We're coming up to a part that was really fun to write. Now that I think about it, I think Chapter 4 is my favorite Chapter. My top favorite to write thus far has got to be Part 2 of the Prologue though. Enough with my chattering, on with the show!

Chapter 4 Part 4

Five Heroes United

"So princess, where is your gallant Link now?" Ganondorf grinned, looking down on the bound and gagged Princess Zelda.

Ganondorf laughed. "We have disposed of Link. He is gone forever. With the hero of time gone, your kingdom is mine at last." Ganondorf laughed again, a cold piteous laugh.

He turned around and made his way out of the dungeons of his battle fortress. This was a glorious day. Today would be the day Ganondorf took control. Of everything. He would not settle for one stupid kingdom. No, all the dimensions of the universe sounded much more appealing than one measly kingdom. That big boss was fooling himself. Ganondorf served no one. First he would take care of the heroes. Then he would go and receive his reward from that dimensional freak. After that, he would amass an army secretly and lay siege to him. Then Ganondorf would usurp command of the entire universe, and all its dimensions.

Ganondorf arrived at a balcony overlooking the dark mountains. He laughed again. This was a glorious day.

Meanwhile…

"Hey. Hey! Wait up. Link!"

The group of four friends hurried to catch up with the green running figure. At the sound of "Link" he stopped running and turned around.

"Link?" he said questioningly as the group ran up to him, panting.

Chatot recovered quickly. "Yes, Squawk. Even though you don't remember your name, we think your name is Link."

The man looked down at him. "I know my name is Link."

All of them gasped in surprise.

"But then, how come you said you had forgotten your name?" Kirby asked.

Link shook his head. "I am too well known for my own good. I knew you all were strangers when you didn't recognize who I was. But I still didn't want to risk being swarmed by fans by telling you my name. So I faked amnesia. I thought that I would eventually tell you who I was, after I had analyzed you."

"Analyze? And what were your results?" Sonic asked, a little reproached.

Link turned to Sonic. "You are impatient and like to keep on the move. You have a carefree personality and a blind sense of bravery. I also got from the fifth frown line on your face that you can't swim."

Sonic glared, but Link just turned to Chatot.

"You, Chatot, have curiosity to match your quick wit. You are faithful to all of your friends and have a ferocious temper. I also know that due to that weird birth mark shaped like a hook on your shoulder that you don't like the flavour of Tartar Sauce."

Chatot looked confused as Link turned to Kirby.

"You, Kirby, are capable of thinking on your feet and have a knack for solving puzzles. However, you can get quite arrogant and misguided by how you figure things out, and this paired with your stubbornness, is a dangerous combination. I also found from the lack of fingers that you love every single kind of food except one; marshmallows."

As Sonic and Chatot burst into laughter at the infuriated Kirby (or marshmallow *HAHAHAHA*), Link turned to Mario.

"You, Mario. Well… I couldn't really get anything from you because you didn't talk a lot. You do have a sense of control and rarely lose your head. Your bushy moustache says to me that you should use more conditioner on that thing."

Link, finished with his critical criticisms, waited for their response.

There was a long silence of Kirby seething, Sonic and Chatot giggling silently and Mario just staring, waiting.

Finally, Kirby spoke. "So were we good enough for you, or do you not like people who don't like marshmallows?"

Link's face fell. "I have displeased you."

"Of course you've displeased me. Do you know how long it's gonna take for those two stooges over there to forget about what you said? You're gonna have to come up with an even more hilarious statement about someone else."

Link frowned. "I did not make those up. I am trained in the art of physicastrity."

Sonic had just settled down from his giggletastrophe, when he broke out in laughter all over again. Chatot through many Squawks of laughter said.

"Physicastrity, Squawk? I-is that even a word, Squawk?" Then Chatot followed Sonic into fits of uncontrollable laughter.

Kirby smiled. "Very good Link, I think that did it. Maybe you can think of some more before our journey's over."

"What do you mean by that?" Link asked.

"I guess we better explain everything to you. And since those two are incapable of speech at the moment, and Mario just plain doesn't like talking, I'll explain it."

And so Kirby explained to Link of their journey and what they meant to do. He told him of their accomplishments so far, and he told him of Tails, Knuckles, Peach, Chaos, and Meta Knight. Kirby told Link everything.

Chatot and Sonic had finally calmed down, and were now hiccoughing in the aftermath.

"So, you are saying I am the fifth and final hero needed to restore the dimensions to their rightful form?"

Kirby nodded. "So will you do it?"

Link chuckled. "Friends, friends. I have done a great wrong in lying to you, and I am sorry. But let me tell you this. The only lie I have ever told you is about my name. Everything else I said was as true as I can possibly tell you without feeling uncomfortable. And if you have been paying attention to what I have been saying, you would know that I would never miss peril, danger and adventure for anything."

"So… that's a yes right?" Kirby said

Link laughed a hearty laugh. "Yes, of course I am coming. But there is one thing we must do before embarking for the final stage of our quest. You have seen what the evil Ganondorf has done to my village. I must go to his castle and punish him. I would be very pleased if you would accompany me in my attempt to thrash him."

Everyone looked to Mario. Mario contemplated for a moment then nodded.

"Right, then off to the dark mountains we go. The thrill of adventure, it is all one needs in life."

Boom, boom, boom.

Kirby looked around nervously. "Uh, guys. Is it just me, or is the ground shaking?"

Boom, boom, boom.

"You know, I think Kirby's right, I think the ground is shaking." Sonic said looking at the ground, confused.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM.

"Ah, I know the source of the problem." Link said happily.

"Well, what is it, Squawk?" Chatot asked, a little scared now.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM.

"It's the troll that guards Ganondorf's castle." Link said happily.

"WHAT!" They all yelled in unison.

Link waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, nothing to worry about. It's incredibly stupid."

"ROOAARGH!"

Kirby's eyes widened. "I know plenty of stupid things that can still hurt you."

With a grin Link turned around and drew his sword. "Ah. But we have strategy and wit on our side. We also have numbers. This troll does not stand a chance."

Around a nearby hill, there appeared the source of the tremor. The troll was not only huge, but ugly as well. It had a dim-witted face, and its eyes seemed like they were too close together. Its bluish-grey skin seemed to ignore the beautiful sunlight, and wallowed in its own dullness.

As it spotted them and started trampling towards them, everyone (except Link) looked as if they were about to run.

"Hold your ground." Link called over his shoulder, pointing his weapon at the giant.

Everyone obeyed, but reluctantly.

"You have an idea Link, or are you just going to stand there posing?" Sonic asked nervously. The beast was getting closer and closer.

"Of course I have an idea. You think I would be standing less than fifty feet from a charging troll, and not have an idea. I'll need all of your help though, this one's a bit bigger than the rest I've faced. If only we could dig a hole, it would be a lot easier."

"I can take care of that, Squawk" Chatot said.

Link turned to him doubtfully. "You? Okay dig it right here." He pointed to a spot right behind him. "Make it really big, ok."

Chatot nodded, and then transformed into a beast with claws almost half as long as its entire body. As it started digging, Link pulled a long string from his bag.

"Here." He tossed one end of the string to Mario. "Hold it taut in front of the hole."

They backed up until the string was stretched a few feet off the ground.

"And now Sonic, we need you to be bait."

"B-bait?" Sonic gulped.

"Don't worry, it's easy. Just stand behind the hole, and big guy over there will do the rest. Oh, and er… try to look appetizing."

Sonic, half indignant, half scared to death, stood on the opposite side of the already complete hole. Chatot, or Ditto, or… whatever it was scurried out of the hole and stood alongside Mario to hold the string.

"Hey. You big lug. Over here. Bet you can't get me." Sonic started waving his arms and jumping up and down.

The beast was now really close. It looked intrigued by Sonic and started making its way over to him.

"Get ready." Link said gritting his teeth.

The troll lumbered closer and closer. It was now practically on top of them. As its left foot got caught on the string, it slowly toppled over. Mario, Link, and Chatot, struggled to hold on to the slippery ends of the string. Just when Mario thought he would have to let go, Chatot jumped up, transformed into a big beast with four arms, and pushed the troll the rest of the way into the hole.

It gave a strangled yell as it toppled into the darkness. Everyone cheered, especially Sonic, who had been trembling the entire time. Chatot changed back into, well… Chatot. Everyone congratulated each other on their victory over the troll.

"Nice work on that plan Link. First time we've ever had a plan for anything, Squawk." Chatot congratulated.

As they started moving again, Sonic walked beside Link. "So, who is this Ganondorf guy anyway?"

Link shook his head. "He is the king of evil. He has a power hungry syndrome. He wants to control as much as possible, and will do anything to accomplish this terrible feat."

"So, how long have your been feuding with this Ganondorf."

Link sighed. "Fate has linked us together, no pun intended. We have fought and fought for generation upon generation. I have managed to defeat him multiple times, but he always finds a way to resurrect himself."

Sonic nodded knowingly. "I know how you feel. Villains can get awful tedious in the 'come back to life' department."

"Ganondorf has certain qualities that put him above the rest of the villains of the world." Link said.

Sonic looked at Link questionably. "Oh, and what's that?"

Link looked at Sonic dryly. "Brains."

As the two laughed at this, Sonic in particular thinking about a certain scientist, Mario, Chatot, and Kirby were having a heated discussion, or rather, Chatot and Kirby were having a heated discussion, and Mario was nodding and shaking his head.

"So once we defeat this Ganondorf guy, what do we do next?" Kirby asked with a nervous glance to the approaching mountain.

"We could go back to Meta Knight's cave and look through some of his books, Squawk." Chatot offered.

"We might have to resort to that if there's nothing else we can do. I think it would be useless though. Latios took all of the books having to do with the prophecy. I think we should question Ganondorf on the whereabouts of this boss all the villains are talking about."

Chatot looked at Kirby questioningly. "How do you know Ganondorf is working for the same guy as King DeDeDe, Darkrai, and Eggman?"

"It's just a feeling I'm getting. Our mission now that we have the fifth hero is to find the source of the dimensional disturbance. We can't afford to let Ganondorf escape when we beat him."

Mario nodded to this and then motioned to Sonic and Link walking ahead of them.

Kirby nodded as well. "Yeah, you're right Mario. I almost forgot. Chatot, you have to go tell the other two of our plan."

Chatot smiled slyly. "Why don't you go do it? Or does Link perhaps have some marshmallows in his tunic somewhere, Squawk."

As Chatot ran ahead laughing with Kirby raging and chasing behind him, the mountain loomed ever closer.

The reason this chapter took so long is because my computer has been acting a bit rebellious lately. I've had to send it in multiple times to be fixed, but i think the major kinks have been worked out. Again, I'm sorry the recent chapters have been later than usual, I'll try and keep up now that summer vacation has begun. I hope your enjoying reading The Dimensional Twist.

Chaos7