A/N: Didn't expect such a relatively quick update, did you? XP

In response to…

doomblade: It was a creative liberty (basically me altering the original story where I see fit). I didn't want Luigi to just... appear in the story like he did in the original SSE, so I stuck him there :3

On that note, I guess I'll reiterate that there have been/will be several creative liberties throughout this story. Please bear with me!

This fic's milestones: 1. Second anniversary; 2. 100k+ words.

Looking back at the previous chapter, anything under 3k words is actually not that long.

But enough of my musings. Let's see how our heroes fare in…

Chapter Thirty-Six: Malignant Maze

~*?*~

They had seen the winding glass staircase from a distance. Though King Dedede began ascending without a worry, some were more wary of it. But to all, one thing was clear: Tabuu was waiting for them.

It was a beautiful sight, nonetheless. The multitude of colours of Subspace reflected off the smooth surfaces, shimmering and swimming unpredictably, appearing nearly opaque. It nearly seemed a marvel to be witnessed from afar, rather than a route to an unprecedented power. Its beauty seemed nearly out of place in the threatening aura of the realm.

ROB wondered if it would hold under the weight of their twenty-seven-strong party. He expected a creak or a crack, but there was no sound except for the footfalls on the sturdy glass. A testament to Tabuu's power, he mused, staring up at the floating, zigzagging path before him.

The staircase was long, so they took their time. At the top was a platform that extended a few feet before disappearing into one of the huge cyan spheres. It was nearly too brilliant to see, but Dedede glanced back at the group, then shaded his eyes and walked forward, into the sphere.

"Come along!" they heard him beckon, his voice muffled. Diddy galloped forward, followed closely by DK and Kirby, with Fox, Falco, Samus and Pikachu lagging behind.

Game and ROB moved next, and then the rest followed.

When Mario stepped into the sphere, he was terribly shocked.

"Where am… Hello?" he called. Somebody bumped into him from behind, and he spun around with his fists raised before relaxing.

"Sorry, bro," Luigi apologised, before his eyes wandered and his mouth fell open. "Say… What are we doing here?"

They were standing in a natural clearing. Trees surrounded them in all directions, and before them stood the last thing they expected to see.

"The Stadium? But how?" Peach suddenly wondered aloud, thus making her presence known to the brothers. An equally confused Zelda and Link stood beside her, while Ganondorf wore an unimpressed expression.

"He is toying with us," the Dark Lord said darkly, staring up at the sky. High above, a dark dome stretched way beyond the trees, as the area around the Stadium – they remembered – had been pulled into Subspace itself.

"Well, we can't have it like that, can we?" Link asked airily.

"Don't try to get me to agree with you, boy."

"Never mind," Peach said quickly. "It seems the others have disappeared…"

"Separated again?" Luigi wondered sourly. Before he began lamenting aloud, Mario spoke.

"Let's check out the Stadium, since it's right here. If he is indeed 'toying' with us, then perhaps there is something in store for us."

The group, headed by Mario, made their way over to the Stadium's main gates. A warm breeze slipped past. It was very much welcome after the alien, electrified air of Subspace that had made their hair stand on end, and they could nearly smell the trees. The towering iron gates were still wide open, as if the fleeing spectators had vanished only moments ago.

"Stay on guard," Mario warned.

They passed through the lobby and stepped onto the arena floor. Some litter, ranging from streamers to empty bottles, was scattered around. Keeping their eyes and ears alert to any dangers, they began scouring the area for any clues as to what to do next.

"It's very strange," Peach said to Mario and Luigi. "It's like there are two skies – I feel one but see the other." She rubbed her arms anxiously.

"Uh huh. You don't see this every day," Luigi remarked as he leaped onto the first row of seats. Mario leaped up also and Luigi helped steady him.

"Be careful, you two."

"We wil — "

"Agh!"

Suddenly, Mario went flying. He landed several feet into the arena floor in a cloud of dust and abandoned confetti.

"Bro?! Aie!"

Luigi was soon to follow, just managing to bowl his brother over just as he was getting to his feet.

"Goodness me!" Peach exclaimed, watching a shadowy figure jump down from where the brothers had just been. She stared at its humanoid, amber-eyed form for a while before her stomach dropped.

"I-it looks just like…" Luigi stammered, tripping over himself as he tried to get back up.

"It's one of those false copies," Mario said as he glared at his attacker.

"Out of the way!"

Link charged past with the Master Sword raised and slashed at his shadowy doppelganger. It dodged and pulled back its sword arm. Link blocked the attack and kicked the shadow away, letting it stumble into the wall.

"Don't worry yourselves," Link called over his shoulder. "I should be able to handle it."

Link gestured for the others to stand back as his false copy recovered.

"Pit told me something about them," Mario told the swordsman. "Don't look into its eyes!"

While Link was distracted, False Link took the opportunity to attack. Link barely managed to block the slice and the following ones. He continued to block with his shield, but exerted more force with each one, until he knocked False Link off balance, took a swing with his sword and kicked again.

"There's another!" Zelda's voice disrupted his concentration. He hardened his expression at his copy and took a breath, determined not to let his focus waver again.

A bow materialised in False Link's hands and it let an arrow fly. After the arrow bounced harmlessly off Link's shield, it tried again with two. Link rolled out of the way, cursing under his breath that he did not have his own bow at hand. He raised his shield again as an arrow sailed past his shoulder. Three more soon followed, easily missing him, and it dawned on him suddenly.

He would not let this thing harm his allies. After scanning the ground for a ranged weapon, he glared at False Link and broke into a run that began to close the distance between them. His approach fazed False Link. He snatched up a glass bottle off the ground and hurtled it at the shadow's head, watching the bottle shatter upon impact.

False Link crumpled to one knee, clutching its head as purple fog seeped through its fingers from the otherwise invisible wound. Link approached quickly, but forgot to look away when the shadow glared up with its amber eyes. Unwittingly, Link felt an icy, creeping dread overcome him for a second, nearly enough for the Master Sword to slip from his limp hand. False Link staggered to its feet and raised its sword in a silent roar, and as the light glinted off its unnaturally sharp teeth, Link unfroze and raised his defences.

"No, you will not!" Link growled, channelling his awakened fury into a mighty shield bash that toppled False Link to the ground. In a flash, he grabbed the Master Sword in both hands and stabbed down into his doppelganger's chest. The form of False Link collapsed into a shapeless mass of purple fog before vanishing into thin air.

"Oh my gosh!" Peach cried, rushing over to him. "You aren't hurt?"

He remained on one knee, catching his breath as he stared at the spot where his copy had just lain.

"I'm alright," he assured the princess as he turned his head. "I heard there was another."

"Yes. One of Mario, then another of Ganondorf appeared."

He gritted his teeth at the thought and got to his feet.

"Only False Ganondorf remains," Peach said, biting her lip. She met Link's eyes and continued, "You know of the laws of this world? How one cannot be injured from attack?"

Link nodded.

"They seem to have been overridden. Luigi was hit by one of False Mario's fireballs, and contrary to the laws, he got burned." She rubbed her face, trying to wipe her worry away. "Zelda healed him just fine, but we have to be careful from here on out. Sorry for leaving you alone."

"Don't be. Let's go and finish that Ganondorf off, then."

The others were some distance across the arena, and their engagement with False Ganondorf had created a mess. Small clouds of dust were floating about and there were several burn marks on the ground.

"I can't get a clear shot!" Mario yelled, holding a large fireball in his hands.

"But he won't give up on me!" Luigi cried as he threw himself to the ground to avoid a heavy punch from False Ganondorf.

Zelda flung out a hand, directing a ball of magic toward the back of False Ganondorf's head before it exploded as a fireball. Luigi backed away and Mario extinguished his fireball, but Ganondorf began throwing his own punches at his doppelganger.

"Ganondorf, move!" Zelda commanded.

"You needn't trouble yourselves," her addressee responded. "Do you know what you are dealing with?" He dodged a formidable kick, then grabbed the leg and elbowed False Ganondorf in the forehead. It was not as effective as he thought it would be, and his attack was reciprocated.

Link gritted his teeth again in frustration, but part of him was curious of the encounter between the twin Dark Lords.

"Let's see how you handle it, then," he challenged.

He expected a snide retort, but none came from the sufficiently occupied Ganondorf. Leaving the two be, though keeping an eye on them, he moved over to Zelda and the others, who had regrouped.

"Are you all okay?" he asked.

Luigi held up an arm, where the sleeve had been partially burned off.

"Other than this, we're fine," he said somberly. The pinched skin of a healed burn was visible.

"We're not doing very well as a group," Mario commented. "We can't coordinate our attacks very well, and keep getting in each other's way."

"We would attack at long range," Zelda said, "but Ganondorf insists on taking it on himself up close."

"Then leave him," Link replied. "But we should step in before he overexerts himself."

Ganondorf let out a loud grunt as he recoiled from a weighty strike. He grabbed False Ganondorf by the collar, sending a wave of dark magic through it. He let it drop to the ground heavily and then threw both hands in front to shoot another bolt of magic at its head. False Ganondorf did not move after that, and disappeared as False Link had.

"Now what?" Ganondorf questioned from afar, crossing his arms.

Before they could reply, there was a bright flash from one side of the arena. A cluster of glowing objects had appeared on the announcers' platform.

Zelda was the first to react. Aided by her magic, she leaped up to the three floating crystal balls that had appeared. Mario allowed Peach to use him as a stepping stool to reach the platform.

"What are these?" Peach wondered. She touched one of the balls, and a swirl of colours bubbled up from within. She gazed into the ball, transfixed. "Zelda, I see something!"

"So do I." The other princess was staring into another identical ball.

The swirls pulsated and swam. It took a few seconds for the shapes to become something she recognised.

"It's them! I see the others!" She looked at Zelda excitedly.

"I see some of them, too," Zelda said, still fixated on her own.

"Who do you see?" Mario called. "Where are they?"

Peach brought the ball close to her face.

"I see… Kirby, the Kongs, Fox, his friend, Samus, the yellow mouse and… King Dodo?"

"Dedede," Zelda corrected her. She paused before saying, "I'm witnessing a battle. They're in a chamber."

"Oh dear, that's not good. I hope they'll be safe... I don't know where they are… It looks like a castle of some sort. There's a pile of rubble there. I wonder how that happened…

"Goodness me, it looks like they're fighting someone, too!"

*.*.*.*.*

"These guys just won't let up!"

Pit deflected False Meta Knight's slice and leaped back, opening the way for Ness to attack.

"PK Fire!" he called. The fireball shot out and engulfed the enemy for a moment before dying. "How's Wario going?"

"They're both alive and kicking," Lucas responded, finishing up a PK Freeze on False Wario before the real Meta Knight closed in with a cry of 'Drill Rush'.

"At least our turn-based* system is working out," Pit commented as he pulled back an arrow to shoot at False Meta Knight.

Yoshi jabbered in agreement as the two Warios exchanged blows.

"Too bad my copy was defeated first," Pit added glumly. "Whoa!" He ducked beneath his opponent's blade and retaliated with a slice of his own to trip False Meta Knight. Ness quickly followed with a PK Flash, and Yoshi finished with a strong head butt that knocked their opponent away.

"Let's go!" Ness exclaimed. "We can finish it!" He waited for Pit to shoot another arrow before casting PK Fire again.

Yoshi dashed forward while False Meta Knight was trapped in the flames and prepared a final attack.

*.*.*.*.*

"No, no no!" Red cried, slamming his hands down on the table. "Ouch." With a wince, he looked away from the crystal ball before Yoshi made contact with the enemy and fixed his attention to the depths of a different ball.

"Looks like they'll be learning the hard way, too," Bowser said sullenly. He caught himself before he touched the burn on his snout he had received from his own False counterpart.

"Wait," Marth said, peering into the crystal ball. "The flames must have died just before he made contact. He appears uninjured."

"Really? Yes!" Red threw a fist in the air before resuming his watch on Mario and company.

"Any clues on what to do next?" Ike asked, wandering over to stand beside the Pokémon trainer.

"No. They're in the same position as we are."

"Be careful where you wave that fist around. You might kick up some dust; wasn't much fun last time I was here."

"It was certainly amusing," Marth remarked, "but I wouldn't want to break anything in this old fortress. How is King Dedede's group?"

"Quite preoccupied," ROB replied. He and Game were huddled around the third crystal ball. "I think in proportion to their larger group they had more opponents to be engaged with."

Game beeped three times.

"A two ally to one opponent ratio, you say? That seems correct…"

"Meta Knight and the others defeated False Wario," Marth reported, "which means they've won the battle."

Game let out a low-pitched trill.

"Unfortunately, False Samus and Fox are still in commission over here," ROB said, "We'll have to wait and see what happens when they are done. It's eight on two – four on one – so it shouldn't take long."

He was right. In less than a minute, the two remaining opponents had been incapacitated and defeated.

*.*.*.*.*

"Finally!" Falco said, stretching his arms above his head as the final False counterparts disintegrated and faded away. "You were a pain, Fox."

"I'll take that as a compliment," his addressee said. He straightened from a crouching position and dusted himself off. He turned to Samus and Pikachu and said, "Your copies were as tough as ever."

Pikachu squealed proudly while Samus remained silent.

There was a flash out of the corner of their eyes. Dedede, Kirby and the Kongs approached the source of light.

"What's the big idea?" Diddy squawked, circling one of the crystal balls before tapping it with the tip of his tail experimentally.

DK sniffed it before staring into its depths. Kirby leaped onto one of his shoulders. Diddy hopped onto his other shoulder to watch and promptly began screeching, eyes wide.

"I see them, I see them!"

"Who do you see?" Samus asked. She walked over, closely tailed by Pikachu.

"Bowser and some others," DK replied. "It looks like they've got some crystal balls as well. Do you think the same thing happened to them?" He waved into the ball, and the viewpoint changed. He and Diddy went from watching their group from afar to looking right into the faces of ROB and Game.

DK hooted in surprise and waved again in greeting.

"Can you hear us?" Diddy called. He leaned forward precariously to listen in, but heard nothing. "I can't hear you!"

"Ugh, that's not gonna help," Fox groaned as he picked up another crystal ball. He nearly dropped it in shock when there was another flash from behind.

"Oh man, this is getting weirder," Falco said.

Three arched, golden doors had appeared, standing in a row near the room's altar, beyond the pile of rubble.

"Three crystal balls, three doors," Dedede said with a hand on his chin.

"The doors lead to the locations shown by the balls?" Samus concluded unsurely.

"Chu!" Pikachu squeaked, nodding fervently.

"Seems logical," Fox agreed. "Even if they are just… there. If so, we should all try and regroup." He stared into his crystal ball. Falco joined him. "… I see Peach and Ganondorf." Diddy immediately made his way over and looked over Fox's shoulder at the two.

"We're gonna have to communicate through gestures," DK said while scratching his head. "I'm not hearing a thing, and I don't have a pen and paper. Not that I can write legibly."

"And I'll assume Morse code isn't an option," Samus said as she stared into the third ball with Dedede and Pikachu. "We'll have to coordinate this very carefully. We don't want to waste time and effort by running in circles. So, what's a good place to meet up?"

"The Stadium!" Diddy cried immediately. "Peach's group are there. It's a very important place, you know! I'll try to pass on the message." With that, he grabbed the crystal ball from Fox's grip and waved.

*.*.*.*.*

Peach waved in return. Diddy set the ball down, then backed up and began to move about.

"I guess a game of charades would be a fun way to communicate," she quipped, giving Ganondorf an uneasy grin. He said nothing. Peach was not sure whether to be more relieved or disappointed.

She sat down gracefully on the arena floor and resumed watching Diddy. He pointed to himself, walked on the spot, then pointed at her.

"Come over here?" she thought aloud. She pointed to the ground at her feet, and Diddy nodded, walking on the spot again.

"Pit and Yoshi seem to be thinking the same thing," Zelda said.

"There must be a consensus, then," Mario added, eyebrows raised. "ROB showed up and managed to project a message suggesting we all meet here at the Stadium. He said he would pass it on."

"That's wonderful!" Peach said. "Wasn't that easy?"

"The easiest thing we've done today by far," Luigi commented. "What time is it, anyway?"

"It's impossible to tell without the sun," Link responded, sending a disapproving glance skyward. "Let's just take it easy, for now."

So they did, taking the time to sit down for a while. In a few minutes, the others filtered through from the light behind the golden doors, virtually unharmed but visibly as tired as they were.

"Finally, the light of day!" Dedede proclaimed, throwing his arms out to embrace the open air.

Though no one acknowledged him aloud, many silently agreed.

"I think we should take this opportunity to rest."

Everyone promptly concurred and took a spot on the arena floor.

To Bowser's chagrin, he soon caught the attention of Peach. She pulled Zelda over, and he overheard her say 'Sorry for bothering you' to the Hyrulean.

"What happened?" Peach asked, inspecting his snout with eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Are you okay? Zelda can heal you up."

He let out a rumble from the back of his throat and grumbled, "What's it to you?"

"You're hurt!"

"And?"

"We'd like to help."

Bowser nearly shook his head incredulously. "Why bother? I can deal with it. I don't need help."

"Well, we're offering it, and I would like to ask you to be so gracious as to accept it." Peach folded her arms, but it did not harden her gaze. "I don't care what anyone else thinks – we're in this together. If you think — "

"Okay, fine!" he exclaimed, waving a hand to silence her. "Do whatever." Truthfully, he would have preferred letting her continue. It was not every day he heard an assertive Peach, and she had such a lovely voice…

But he, the great Koopa King, Bowser, would rather be dead than be caught thinking such thoughts. He was startled when he was suddenly aware of Zelda's hand hovering above his snout.

"Keep still until I've finished."

He rumbled again, obeying her and feeling a warm, tingling sensation spread across the burn area.

"Done."

Zelda stood up. She stumbled, and Peach steadied her. Peach then looked at Bowser expectantly.

"What? Oh… Thanks…" He stared cross-eyed at his perfectly healed snout.

"Haha! Big-man Bowser was helped by the princess!"

Immediately pinpointing the source of the voice, Bowser leered at Wario, wisps of smoke escaping from between his bared teeth.

"If you don't do anything to him, Zelda won't need to help him," Peach interrupted firmly.

"Fine," Bowser groaned, letting his tense shoulders sag. Or I could just kidnap you two again.

"Great! Now, rest up before we get moving again, okay?"

He nodded, and the two princesses left. As he watched them go, he wondered how long it would be before he snapped.

*This guy shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the fourth wall. (But I couldn't resist.)

Guess I'll have to readjust to not getting as many reviews as usual on a chapter. SSE is not the 'in' thing at the moment, huh? Stuck with this fic 'til I finish, haha.

But thanks for everything so far!

This chapter was a tricky one. There were several ways I could have tackled the 'Great Maze' – it doesn't really resemble a maze anymore, but hopefully this chapter didn't feel artificially lengthened o_o

Reviews and concrit are appreciated! 'til the next chapter!