy said in surprise. "What are you?!"
"Hey, what are you doing to him?!" Dr. Mario said to the man.
The man let go of Roy and said, "I'm so sorry to frighten you all, but I'm so glad that I finally get to see Prince Roy again!"
Roy took a better look at the man and said, "Hey, it's you, Merlinus!"
"Prince Roy! Welcome back!" the man, Merlinus, said to him.
"Shhh! Not too loud! I don't want to let the people here know that I'm the prince, because it can create a scene…" Roy told him.
"Why? Isn't it something to boast about?"
"I'm not very used to formalities as a royal person yet… But anyway… your timing is perfect, Merlinus. I have a lot to ask you… About the castle…"
"I knew you were going to ask me about that," Merlinus told him. "Quick, let us go and see your father, King Eliwood, first!"
"Dad is still alive? Great! Where is he?"
"He is currently residing in Royal Hotel of Roland, the richest hotel in all of Elibe. Let us go there." So Roy, alongside G&W, Dr. Mario, and Mewtwo, went with Merlinus. Those three were the only ones that were with him if you want to know.
-
Within the special VIP Room 550 of Royal Hotel of Roland, the king of Lycia, Eliwood, sat up in surprise and went over to embrace his son when Roy stepped into the room. "My son! I'm so glad to see you!" he said to Roy.
"Me too, dad!" Roy replied with tears in the corners of his eyes, and they embraced each other tightly for several seconds.
"Ah! I'm moved to tears!" G&W said while wiping tears off his eyes (even though they're not visible) using a handkerchief.
"Yeah, it's so great to still have you father," Dr. Mario said.
"How's your old man? Is he already…?"
"He's doing fine in Mushroom Kingdom."
"Oh…"
Eliwood then let go of his son and looked at the Smashers. "And these are…?"
"Oh, let me introduce to you the people that I've been living with," Roy said. "These are Mr. Game & Watch, Dr. Mario, and Mewtwo."
All three of them bowed down in the presence of the king to show their respect. "It is an honor to meet you, O King of Lycia!" they said.
"Stand up," Eliwood told them. "I should be thanking you for taking care of my son. I hope that he did not bring you any trouble."
"I'm not a kid anymore, dad…" Roy said to him, embarrassed.
"Not in the slightest!" Dr. Mario said, shaking his head. "He is a very fine man that gets along with us very well!"
"While it is true that he has habits of womanizing, he is still without doubt a chivalrous man who knows his limits," Mewtwo said.
"Still like always, isn't it? Heheh!" Eliwood chuckled. "How's your relationship with Lilina?"
"Don't worry about that," Roy told him. "I'll never betray her or let any harm come to her! Rest assure that her father Lord Hector will be happy to know how she is doing now!"
"I hope so!"
"Oh yeah! I almost forgot the reason we came here for! What happened to the castle?!"
"Why don't we have a seat first?" Eliwood said, pointing to the sofas. "Come and make yourself comfortable. Don't treat yourself like strangers."
"Don't mind if we do!" G&W said as he sat down onto the sofa. "Ah, the sofa is comfortable!"
"Go and prepare some tea and light snacks," Eliwood told one of his servants, who obeyed and went to get the job done. "Now, about the matter of the castle… It all came so suddenly that we didn't have time to counterattack…"
"Am I correct in saying that the castle was attacked by star-shaped aliens?" Mewtwo asked.
"You're right! How did you figure that?"
"To be honest, we have been fighting with them for a while already," Roy told his father. "Their leader, King Starman, is planning to take over the world, so we are currently gathering the Holy Weapons in order to stop him."
"Ah yes… The Holy Weapons! Those aliens invaded our castle saying that they are here to claim the Holy Weapon which is in our possession."
"So you do have the weapon with you all along," Mewtwo said.
"Yes, for it has been protected by the Pharae Family since the olden days. Our ancestors had close relations with the Hand Family back then, and ever since one of the weapons was created, they gave us the task of protecting it until the chosen one comes to claim it. I would assume that you people are the ones that are chosen wield these weapons. In that case, our ancestors' job is at long last finished! The weapon should now be handed over to its rightful owners!"
"Where is the weapon then?" Dr. Mario said.
"We managed to fight back the best we could, but because the castle was falling apart, we had no choice but to evacuate. We took the weapon only with us and I handed it over to the Museum of Lycia for safe keeping. Here, I will give you my signature which you can show the director of the museum. This will give you the permission to claim the weapon." He was given a paper by his servant and wrote down some stuff on it before putting in his signature and handing it to Roy. "Here, you must now go to the museum. I fear that those aliens will discover where the weapon is soon and go after it."
Roy placed a fist over his chest and said, "You can count on us, dad! We will collect all the weapons and then take down those aliens to bring back world peace!"
"Let's go then!" G&W said.
"Should we inform the others?" Dr. Mario said.
"We can tell them after we found the weapons," Roy suggested.
-
The three Smashers wasted no time in heading over to the Museum of Lycia using the personal limousine of Eliwood. When they entered the museum, they noticed that the place was ruined as there were broken glass and fallen objects all over the place, but no artifacts were broken.
"What happened here?!" Dr. Mario said in shock. "Could the aliens have beaten us to it?!"
Roy ran to one of the guards in this place and asked, "What happened here? It looks as if there was an attack!"
"Some strange guy in armor came in here about thirty minutes ago," the guard explained to him. "He said he was looking for a sword of unmatched power, but couldn't find what he wants and thus left, though not without fighting some of the guards. He's pretty strong and took out all the guards with little effort…"
"Can that be one of King Starman's subordinates?" G&W wondered. "And could the weapon be a sword?"
"Perhaps he did not find it and thought that is wasn't here, so he left without taking anything?" Dr. Mario thought.
"Or maybe he is not related to King Starman at all and simply came here looking for something out of his own personal interest," Mewtwo said.
"Whatever the case is, we're not here for that," Roy said, and then he handed the guard Eliwood's signature.
The guard looked at the signature and was surprised. "This is the king's signature! He has given you the permission to get the Holy Weapon, and you are Prince Roy!"
When the other people in the museum heard this, they all bowed down to him at once, but Roy told them to get up. "You don't have to do that! Can you lead us to the weapon already? We need to get it fast!"
Then an elderly man who is the director of the museum came over to the Smashers and said, "I shall take you to the weapon at once, Prince Roy. Follow me." And he led the way.
They went to the far end of the museum where there was a massive steel door. After unlocking the various locks of the steel door and opening it, they went down the long winding staircase and eventually came into a large circular room. "Whoa! What is that?!" G&W said in awe.
In the center of the room was a large glass container and on top of the podium that was inside it, there was a black sphere made of metal and it had a face drawn on it.
"Is that the Holy Weapon?" Dr. Mario asked.
"Oh no, that's not the one," the director. "That is the container for the spirit of the Cruncher."
"Cruncher?" everyone said curiously.
"I think I know that name," Roy said. "Supposedly there was this giant monster called the Cruncher terrorizing this country several hundred years ago, and it was said to be invincible. But then a powerful mage managed to defeat it by separating its spirit from its body, so without its spirit, the Cruncher was as good as dead. However, the spirit could not be destroyed, so the best they could do was to seal it away inside this container."
"Yes, and ever since that day, the container has been put up here as a display," the director continued.
"Is that a good idea…?" Dr. Mario asked. "What if some day the spirit breaks free and causes havoc?"
"Nothing has happened to it ever since it was sealed away, so nobody is scared that this might happen. The whereabouts of the Cruncher's spirit is unknown as of now and the secret to breaking the seal of the container is not known too. That is why we believe it is safe to put this on display as part of the historical artifacts of the Lycia. But let's not talk about that. You are here for the weapon, right?"
"Yeah, so you stored it here?" Roy asked.
"This is the most secured room of the museum, so it's natural that we would hide it here," the director replied. A guard then came over with a staff in his hand and the director took it from him and handed it over to Roy. "Here is the weapon, my lord!"
The Smashers gathered around Roy to look at the staff. Obviously it was colored gray due to lack of energy, but one could tell that the top end of it had an orb. "So this is the weapon…" Mewtwo said.
"All right! We got one of the weapons in this place!" G&W said. "Only five more to go!"
Suddenly, a guard rushed into the place in great panic and said, "Director! We're under attack! The enemies are outside the museum trying to come in!"
"What?!" the director said in shock.
-
Outside the museum, there was a group of Starmen and Moonmen and they were all led by Tony. "I know one of you Smashers must be in there!" Tony said in an angry voice. "Come out at once so that I can avenge for my brother!"
TO BE CONTINUED
This chapter has a lot of references to my other work Magister Saga. Please refer to the trivia for more info on this.
Trivia:
1. Obviously, the Cruncher is the main driving force of that story. Both the museum and the hotel are the same ones that the Smashers visited, and even the coliseum is the same one where Negi fought Cackletta.
2. Dedede and Meta-Knight would come to live in Room 550 during their stay at the hotel.
3. The names listed at the coliseum are all playable characters from Fire Emblem 7, except for Generic Fodder Character and Abnormal Lee. Both of them would later appear in the fighting tournament at the amusement park, World of Fire Emblem.