"To honor the sacrifices of those who have passed on…we must move on from the past."

~Meta Knight


Chapter 22: Puppet Masters


Venom

Lylat System


It didn't take long for the Normandy and the Great Fox to reach Venom and retrieve their missing passengers. Dash Bowman's death precipitated the purge of all of Lylat, and fortunately that did in fact include the Smashers who had fallen victim to the dreaded Starcrawlers of Solar. Within a few hours of defeating the Heir of Lylat, Sora, Fox, James, Krystal, and Wolf were aboveground once again, watching their missing friends descend through the yellow-green air. It was still rather frightening how close they had come to losing everything because of that one ambush. But once again, the Smash Brothers had slipped by with a narrow victory.

Still, as Mario, Peppy, and the rest came out and rejoiced in their newly purged hearts and their newly rediscovered friends, Fox had a hard time finding any joy in their triumph. With the loss of his closest wingmate, Falco…nothing else really seemed to matter.

Before anything else was done, Team Star Fox took a moment apart from the rest to stand amidst the mechanical Andross's remains and pay their respects to their fallen comrade. Katt Monroe looked particularly numbed by the loss; there wasn't even anything left of Falco to mourn.

"Falkie…you were taken before your time," she whispered, staring at the ground. "And if I hadn't betrayed the Smash Brothers back on Solar, maybe I could've…could've…" She began to sob. Amanda and Lucy were quick to console her.

"You had the heart and spirit of a hero, young'un," Peppy said. "The world's a little less bright without you."

Slippy, who had already cried himself uncontrollably dry, went next, his lips trembling. "I can't believe you're gone," he said simply. "After all we've been through."

"You will be missed, my friend," Krystal said.

Fox, even with his father supporting him at his side, found the long, eloquent elegy he had planned totally inadequate. Instead, he just said with an ironic smile, "See you around, flyboy."

Falco's death was also keenly felt by the Smashers—especially Samus, Red, Zelda, Yoshi, and Ness, who had grown closer to him during their adventures aboard The King's Krystal. But they knew it still couldn't compare with the witty bird's lifelong friends, so they allowed the Lylatans their privacy until they were all ready to move on. But before leaving Venom, they still had to decide where the Smashers would be moving on to.

"Are you a-coming with us?" Mario said, asking the Lylatans the question all the Smashers had been wondering. "We could use your a-help to track down the last missing a-Vassal."

Peppy spoke for the rest. "You know I'd be darned if it wouldn't be a real pleasure to keep helping you Smash Brothers out," he said, looking at the other Lylatans around him: Lucy; Slippy; Amanda; Bill; Katt; Wolf; Fox; James. "But we've got a newly awakened Lylat to take care of. General Pepper'll need all our help cleanin' up the mess the Heartless caused the last few years. We'll keep an ear out for any word of this Unknowable fella, and we'll be here if you need us, but I think it's best if we leave the Vassal-fightin' to you folks."

"Sauria needs me," Krystal added, sharing an understanding look with Fox. "And Corneria and the other planets…Lylat must come back together for its whole heart to heal."

Fox nodded and turned to Mario. "I'll be coming with you, of course; sounds like you'll need me to help deal Xehanort the finishing blow."

"As will I," James said. "I have no business in Lylat, and there's always a chance my interdimensional experiences might uncover information that'll be helpful during the rest of your mission."

"Thanks for everything," Sora said, shaking Wolf's claw first, considering he had dealt the most recent finishing blow.

Wolf smirked. There was a kind of peaceful satisfaction on his face. "Just make sure we didn't go through all that for nothing, kid."

So it was that the Normandy and the Great Fox parted ways, all who were bound to leave Lylat inside the former except for James, who tagged along in his Arwing since there was no room in the docking bay for two extra ships. It was a reluctant parting for two reasons: First, because the Smashers knew they were leaving Lylat in a state of disrepair; and second, because they had no idea who or where the Unknowable would be, except…somewhere in space.


"So, Captain Wormhole." DK had adopted Falco's nickname for James McCloud as they flew past Sauria, having already crossed through the Zoness region and the now Heartless-less (?) Sector Z. "What's the Universe telling you these days?"

James frowned as he responded from within his cockpit. "Unfortunately, nothing. I've heard of this Unknowable Vassal, but only faint rumors about it having mysterious powers nearly as corruptive as the Heartless themselves. The F-Zero Federation…the Galactic Federation…Earth…Eradinus II…Tuchanka…it could be in any of these systems that have yet to be purged."

Red turned to Kirby. "You got anything?"

"Nope!" Kirby said.

Zelda sighed. "This is more than unfortunate, Smash Brothers. If what Dash Bowman said is true, and Xehanort is bringing This World to an end within the week, then we have very little time to find the Unknowable, defeat it, return to Nintendo, confront the four remaining Vassals there, and take on Xehanort himself."

There was a silent tension. Until Zelda had worded their predicament so clearly, most of them hadn't registered a full sense of their perilous predicament. There was an urgent need to find this mysterious unknown member of Organization XIII, and yet now, when they needed some kind of supernatural help more than ever, the channels of the Hand of Fate or whatever other external information source seemed to have closed off to them. Time wasn't just running out; it was about to be gone. Permanently. And here they were, floating in the vastness of space without a clue.

That was when Samus realized: This was her moment. "I think I know where to start," she said. "Before the Heartless came, Snake and Jody Summer and I investigated reports into strange F-Zero racer killings taking place around their Federation. The murder weapon belonged to Captain Falcon's nemesis, Black Shadow…but we found his corpse on Synobazz, dead long before the killings began. I think…I think this is all connected somehow."

Yoshi nodded. "From all that I've seen on this journey, our mission has led us not only to stop the Vassals themselves, but to bring peace and solve problems unique to each of the kingdoms. I'll bet if we can solve that mystery, it'll take us to the Unknowable."

"Pikaaa," Pikachu said doubtfully, indicating, "Still, it's a bit of a stretch."

"Yeah, it is," Fox said. "But didn't you guys say we're supposed to find all of the original Twelve Smashers? It looks pretty likely that Jody Summer is meant to fill in for the Captain's place—her brother's place. We could head to Port Town, find Summer, and look into this Black Shadow business all at the same time."

"Sounds a-good to me," Luigi said.

Mario agreed. "Let's a-go!"

"Recalculating route," Legion reported from its chair as if it were a GPS voice. "Course set for Port Town. Estimated arrival: six days, seventeen hours, and forty-two minutes."

"Whoa there!" DK said. "Six days? That's way too long. The world'll end before we even get there."

To their surprise, James's chuckle came over the speakers. "No sweat, Smash Brothers. I'm Captain Wormhole, remember?"


Two hours later, they had traveled many thousands of miles and were coming up on Port Town, which was in fact its own planet but was known by the name of its major city. It was a pale, creamsicle-orange planet, not at all suggestive of the thriving intergalactic space port contained within its atmosphere.

"I can't believe we're almost done!" Red said. "We've come a long way…"

"Yeah, well, don't start counting your coconuts before they ripen, kid," DK said, pointing out the front of the windshield. "We've got company—and I doubt they're here to barter for bananas."

A futuristic white shuttle approached them—with a red-and-blue siren flashing on top. Most of the Smashers weren't familiar with F-Zero technology or culture, but they could guess what kind of visit they were getting.

Sure enough, a bright light flashed from the police shuttle, and both the Normandy's and the Arwing's engine and computer systems (minus their communications) immediately shut down, and they were left drifting helplessly through space. A channel opened on the ships' computers.

"Uh…we come in peace?" Ness said hopefully.

"Nice try, fugitives," a familiar female voice responded. The voice of Jody Summer—but completely back to her strictest Federation officer self. "But you're coming with me to the station—and then we're giving you straight to Xehanort."

"Not the Unknowable?" Sora said, also hopeful.

Jody snickered. "No one knows about the Unknowable. That's why it's called the 'Unknowable,' you idiots. No one's ever seen it and lived to tell the tale."

"Oh," Sora said.

"Preparing to activate tractor beam towing system," Jody said.

"What do we do?" Fox whispered. "You guys have those Heart Softener lasers, but our guns are down."

Mario responded with music—the music of the last Time Flute. It took him back to his days of using similar flutes in Subcon, an intangible mystique to its beautiful melody and emerald sparks that made its purgatory powers seem that much more miraculous.

Moments later, the Normandy and James's Arwing had their power restored. Jody's sheepish voice came again, now her old, only sometimes pretentious self back.

"…Smash Brothers? How on earth did you get here?"

"Technically we came from Venom," DK said, deliberately misinterpreting her meaning. He was a monkey in space; he had to stay entertained and feel useful somehow.

Samus ignored him. "Jody, we're here for you. Some ghost in the Twilight Forest prophesied that in order to drive Xehanort and the Heartless away for good, we've got to destroy all of Organization XIII and bring together the original Twelve Smashers. Your brother was one of them."

"But…" One could picture the realization dawning on Jody's face through her trailing voice. "You want me to take his place. Samus, I don't think—"

"Oh, for crying out loud." Samus rolled her eyes. "Snake and I watched you Falcon Punch a UFO into Synobazz. I think it's pretty safe to say you inherited more than just that helmet."

"And if you're not the one, you'll be stopped by Xehanort's invisible borders sooner or later," Yoshi added.

There was a moment's silence. An intake of breath—the breath of a woman who had just had her entire world flipped rightside up after it had been upside down for three years.

"…Okay. I'll come. But unfortunately I really don't know anything about the Unknowable. You've got more of a lead than just a nickname, I hope?"

Samus smiled, and she spoke so smoothly that she almost believed what she said next herself. What she was about to propose was, in reality, founded on nothing but an intuitive hunch. "Oh, I've got a lead—and a bone to pick. With one of our old friends down in Port Town."

"And how do you propose to make your way through Port Town unnoticed?" Jody said. "All of you Smash Brothers are at the top of the galaxy's Most Wanted lists virtually everywhere."

"Exactly," Samus said.

It took a moment, but finally Jody understood and smiled. "Got it."


With the Normandy (and James's Arwing) hidden safely on the dark side of a nearby moon, Jody Summer's police vessel angled into Port Town's misty amber atmosphere, and for a minute or two, they could see nothing out of the ship but clouds. Soon enough, however, they came out to behold the thriving space port below.

It was as if a myriad fleet of steamers had forgotten the laws of physics and decided to make like Captain Hook's pirate ship and rise into the skies. Port Town was teeming with sophisticated, armored ships bearing all sorts of cargo, their hulls iron gray or navy blue or rusty red. Instead of smokestacks, fins protruded from the top of the huge commercial boats like giant butter knives, jet engines affixed to the sides and sterns of each ship. Through the amber haze, one could just make out shimmering seas and clustered cities like glowing rashes on the planet's surface. Only Samus, Jody, and Legion seemed unimpressed.

"Corneria could take a page from your guys's commercial system," Fox said admiringly.

"We have seen better," Legion said—and by "we," it referred only to itself, as usual.

"Is that the station, then?" James McCloud, arms folded, inclined his head toward a tall spire which towered several hundred feet from ground level, its appearance rather reminiscent of the Space Needle, only much thicker.

Jody nodded as she took them down toward the station. "From there we should have direct access to the prisoner. I'll make sure the security cameras are put on a loop; and if we're lucky, we'll get you in and out of there without being seen."

"'If we're lucky'? That's a pretty huge caveat," DK said.

"Mario, look!" Luigi said, pointing out one window with his nose pushed against it. "It's a-R.O.B.!"

Mario, Ness, Red, and a few others followed Luigi's finger, and, indeed, situated on one of Port Town's airborne platforms was an enormous, unmistakable replica of Professor E. Gadd's trademark Robotic Operating Buddies. But which had come first—or had they both come into being independently? It was one of those chicken-or-the-egg questions that was interesting, but not particularly important.

They followed one of Port Town's winding F-Zero racetracks down to the station. A metal hatch slid open and permitted Jody to lower her police vessel into the station itself. They descended in almost complete darkness for a full five minutes, passing the blinking red lights that indicated other floors until they entered a hangar which was surely deep below the planet's surface.

Jody expertly landed the vessel inside an indented parking spot. Fortunately, this particular hangar was quite small, and at the moment, empty. The ship's doors opened to allow the Smashers out.

"This is the middle of the guards' shift, with the next patrol scheduled in about an hour," Jody explained as they followed her down a dark metal passage. It was unexpectedly cold down here—as if the windy outdoor air had been trapped inside and decided, out of bitterness, to remain frigid.

Jody took out a handheld device and began working on the station's security cameras, but frowned. "Hm…I'm having trouble getting a signal down here. Ever since the Space Pirate War, our tech's been manifesting some unexpected problems every now and then…"

"I got it!" Luigi said triumphantly, manipulating the holographic menu on his Omni-Tool as he had with the Great Fox on Katina. Sure enough, a nearby security camera's blinking light stilled to a steady red. Presumably, that meant a loop had been initiated.

Ness stared at the Edenese wrist computer, eyes wide. "I've gotta get me one of those."

They proceeded through the labyrinthine prison halls. Here and there, muffled thuds and shouts could be heard from behind one of the thick metal doors, which were locked with fingerprint-reading keypads backlit with blue LED lights.

"I'm gonna be honest, Aran," Jody said as they finally came to a halt in front of their destination. "I don't see how you'll get anything useful out of him. He's, well…he's not been in his right mind in years. Not since the war."

"Thanks, Jody," Samus said. "But I want to see him all the same. I've got a feeling there's a gem of truth in that thick skull of his, however muddled his mind might be."

"Suit yourself," Jody said. "Here we go, then." She typed in a 12-digit code, and with a click, the door slid open, allowing them to step into a small whitewashed room.

The only furnishings were a simple desk and chair, a few books, a metal cot with a thin mattress, and a toilet in the corner. Notably, the walls were actually padded, as was every surface, edges and corners blunted, no extra dishes or silverware to be seen. It was like a quaint blend between a cell and an asylum's isolation chamber.

The single occupant was reclined on the cot, facing away from them, two thick muscular arms behind his head.

"Goroh," Jody said.

The man sat up immediately and pivoted to face his visitors, the small piggy eyes of Samurai Goroh peering at them with puzzled surprise. A bandit gang leader who had been Captain Falcon's greatest rival on the track, Goroh's appearance had lost all the tough grittiness it had once carried. In place of his muscle shirt and leather vest, he was garbed in a bland orange prison uniform, his black hair overgrown and grizzled like an untrimmed mane, complementing his thick beard. Several long scars ran across his face and along his arms, visible even beneath the beard. His muscled torso had become somewhat pudgy, his six-pack replaced with a protruding belly. The "six-pack" overconfidence of his personality was also strangely absent.

Goroh just sat there and stared at the Smashers.

"Goroh, these are the Smash Brothers," Jody began. "You remember them from the Fourside Tournament and the War of the Hands?"

Goroh's mouth hung open for several long seconds, and just when Samus was about convinced that he was brain dead, he spoke in a gravelly hush.

"Smash…Brothers?" He padded his jumpsuit down, as if looking for something he wanted to give them—maybe a pocketknife to the chest. Then he abruptly brightened, and gave a loose-jawed grin. "I was in n' out during that whole Master Hand fiasco, until that four-eyed professor bailed me out of some mad scientist's lab." He stared at Samus, then Fox. "But I do remember those two knocking me 'n my buddies off the racetrack over Big Blue."

Fox couldn't resist a grin. "Good times, eh?"

Goroh's expression darkened, and he cracked his knuckles in answer.

"We're not here to gloat or pick a fight, Goroh," Samus said, though her arm cannon was at the ready. "We're here because Xehanort's about to end the universe, and you might be able to help us get one step closer to saving it."

Goroh snorted and averted his eyes toward the opposite wall. "Let him end it, then. This World can go to Hell, as far as I'm concerned. That's all it's ever given me." He gave Samus a sideways glance. "Where's your boyfriend, anyway? I would've thought the Captain would have the balls to show up and ask me himself on behalf of your glorified fight club."

"Captain Falcon is dead," Samus replied flatly.

That actually sobered Samurai Goroh's expression—much more disappointment at the news than the glee Samus had expected of him.

"Real shame, that is," he muttered. "With the world ending 'n all, would've preferred him to be here to suffer through it. Guess his recklessness finally caught up with him; he never did have the patience to follow orders at the police academy."

Samus came surprisingly close to Goroh, facing him straight-on. Then again, she was in a Power Suit, and he wasn't.

"Tell me," she said. "Why did you incite the F-Zero Federation's lowlives to start the Space Pirate War? What was in it for you? Revenge?"

At that, Goroh chuckled. "Me? Incite the Space Pirate War? You've got it all wrong, honeybunch. I mean, sure, I coordinated a bunch of the sector's underprivileged in rising against the BS of the Federation system. But I wasn't the mastermind behind the operation; it was Deathborn."

"Deathborn?" Jody froze with genuine fear.

"Uh…who's Deathborn?" Sora asked on behalf of literally everyone else.

"Deathborn was the greatest evil our Federation has ever faced," Jody explained. "He was a mysterious racer who employed Black Shadow to go after Captain Falcon in an elaborate plot to take over the universe. He was known to cause F-Zero pilots to go missing from time to time, so that would explain the murders Snake and Samus and I looked into three years ago. He could've offed Black Shadow too and dumped him on Synobazz once he was done with him. But…" She stroked her chin. "The Captain took Deathborn down. I don't see how he could be back."

"L.O.G.'s a-Memory Paradoxes," Mario said succinctly. "Some of This World's worst a-villains, like Grunty the Witch, were brought a-back by them. It's not a-much of a stretch that one of the paradoxes could also have brought a-back Deathborn."

Samus turned back to Goroh. "Tell us more."

Ironically, at this point Samurai Goroh seemed to be enjoying the rare attention he was receiving so much that he forgot his previous determination to refuse to help the Smashers. "He was always up in the other Federation, working with that bounty hunter guild," he said. "I never really understood why…but he orchestrated the entire Space Pirate War this side of Smash Planet. Coordinated with General Scales in Lylat to wage war on our governments. The whole thing got a little bloody, I'll admit, but hey…the loot he promised was good, so how could I refuse?"

Samus glanced at the other Smashers. "Are you all thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Deathborn is the Unknowable," Zelda said.

Jody, however, was still in a state of disbelief. "If this is true, then we're all in bad shape. Deathborn was outrageously powerful before, and if Xehanort gave him the power boost he wanted, we won't stand a chance against him."

"Where can we find Deathborn?" Samus asked Goroh. "Is he nearby? You must have some kind of underground network to help us track him down."

Goroh chuckled again. "Even if I knew, why would I tell you self-righteous freaks? I might not be overly fond of death, but truth be told, Xehanort's been right all along. This World deserves to burn."

Without asking permission, DK gripped Goroh by the front, lifted him up, and slammed him against the wall.

"Are you overly fond of broken bones?" he asked, his other fist raised.

Goroh's eyes widened. He might have been apathetic to the whole saving-the-world business, but he could still feel pain. "All right, all right! I'll tell you! Just tell the ape to put me down!"

DK looked to Mario, who nodded, and the Kong let Goroh collapse onto the cot. Goroh took a moment to catch his breath before speaking again.

"Last I heard," he said, "the Unknowable was out on Zebes, hunting down the remaining bounty hunters that refused to side with him in the Space Pirate War. Crateria, I think the place is called. There, I told you…now leave me alone!"

Jody smiled. "Do as he says, guys; we've got what we needed."

They all filed back out, until just Samus remained with the man. Samus looked at Goroh one last time—a pathetic, wretched man, but another painful reminder of the Captain.

"Enjoy your stay," she said, slamming the door shut behind her.


As they made their getaway from Port Town, again in Jody's police cruiser, Mario wistfully watched the airborne commotion of sky traffic, thinking about Bowser's fleet of airships, and about Princess Peach. They had no more than six days now to stop Xehanort. He hadn't thought about the Nintendo World they had left behind in a while, being caught up in the craziness of finding the Vassals. But he took a moment now to appreciate why they were doing this, and what exactly they were saving.

"You never mentioned," Zelda said to Jody. "How have the Heartless impacted the people of the F-Zero Federation?"

Jody smiled ruefully. "To be honest, a lot of us were well on our way to damnation already. The F-Zero Grand Prix…it might be grand, but it's a cesspool of disgusting characters, of greed and underhanded tactics. More than anything, the Heartless here bring out the extremes of competition—violent rivalries; shady alliances; excessive gambling. You'd probably get a good idea of what most of us are like if you combined the Pianta Casino in Fourside with the Holy Spirits saloon in Sanctuary."

"Oh," Red said, involuntarily reliving the chaos of their Pandora adventures in his mind.

Incredibly, they reached the small moon with the Normandy and James's Arwing without incident. Jody's police cruiser had been a perfect disguise; after all, no one looks too closely at law enforcement for fear of looking suspicious themselves. Jody decided to leave the cruiser there since all Federation ships were implanted with tracking beacons, and the Smash Brothers were not particularly interested in being followed right now. So without further ado, they lifted off the moon and bade farewell to Port Town.

"It's really too bad we didn't take the Great Fox," Fox said as they headed out into open space. "We could've jumped to hyperspeed and been at Zebes in just a few minutes."

But his father disagreed from within his Arwing. "That wouldn't have worked, son. The Starcrawlers severely damaged the Great Fox's hyperdrive; it would have taken even Slippy at least a week to fix. No…this is the only way."

"Speaking of which," Yoshi said, turning to Samus, "how long will it be to Zebes?" He, too, was thinking of home—Yoshi's Island—and of how precious little time he had left to save it.

Samus was grateful the others couldn't see the exasperation she was feeling. "There's good news and bad news. The bad news is according to James, there are no wormholes nearby linking to the Galactic Federation, so at our current speed, it'll take us six and a half days to reach Zebes."

"Crap," DK said.

"The good news," Jody said, "is there's a Galactic Highway that will speed up our journey considerably. It's a vast network of charged electromagnetic particles which will carry us toward Elysia like a swift ocean current."

"And from there, it's a skip and a hop to Zebes," Samus finished.

"What's the catch?" Red asked, for once thinking about a potential catch that had nothing do to with Pokémon.

Fox could work out the rest. "We'll be in open sight of public traffic. If any highway patrols decide we're suspicious, that'll mean trouble."

"Pikaaa," Pikachu remarked, which meant something along the lines of, "I had no idea that space highway policemen were a thing."

"We should be fine," Jody said. "I know the police force, and a ship like the Normandy won't stand out that much. They're more interested in Space Pirates bootlegging Phazon between the Federations."

"Phazon?" Zelda asked.

"An aggressive radioactive superorganism that corrupts and destroys ecosystems," Samus explained. "Its host planet, Phaaze, was destroyed long ago, so it will soon go extinct. We don't need to worry about it."

"O…kay," Ness said.

"There it is," Jody said, directing Legion's attention to what looked like a wide, snaking nebula of silver particles running from Port Town far into the distance, splitting off in several directions as well. The silhouettes of other commuting ships could be seen through the silvery dust.

"Engaging the Galactic Highway," Legion said, and boosted them into the current, followed close behind by James's Arwing. Several Smashers were knocked off their feet, having received no seatbelt warnings. Luigi's head, again, became the unfortunate recipient of Donkey Kong's posterior.

It was like being on a roller coaster that suddenly accelerated, bearing its passengers along its designated course—voluntarily or otherwise. The airless space around the Normandy was all a silver blur; every now and then other ships would flash by, though for the most part the sparse traffic maintained a steady speed.

And yet their trip along the highway was surprisingly, almost worryingly smooth, considering the fact that they were rocketing through space at some strange cross between hyperspeed and the standard rocket's measly 20,000 miles per hour.

In fact, people on the Normandy soon lost interest in their surroundings and wandered off to otherwise occupy themselves. Most went to their living quarters to sleep after their nonviolent but still stressful business in Port Town.

Fox, still feeling restless after facing Dash on Venom, actually called his father into the Normandy, having James land his Arwing in the docking bay while Fox took his own for a spin. The fact that they could do this while traveling at such high speeds spoke to the miraculous sophistication of the Federations' highway network, and of space technology in general. Like the Master Chief had told Zelda, space truly was a place where they had to become one with the technology.

"I've seen those eyes before," James McCloud said, coming to stand beside Red on the command bridge. They both watched Fox spiral through the air, coming a little too close to other ships at times and then indolently swerving out of harm's way.

"Huh?" Red turned to look at the pilot.

"They're the eyes of a son who's lost his father," James said.

Red averted his gaze. "Well, you're right about that."

James's sunglasses glinted as he cocked his head to observe the young Pokémon Trainer. "The question is," he said, "do you still hope to find him again?"

That prompted the boy, for some reason, to explain everything to this near stranger: how his father, Quentin, had left when he was little; how Quentin had come back into his life during the Copyright Wars and taught him incredible lessons about the power of the bond between a human and a Pokémon; and how his zeal for Pokémon's freedom had led him down a dark path that had almost ended in a genocide of Kanto's human population, but in actuality had turned Quentin into one of Xehanort's Vassals. Red hadn't talked about his father in this much detail to anyone, but there was something about James McCloud that made Red feel like he could confide in him.

James was silent for a moment after Red had finished his story. He seemed deep in thought. Finally: "When Andross took me away from my home, from Fox, I thought my world had ended—and in a very real way, it had. But when I found him again…Red, no connection is more powerful than that of a father's love for his child. I might not know your dad, and I haven't been afflicted by Xehanort's temptations personally, but I can tell you this: In spite of everything Quentin may have done, he's still your father. Never give up on him; there is always hope that you can reach through the darkness in his heart and touch him, and remind him of what matters most."

"But…" Red wanted to believe James McCloud more than anything, but there were terrible images he just couldn't shake from his mind. "Even after what happened to Dash Bowman? I hear he almost came back to the light, but couldn't do it in the end. None of the Vassals could, except Ganondorf—and he paid the ultimate price for it. The only way my dad will accept me back is if I join him in enslaving Kanto under the Heartless."

James just nodded. "Even then, Red. Even then."

The interdimensional pilot walked away without another word, leaving Red in a somewhat distressed psychological state, but one with a renewed glimmer of hope. When the time came, he would save Quentin. He had to.


Samus lay on her bed, helmet off, trying to get the image of Samurai Goroh's crooked smile out of her head. Then a knock came at the door of her small room, so she went over to open it.

There was no one there.

"Hello?" She looked both ways, but there was no one down either hallway. She shut the door and sighed. Probably just Kirby or DK playing one of their immature pranks.

A blue shape whisked past the outside of her small round window.

She raced over and peered out to see whatever ship had caught up with them on the Galactic Highway. When she saw it, her jaw dropped. It was an almost ridiculously bright blue, one-man F-Zero racer. A racer whose pilot was long since deceased. The Blue Falcon.

It slowed down until it was level with her window, but the Blue Falcon's cockpit window was so tinted that she couldn't see the pilot inside. Then, after a moment, it peeled off and exited the highway altogether.

Samus frowned. Had someone built a Blue Falcon look-alike in a futile attempt to copy the Captain?

"Hey, Sam."

She swore and jumped backward, her Power Suit slamming into the wall. Samus was so shocked that she didn't even raise her arm cannon. She felt no less frozen than when the Ice Climbers had struck her with a Freezy in one of the Smash Tournaments. Right in front of her, casually leaning back on her bed with his legs crossed, his dark-visored helmet immaculately in place, was Captain Falcon.

She tried to speak, but nothing came out.

Captain Falcon sat up, grinning his trademark overconfident (but endearing) grin. "Long time no see. You guys are making pretty good time in this rig, aren't ya?"

"F-Falcon," was all she could manage. Her heart was nearly in her throat, her mind constantly reminding herself: He's dead. He can't really be here. You're dreaming.

"You're not asleep," Falcon said as if reading her mind. "Not literally, anyway. But in a different way, This World has been asleep for way too long."

"Asleep? What do you mean?"

"To its own reality, Sam," Falcon said. "To its destiny. To the natural order that was made unnatural."

Samus just shook her head and tried to clear her mind, closing her eyes for a moment before speaking. "I can't do this, Falcon," she said. "Whatever you are—a ghost…a voice in my head…you have to go. There's too much at stake for me to lose focus now. We're almost out of time, and the Smash Brothers can't find this last Vassal without me."

"I know," Falcon said. "That's why I'm here. Not because of how distracting my bod can be…" He subconsciously tightened his bulging biceps and pectorals, smirking. "But because there's too much at stake. You've gotta know something: Before this is through, Xehanort's going to test not just the Smash Brothers' fighting skills, but their hearts. He'll mix truth with untruth to convince you that all your efforts have been for nothing, that This World isn't worth saving. But no matter what happens…don't let him get into your head. Don't forget who your true enemies are. And for heaven's sake, don't let Jody dent my helmet; I polished that thing every day. Mostly for you."

Samus was trembling on her feet, her eyes hot and moist, and finally she broke down and rushed forward to embrace him.

She could actually feel his body there—the warmth of his muscles; the beat of his dead heart. Captain Falcon returned her embrace, holding her tight.

"Sorry I've had to miss out on all the fun, Sam," he said. "Believe me, going up in smoke with that frigate really sucked—'specially when I had to entrust your safety to that trigger-happy swamp fox." It was a nickname for Solid Snake which Captain Falcon had never used in life, but it seemed quite fitting.

"You left us," she said, her face now hot and moist in addition to her eyes. "You're one of the Twelve. How can we win without you?"

She felt his torso shake with laughter. "Don't be ridiculous; I'm not one of the Twelve." He pulled back to look Samus squarely in the eye. "That's the thing about prophecies: They tend to be not as strict as you might think. So if I were you, I'd quit worrying so much about the future or the past, and—"

"Focus on the present," Samus finished.

"No, Sam." Captain Falcon winked at her even as his body faded away, his last words hanging in the air.

"Focus on forever."


About 20 hours later, something rattled the Normandy like an overzealous cell phone vibrator, and Fox's voice came from his Arwing.

"Red alert, guys! You know that puppet thing that attacked us back in the Asteroid Belt? Well…it's back."

Puppet? Mario wondered. He and the other Smashers raced onto the command bridge to view their high-speed predicament through the windows. And he balked at what he saw.

It was indeed Geno, his rocket-propelled feet and hands maintaining a steady course alongside the Normandy. And based on the shiny black holes of his eyes, he wasn't here for a friendly road race.

"I'm gonna take him down Star Wolf style!" Fox said.

"Wait, Fox!" Jody spoke into the Normandy's communicators. "If you collide with it on the highway, the inertia will rip your Arwing to shreds."

Mario narrowed his eyes as he looked out the window. He drew his yellow cape around himself and turned to Zelda. "Can you a-give me the same a-bubble from Planet Bomber?"

Zelda looked uncertain. "Krystal was there to focus my magic last time. But I will try…"

She closed her eyes and raised her hands, gaining easier access to the Triforce with each use. Within seconds, Mario's body was outlined in bright blue. Mario tipped his cap to her and turned to Luigi, Yoshi, and the rest.

"I've a-got to do this alone."

"Be careful, Mario!" Sora called after him as the plumber jumped through the nearest airlock, Superman-ing his way over to Geno.

Thankfully, there were no other ships in the immediate vicinity, so it was just them: Mario facing Geno as they sped alongside the Normandy, Fox watching them closely from behind in his Arwing. It was like they were in a storm of silver glitter.

Mario, who along with DK, Samus, Pikachu, and Ness had been informed of the Geno incident in the Asteroid Belt, knew there would be no use in trying a Heart Softener. So he would have to make a different kind of appeal.

"Geno, it's a-me! Mario, and your a-friends! What did Xehanort do to a-you?"

Geno's face was even more wooden than actual wood. "Master Xehanort and the Heartless have given me a grand purpose," he said flatly. "I have long existed as a star spirit, inhabiting a puppet, allowing others to pull my strings. But now my eyes are opened to the truth: We are all puppets of the Hand of Fate. By ending the Smash Brothers, I will please the Grand Puppetmaster, Xehanort, in such a way that he will, in time, grant me a real heart of my own. A will of my own. A fate of my own. Only then will I truly live."

Geno's two wooden fists detached themselves from his arms and rocketed toward Mario. Mario swung his cape, deflecting them back at his attacker, but the rocket fists simply reattached themselves to Geno's wrists. The puppet's dark eyes glinted.

"Nintendo's doom is written in the stars."

Geno raised his hands, and a moment later, thick columns of multicolored energy began raining from above. The attack known as Geno Blast lit the highway like a deadly fireworks show.

"Agh!" Fox yelled as his Arwing sustained critical damage, with one wing blown clean off. He veered wholly off the highway and out of sight.

An unfortunate dark gray cruiser from Eradinus II fell victim to several of the energy pillars. Huge chunks of the craft were blown off, and screaming passengers were sucked into space as a final teal beam finished it off with a bang.

The Normandy itself didn't hold up well against the Geno Blast either; after ten seconds, the shields were already toast.

"Must evacuate to save ship's integrity," Legion buzzed over the communicators. The robot tilted the Edenese vessel sharply to the right, following Fox off the highway before the attack could finish the job.

"No!" Mario went after his friends without a second thought. He was thrown out into open space, his body twirling wildly from the sudden deceleration, and by the time he had slowed down enough to view the smoking ships below and Geno's deathly calm figure approaching, he feared it was too late.

"You've already got a heart, Geno!" Mario yelled. "Xehanort's a-lying to you. Fight the Heartless—we need your a-help!"

But the puppet just began charging his most infamous weapon: the Geno Beam.

"Every show must come to an end."

Mario cast himself at Geno, his fist careening toward the charging gun. But Geno tilted his body and met Mario's face with his feet, kicking him with the approximate force of an adolescent rhinoceros. Mario hollered in despair, not even aware of the pain signals his broken body was sending as the Geno Beam grew brighter. It was over.

A shining golden object speared through Geno's chest. Mario beheld what appeared to be some kind of space harpoon flash faster and faster and then detonate, sending shards of Geno in every direction. The puppet would likely reform again, but it had bought them a little time. Mario turned to the perpetrator.

It was an exceedingly odd sight: a rather traditional-looking UFO, but unlike the Starmen's dark gray saucers, this one was glowing an opulent trio of red, white, and blue. If it hadn't just saved all their lives, Mario would have laughed at it.

A strange, warbling masculine voice echoed out to Mario, Fox, and the Normandy.

"Follow me."

Its only explanation was to disappear into a newly formed circular portal of blinding whiteness.

The Smashers inside the Normandy looked at each other with perplexity.

"Might as well," Ness said.

Legion's eye bulb flashed in acknowledgement before the robot accelerated them through the bright portal, followed soon after by Mario and Fox. The portal vanished quickly behind the Arwing, leaving the reassembled Geno once again unsuccessful.