Chapter 20: The Worthy

The battle for the Nintendo World had begun. To the north and south, the defenders and assaulters were about to begin their endeavors. But in the middle, arranged in an arrow-point formation, the rest of the Smash Brothers awaited the command from their leaders to commence the push westward toward Master Hand's Room, and then to Master Hand's Fortress where the fate of everything they knew would be decided. The same blend of fear and determination present in the hearts of the other Smash Brothers burned strongest in these bravest of warriors.

Forming the thick border of the triangle formation were the hundreds of cavalry from both Akaneia and Hyrule, ready to charge. Inside this border were the foot soldiers from the same kingdoms. From top to bottom, the army stretched the length of a few football fields, numbering several hundred. The Great Fox, piloted by Peppy with the auxiliary guns manned by Paula, Jeff, and Poo, flew directly above the center of the formation, and behind the craft flew Fox, Falco, and Slippy in their Arwings.

The rest of the division was positioned at the front. Kirby, riding Dragoon (a special kind of Air Rider comparable to a Warp Star but shaped somewhat like a white bird with rainbow-colored feathers), and Meta Knight, his yellow eyes shining with the invigorating rush of combat, flew at the head of the Star Warriors, prepared to ensure the mission's success at all costs. Below at the tip of the arrow, Link and Marth were mounted on horses side by side and getting ready to lead their men into battle. Link rode upon the steed of his childhood, Epona, who was a deep auburn while the rest of the war horses were black, white, or chocolate brown. Directly behind them, forming the second and third rows of the triangle, were Mario and Luigi (piggybacking the Babies), Roy, the Ice Climbers, Pac-man, Bomberman, Ness, and Shadow the Hedgehog.

The great number of heroes assigned to this task indicated how important it was to the Smash Brothers' success. If they failed, all that might be accomplished by the defenders and assaulters would be for nothing. There was a great amount of pressure upon them, but their unity gave each individual great strength.

Link stopped stroking his loyal Epona's mane and turned to Marth. "Are you with me?"

"To the death," Marth replied with a brotherly smile.

Link smiled back, then turned back to face the armies of Master Hand. He drew the Biggoron Sword and pointed it forward with one hand. Marth drew his Falchion blade as well. "For the freedom of our world!" Link shouted. "For our homes and loved ones, and for Impa! FORWARD!"

Epona and Marth's horse reared up with a ferocious whinny and charged toward the oppressing army. Everyone else behind them followed their lead, crying out valorously and drawing their swords. Even though many were forced to run along the ground, the swiftness of the cavalry encouraged them and gave them energy to pick up their pace so as to keep the formation intact. Above, the Star Warriors charged ahead of the rest and met the enemy long before they did. The Great Fox and the Arwings remained above the triangle, however, for the responsibility was theirs to defend the formation from aerial attacks or ones from behind.

"Star Fox Squadron report in. Fox here," Fox spoke into his radio.

"Slippy here!"

"Falco locked and loaded."

"Peppy here…and for real, I need to retire after this…."

"Roger. Team Star Fox, fulfill the objective; remember, we must remain with the formation and defend it at all costs. Good luck, everyone. Fox out!"

While they charged down the hill closer and closer toward the Wire Frames, they could see similar movements both to the north and south, which helped lift their spirits even higher. The Star Warriors had already fallen upon the adversary, swooping down with their wings and Warp Stars and slashing the Wire Frames, which proved to be as feeble as ever. To add to all this, Mario and Luigi used another Copy Flower, so their enemy wouldn't be merely dealing with two Marios and two Luigis, but a hundred.

At last, the arrow formation began to cut into the Wire Frame forces. Link and Marth were the first of the horses to begin the great trampling that ensued. The Wire Frames were too slow; a few of them managed to jump over the cavalry only to be combo attacked by the Marios and Luigis, sent to oblivion by Roy's Binding Blade, smashed by Popo's and Nana's hammers, devoured like a blue ghost by Pac-man, blown up by one of Bomberman's smooth blue bombs, fried by Ness's PK Fire, kicked away by Shadow's flaming white shoes, or stabbed by the infantry's weapons.

But for the most part, the arrow formation sliced through Master Hand's armies even more efficiently than the assaulters and defenders, leaving most of the Wire Frames' bodies flattened by the horses. Nothing seemed to be able to stand in their way, and morale was high. No casualties, after five minutes of fighting, had yet been suffered.

The thriving warriors, heroes, and pilots continued on in this way for what felt like forever but was in reality about an hour, cutting so far into the Wire Frames' ranks that soon they could barely see the rest of the Smash Brothers battling in the distance behind them. But then things turned up a notch.

They reached the end of the typical Wire Frames, but their progress immediately slowed when their opponents suddenly changed from just male and female to 25 completely unique variations. Almost at once, many more of the Wire Frames evaded the trampling horses or retaliated first. The Star Warriors faced numberless projectiles firing up at them: fireballs, lightning bolts, arrows, lasers, Shadow Balls, etc. Marth, Link, and the rest of the heroes pushed their way forward, but couldn't easily move on without waiting for the painfully gradual advancement of the rest of the formation behind them. Team Star Fox was now engaged in vicious combat with the Aparoid army while struggling to remain above the group.

What was more, Master Hand seemed to have reserved one force in particular for them. Silver UFOs descended upon Star Fox and the Star Warriors, segments of yellow laser firing from several directions. Starmen, including the spike-studded Starman Supers and bronze Starmen Deluxe, teleported atop the UFOs, into the midst of the Wire Frames and even in midair, showering the airborne soldiers with deadly beams.

"New objective from supreme leader," buzzed the robotic voice of the largest Starmen Deluxe, which was standing atop one of the bigger UFOs. "Destroy all living organisms. Master Hand's package to note that preparation was advised, and it is now time to finish what we started in Onett."

"Yikes!" Slippy cried as a laser struck his right wing, catching it on fire. He spun several times to put it out, but the lasers kept on coming. A couple of the Star Warriors yelled as they were blasted out of the sky by the Starmen and tumbled to the ground. The Great Fox, as the largest flying target, rattled from a steady barrage of attacks.

"They're too fast!" Jeff shouted as he, Paula, and Poo tried to hit the Starmen with their laser turrets. Even the UFOs deflected their beams like a mirror reflecting light.

"It's no use," Paula said. "Jeff, you stay down here and focus on the Aparoids and Wire Frames. Poo and I are gonna have a little chat with our alien friends."

She and the Dalaamian hurried up the Great Fox to the hatch that led them onto the top of the ship. They faced the indescribable spectacle of the alien invasion, with hovering Starmen spread out around them like floating mines. With lasers.

"Alright, friends," Paula said, concentrating hard to call upon her PSI powers. "You haven't come in peace, but you'll be leaving in pieces."

The two of them unleashed a combination of PK Starstorms and PK Flashes, catching most of the Starmen off guard, crushing and vaporizing many while the rest were forced to fall back.

Inside the Great Fox, Peppy had also noticed the ineffectiveness of the ship's lasers. He put his hand on another trigger.

"Let's see how you like this, ya hooligans!"

A cluster of missiles fired from both sides of the vessel, speeding into the two closest UFOs. The spaceships did not take them well, the explosions blowing them apart like party poppers.

"Woo hoo!" Peppy did a little dance as he steered the Great Fox onward.

Then, from the north, a formation of Arwings dive-bombed toward several other UFOs, donating a wall of lasers followed by several B-Bombs. The Starmen were obliterated before the Cornerian Fleet's surprise strike force; the UFO with the head Starman Deluxe exploded like a firework, though the Starman in question teleported just in time to retreat to another spaceship farther back.

Dash Bowman appeared as a hologram on Peppy's control panel. "Let's crush these clankers!"

"You betcha," Peppy said.

Down below, however, dozens were now falling on both sides, and the formation continued moving forward at only a fraction of their previous speed. The morning blazed into early afternoon, and although they had gone miles, there was still no visible sign of Master Hand's Room ahead. The rest of the Smash Brothers had completely vanished behind them, and in front of them the gradual slopes of the Battlefields seemed to stretch on forever with no limits or bounds.

Kirby fought fiercely, sucking in enemies here and spitting them out there, slicing into several at once with the beak-like front of Dragoon. But then he noticed a blue-green figure bulldozing through the Wire Frames in front of them at a speed of at least 100 mph. The figure continued to speed in his direction, knocking away its own allies, and at a gradual angle it lifted off the ground and made with toward Kirby and Dragoon. The puffball sensed this hostility, and tilted Dragoon up just in time to avoid colliding with the new enemy. It sped by in a blur, but this glance was enough for Kirby to identify the Air Rider who had almost killed him. It was Hydra, the other legendary Air Ride Machine which was known for its brutal, deadly speed and its three thorny green points protruding from the glowing yellow base. However, Hydra had passed by underneath him too quickly for Kirby to get a clear look at the rider, so he turned Dragoon around to face Hydra, which had also stopped in midair to prepare for another charge.

It wasn't too surprising to discover that controlling Hydra was none other than Metal Kirby, its round metal figure featureless and emotionless. Kirby knew trying to reason with the clone wouldn't be worth his time, so after seeing Hydra charging up for another strike, the famous Star Warrior dived down below and began thinking up a strategy to defeat his metal adversary.

He decided to curve straight back upwards underneath Metal Kirby where the clone couldn't very well see him, but a split second before he would have sliced into Hydra, the machine barrel-rolled to the side and pursued the Dragoon in an upward spiral. Kirby glanced behind as he ascended, the sky a blur all around, and saw Metal Kirby advancing close below him, so he executed a full loop-de-loop and was now behind Hydra.

Metal Kirby came to an abrupt halt and pivoted around, and Kirby did not have time to react before crashing into the thorny points. Kirby was sent careening off Dragoon, which flipped around in the air and then exploded. The pink puffball puffed up five times in an attempt to stay aloft, but after the fifth, he gasped for air and began plummeting downward, spinning uncontrollably, towards the ground far below. The air whizzed past him, and now Hydra was coming back at a steep angle with the intent of spearing Kirby on its sharp points….

Then, even faster than Hydra, a red blur sped down from above, cushioned Kirby's fall, and whisked him away before Hydra could get to him. Kirby, dazed, saw that he was now riding on one of the Wolfens of Team Star Wolf—the Black Rose, to be exact. A feline voice sounded from inside the cockpit.

"Panther always renders aid to allies in need. Ah, but what's this?" The black-furred cat looked to his right to see Kirby clinging onto the wing. He then saw that behind him, Metal Kirby had redirected Hydra and was coming in for yet another charge. "Looks as if this small friend lacks a means of combating his enemy. Panther would deliver the finishing blow himself, but his noble instinct deems that this is your foe to defeat. Here, friend, take this…" Panther cracked open the cockpit and handed Kirby a red rose. Kirby took it in his stubby arms, but looked confused. Why had this strange pilot given him a rose, of all things?

"Panther knows this may seem to be a useless gift at the moment, but somehow he believes that you can use it to your advantage. Farewell, little pink hero, and remember the act of kindness performed for you this day by Panther Caruso. And you needn't worry about returning the rose; Panther possesses plenty more…."

Hydra came up behind the Black Rose, intent on obliterating it, when Panther executed a 180-degree loop, avoiding Hydra and now flying the other way. Unfortunately, this required the Wolfen to turn upside down, and as Hydra was passing below, Kirby fell off of the Black Rose and barely grabbed onto the back of Hydra while still holding the red rose. He had to be careful not to prick his stubby hand on it because it was so thorny….

At the moment, Metal Kirby did not appear to notice the unwanted hitchhiker, so Kirby flailed in the air behind the Air Machine as it jerked and swerved in search of him. With no other ideas in mind, Kirby drew in a deep breath of air, tossed the rose in his mouth, and swallowed it painfully as the thorns scratched his throat.

Poof! Rose Kirby was born. Similar to Spike Kirby, this new Copy Ability caused the previously pink hero to be covered in small spikes, or in this case, thorns. He was also now as green as the dark stem of a rose, and positioned comically on top of his head was a bright red flower. Also, instead of stubby arms, thorny tendrils extended a few feet beyond on each side and ended with two more roses; Kirby's arms now functioned like some combination of a ball-and-chain and Ivysaur's Vine Whip.

Realizing that his new appearance blended in well with the thorny points of Hydra, Kirby swung his tendril-arms quietly around the base of the left horn and attached himself to it with the two roses interlocking and twisting together on the other side (although he needn't worry about noise with the ruckus of the war below and the screeching of the wind). He could see the back of Metal Kirby as Hydra sped through the air, still in search of the one it had been sent to find and take down. The headwind pushed against Rose Kirby, but with the prickliness of the thorns, he held on.

Finally gathering enough courage, Rose Kirby unstuck all of his thorns from the horn and began swinging back and forth on the loop formed by his tendril-arms (Lanky Kong would have been proud). He did this until he had enough momentum to propel him completely over the top of Hydra and land almost on top of Metal Kirby. And this, being impossible to go unnoticed by the clone, caused Metal Kirby to finally turn around to see Rose Kirby with his tendril-arms waving about. But before it could do anything, Rose Kirby swiftly wrapped his tendrils around the metal figure and lifted it clean into the air with his temporary plant-like strength. Then, even as Hydra continued to speed forward undirected at well over any approved speed limit except in space, Rose Kirby began to spin round and round, swinging Metal Kirby in a wide circle. He did this faster and faster until they were a spinning blur within a blur, like Mario spinning Bowser around on an F-Zero machine, and then finally let go, releasing his metal duplicate into the sky. As it fell, Metal Kirby was caught by a blast from Sylux's ship, the Delano 7, and was no more.

"My Rider!" Kirby called out as he gained control of the Hydra. And that was all he needed to say. However, he had to dispose of his Rose abilities in order to effectively maneuver the vehicle. When he looked down, he was shocked to behold nothing but Wire Frames as far as the eye could see, packed densely together like purple ants. Kirby knew he was supposed to be helping those heading for Master Hand's fortress, but at this point there was no point in trying to find his way back in time. So he resolved that he may as well begin carving his way here. Hydra was nigh unstoppable, after all.

From below, the green figure of Hydra suddenly dropped straight back onto the ground, and began charging though dozens upon dozens of Wire Frames, which were helpless even in their many variations. Many Kirby Frames attempted to confront him while riding upon other Air Ride machines, but they were no contest against the legendary beast of machinery (although Kirby did wonder where they acquired Air Riders in the first place).

Kirby eventually claimed the title for the defeat of the most Wire Frames attributed solely to his name during the war—and it's not hard to figure out how.

Back at the head of the arrow formation, the horses continued to charge through the magenta ocean of Wire Frames. It was a challenge with all the different attacks and styles facing them at once, and a number of the warriors fell, but for the most part the Smash Brothers were able to avoid most of their attacks as long as they kept up a continuous speed. But they had been doing this for so long that many of the soldiers had begun to lose hope.

Finally, a sign that their push was nearing its end made itself manifest. Although there was, indeed, no giant wall or door as Professor E. Gadd had imagined, there was a single arch which appeared to be of significance because beyond this arch there were no more Wire Frames. At the front, Link and Marth were the first to notice this strange landmark, and they called out to the rest of their forces in encouragement.

"We are almost there!" Marth shouted. "To the arch at the bottom of this slope!" The slope they were now running down was very gradual, with the distant arch at the far end. But beyond that, the rest of the landscape beyond appeared perfectly flat. It seemed, as has been mentioned before, to stretch on forever: no shore or sea; only the early afternoon sky on the level horizon.

Before them, a couple hundred feet away, Meta Knight dropped back and warned them in a loud voice. "Beware! The mounted fighters guarding the arch are fierce; they repel our Star Warriors with arrows of fire. We cannot compete against them." The masked warrior then called on the Star Warriors to fall back to allow the cavalry to step in where they could not prevail.

"Mounted fighters?" Link asked, startled. "What kind of Wire Frames can be ridden?"

"See for yourself," was all Meta Knight said before he and his warriors split to help reinforce the flanks.

Link, Marth, and the other heroes anticipated these last obstacles in the way of what was undoubtedly the entrance to Master Hand's Room. But on closer look, the Smash Brothers realized that they all appeared to be the same. These were Link Frames, which explained the arrows, but the surprising part was that they were actually riding horses of the same nature, or Horse Frames. Here was one variation of Wire Frame that was not part of the Original 25. Yet this fact did not make the reality any easier to face. It would be cavalry versus cavalry, for the foot soldiers stood no chance against mounted opponents so high off the ground. Even the other heroes besides Link and Marth merged with the foot soldiers and relied on the strength of the horsemen to win this unexpected struggle. The biggest issue, however, was that there were hundreds upon hundreds of them blocking their way to the arch in a thick wall of Horse and Link Frames, far outnumbering their own forces.

"Let's go." Link committed himself as the first to guide his horse, Epona, into the final barrier. His green hat fluttered about in the wind behind him, his blue eyes sparked with fearlessness, and the golden Triforce of Courage shone on the back of his left hand.

"Link—wait!" Marth charged along soon afterwards, gesturing behind him for the rest of the cavalry to follow.

Link lifted the Biggoron Sword high over his head and gave a battle cry as he brought it down onto the head of the foremost Link Frame. It sliced clean through the tough, jelly-like material and split it cleanly in half, each side falling off of the Horse Frame, which Link kicked over with his boot as he passed by. He suddenly felt uncomfortable, however, as each and every one of the Link frames simultaneously turned its featureless face, stamped with red Smash symbol, toward the Hero of Time in an almost zombie-like manner. They did not pay the slightest attention to Marth and the rest of the horsemen even when they began to be cut down. All focus was centered on Link, as if he was their only purpose and concern.

Then the green-garbed young man did something he'd never done before. He carefully stood upon the bony but sturdy back of his steed, bending his knees, and performed the mightiest Hurricane Spin he'd ever done—while upon a moving horse. The Biggoron sword had such a long range and carried so much momentum that with each full circle, dozens of Link Frames were beheaded and fell to the ground. It was another example of a blur within a blur. In this fashion, the legendary hero proceeded unchallenged through the mounted Link Frames—until they responded.

All the Link Frames suddenly directed their horses toward Link and Epona, and many of them began shooting arrows in his direction. Link, amidst his spinning, did not pay heed to where Epona was carrying him, and she, being among the savviest of horses, galloped not toward the arch, but at a 90-degree angle to the right away from it. The result of all this was that the masses of enemy riders moved in the same direction away from both the arch and Marth's horsemen, soon clearing a path for the formation to enter unhindered. Link and Epona, however, were now isolated.

"What is the fool doing?" Marth muttered, reigning in his horse to point it toward the pursuing Link frames.

"Wait, Marth!" Roy said from behind him. "Link is leading them away to give us a chance to reach the arch! We must take it while we still can, or his act of bravery will have been in vain!"

Marth hesitated. He did not want to leave anyone behind—especially a friend—to face all the enemies they had bypassed.

"Marth! Now!"

And with a deep breath, knowing Prince Roy was right, Marth reluctantly urged his horse onward to the arch with the rest of the formation, the Star Warriors and Team Star Fox still defending the borders from above as they went along.

Link and Epona continued their ceaseless rampage, cutting through every enemy in their way with the unmatched might of the Biggoron Sword. Nothing, including the swords wielded by the Link Frames which were made of the same material as themselves, could hold against the heavy blade of that mighty weapon.

That is, until something stopped them.

Arrows came down in a ceaseless volley, striking even the Link Frames' own units. Link had been able to block the arrows with the blade of his sword and the Hylian Shield on his back, and his head was protected while performing the Hurricane Spin because it was bent down. Epona was shielded both by Link and the surrounding Link and Horse Frames. But finally, one flaming arrow found its way through their defenses and pierced Epona in the stomach.

The horse whinnied and collapsed sideways onto the ground, the arrow still stuck and burning her skin. Link cried out as he was suddenly thrown off his horse onto the purple Battlefield surface, the Biggoron Sword flying out of his grasp and clattering several yards away out of his reach. He lay helplessly on his back, his right arm throbbing with pain; it must have been broken. Looking over to his right and seeing Epona thrashing in agony as the fire spread, Link struggled to drag himself toward her. But the Link Frames had all stopped their horses in a tight circle around the two of them, and one rider emerged from the rest and dismounted its horse. It was Metal Link.

Metal Link walked up to the burning horse, and without a second thought, stabbed its heavy metal sword into Epona's heart and left it there, sticking out and wobbling slightly.

"Epona…no…" Link crawled faster toward his fallen horse, but just before he could touch the sleek mane, he gasped as something sharp was thrust into his stomach, pinning him to the ground. He looked up to see Metal Link standing over him, still holding the Biggoron Sword which it had used to pierce the sword's own wielder. The clone twisted the sword both ways and left it there, making his insides scream. Link weakly reached into his tunic to release a Fairy to revive him, drawing out a small bottle with a pink light inside and attempting to unscrew the lid. But a ruthless metal boot crushed both his hand and the bottle, killing his last hope of survival. Epona had stopped moving, her flesh being consumed by fire.

Metal Link climbed back onto its Horse Frame without a glance back, and directed the Link Frames back to where the formation was crossing toward the arch. The horde of mounted Link Frames galloped away, a few of them trampling the two mangled bodies on the ground—one dead, the other dying. Little did Link know that his foe possessing the Triforce of Power was in the same situation; both hero and villain would soon be no more.

"Link!" Marth yelled as he saw the mounted figure fall from his horse. But there was nothing they could do except go on. As they neared the arch, its details became clearer and clearer, revealing it to be an enormous wooden door—just big enough for an Arwing with its wings folded in—with a rounded top and a golden knob. Behind it, strangely enough, there was nothing—just the other side of the door.

As Marth and the rest reached the door, soldiers looked confused as they walked around the isolated door, knocking on the wood of both sides without any unusual result. Marth tried the golden handle but it was, of course, locked.

Then he noticed there was an engraving upon the door: the Smash symbol, etched like a hieroglyphic with a single line of cryptic text underneath.

The Worthy will unite.

"What must we do?" he said. "How do we unlock this door?"

He, Roy, the Ice Climbers, G.W, Ness, Shadow, Mario, Luigi, and the Babies had now clustered in front of the door. Pac-man, Bomberman, and the soldiers behind them were fending off whatever straggling Wire Frames that had remained behind to defend the portal. But no one had an answer.

Shadow stepped forward and examined the engravings closely. "I think…I may know….Marth, place your hand on the symbol."

Not having any better ideas, the Akaneian prince obliged. But nothing seemed to happen. He sighed and began to lift it away, but Shadow cut him off.

"No, stay there. Now Roy, you do the same."

Just as mystified as the others, Roy put his hand inside the circle beside Marth's. Sure enough, the carved outline had begun to glow.

"It is working!" he said. Still, all it did was shine a little; nothing else changed.

"We need more," Shadow said. "The rest of you Smashers, join them."

Popo, Nana, Mr. Game & Watch, Ness, Mario, and Luigi drew near and reached out in turn until all of them, huddled in front of the door, were touching the mysterious symbol.

The glow brightened with each additional Smasher, until with the seventh and last (the Ice Climbers only seemed to count as one), it became a circle of white light, and it yielded a golden key.

"That's it," Shadow said. Even after his change of heart, he still had a hard time expressing any emotion except urgency. "Now hurry. The Wire Frames are coming back; we must go through."

Nana grasped the key with her mitten as the others backed away a couple steps. She jumped as high as she could, generating the well-known Ice Climber boing sound, and shoved the key into the gold keyhole. Now hanging from the key, she used both mittens to turn it with a click, and jumped down, backing away for Marth. The prince twisted the doorknob and pulled with a heave. The door moved. Everyone else backed away as he opened the door the farthest it could go on its hinges and peered inside. It took only one glance to confirm that despite the lack of logic, this hole led into Master Hand's Room.

"Come on! Inside; hurry!" Marth commanded as he and the other Smashers filed in first, followed by Shadow, Pac-man, Bomberman, and hundreds of soldiers and cavalry. They had difficulty narrowing the formation so that they could all file inside two-by-two.

But while the procession was passing through the door, all the distracted Link Frames and their horses turned back around and began charging at them, realizing their quarry was escaping. By the time the back ends of the horses and soldiers had disappeared through the portal, there was barely enough time for the Star Warriors and Team Star Fox to squeeze through. The Great Fox, of course, could not enter the door, so the ship instead began raining its lasers down upon the Link Frames to give the rest more time to get through.

Roy, who had been holding the door open for the Smash Brothers, continued to do so until Fox, Falco, and Slippy flew inside. The swordsman charged up a full-powered swing of his Binding Blade and released it with a fiery explosion when the Link Frames drew near. The blow clear a radius several yards ahead of him, massacring the Link and Horse Frames, sending them flying back in flames, and giving Roy time to pull the door closed with another click. He caught the key from Nana and twisted it in the keyhole on the other side to secure the door shut. But even as he closed it, he could feel dozens of arrows pound into the wood, and he could only trust in the strength of the lock as he turned with the rest to view the end of their long journey beyond.

Rambi the Rhino charged through the Link Frames with Young Link on his back, knocking them aside with bulk and horn. Above, the Great Fox continued to rain destruction upon the Wire Frames, which were now scattered about like flock of beheaded chickens in a minefield; Metal Link, however, had vanished.

"Yahoo!" Inside the Great Fox, Peppy did another little dance as his piloting skill saw to the end of yet another cluster of Link Frames. "I haven't had this much fun since—OW, my back! Dagnabbit!" The old hare cringed as his sudden movement took its toll on his spine. He sat back down and refocused on the battle.

Meanwhile, the rhino carried Young Link across the field of fallen Horse Frames and Link Frames, most of them either decapitated or incinerated, and finally reached the only non-purple figures on the entire field. Rambi came to a skidding halt next to Link and Epona, allowing Young Link to dismount.

"Thanks. How did you know they were here?"

Rambi fixed the boy with a strange look—a look that seemed to go far beyond mere animal instinct—but then the rhinoceros narrowed his eyes, turned to the nearest Wire Frames, and charged away.

Then Young Link saw his older self. "Link! No!" The boy ran up to the dying figure. He knelt down and tried to pull out the Biggoron Sword from Link's chest, but this only caused the Hero of Time to scream in pain.

The Kokiri boy began to cry, not knowing what to do. He looked over at Epona, but all that was left was a smoldering horse skeleton; the metal sword that should have been sticking through the middle of the ribcage was gone. But, of course, Young Link didn't know that. He just shook his older self until Link's eyes opened halfway and spoke in a faint voice.

"Hey, kid…don't worry about me…even though you're me, we both have separate fates…because we're from separate times. Save Zelda…even Ganondorf…don't let the Smash Brothers fail…and never forget the power of the Triforce…." Link lifted his left arm and juxtaposed his hand with Young Link's; on the back of both hands glowed the golden triangle which they both possessed. But then one of the triangles faded away, and the hand that had hosted it fell to the ground.

Young Link's childlike thoughts were first of disbelief, then despair, then self-blame, then anger, then hatred, and finally of vengeance. He stood with flames in his eyes, unsheathed his Kokiri Sword, and ran out into the everlasting struggle of war.

The Star Fox Team and Star Warriors didn't dare venture any farther into Master Hand's Room, for they, like the rest, were rather intimidated by the panorama before them. After the door was shut, the three Arwings and forty-five remaining Star Warriors landed nearby, awaiting further instructions from the Smashers. Four among them had been here before as prisoners during a time that seemed so long ago: Marth, Mario, Nana, and Ness. The four heroes, with the rest clustered a few yards behind, could not believe that after the terrible things they had witnessed here, they were now returning to the very place in which they'd been imprisoned. The Room was so breathtaking that the four of them just barely registered the fact that the door they'd entered through hadn't been there back when they were imprisoned. For a long while, everyone just stared at the disproportionate expanse beyond.

It was as if they'd been shrunk to the size of ants. The vast stretch of empty floor space constituted about sixty percent of the Room, and from end to end it was about a mile and a half long and the same distance wide. The walls rose up to about half that amount. Along the right wall were the colossal shelves bearing the various Nintendo gaming systems the same size as they had been inside the Dimension Conflux, with the SONY television in the center boasting a screen larger than an IMAX. Along the left-hand wall was a gigantic twin bed, above which were several posters depicting images of several Smashers, including Mario and Ness. In the far left corner was a corner-fitted wooden desk complete with a lamp, clock, computer, pencil holder, and assorted paper.

Finally, in the very center of Master Hand's Room was the great table bearing Master Hand's fortress. It was built of dark grey stone, its only windows dark and barred. The wall from a distance looked almost cylindrical, but in fact it was octagonal with crenellated battlements. There was no visible flag or insignia, and from their current position, neither the contents of the table nor the entrance to the fortress could be seen.

Nothing within the range of experience of all those who had just entered Master Hand's Room could ever match the unfamiliar fear that made each of them feel so small and insignificant to the point where they began to doubt their ability to continue their mission. This place, if it were shrunk to a normal size, would look like an unremarkable combination of an office and a bedroom with a castle model on a table; but as it was, they felt every bit as terrified as did the boy from Jack and the Beanstalk while traversing the giant's household. It seemed to make their goal impossible.

The silent emptiness of Master Hand's lair also added to the suspense. Some had half-expected to find the Room filled with even more Wire Frames, but it was completely empty. After the long period of awe had passed, however, Mario took the initiative to snap the Smash Brothers out of their hopeless trance.

"Let's a-go!" the plumber urged, stepping forward. After movement had finally been made, everyone else worked up the courage to follow.

"I think I will stay here," Roy called from the very back next to the door. "In case something happens…." The others understood that the boy was not volunteering out of cowardice, but out of genuine desire to cover their backs.

For everyone else, the long, apprehensive trek across Master Hand's Room began. They moved at a brisk pace, but not at a charge; each soldier, hero, Star Warrior, and pilot was wary of his or her surroundings, ready to detect any kind of movement. But there seemed to be nothing in their way or blocking their path. It was as if Master Hand had invited them to his Room instead of this being the invasion it was supposed to be. So they went on for some time until they reached the legs of the giant table and finally had to decide what to do next.

And, of course, the two most experienced climbers in the Nintendo World were the ones who stepped forward with the solution. Popo rode on the wing of Fox's Arwing to the very top of the table, jumped off, and holding one end, threw down his climbing rope to Nana far below. For most anyone else, the drop from this table would seem terrifying, being over a hundred feet above the ground, but for the Ice Climbers, height was what they lived for.

After securing harnesses, end knots, and several soldiers on belay, Popo and Nana gave the go-ahead for people to start climbing. Nana remained at the bottom, instructing them on how to hold the rope and use it to ascend. Mario, Marth, and the other Smashers and heroes went first, followed by the soldiers. The horses had to be left below; even the giant nail to which Popo had tied the end of the rope would not be strong enough to pull the weight of such animals. A steady line of climbers had soon formed, taking about ten minutes for each individual to reach the top of the table.

Meanwhile, the three Arwings helped quicken the process by taking constant trips from the floor of the Toom to the tabletop, bearing four persons on each flight. Luckily, they had filled their ships' fuel tanks to the brim for this war, or else they never would have been able to stay aloft for so long. Meta Knight led the Star Warriors in a vertical formation that reached the top in moments, waiting on the table for the rest. For hours on end this continued nonstop, slowly decreasing the number of fighters still on the bottom and increasing those at the top.

Finally, after Nana had pushed herself over the wooden edge of the table and pulled up the rope, the five hundred Hylian and Akaneian soldiers were all clustered in the corner of the enormous table along with the heroes and resting from their tiring climb. The only ones who didn't seem fatigued and in need of a few minutes' rest were the Star Warriors and the Ice Climbers themselves. But although successful, this tedious task had taken a large amount of time. Outside the Toom, the sun was already beginning to set. King Dedede was commanding the armies of Dreamland to retreat; Mr. Dragon Patch was firing his final succession of flaming beach balls; Gadd was pursuing his evil cousin through the perils of Reeka's factory. They had consumed a great amount of time already and hadn't even reached the fortress yet. Time would be of the essence after their necessary rest.

Now that they were on the table, the contents of the surface could be seen. But contrary to what the four former prisoners remembered, the forest model in front of the Fortress was no longer there. In fact, it was now completely barren, polished white like a normal tabletop except for the rows and columns of objects lined up on it. Nothing moved nor appeared to stand in their way to the two gray stone doors at the front of the fortress. So, as the heroes led the army forward once more, they were taken aback as they realized what these organized objects were.

Trophies. Hundreds of them, lined up perpendicularly all across the table. Standing on each of the circular trophy stands were many familiar objects, creatures, and people from every realm of the Nintendo World. Master Hand's collection sent a chill down the spines of each of the invaders as they walked slowly past each row. They recognized Wario, Waluigi, and Sonic the Hedgehog from the list of those missing after the Battle of Fourside. But there were many, many others, and about a third were inanimate objects such as a Fire Flower or Screw Attack. All sorts of creatures from Hyrule, the Mushroom Kingdom, Dreamland, the Kongo Jungle, and space could be seen. Many inanimate Space Pirates seemed to silently threaten those passing by with their mutated insect-like features. It was a very unnerving thing for Mario and Luigi to walk past the Wario Bros, posing obliviously and completely lifeless. Shadow stopped again at Sonic's trophy and spoke quietly under his breath, "Don't worry, Sonic; soon we will bring you back."

Then the Smashers noticed something disturbing: the trophies of Pikachu, Peach, Samus, Captain Falcon, and potentially Zelda were nowhere to be found.

When at last they had reached the end of the life-sized trophy collection, organized like statues in a courtyard, the dark stone doors towered before them. But in place of knobs were white hands with open palms, just daring anyone to twist them. No one wanted to touch much less pull such uninviting hands, even if they weren't real. But it had to be done. Mario and Marth approached the doors, slowly reaching out to grasp the white hands….

They each grabbed a hand, twisted it, and with a heave, began pulling outward. But as soon as the white hands had been touched, a surge of some invisible force swept across the entire room, causing some to shudder. And then, before the two heroes could pull the heavy doors open any further, panicked yells erupted behind them. They turned around to behold a shocking scene.

The hundreds of armored soldiers, clustered throughout the Trophy collection, were in an uproar. For several, even dozens of what had been thought to be inanimate objects were now showing signs of life—unfriendly signs of life. All of the grotesque Space Pirates had suddenly cease their pretense of being immobilized and ambushed the soldiers, killing several immediately with energy scythes, Phazon-powered weapons, and other unfairly matched means of destruction. They advanced mercilessly, letting out cruel, inhumane snarls as they defied jabs from the soldiers' steel swords, which were far from able to penetrate their superior armor. Even though they were not many—about two dozen different mutations—only the weakest of Pirate Militia were at all harmed by the soldiers' defense. A few were successfully dismembered by Meta Knight and the other Star Warriors, but otherwise the pirates remained impervious. Fox, Falco, and Slippy had to exit their Arwings before they could lend their assistance, for it would not do for them to fire Arwing blasts that could harm their own.

And as if that wasn't enough, across the room from the computer desk, a purple beam blasted through the computer monitor in the direction of the table, missing, but shattering the screen and revealing what was hidden inside. It was Mother Brain, the contested commander of the Space Pirates. Her huge, spiked, slimy mass had been awaiting their arrival with the other Space Pirates the entire time, lodged inside the massive computer monitor that served as her energy source. Her single dark, throbbing eye had fired the beam, and already she was preparing a second.

And far below, appearing from behind a towering trash can, the 65-foot, 100-ton reptilian monster known as Kraid stomped toward the door, with only a single person to defend it—Roy. The prince was secretly frightened beyond belief, thinking that he would fight Akaneian dragons any day rather than this colossal creature, but he raised the Binding Blade nonetheless, flames rippling across the sword's edge.

Marth, Mario, and the other heroes were temporarily stunned at the entrance to the fortress. But then Marth shouted over the chaos in a commanding voice, "You must all go on. Now, while there's still time. I shall stay to defend my people as long as I live. But you are the only ones left to complete the mission; hurry! I know not how long these space fiends can be held off. No matter what happens, defeat Master Hand and Crazy Hand and find a way to reverse the effects of the trophy machine. I bid you all farewell." Not one to be swayed, Marth dashed away from the fortress into the masses of soldiers toward the nearest Space Pirate, not expecting to survive.

Mario and the rest were aghast, but they knew Marth was right. The red plumber, with a heave, pulled the door outward until the opening was wide enough for them to enter. "Let's a-go!"

"Waaaah, ho hwa huaa!" Luigi wailed, standing apart from the rest, shivering with his knees buckling and his hands pulling his hat down over his eyes.

Mario glared at his cowardly brother. "Luigi! Not even the Babies are a-crying! And somewhere in there, the Princess is a-waiting for us to rescue her! We must a-do it! And…" Mario looked down. "…we need your a-help."

Luigi stopped shaking and looked up, realizing his older brother was right. They had reached the final stage of the journey; they had come so far, and he couldn't quit now. "Let's e-go!" he agreed, shifting the dawdling Baby Luigi on his back.

And so, together, the ten heroes entered Master Hand's Fortress while the massacre continued behind them.