Chapter 20: Out of Memory
Unlike Nightmare, L.O.G. was not one for evil laughter. He was just cold, and calculating, and detached. He could see that the Smash Brothers, All-Stars, and Sentinels were growing restless with his recent revelation, so he chose that moment to Reboot.
As he'd done in previous battles, his monitor screen flashed a bright green—except this time, it paralyzed not just one or two, but everyone in the room. Several of the gathered heroes had been in the process of releasing arrows or firing guns, but their efforts were rendered inutile, their bodies flickering in place, the only faculties left to them being speech and eye movement.
"Before we proceed," L.O.G. said, "allow me to congratulate you characters on coming this far. I had never expected any of you to debug my subterfuge—least of all, some monkeys and a honey bear."
"Why are you doing this?" Banjo grumbled in frustration as he tried to break free of his frozen position, but to no avail. "And what do you mean 'finish what Nightmare started?'"
The Pong bars blinked, seemingly as benign as ever—if you disregarded the flailing mass of cords billowing from beneath the monitor as if he were some kind of electronic cephalopod.
"My dear brother—Nightmare, as you Nintendonians called him—he relied upon fear to control his universe. And, to a certain extent, he was quite successful at what he did. Indeed, I was surprised, though saddened, when I learned of his demise by some strange twist of fate. It appears we, as programmers banished by our team to This World, have not been given as much free reign as we had presumed."
Mario remembered how Nightmare had described his role as a creator of worlds—including the Nintendo World. "You a-tried to change the world so the villains would a-win, like Master Hand," he said.
But L.O.G. shook his head; the Pong ball circled around the center of the screen in amusement. "No…I'm afraid that was my brother's idea. He was the philosophical outlier; I, on the other hand, was exiled due to my intellectual brilliance. I attempted to input secrets and shortcuts in This World that would make life much more interesting for everyone…but our alleged superiors would not have it. They saw my ingenious designs—such as the Stop n' Swop program that would link the Isle o' Hags to other worlds in a distinct, if slightly destructive way, transferring one world's weapons to another—as too radical for their purposes. And as consequence, they confined me to This World in this primitive form…though they knew not what powers I would be able to seize in their absence."
"Stop n' Swop?" The term rang a bell in Banjo's mind just as other shrouded, suppressed memories had been. "So why did you tell us about some kind of alternate reality where you arbitrated between us and Grunty over Spiral Mountain's real estate?"
"I am the Lord of Games," L.O.G. said, as if that somehow answered the question. "I did not lie to you Smash Brothers when I said I've had a hand in every game—every world—ever architected. In truth, Banjo, I told you of our alternate reality because I wanted to see whether it would trigger any interdimensional changes—even, perhaps, to bring back Gruntilda. After all, that is how I revived Grunty in the first place, and how I granted Wizpig his power: through Memory Paradoxes."
"Do explain," Gadd said, the scientist within him temporarily overriding his awareness of their horrible predicament.
"A Memory Paradox occurs when a future that was supposed to happen is prevented through Memory Loss. One of my singular talents is to calculate—though not travel to—the future. For instance, causing Conker to forget his squirrel family resulted in his allying against his former friends. Taking away Banjo's memory of the land dispute diverted Time from its current path into a new stream in which Grunty was regenerated. And implanting memories inside Wizpig of numerous world conquests made him believe—and, in very fact, enabled him—to harness the power of a god, destroying Microsoft's threats and acceding to the Microsian throne. Even small alterations can have unintended consequences—such as the time I removed Bowser's memory of his own children's deaths, inadvertently bringing the first of his eight offspring back to life. It is all quite fascinating, isn't it?"
Fascinating is one thing you could call it, Gadd thought. Insane and diabolical would be two others. "So you've been manipulating our memories to control the world. Very clever. Short-sighted, but clever."
For the first time, L.O.G. appeared slightly annoyed. "It is not just about controlling This World, professor. It's about exacting our justified vengeance upon our banishers by submerging their creations in chaos. Eternal chaos. If you only knew of all the memories I've taken from the inhabitants of This World…" Again with that amused Pong ball movement. "Well, the results could very well blow your mind in both figurative and literal ways. In fact, you ought to be grateful to me…. Without the Copyright Wars I've so carefully orchestrated, without the Memory Loss and Memory Implants that have pitted you against each other…you have no idea what alternate reality might await you. By gaining your trust…tagging along on your foolish campaigns…expediting the battle on the Isle o' Hags by triggering Grunty Industry's sewage system to flood the swamp…even making it appear as if Master Chief had the power to mortally wound me…I have turned This World against itself, succeeding in a way my brother never could."
"And what of RareWare?" Master Jiggywiggy, faceless as his jigsaw head was, clearly appeared to be in more distress than the emotionless computer. "We worked to build a bridge of peace between Nintendo and Microsoft. Why did you endeavor to form such an allegiance among us if your intention was war?"
"RareWare…" That Pong ball was now dancing like a pixel on its birthday. "RareWare was my most brilliant idea of all. All this time, Nintendo and Sony and Atari believed Microsoft to be the source of their troubles…when all the while, RareWare has been the answer from the very beginning—the very instrument of their undoing. What you Islanders thought was peacekeeping and asserting independence was in actuality the tool through which we incited war. Without RareWare, none of the Microsian territories would have rebelled; without RareWare, Nintendo would have had nothing to blame Microsoft for seizing; without RareWare, there would be no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow—that ideal of excellence that every man, woman, machine, and creature of This World would covet above all else." The small air vent at the bottom of the monitor seemed to curve into a small frown. "And yet, Taj drew dangerously close to discovering my secret…to revealing my true intentions. I knew he would have to go if I was to accomplish my aims."
"So you had him killed," Drumstick said, his red rooster head even redder with fury.
"Indeed." L.O.G. did a casual spin, the cords bobbing with him like a strange amusement park ride. "And with RareWare to facilitate never-ending conflict in This World, my position of wealth and influence was secured. Nightmare did intrude with his Polygons, so I let him have his fun, but once he was gone, there was no one to control his polygonal pawns, and so I made good use of them in stirring up the fumes of war once more."
"But you've failed," Snake said in defiance. "The war's over. Our worlds are at peace, and even if you kill every last one of us, you'll never get away with this without turning the entire Smash Planet against you. Not even you will be able to control that."
"Kill you?" L.O.G. spun to face Snake. "Oh, no. Dear me, no. It is true that the Master Chief, by necessity, had to be Deleted. Otherwise, a long era of despicable peace should have followed. But now, it is a simple matter of removing your memories of all we have discussed. When we walk out of this room, the tale will be told of how Master Chief lashed out against the council, perhaps taking a few characters down with him; how he was necessarily but brutally put down; and how Microsoft will have to be placed under very strict control—servitude, even—to ensure such an uprising does not reoccur." The aged green screen flickered with horizontal bars of alternating darkness in a way that gave any who gazed upon it a dizzying headache. "Which, of course, it will. Soon."
The Lord of Games swiveled to examine each of his victims. "But who will be the martyrs that Master Chief will have killed during his downfall? An old advisor, perhaps?" The screen flashed and cast another bright blue beam, which struck Toadsworth, causing his body to pixilate just as Master Chief's had before him. Peach screamed in terror.
"An absentee father?" Another beam flared, striking Quentin. Red cried out in helpless anguish. Before his father completely pixelated, however, the man pulled a neon blue sphere form his belt and placed it in Red's hand.
"Take it," Quentin said with a small smile, and was gone, leaving only the Omni Ball in his place.
L.O.G.'s tirade continued. "A sagely monk?" Master Jiggywiggy's sad eyes were the last to disappear.
"A dubious scientist?" Gadd just gaped as he was digitally disintegrated.
"A troubled friend?" Shadow could only elicit a grunt as he was consumed by the destructive flash.
This has to stop, Ratchet thought, his OmniWrench clenched in his hand. If he could just…but no, it was impossible to move, not even a finger, not even a single button push. He swiveled his eyes frantically, trying to catch someone's attention. Anyone's.
Ashley Williams noticed the All-Star's look. She looked down at the mechanical tool and immediately understood. She glanced beside her and somehow got Lilith's attention. Both the Biotic and the Siren focused their gaze on the Lombax's hand, trying their utmost to harness just a tiny amount of Mass Effect and metaphysical energy.
L.O.G. came to a stop. "That seems sufficient," he said. "I suppose there is no point in delaying the inevitable; it is time to go to sleep, friends. When you awake, all will be right with the world…for a few days, at least."
Both minds strained as hard as they could, but try as they might, L.O.G.'s paralyzing Reboot was too strong for them to break. Until a third mind joined them—a Psychic mind.
Mewtwo's psychokinetic power pushed the Mass Effect and metaphysical energy just over the brink, just enough to cause Ratchet's index finger to tighten over a certain button on his OmniWrench.
The magnetic field of the wrench was activated, which, as anyone who works with computers knows, wreaks havoc on electronic devices. An invisible wave pulsed from Ratchet's weapon, and just like that, the Reboot was broken.
Everyone regained control of their bodies at once, and just as simultaneously, they attacked L.O.G. and his vicious electric cords: projectiles of energy and arrow and spike; blades and fists and guns; hammers and bombs and magic.
A loud, mind-jarring beep buzzed from the center, as if L.O.G.'s hard drive had just crashed. But that hope was short-lived as he lashed out with all his cords in all directions, the heroes' attacks inflicting minimal damage on his monitor and plastic-coated appendages. At the same time, the computer mouse detached itself from L.O.G.'s shoulder, sprouted wings in the form of twin disc drives with deadly serrated edges, and dived toward the assorted heroes, its eyes glowing a vicious red, its USB tail whipping back and forth like a viper.
Kazooie beheld the Reconfigured mouse flying toward her.
"Oh, for the love of—"
By now, all were engaged in a frantic fight against the monstrous cords—and, as it turned out, a dozen more Reconfigured mice crawled out from L.O.G.'s cloak and joined the fray. Meanwhile, L.O.G.'s screen was exhibiting rapid, sporadic flashes of bright blue, sending beams in spontaneous directions.
And, one by one, the heroes began to fall, their pixels surrendering to L.O.G.'s attacks.
Toon Link yelled as he sliced off a cord bound for his face. The severed end wriggled on the ground, the plug vainly trying to attack him like a garden snake.
"No!"
In his brief moment of triumph, he saw both Zelda and his older self succumb to L.O.G.'s blue flashes. In fact, so many Smash Brothers, All-Stars, and Sentinels were vanishing all around him that it was difficult to keep track.
Kazooie cawed in triumph as she froze a mouse with an Ice Egg, then pecked it with her beak, shattering both the ice and its contents.
"Put that in your pipe and smoke it!"
But in the midst of her celebration, a blue flash took her right out of Banjo's backpack.
"Kazooie!" Banjo narrowed his eyes and faced the aged monitor. L.O.G. had pretended to be a friend to Nintendo and the Islands all this time…but it had all been a lie. RareWare was a sham, which L.O.G. had influenced to fall willingly into Microsoft's control. So many were dead because of him—Banjo's favorite skull-faced shaman being chief among them. He unslung his backpack and leapt toward L.O.G., just managing to bring the blue pack over the monitor and shield those who remained from the blue flashes.
L.O.G. writhed under the backpack, Banjo clinging onto it for dear life. Several cords wrapped themselves around his feet, zapping him and flinging him across the room.
By now, over half of the council members were gone. Snake and Joanna both pounced on L.O.G. from behind, Snake with a remote controlled bomb in hand. But L.O.G.'s monitor flipped upside down as a number of his cords latched onto the ceiling, inverting his entire person (the purple cloak, strangely, did not drop). He sent a beam into the female spy, and then expelled a ring of fire from the vent (a Firewall, as it were), blasting Snake back and anyone else approaching from all sides. He followed up with another blue flash just as the FOXHOUND leader's explosive detonated from contact with the Firewall.
Then another daring move was made: Mewtwo used the strongest of his Psychic powers to create a gap in the electrified tentacles and Firewall, making room for Ratchet to make a desperate dive through the opening. He yelled as he whacked L.O.G.'s screen with his OmniWrench, instantly shutting down all the flailing cords and even creating a small crack on the glassy green surface.
L.O.G. didn't like that at all. He whipped around and flashed both Ratchet and Clank out of sight, then absorbed the Firewall back into his monitor.
Now, the screen was flashing between green and red. A mouse cursor filled the backlit screen—in the form of the dreaded hourglass.
"I give you heroes props for creativity," L.O.G.'s voice buzzed, unnaturally loud. "Allow me to give the rest of you an inside look into the LOG Box…"
Just as the remaining heroes were recovering from the Firewall, they witnessed a truly strange phenomenon: L.O.G.'s monitor expanded in all directions, like an internet window being maximized, and enveloped the entire room in flickering green darkness.
Mario; DK; Kirby; Roy; Toon Link; Tetra; Red; Mewtwo; Pit.
Banjo; Rocketman; Sackboy; Sonic; Sly Cooper; Mordecai; Shepard; Kameo.
These 17 were all who remained.
The LOG Box was unlike anything any of them had ever seen. They stood on a disc the size of a small duck pond, the surface featuring colorful animals and confetti with the words "Viva Piñata" printed across the top in a garish font. This disc was mounted on a small plateau that looked out upon a truly mind-boggling view.
It was an expanse of golden wires, weaving and zigzagging along the sides and across the chamber; dark gray walls with digital neon green numbers in a constant state of fluctuation, the digits changing with no predictable pattern, yet with a purposefulness that suggested a greater mind at work. Tubes of flowing magenta liquid wound about here and there, their purpose as mysterious as the rest of the room. Beeps and buzzes and blue sparks speeding along the gold wires gave the place an almost hive-like sense of perpetual activity.
The entire chamber was one giant box.
And below the newcomers, situated in a rectangular metal niche, was what appeared to be a giant brain—smaller, perhaps, than Mother Brain, but emanating a sort of undeviating coldness that would have made Mother Brain seem like Mother Theresa. Thick metal tubes linked it to the walls of the garage-like depression, and it heaved with an unfathomable intelligence quite unlike any of the artificial technology around it, or really any technology anywhere. A glowing blue membrane appeared to be wrapped around it, shining like a screen protector.
Banjo braced himself for Kazooie's snarky remark on their latest exotic location…but it didn't come. It was then that he registered the empty lightness of his backpack. He clenched his paws. Kazooie, like so many others, was gone. But if there was any way they could find their friends stored in some kind of virtual Recycle Bin in this LOG Box, they would find it.
As it turned out, there was no need for the heroes to begin searching the vast computer innards for their adversary, for it was then that the heaving brain below them spoke—in a very human voice without the syllabic jumps of computer speech. The voice boomed around them like surround sound turned up a tad too loud.
"Welcome to my mind," the Lord of Games said. They didn't feel welcome. "Congrats are in order for advancing to this level in the game of your lives. Prior to wiping your memories, I shall divulge just one of the mysteries surrounding your existence as a sort of consolation prize—in spite of the insolence of that wrench-wielding Lombax."
At that point, the blue "glass" surrounding the brain rushed upward fluidly to form a projected three-dimensional image for all to see. Banjo's eyes widened, his surprise matched by those around him. That image…
It was Smash Planet. Rotating slowly on its vertical axis.
"There is a reason all of you are drawn toward each other's worlds—a primeval bond that links your lands together. Allow me to demonstrate."
The planet itself faded away, but the four land masses representing each of the three continents—Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft, as well as Atari—remained. And then, the projected continents began to move close together: Nintendo and Sony converged on each other; Microsoft compressed itself, becoming tall and narrow, and found its place to the left of Nintendo's west coast; Atari Island grew significantly larger and occupied the space in the bottom-left corner of the formation.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: To view this picture, got to my account on Photobucket (Bob_Snicket) and find "Smash Planet United." You can reach the account by Googling "Bob_Snicket AND photobucket".
The circle with the off-centered cross—the one stamped on the envelopes of Master Hand's Smash Tournaments and engraved in the Smash Hall of Fame; the one emblazoned upon his trophy stands; the one displayed on the flag of the raft upon which L.O.G. had arrived at Nintendo in the first place; the one that the King's Krystal had sported in addition to Nintendo's "N" under the assumption that it represented unity between worlds. Only, none of them could have known how literal that unity was.
"Master Hand's symbol," Toon Link said. "It's not some kind of crosshair; it's all the worlds put together."
"Indeed," L.O.G.'s brain echoed. "But I digress. Time to say goodbye to your memories, humans…"
"We're not all humans," DK muttered under his breath. Even after all this time, the sentient computer still couldn't seem to get his species straight. That, or L.O.G. just enjoyed making overgeneralizations, as if he could formulate some kind of tidy algorithm for life.
From the walls around them, the digital Numbers suddenly began peeling off the surfaces, directing themselves toward the "Viva Piñata" disk like so many angry crows. The swarm converged on them and would certainly have met their mark had they not collided with Mewtwo's Light Screen, which had formed an oblong dome around the group—including the brain not too far below.
"Go," he seethed, the white veins popping in his head. "Destroy the brain!"
But already, even as they hopped down and made for L.O.G.'s cerebrum, the Numbers began to shatter through the Light Screen. Most of the digits that made it through bee-lined toward Mewtwo, engulfing him in flashing green edges. Several, however, aimed for the rest—particularly those near the back. Sly Cooper had to stop and swipe one away with his cane like a baseball bat, only to find three more incoming. Kameo transformed into Chilla—the spike-armored abominable snowman—and crushed and shattered Numbers with icy daggers. DK joined the beast's side with his Coconut Gun and blasted Numbers left and right. Mordecai drew a pistol, squinted his eyes behind his green-lensed goggles, and somehow managed to shoot down his targets with one hand, while simultaneously blocking other Numbers with his short sword in the other. His hawk swooped ahead and tackled the Numbers head-on.
The rest of them ran (or, in Sonic's case, rolled) down to the depression where L.O.G.'s brain throbbed, though it didn't seem to have any intention of moving or stopping them.
Commander Shepard, at the front, caused his Omni-Tool's holographic dagger to extend from his wrist and fixed the brain with an indignant glare.
"This is for all of Eden's dead!"
And he lunged forward, drawing back his fist and bringing the scarlet weapon down toward the slimy mass.
But as the blade was inches from penetrating the brain, Shepard's body was repelled by the blue membrane, and even as he was thrown back, his body disintegrated into pixels just like others had before him. Just like those who had stayed behind to fight the Numbers, and who, one by one, were overwhelmed and succumbed to digitization.
Those who remained hesitated before the brain, even as Numbers began breaking through what was left of Mewtwo's Light Screen in earnest and streamed viciously down toward the heroes.
Sonic looked up at the Numbers and then back at his friends. "I'll hold them off as long as I can," he said. "But you guys've gotta bust that cranium…and fast!"
The hedgehog curled into a spiky blue ball and began rolling around the edge of the depression. Soon, a whirlwind rose from Sonic's speeding figure, catching the swarm of Numbers in a wild torrent and leaving the heroes and the brain in the eye of the storm.
Mario, Pit, Toon Link, and Rocketman fired red fireballs, arrows, and lasers at L.O.G., but the blue shield absorbed all of their projectiles like stones dropped into a lake. The rest of them stood there helplessly; no physical attack was going to break through this monstrous machine.
Red looked down at the glowing Omni Ball in his hand. His father had given it to him…but could he use it? He had never had the kind of Spirit Bond with the Pokémon world that Quentin had mastered. It was all so abstract compared to the tactile science of Pokémon catching and training he was used to. He closed his eyes and willed for a Pokémon to channel itself into the ball and rescue them from their predicament.
Come on…
He tried to clear his mind and reach out to feel the immaterial presence of Pokémon spirits, like his dad had been teaching him. But no matter how hard he concentrated, he felt nothing. He grunted in frustration, knowing he could try throwing the ball, but nothing would come out.
Kirby shared a meaningful look with Sackboy. The plushie hesitated, then nodded and stretched his arms out, closing his eyes like someone about to jump off a diving board. Except in this case, the pool happened to be Kirby's mouth.
Kirby quickly inhaled Sackboy and swallowed, spitting the Sonian back out in the form of a yellow star and leaping into the air as he transformed into his newest Copy Ability:
Craft Kirby.
His body was made of the same sackcloth as Sackboy, his eyes black oval buttons, a zipper running down his back and a couple small stitches here and there. The inside of his mouth was red felt. And in one of his stubby hands was an enormous sewing needle.
As Sonic drained all the energy he had left fending off the Numbers and the others watched uselessly, Craft Kirby and Sackboy ran forward and put their artistic skills to the test.
Both wielding threaded sewing needles, they hopped across the brain from opposite sides, then did so again, and again, and again, stitching a bright white cloth that was just high enough above the brain to not be touching the blue membrane.
Soon, both crafters had become blurs, weaving parallel lines at first, but then rotating and coming from other directions, crossing over each other's shining strings with incredible artistry and precision. Finally, they had woven a thick white blanket and, as one, Kirby and Sackboy pulled the corners down on the brain.
It throbbed and heaved angrily, as if the blanket were suffocating it. The brain grew still on the bottom of the depression…and then shot upward, tearing the white blanket out of the heroes' hands and shredding it with an outward pulse of the blue shield, which briefly expanded to consume the pieces of the blanket.
In that moment, when the shield was stretched to its thinnest, Craft Kirby and Sackboy made their finishing move. They speared their needles through the shield and into the brain, and then conjured more, puncturing it again, and again, and again, until it looked like a slimy pink pincushion.
A deafening beep blared from the brain as shafts of light broke out from the points where the needles had penetrated. It rattled and shook and caused the blue shield to flow like a liquid down toward the two creative heroes, consuming them even as Sonic's strength was depleted and the Numbers enveloped him as well. And the rest…the rest could barely stay on their feet as the LOG Box shook and the shafts of light widened until it was all they could see.
At first Pit thought they were floating through space. But then he looked down and saw the Citadel station floating not too far below, and the main question on his mind became, How am I still breathing?
He—along with Mario, Roy, Toon Link, Tetra, Red, Banjo, and Rocketman—was drifting listlessly through the air. Gravity, for some reason, had no hold upon them, although by pumping his wings, he could control the direction he floated.
It wasn't until he heard the voice that he realized the eight of them weren't just floating through space. They were floating inside a glass sphere. A sphere as big as a planet-destroying meteor. A sphere whose top featured a complex of metal tubes and wires that snaked halfway down like a space Kraken, giving it the overall appearance of a monstrous Christmas ornament.
At the center of the tangled metal, L.O.G.'s screen—now the size of a drive-in theater—stared down at the sphere's contents, his face now a bright, dangerous red, thousands of sparks flickering unstably from his multitudinous appendages, his erratic Pong bar eyes jumping around the screen.
"This is the end for you, Smash Brothers," his voice boomed from every direction. "You may have damaged my system beyond repair…but now your program shall be aborted. In just a few moments, when our collision destroys the Citadel, I will part from this present form and take on another, just as my brother became Tabuu…but you mortals, you will have no data to be recovered—and neither will those whose files I have Deleted. With Smash Planet's leaders dead or in disarray, war will reign indefinitely. Say your last prayers, for it is time to prepare for terminal shutdown."
An enormous jet engine flared from behind L.O.G.'s machinery, propelling the LOGosphere in a direct course toward the Citadel's Presidium Ring. If they crashed, the entire station would collapse, dropping tens of thousands of civilians five hundred feet to Eden Prime's surface. And even if anyone down there noticed what was happening, they wouldn't have enough time to protect themselves by folding the five Wards in on themselves.
"We've gotta break through!" Toon Link said. He propelled himself straight into the LOGosphere's transparent wall, his sword pointed forward. But he bounced off of it like a rubber ball, tumbling back through the air toward the rest of them.
Tetra's eyes widened as she watched the Citadel draw nearer from below. "Nice try, kid, but I doubt L.O.G.'s left us any easy way out of this."
THEN WE MUST FIND THE HARD WAY, Rocketman's projected text read. And he began shooting up at L.O.G.'s screen—with negligible effect. Mario contributed fireballs, but to no avail. A haunting, jeering electronic laugh reverberated from within the curving surfaces.
"My brain may have been vulnerable to the puppet's pricks, and my screen weak against the Lombax's magnetic wrench," L.O.G. said, "but this is my computer core's last line of defense. No mortal power will change your fate."
No mortal power, Pit thought. And then he thought of Quill's tales of the long-forgotten deities of the Great Sea, such as the dragon Valoo, and he thought of what Quill had said when describing their mission as Smash Brothers.
"Alone, we are weak; but together, we are strong."
And again, Taj's words came to mind…
"Find the deities you can trust…and when you discover the evil ones, join against them."
Ever since the Battle of Rapture, he'd wondered how to tell the difference between a benevolent deity and a malevolent one. Now was his chance to find out.
He knelt in the empty space and clasped his hands together and closed his eyes.
Lady Palutena…if you can hear me…deliver us from this evil…
Mario noticed Pit's unusual position and was about to ask him about it when he connected the angel's action with those of Princess Peach and the entire Mushroom Kingdom during Bowser's reign with the Star Rod. He bowed his head and closed his eyes.
Star Spirits…you've helped us already, but we need your blessing one more time…
Roy joined them in his own way.
Divine Dragons…in this our darkest hour…
Toon Link looked at Tetra and, instinctively but inexplicably, took her hand. The Triforces of Courage and Wisdom shone on the back of their hands, completely baffling both of them—especially Tetra.
Red shut out everything else (which, considering their current situation, was a considerable feat) and tried once more to feel out the life force of the Pokémon, the Omni Ball clenched tightly in his hand. He thought of all the incredible creatures he'd encountered as a trainer, of their intelligence and intuition, of the power and majesty of this colorful world. But still, he felt nothing….
Meanwhile, Banjo and Rocketman were still attacking L.O.G.'s theater screen fruitlessly, the rainbow lasers just as ineffective as Banjo's punches and kicks. The computer entity's buzzing laugh continued. The LOGosphere approached the Citadel faster and faster. It was only a matter of seconds now….
Pit's heart sunk as the end drew nigh. They had been abandoned. They were alone in This World, just as Nightmare and Wizpig and L.O.G. had said.
A flash of white passed between the Citadel and the LOGosphere, and a translucent purple square bordered with blinding yellow light stopped the giant orb in its tracks, bringing them to a stalemate even with the rocket still blasting from behind the suicidal computer. Pit opened his eyes and looked down and couldn't believe the sight of the figure responsible for the Reflect Barrier.
Long, flowing green hair. An elegant white Greek dress and gold gauntlets and necklace and laurel. And a long blue staff topped with a curling gold design.
The Goddess of Skyworld—Lady Palutena.
But she wasn't alone. Following behind, seven pinpricks of light shot forward and pressed themselves along the underside of the LOGosphere. Mario's heart lifted at the Seven Star Spirits' return.
Then Roy's attention was caught as a glowing yellow dragon at least twenty times the size of Spyro careened directly through Palutena's Reflect Barrier and into the LOGosphere, shattering the bottom and soaring up to where the eight heroes still floated, gravity thankfully unaffected by the breach as of yet. The dragon took in a deep breath and exhaled a dazzling stream of white flames which struck L.O.G.'s screen, pushing the entire sphere back the way it had come.
Roy caught the eye of the dragon as it flew beside him and was surprised to find it familiar. There was only one man in all of Akaneia who had such a sagely gaze.
"Gotoh?" he said, incredulous. "Is that you?"
The dragon's wide nostrils steamed, the long white mane of hair rippling down its back. It communicated not verbally, but to the swordsman's mind.
"Yes, Roy. I was once numbered among the Divine Dragons, remember? Your faith brought me here in my True Form."
Three additional figures entered through Gotoh's breach—three women, as elegantly dressed as Palutena. One had wavy aquamarine hair; another, a fiery, rippling red; and the third, organic, flowing forest green. Each had matching eyes, a matching dress, and a matching aura that exuded the combined strength of the Triforce: the Hylian Goddesses Nayru, Din, and Farore.
Toon Link and Tetra watched agape as the goddesses gave them divine smiles and then turned up toward Gotoh's target, adding their own colored beams of magic to the mix. At the same time, the Star Spirits cast a Refresh on all of the deities, causing them to glow even brighter with renewed stamina and redoubled strength.
The LOGosphere blew a fuse, and the screen shut off, and for a moment, it seemed that the battle was won.
But then, with a manic, inhuman strength, it sprung back to life. The single rocket behind the sphere was joined by five others, and it began to push against the twelve deities' resistance in earnest, approaching ever closer to the Presidium Ring. They were now close enough to see the horrified faces of people looking out from various buildings curving around the ring. Faces anticipating an imminent apocalypse.
"You come too late, Starmakers!" L.O.G. boomed.
And so it seemed. Not even the combined gods and goddesses of the Nintendo World would be enough to stop L.O.G.'s last act of destruction.
Red could hardly shut out the chaos of this titanic clash. But he had to. What was he missing? Why had his father ever thought Red would have any sort of proclivity toward forming a Spirit Bond with the Pokémon world?
And then he remembered. Back on The King's Krystal, that night when he'd been able to sit down and talk to his father for the first time since he was a small child. Pikachu and Jigglypuff had affectionately come out from their Pokéballs and gathered around him.
"I can tell from the way your Pokémon behave that you have loved them as you would your own children."
And he did. Red felt so much more than a passing fondness for each Pokémon he'd trained. His Pikachu, who had been killed by Metal Mr. Game & Watch, had nearly torn his heart out when he'd been taken away from him. But it was then Red realized that his pain…that love for his Pokémon and respect for them as for an equal…that was the essence of a Spirit Bond. All that remained was for him to extend that love out to encompass all Pokémon everywhere.
He felt the Omni Ball vibrate in his hand and at first he couldn't believe it. Surely it would take him many years of meditation, as it had his father, before he would be able to summon Pokémon through such a bond. But then it vibrated again, like an incessant cell phone that refused to be silenced.
Red loosened his grip, and the Omni Ball did not wait to be thrown, but rolled from his hand and opened before him, emitting a shaft of brilliant blue light.
The Pokémon who appeared was the very one he'd encountered that night on The King's Krystal.
"Mew…"
The small pink cat, with its fathomless sapphire eyes, still glittered like a shooting star. It made eye contact with Red, as if to thank him for the invitation, and then, to his surprise, actually flew down and out of the LOGosphere, its body floating within a small lavender orb. It flew out and then back up the sphere until it reached the top where the six rockets pushed the maniacal machine down the last stretch toward L.O.G.'s awaiting victims.
A wave of astral magenta energy rippled from Mew's body and swept across the engines. In an instant, the Aura Sphere attack had caused all six flames to extinguish, bringing L.O.G.'s progress to a final dead halt. Silence overtook the LOGosphere as Gotoh and the Hylian goddesses ceased their magic attacks, seeing they were no longer needed.
For the first time since Master Chief's trial had begun, the heroes breathed sighs of relief. L.O.G.'s screen was still active, but his Pong Bars were now flickering frantically. If he had been able to do anything else, he would have done it by now.
"FOOLS!" L.O.G.'s internal fan whirred unhealthily. "Worthless bytes! Know you not that you were all created by us for one purpose—and one purpose only? To entertain! To play as pawns for millions of desensitized and dollar-deprived children throughout my world! Your victory will be in vain, for your existence is meaningless. You are nothing but characters in games whose endings you were never meant to write. This will change nothing! Soon you will all—"
The screen was splattered by a stream of black rocket fuel from Rocketman's jetpack, jamming the vent and muffling L.O.G.'s voice. The Atarian then backed away and offered Banjo his pixelated gun.
CARE TO DO THE HONORS?
Banjo smiled and nodded. He took the gun, aimed it up at the screen, and fired a single pink-and-white-flashing laser. The superpowered fuel had the same impact on L.O.G.'s fried hard drive that Ulysses Reeka had wanted it to have on the Nintendonian continent.
The memory of the blast that followed became muddled in the minds of the eight heroes, just like much of the truth of the Copyright Wars had been, except on a much smaller scale. And the blinding flashes of light; the shattering glass and machinery; the sudden plummet toward Smash Planet that was softened by Gotoh and the Star Spirits; all these were memories they could do without a perfect recollection of anyways.
