Chapter 79: A Breach in the Fort

Snake was playing a friendly game of Chess with a fellow soldier in one of the mansion's living rooms. Both he and Ike had time to spare before they were put to work, so it was decided to use most of their time relaxing. Ike gave Snake his pawn and asked him a question. "So how have you been doing on the battlefield?"

Snake looked up from his board, curious to what the heavyweight was going for. "You mean my missions from when I was still employed by the government?"

The mercenary shook his head. "No, I mean recently. You said you found a lead to the Newcomers?"

"I didn't say that, I said we've potentially found something that's related to our missing members." Snake clarified, taking a smoke of his cigarette. "I thought R.O.B. told you the whole deal in his presentation."

"I want to hear your personal opinion about it." Ike dragged his finger against the wooden table. The full force of the potential stakes at risk was making the hardest man around nervous. "The thought of the Hands, Tabuu and FW making their moves at the same time-"

"Ike, you know that Tabuu is dead."

"He's still around in a sense, or at least a part of him is - the damage he's done..." Ike glanced out the window; his throat becoming like chalk. "All that stands between total domination of the Omniverse is us - former toys of a jealous god. I can't imagine how the people outside this dimension barrier would react if they ever knew."

"You're afraid that this war might be the one that does us in?" Snake inquired.

Ike took a sip of his water bottle. "Of course, it almost happened last time. If Sonic wasn't there… We've made some ground as clearing out those monsters from various parts around here but we still haven't found them, what their plan is."

"We do know they stole a horde of gold, the lighthouse bulb and a magic eye. That gives us an idea at least." Snake moved his knight forward prompting the mercenary to make his move. "I just wished we hadn't been complacent until at the last minute."

"Complacent?"

"We've been enjoying the fruits of our labor too much after the Brawl era. We were doing fine in this one until Master Hand showed his ugly knuckle again, he even brought his wack-job of a brother into the mix as well." Snake explained.

"I see your point." Ike agreed. "But I'm concerned about our future, more specifically without our newest recruits. The fact that the Newcomers have been transported to this… "dimension" inside the WOT… my fear is that they're staying there for good, including future Newcomers."

"Future Newcomers?"

"You said last time you saw an unfamiliar shape among those rainbow figures. That had to be the Newcomer that we were supposed to track last week. This is the first time we've failed to retrieve a Newcomer after our machine picked it up. If this becomes a pattern it will change the game of our organization."

"That's been a fear on everyone's minds." Snake couldn't help but think of Lucario, he was doing better now but he could smell the guilt off of him from a mile away. He sighed, "But what was broken can be fixed. If they don't get them back during the war we can all pool our resources into that endeavor. But for now, we have to focus our efforts on the battle at hand. They're not here right obviously, but a lot of them look up to us. How can we call ourselves Smashers if we just give up on the drop of the hat?"

"Prepare for the worst, hope for the best and deal with the situation at hand?" Ike smirked.

"Exactly, it's-" Snake paused as he saw something catching his eye through the windows, beyond the wall. It was purple. The soldier ran out of his seat and narrowed his sight in the distance.

"What's wrong?!" Ike asked his alarmed friend.

Snake's eyes widened. "They're attacking us. A whole army!"

"The Primids?!" Ike shouted in surprise.

"Not just… I see a bunch of familiar enemies among the crowd too." Helicopter-bucket robots, weird looking penguins, a tank with a slime thing controlling them. Their names were forgettable to him but he definitely recognized those forms.

By now, Pit and Falco - the people in charge of lookout - saw the approaching storm heading their way. They fired their respective weapons and warned any Smashers nearby of the impending storm. Snake opened up the window and got halfway out before turning back to Ike. "Gather some power ups from storage. I'll try holding them off!"

"THE PRIMIDS ARE ATTACKING THE FENCE PERIMETER! I REPEAT! THE PRIMIDS ARE THE FENCE PERIMETER!"

The mercenary nodded and ran off. Snake placed both fingers on the edge and dropped all the way down to the bottom. He was loading his Nitka missile launcher. With that many enemies you have to bring out as much fire power as you can get. Half of the Smashers were pouring out of the mansion, ready to fight. The automated defense system was turned on; mounted turrets and electric wires will aid in their endeavor.

Bullets were firing from the gun, on their part most of the Smashers who had range used it to their advantage on the lookout ramp of wall. Snake was going to join them when someone shouted his name. Metaknight was flying towards him and landed right in front of him.

"Snake! I'll fly above to see their numbers, they're over a hundred!" The knight said as he brandished the Galaxia. "Not only that, they're bringing in heavy reinforcements."

"I've noticed!" Snake sprinted to the wall, prompting his buddy to fly close after him. He looked as he ran but didn't see Lucario anywhere. It wasn't like him. He always volunteers to be on this part of the mansion aside from missions. "Where the hell is that jackal?" He muttered to himself.

Metaknight overheard and answered the question. "He's on a mission with Mewtwo and Zero Suit to retrieve Debra away from Onett! He left this early morning!" Snake remembered… the tentacle thing from the casino. Last night they got a call from the landline phone. The mansion does have its own official telephone number. But the fact that only a handful of places have working telephones and the majority of the WOT's inhabitants are "brain dead" they didn't pay any mind to it until yesterday.

Debra had called them, she wouldn't divulge much but she was clearly panicking over the line. She pleaded with them to rescue her from a basement hotel from within the city limits. She wasn't trapped but with the amount of enemies and Primids roaming the areas, she didn't trust herself to escape on her own and required assistance. Snake was occupied with arming up the fence at the time so he didn't hear who went at the time. Should have figured out he would be among them.

"We're short of three men. Around 100 right?" Snake replied to his bat-winged friend. "Ike is going to retrieve some weapons for us in case the barrier falls. But we can't solely rely on him alone, we have to do our part as well."

""I'm not a slacker, Snake. You should know that by now." Metaknight said.

"I know, just telling you how it's going to be."

Snake and Metaknight were several feet away from the wall when Pit shouted "TAKE COVER!" The teen angel screeched in horror as he flew away from a giant projectile slamming into the barrier. The shot must have been by those slime-driven tanks because a large opening had been formed in their makeshift barrier. The whole scene would make anyone jump in their skin.

But what really scared him was that the turrets mounted on the walls had already ran out of bullets, and he could still see purple and green from the other side of the hole


Greninja handed Shulk the last can of gas. Without hesitation, the Hom unscrewed the cap and poured all the contents inside. "Check the meter!" He shouted to Wii Fit. The fitness trainer turned the key in the ignition. The engine turned on, she looked at the meter build inside the dash.

"We have a full tank!"

"Ok!" Shulk turned away from the driver's seat and looked at the Smashers that were staying behind. "Greninja, fill the back with the spare canisters, I'll be back in a minute." Shulk stated to the frog before walking to the two Smasher's nearest to him, Rosalina and Gunner - the latter eyeing the vehicle with apparent discomfort.

"We have more than enough gas to make the trip. Hopefully the base will compensate us with more supplies if we're down on our luck." Shulk said.

"With how good with how we'd survive this far I say you'll manage quite well on your own." The princess chuckled half-heartedly before eyeing the vehicle. Discomfort was visibly apparent on her lips. "Are you sure that you have enough people for the job?"

Brawler was tossing some snacks inside the trunk before he heard the conversation. He spoke to the crowd only turning his head a few inches. "In case things go south it's best to keep the number of boots on the ground to a minimum. Would make getting around easier if the base easier and it wouldn't be a huge load for the truck to handle."

"I still don't like the idea of staying put here, rubs me the wrong way." Sword said.

Brawler didn't understand why Sword always wanted to volunteer for every little chore they had to do. It's like he's trying to prove to everyone he's a badass or something. Why can't he absorb the fact that he wasn't chosen for this mission for a reason? He was good at fighting but he wasn't stealthy enough to pass by a horde or had the strength to tear through one either. "There needs to be people guarding this place; we don't want any unwelcome guests coming by. And don't be dramatic, it's not like we'll be going around the entire world for this drive."

As Brawler heaved his rifle in the truck he felt two pairs of arms wrapping around his waist. "Ohhhhh… please be careful, Brawler." Gunner said. "I don't think I can handle it if you get hurt!"

"Trust me, friend. I'm not planning on becoming one of Little Mac's punching bags." He said as he unwrapped Gunner's fingers and turned around. "I'm more than capable of beating their asses if it comes to it. You just worry about watching over the mall and babysitting Sword."

"I heard that!" Sword shouted.

"That's the point." Brawler smirked.

"If we do get in trouble, we'll use this to contact you." Shulk handed Rosalina one of the two walkie-talkies they found during their rush for gas - still in prime working condition to their surprise. "We'll give you a heads up if we find them."

The frog hopped into the back and tapped on his clipboard loud enough for the spotlight to be on him. "Gre greninja nin nin, gre nin gr ninja nin ja." "Don't want to interrupt, but we're running for time here!"

"Sorry, you're right. Come on, let's go.!"

Wii Fit, Greninja, and Brawler were ready to go. Shulk ran to the passenger seat and gave a thumbs up. "Wish us luck!" The Smashers staying gave their support as they drove away towards the road. Villager optimistically but cautiously gave his friend a hearty goodbye.

"How long do you think they'll be back?" Inquired Gunner.

"They'll be back when they'll be back. Let them take all the time they need." Rosalina answered. "Let's get back inside and enjoy the peace. I think I have some mashed potatoes leftover from last night."

Hey guys, sorry if this chapter ends of being too short. I'm still in school and I'm just now trying to find a job so I can support myself. I hope this is enough to suffice. It doesn't help that I have a bit of writer's block but that's part of the deal I guess.

Anyway, I'll see you guys next time.