Author's Notes: Good news and bad news! The good news is that I have a bit more free time since I dropped my Astronomy class (that means more chapter more frequently). The bad news is that I'm dangerously close to approaching writer's block. Yep...writer's block. So, you'll probably see another four chapters after this one before that occurs - at least, until I can think of how to write the conclusion to this exciting saga.

So, we're taking a break from the battle scenes for a moment to focus on an important part of the Subspace Emissary (with a few of my own variations, of course). If you'd rather have action, then I ask only for patience until the next chapter. However, if you enjoy more humor and character interactions, this chapter is for you. Enjoy! Oh by the way, there's a special surprise towards the end of the chapter for those of you that enjoy Melee. ;-)

Luigi: Captain Black Knight owns none of us, and she doesn't own Smash Bros. either. Thanks for listening!


Chapter 28: Search and Destroy

The ever-growing group marched on, seeking the remaining Smashers to be found. We eventually found some of the Smashers. Mr. Game and Watch, Red, Diddy Kong, and Yoshi were the first of the Smashers that were found, and they helped us discover the trophies of Meta Knight, Ike, the Ice Climbers, Lucas, and Falco. However, several more Smashers were yet to be found, and a task such as this was very challenging and tiresome. I would have rather been fighting Subspace enemies, but I along with my comrades had to take care of this setback first.

"Hey, I think I see another one!" Jess cried as she pointed at something in the distance. She rushed over to the trophy and touched its base. In a flash Pit reappeared.

"Wow, that was miserable," Pit muttered. "Thanks for finding me."

"No problem," Jess replied with a small grin. We told Pit of the situation, and so he helped us by taking off into the air in order to get a better view of the surroundings. He looked around over and over, but then he finally set his sights on something.

"Check it out!" he shouted, pointing north. "There are three more of them over there!" It took a bit of time to cover the distance between the spot to where Pit was pointing and us. When we got there, we found the trophies of Olimar, Captain Falcon, and R.O.B. We wasted no time in reviving them. Diddy Kong looked to his left and saw another trophy, so he cart wheeled over to it and touched its base. Donkey Kong reappeared in a flash, and they both gave each other high fives.

"Well, it seemed easy enough to find the majority of the Smashers, but something tells me it's going to be a lot more difficult to find the six that are still out there," Captain Falcon stated with a hand stroking his chin in thought.

"He makes a good point," Ike added. "This place is huge, and it will take a while to locate the rest of them. Besides that, our current method is slow enough as it is, and it may not be enough to get to them all. They could be anywhere!"

"Well, does anyone have any better ideas?" Falco inquired the group.

"Well, I would say to split up, but then we would have to start this search all over again," Red answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

"He's right," Meta Knight agreed. "We must stay together if we are to succeed in discovering the remaining Smashers. In order to make the process easier, Sir Pit and I can fly around and search from above. We should be able to get a wider range of sight from there." Pit nodded to confirm this suggestion.

"I may also be of help," Lucario added. "I can utilize my powers to search for any still auras that are in the vicinity."

"Hey, why don't we all just shut up and look for them already," Bowser snapped.

"We were getting to that…" I spoke in a low voice, clenching my teeth in the process. I shot a glare at Bowser, and he simple snorted in my general direction, not being intimidated in the slightest, yet not daring to start a fight. He saw how I blocked a punch from Ganondorf; why would he mess with me?

Anyway, so Pit and Meta Knight spread their wings and took to the dark skies, gaining enough air to get a bird's-eye view of the place. Pit flew around on our left side, while Meta Knight glided on our right side. Lucario's red eyes glinted yellow before he closed them and concentrated on the direction straight ahead of us. He raised both of his aura-covered paws and continued to focus as Pit and Meta Knight flew farther away from the group in order to search more of the ground. Lucario finished focusing, lowered his paws and opened his red eyes.

"There are two still auras that lie in the distance directly ahead of us," Lucario finally said. "I do not know who they are or how far they are from us, but I do know that they are there." Pleased with the information, I nodded and patted his shoulder. Five minutes later Pit and Meta Knight came back with news.

"I think I saw two of the six Smashers to the west," Pit stated.

"I have discovered two more Smashers as well," Meta Knight added. "They lie to the east." We could have easily set off to get the remaining trophies, but I was concerned by the fact that we could also lose our bearings and, as a result, lose track of the trophies that we would have recovered first. Keeping this in mind I gathered my thoughts and came up with a plan.

"Okay guys, here's what we'll do," I addressed the group. "Pit, take a few Smashers with you and go get the two trophies you found. Meta Knight, you do the same with a few more Smashers. Snake, Lucario, Bowser, Ganondorf, you four are coming with me. The rest of you need to stay here and wait for us to come back. Got that?" Everyone replied with some form of understanding, and they all did as they were told. Ganondorf and Bowser were, of course, reluctant, but I didn't give them much of a choice. Pit took off with Marth, Captain Falcon, Kayla, and Luigi, while Meta Knight took off with Kirby, Will, Peach, and Falco. Snake and Lucario obediently followed the two villains and me.

The distance we had to cover just to get to the trophies was a bit longer than I thought. Nonetheless, we eventually found exactly what we sought. Two gray trophies lied ahead of us, though it was a bit difficult to recognize the Smashers at first. As we approached, I had to squint just to identify them. When we did, I was astounded. The trophies were of Mario and Link!

Snake and I sprinted towards the Mario and Link trophies, while Lucario, Ganondorf and Bowser had to catch up to us. Snake wasted no time in touching the base of Mario's trophy; nor did I hesitate as I tapped the base of Link's trophy. Both heroes appeared in a flash, but when they regained their senses, they looked past us and saw Ganondorf and Bowser, both idly standing at the back of the group.

"GANONDORF!" "LINK!" "BOWSER!" "MARIO!" That was all I heard before all four of them charged at each other. I barely had any time to react, but I still attempted to stand between the two heroes and the two villains with my arms stretched outward.

"HOLD IT!" I shouted. Startled, they all skidded to a stop before the situation became worse. That, however, did not stop the four Smashers from scowling, growling, etc. at each other. Lucario and Snake did nothing but stand away from the tension, looking on in astonishment and awe.

"All of you, separate…now," I spoke in a very commanding voice with a super serious look on my face. All four of them obediently took a few steps back, away from the others and away from me. "Good, now…you will all listen to me, and I will make myself loud and clear." I received wide-eyed expressions from the four Smashers as none of them dared to speak. I even heard gulps from Mario and Link.

"Well, I'm sure that all of you realize by now that the one who calls himself Tabuu is a greater threat to all of us than we could ever be to each other, am I right? Well?" They all reluctantly nodded in agreement. "Exactly, and I think you four already know what I'm about to tell you, but I'll say it anyway. We have an entire army that can stand against Tabuu and defeat him, but we need everyone to contribute their strengths and their efforts if we are to do so. If we destroy each other, then there is no hope for the universe. So I'm telling you right now that as long as we are on this adventure together, you guys will not cause a fight amongst yourselves." I specifically addressed Link and Ganondorf. "Link, Ganondorf, I don't care how long you two have been enemies, but your grudge will NOT be tolerated here! The same goes for you, Bowser and Mario! If I see anyone make even the slightest scene, I will kick all of your asses and put your heads on spears! Understood?"

By the time that I finished my rant, all four Smashers stood petrified and stared at me in shock. The most they could do was nod frantically. Snake and Lucario looked at them as if they felt sorry for them.

"Good," I finished, calming myself. "Now let's get back to the others." I turned to the direction from hence we came and started walking in that direction. Silently the others followed me. Mario and Link traveled next to me, while Snake and Lucario made sure to walk between them and the two villains who traveled behind the group. As we made our way back, I made sure to whisper to Link that my rant to him was nothing personal, and fortunately he understood that.

We finally got back to the group, and we saw that Kayla and friends had come back with Fox and Pikachu, while Will and his gang returned with Zelda and Samus. However, I also noticed another figure with them who wasn't originally part of the group. From what I could see he was rather stout and chubby.

"Wario? What's he doing here?" I inquired to no one in particular.

"Meta Knight 'persuaded' him to work with us," Peach replied nonchalantly.

"Yeah, by pointing a sword at my face," Wario spat. Meta Knight refused to put up with Wario's attitude, so he pointed Galaxia at the man's pink nose, and of course the fat man flinched.

"Watch your mouth and your attitude," Meta Knight demanded coolly.

"Ack! Alright, I will!" Wario responded with both hands raised. "Just stop pointing that thing at me!" Meta Knight complied and lowered his sword, yet he still glared at the fat man, who in turn gulped loudly.

"Hey, I think everyone is here!" Renee exclaimed, excited to have everyone together.

"Not quite everyone," Candace interjected. "Where is Wolf?"

"Candace, something tells me that he won't be back in time to help us," I answered in a discouraged tone.

"Bah, who needs him?" Snake spoke up. "We're all together, and we have new recruits. I think with our huge army, Tabuu won't stand a chance against us! Right?" Most of the Smashers cheered and raised their fists in motivation.

"I highly doubt that," a rumbling voice interrupted. The cheering immediately ceased, and everyone looked around for the source of the familiar voice. We all realized at that point that we ended up at the place where we first encountered Tabuu and the hands. As one would expect, Tabuu reappeared before the group, looking as intimidating as ever.

"You're just the one we're seeking," I spoke for the others.

"Is that so?" Tabuu replied. "I see that you have all survived my previous attack. I am not certain how you managed to do that, but I am impressed with your persistence. However, that will not help you escape your fate. You shall all die by my hand – perhaps even your own hands."

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Link interrogated, speaking for all of us.

"Meet the bane of your existence," Tabuu answered in a menacing tone. He then motioned a hand, and suddenly several figures began to manifest from behind and below Tabuu. To our shock the figures had a striking resemblance to us – an entire army of Smasher clones was marching towards us!

"I couldn't create clones of you Earthlings, but no matter," Tabuu stated. "I brought back some loyal subjects to compensate for the imbalance in numbers, and because you stole a subject from me, I replaced one Pokémon with another." Tabuu motioned a hand again, and this time several large figures appeared behind the Smasher clones. We recognized them as the fallen bosses – minus Rayquaza, but there was one other being there that shocked us all. The Pokémon that stood before us was none other than…

"Mewtwo?!" I cried. Red and Lucario gasped at the sight of the psychic Pokémon facing us. "I thought Mewtwo disappeared long ago!"

"Well, you thought wrong, human," Mewtwo responded in disgust.

"Why has Mewtwo returned all of a sudden?" Lucario asked in confusion.

"I recruited Mewtwo in order to put his power to good use," Tabuu answered for Mewtwo. "He had been rejected by Master Hand, abandoned by him and sent away from this land. However, he has returned to serve me, and he now seeks vengeance against the Smashers."

"He is correct," Mewtwo added. "You Earthlings stand in my way, so I shall deal with you first. Once I have annihilated you, I shall then take revenge on the Smashers once and for all!"

"Not on my watch!" I yelled. "Snake, you need to summon Rayquaza now!" Snake took a second to remember that he still had the dragon Pokémon in his command. He then nodded and took out the Pokéball.

"GO, RAYQUAZA!" Snake shouted as he threw the Pokéball. In a flash the green dragon Pokémon flew out and roared at Mewtwo. The psychic Pokémon, however, barely flinched.

"So, you have a Legendary Pokémon in your command," Mewtwo observed. "But that matters not; I will still obliterate you and the Smashers!"

"Over my dead body!" I snapped.

"As you wish," Tabuu retorted. The Smashers and their clones all assumed fighting stances and brandished their weapons, and my friends and I did the same as they faced the bosses.

"CHARGE!" Tabuu and I both shouted. Both sides took the order and stampeded towards each other. The second battle of Subspace commenced.