Leaf ran around Burnet's laboratory as fast as she could, hiding the various documents in secret compartments. Burnet had left to gather more intel and wasn't due back for several more days, which thankfully meant she was safe from whatever was attacking Wuhu Island. Leaf removed the case around the King in Yellow. A knife pierced Leaf's heart.
"A…Akasha?" Leaf fell to the ground. Her pokeballs spilled out of her bag and rolled across the floor. A puddle of blood formed around her corpse. Ulti let out a distressed howl. Akasha cleaned her dagger and chuckled to herself.
"This part was most fun to play, nostalgic even, yet the call of the curtain reaches me." Akasha walked over to Ulti. Her staff let out a green glow, forming great shadows in its wake. "Now, you who are ancient and new, progenitor and scion, gate and key, the time has come. The answer to the riddle of your identity will soon be made manifest. All that is required is the opening of the gate which stands before you." Ulti's attention was still turned to Leaf. He lowered himself into his pot, paying no heed to Akasha. "Surely you see that one life is beneath beings as vast as us. With how many worlds there are nothing of her nature is truly unique. You must accept both your true nature and the fact of her demise." Ulti thrust his head at Akasha and bit her arm. Akasha pulled her arm free.
"No. Fuck you," Ulti said. His voice was deep and booming, and it came from the air itself rather than his mouth. He no longer cared about what he was. There was something more important, revenge. Throughout many worlds he let out his call and heard various answers. He didn't know or care how he had accomplished that, how he had heard those answers to his cry. Akasha held that knowledge, and he didn't want anything Akasha had held.
A distortion in space formed around Ulti and spread. It was a space without color. No sound came from Akasha stepping back in shock and attempting to utter the name of the power she was subjected to, the negative zone. There was only one sound, an incantation no mouth could ever hope to repeat without flaw. It had one purpose: to bring about a miracle.
Leaf was alive again. The fatal wound and spilled blood had vanished in the blink of an eye. The negative zone reduced itself to a sphere around Akasha. Leaf pushed herself up from the floor, letting out deep breaths. Ulti let out a triumphant cheer. He spat a cloud of poison into the negative zone and flung himself at Akasha. Akasha was sent flying into the air with more force than the impact of his pot could have logically had. Akasha fell through the negative zone in slow motion. Ulti spat seeds at her with speed surpassing bullets and landed a leech seed on her. Despite the lack of sunlight he fired off a solar beam without even a second of charging. The negative zone vanished completely, Akasha crashed through the wall.
Ulti ran towards Leaf. He stood in front of her protectively. Akasha let out a roar and transformed. Her shape changed to that of a large flying serpent with two arms, hovering upright. In one hand was a large spear. Most of the new shape was yellow with many traces of green, it almost looked as though it was wearing a hood. The tail was a spiral of tentacles laced with thorns, the tip was green and it turned yellow closer to the main body. "Behold the visage of the king in yellow, Hastur." The play of the same name flew towards Akasha. It entered her body like a stone tossed into a lake. Leaf reached for her pokeballs.
"Was it all a lie Akasha?!" Leaf shouted.
"I played the part that was allotted to me, and now the play has ended. The gate will soon open even if Ulti rejects his purpose."
"I don't know what you're talking about, but you killed me. So I'm not letting you get away with this." Leaf threw one of her pokeballs up in the air. Her Charizard emerged and manifested in front of her. "Lizardon use flare blitz." The Charizard covered itself in flames and charged at Akasha. Akasha used her spear to knock Lizardon into the ground. Lizardon quickly recovered and breathed flames towards Akasha, they had no effect.
Ulti spat a cloud of poison at Akasha, it vanished. Lizardon got up close and slashed, he was swatted away like an ant. Leaf could feel herself growing angrier and angrier. Akasha laughed as Lizardon attempted another futile slash. Not even a point blank flare blitz left a mark on Akasha's transformed self. Without thinking Leaf pointed at Lizardon. Ultra wormhole energy surrounded both trainer and Pokemon.
"This is proof of our bond, beast boost mega evolution." Lizardon howled and mega evolved. Spikes emerged from his shoulders, his wings became sharper and almost blade like, and his body changed color to black and a light blue. He got close to Akasha and slashed again. This time it left a mark. Akasha swung her spear at him. Lizardon caught it. Akasha pulled herself back.
"So you have some of his power now. A miracle like resurrection granting such boons is quite excessive if you ask me," Akasha said.
"Nobody did. Lizardon, form change." In a flash Lizardon changed again. His body had returned to its original coloration, but now two small wing like extensions started from his hands and went backwards alongside the arms, and a long horn joined the two already on his head. The sun beat down fiercely on Wuhu island. Leaf pointed at Ulti. The ultra wormhole energy surrounded Ulti, and he began to charge up a solar beam. A second later it was launched at Akasha.
Akasha held out her spear. It parted the solar beam, but it continued alongside the spear. The force knocked her back, but she was still standing. "Form change X, then dragon pulse." Lizardon shifted to his other form before launching the attack. Akasha was beginning to show signs of damage, but much less than anyone would normally have.
"Fight all you like, the wheel of fate is already turning," Akasha said. She charged forward with her spear.
Akira was on high alert as he surveyed the town from the rooftops. So far no obvious threats had revealed themselves in the town. Fox had entered into a dogfight with a mysterious Arwing up in the sky, but Akira couldn't do much there. He spotted a woman wandering around the town and leapt down, doing a flip in mid air for dramatic effect. "There's something going on here, please get to safety."
"Oh don't worry about me, I'm a Persona user too and I've been through worse," the woman said. She held out her hand. "My name is Maya Amano, what's yours?"
"For now you can call me Joker. How did you know about my Persona?" Akira asked. Maya had given him a strange look upon hearing his name.
"Sorry, I knew somebody else who called themselves that. Did nobody tell you that Persona users can sense other Persona users? Weird, I've never even had to think about it," Maya said. Their conversation was disrupted by a strange sound. A skull appeared above Maya. She leapt aside as a blast of energy poured out of its mouth. A skeleton appeared in front of Akira. He was dressed in a black suit. There was a crack going upwards from his left eye and a crack going downwards from his right eye.
"What are you?" Akira asked.
The skeleton responded in a bizarre language Akira didn't understand. It was a mystery why he hadn't seen that coming. A dark aura enveloped the skeleton. It reminded Akira too much of a certain enemy the Smashers had faced.
"You don't need to get involved in this fight. I can handle myself. Artemis!" Maya raised her hand, her persona appeared behind her. It had a humanoid shape and looked somewhat mechanical. The body was black and somewhat reminiscent of a mannequin, but most of it was covered with white and purple clothing. The only part of the mask like face that could be seen was the mouth, a purple gem like headdress covered the eyes. The persona created an icicle over the skeleton and dropped it. A skull appeared to destroy the icicle before it made contact.
"Not my style to leave someone to fend for themselves. Arsene!" Akira summoned his own persona. It swiped at the skeleton, who raised his hand to block it. Akira sensed something coming his way and ducked. A flaming spear flew over his head.
"Leave this one to me Gaster," Volga said. Maya clutched her chest like she was pain. She recovered in time to evade another skull. She pulled out two pistols and fired at Gaster. A skull appeared to take the shots. Akira rushed to stab Volga, he was knocked aside. "You're holding back. Stop that." Volga transformed into a red dragon and charged at Akira. He jumped away, only narrowly avoiding the flames that spread out. Volga returned to his humanoid form, but kept the wings of his dragon form. He flew up and struck Akira with an uppercut. Maya summoned an icy stalagmite under Volga, he shattered it with his spear.
"If you insist. Satanael!" Akira shouted. The six winged persona manifested behind him, aiming its long gun at Volga. It fired. Volga was pushed back. "You know most people die when they get shot," Akira complained.
"I don't die even when I'm killed," Volga responded. Gaster sighed. A mass of shadows appeared around Volga feet. He turned into his dragon form and avoided the massive maw that appeared. Akira had Satanael cast Heat Riser on himself. Another shot from Satanael was aimed at Volga. It clashed with Volga's spear and was redirected elsewhere. Akira fired a bullet from his own gun, it hit Volga's side.
Volga retaliated with a fireball. Satanael took the hit, Akira was knocked to his feet. Volga rushed forward, his spear dressed in flames. Akira didn't have time to recover. Maya stood between them. The spear bounced off of her. Volga was thrown back. Akira recognized the glow of tetrakarn. "Crescent Mirror!" Maya summoned Artemis. Artemis raised her hands, a mirror appeared above her. A bright light came forth from it. Gaster was knocked back, Volga's legs were frozen. Volga melted the ice around him.
Akira got back on his feet, evading another skull. Off in the distance there was an explosion. It was near Burnet's lab. The distraction let one of the skulls slam into him. Satanael retaliated with a shot. Gaster summoned a skull as a shield. Meanwhile Maya was trying to keep Volga at a distance with her guns and spells. She had another tetrakarn shielding her, Volga dispelled it with a weak hit.
"Joker! Go help them. You have friends over where that explosion was, right? I can handle these two," Maya said. She was smiling, despite the concerned look on her face before. Artemis appeared behind her. Cold winds whipped around the battlefield. Akira heard a familiar voice in his head.
I am thou, thou art I…
Thou hast formed a vow between worlds.
This new vow will be thine guiding light
And thine blinding reflection.
With a new Moon Persona's birth
I have opened a new path
That will forge an unforetold future...
"Thank you Maya," Akira said. He took off towards Burnet's lab. When his back was turned, Maya began to glow with a bright aura. A second persona appeared next to Artemis. It was a much smaller copy of Galeem.
Fox gritted his teeth. The rival pilot was good. Since they were so close to an inhabited area Fox had to watch his shots to avoid collateral damage. Then his radar showed someone else had locked onto him. Fox sent his Arwing down, a missile flew past. A quick U turn let him see the new attacker.
Instead of a ship it was a person. They were skating on ice that formed in front of them, melting when it was no longer needed. Fox barrel rolled to avoid the incoming ice beams. The Arwing's scanner pulled up the name of his new opponent. Rundas, from Samus's world. Who was listed as deceased. "Sorry, but trust me when I say you really don't want to fight that guy," Rundas said. Fox responded with a charged shot.
"Some guy who's supposed to be dead is getting in my way," Fox said over the communicator. "That Arwing pilot is good, I can't take him on with other people butting in." Rundas jumped off the ice to get closer to Fox, then formed more ice. He was on the side of the Arwing, where the weapons couldn't reach. Fox turned around, another leap reset the situation. Fox used the Arwing's boost to get out of the missile's way. A few ice beams struck the Arwing, but the ice quickly melted thanks to the engine's heat. "I really wish I had a bigger target right about now."
As if in response to Fox's wish a large dragon suddenly appeared. The sensors identified as a manakete, or at least similar enough to one. It looked somewhat similar to the dragon forms Corrin and Kamui could take. It slashed the other Arwing with its claw, sending it crashing down. Fox quickly calculated where it would land, the path leading to the interior of Maka Wuhu. Rundas shifted his attention to the dragon. That gave Fox an opening to follow the other Arwing.
Lucario traced the strange auras in the ruins. Something had appeared in the innermost chamber. That something soon came into view. It was a tall, thin creature, with skin like charcoal. He let out a loud shriek and vanished. Then he punched Lucario in the back of the head. Lucario retaliated with a punch of his own. The creature vanished again. This time Lucario knew to evade the attack.
The fight continued in that exact way. Teleports and dodges without a single hit connecting. Even Lucario's aura attacks couldn't connect. Then an aura sphere connected with the creature. An aura sphere that Lucario hadn't made. A familiar aura revealed itself to Lucario. He refused to believe it at first. Then he saw the source of that aura.
"Sir Aaron?"
"Not entirely." Sir Aaron looked around. "I guess Enderman has gone somewhere else, looks like I do have time to explain." Aaron didn't look Lucario in the eyes. He tapped the brim of his hat then put his hands together. He shifted uncomfortably in place.
"What's going on here? If you're not Sir Aaron then who are you?" Lucario asked.
"I don't know. Let me explain, when you defeated Galeem he broke apart into different pieces. Those pieces somehow merged with remnants of the dead. One of those was Sir Aaron. For a while I thought that I really was Sir Aaron. But I'm just a piece of Galeem that has Sir Aaron's body, memories and skills. I was hoping this encounter wouldn't have to happen, please forget all about it." Aaron turned around and started to walk away.
"Sir Aaron wait. Just because you have parts of Galeem doesn't mean you have to hide away."
"I am Galeem, as much as I am Sir Aaron at least. My goal is to unify all worlds, bring them together as one. But just because I'm being nicer about it than last time doesn't mean you'll like it. Sometimes to build a road you have to tear some old things down." Aaron looked up towards the ceiling. Lucario thought back to the Great Maze, World of Light, and World of Darkness. All of them had been disturbing in their own way. Bringing worlds together couldn't result in anything other than chaos. Lucario couldn't bring himself to risk that. Even Aaron had admitted it, somethings would inevitably be destroyed in the process. Aaron made for the exit. Lucario rushed around him and blocked the exit.
"This isn't making any sense to me, but the Sir Aaron I know would never sacrifice anyone to achieve his goals." Lucario got into a fighting stance. He tried to ignore how much the person in front of him resembled Sir Aaron. The ground shook.
"What now?!"
"There are fragments of Dharkon just like me. One of them somehow fused with some entity that's still sealed away in this island. But the other fragments of Dharkon are trying to break the seal by stirring up conflict. I need to go help out my other selves now." Aaron ducked, Enderman had swung an axe at his head.
Enderman vanished. He reappeared at the back of the room, holding a stack of TNT in his hands. He lowered the TNT. He lit the fuses. Aaron leapt forward and shoved Lucario away. The TNT detonated.
Toon Link and Bayonetta watched as an explosion erupted from the ruins. Between the sudden appearance of a dragon and now the random explosion Toon was starting to feel overwhelmed. "Oh dear, hopefully Lucario's fur didn't get too burnt," Bayonetta said. "Come along little one, we have our own job." Toon nodded in response and continued up the path leading into Maka Wuhu. One of the portals had opened there.
The heat of the volcano brought back memories for Toon. His quest up Dragon's Roost Island felt like it belonged to another lifetime, so did everything else. It was difficult to remember that time without also remembering King Daphnes, or as Toon had known him the King of Red Lions. So as he and Bayonetta entered Maka Wuhu, Toon was convinced that he was merely hallucinating.
"A volcano is no place to just sit around you know. Unless of course you're doing something naughty," Bayonetta said.
"You don't need to worry about me. I'm on your side. It's good to see you again Link," King Daphnes said. He looked exactly like he had when Toon last saw him alive. In his right hand was a folded up sail, the head of the King of Red Lions was perched on the top. Toon's mouth fell open. "Long ago a being known as the Dark Emperor was sealed away on this island. Certain people are trying to break the seal, but I'm reinforcing it"
"I… I thought you were dead," Toon said.
"I'm sorry, but the reason why I'm here is too complicated to explain with so many enemies around," Daphnes said.
"Keeping a naughty boy locked up sounds like a good cause. Since you two seem to know each other I'll go find someone to play with," Bayonetta said. Daphne's eyes went wide. Toon felt a gun to the back of his head. Bayonetta aimed her own guns over Toon's head.
"You. I've heard of you, the mercenary who created Team Starfox, James McCloud," Daphnes said.
"Glad to see I still have a reputation. Now, get rid of that seal or I pull the trigger. Don't think I need to say what any other movement gets you," James said. Toon gulped. Of course he had to screw up when he was finally reunited with Daphnes. All he could do was hope for an opening.
"Get so much as an inch closer to the little one and I'll be dining on fox tonight," Bayonetta said. Daphnes remained silent. He took in a deep breath.
"Countdown is starting from ten. Nine. Eight. Seven.." James continued with the count down.
"I pray you come to deeply regret your actions," Daphnes said. He lifted his hand. The volcano began to roar. A laser hit James's gun. Bayonetta did a sweeping kick to knock James down. She stepped on him and pointed her guns down at his face. Fox ran into the volcano, holstering his gun. Daphnes held out his hands and they emitted a golden light. His attempt to reinforce the seal didn't work. A cloud of darkness rose up from the lava. It rose up above the Smashers and began to take form.
The Dark Emperor's body was like a dark opal, containing a mosaic of colors ranging between dark blue and light green. His eyes were red, and horn like shapes formed behind him. A wispy tail stood beneath him. Talons with four claws hovered next to him, there was nothing visibly connecting them to the Dark Emperor's body. There were some sort of lines that could be seen inside his body, constantly moving like water in a river. The Dark Emperor opened his dark red mouth. "At last I'm free. This island shall once again serve as the seat of my power."
Daphnes swung his sail at the Dark Emperor, who hovered above it. Fox was the only one uninterested in the Dark Emperor. "You. Why do you look like my father. I know you're not him," Fox said.
"Is that what your instincts told you? I taught you better than to doubt them," James responded. Fox growled.
"My father would never hold someone hostage like that. Instincts can't be right all the time. Now fess up, who sent you. Was it Andrew? The Space Pirates?" As Fox shouted the Dark Emperor prepared a spell. A wave of magic spread around the volcano. James got up with unnatural speed, activating his reflector before Fox or Bayonetta could shoot. He ran and threw a kick at Toon, it collided with a shield. Toon swung the Master Sword at James. James evaded the counter, leaving himself open to a flurry of kicks from Fox. A quick burst of flames around James forced Fox away. Fox rushed in for another kick, James rolled past, giving up a chance to strike Fox. Fox continued to launch attacks that were avoided. James only aimed his gun at his other enemies.
"I find it funny how you conned them into thinking you're on the same team," the Dark Emperor said. He tried to punch Daphnes, who blocked it with the sail. "I can sense the bombs you've planted around my island, Galeem." Toon shot an arrow at the Dark Emperor.
"Ah, so you were up to something naughty after all," Bayonetta said. One of her guns fired at the Dark Emperor, another was aimed at Daphnes.
"He's obviously lying. That's not Galeem," Toon said. Daphnes shook his head.
"They're not deigned to hurt anyone. All they'll do is relocate whatever and whoever is in their radius to the World of Light." The description sounded too similar to the subspace bombs for Toon's liking.
"Bombs are still bombs, you're going to strand everyone here in your hollow little world," James said.
"At least it's not your dreary abyss. You're planning on claiming this island for your own realm as well." Daphnes landed a hit on the Dark Emperor. From the top of the volcano a new combatant dropped down. The Dark Emperor narrowly avoided the double bladed glaive.
"Father?"
"Balder, thank you," Daphnes said. Balder held a strange device in his left hand. It resembled a subspace bomb, but it was smaller and made of a white material. He dropped it. The bomb landed on the floor and spread apart, revealing a bright yellow orb in its center.
"So, I guess we're back to fighting each other," Bayonetta said.
"Cereza… No that won't be enough to convince you. We'll have to fight each other yet again," Balder said. Up in the sky, far above the open top of Maka Wuhu, a crack formed. Everyone present felt a shiver. "What is that?"
Leaf looked up at the crack in the sky. Akasha raised her spear up at it. A beam of light went from the spear to the crack. Ulti spat seeds at the spear, it didn't leave Akasha's hand. The crack in the sky began to widen. "The Ancient One…" Leaf muttered to herself. She didn't know why she knew that name. Vague visions came to her, none of them good. "Focus the spear, stop Akasha from opening the gate to The Ancient One." Lizardon charged at the spear with a flare blitz. The spear went flying up in the sky, the beam of light curving to reach the crack. It landed back in Akasha's transformed hands.
"Satanael!" The persona appeared behind Akasha, its gun pointed at her head. It fired. Akasha reverted back to her human form. The spear vanished, the hole in the sky remained. Akira ran into view. "Akasha? What's going on?"
"She's a traitor. She nearly killed me, and she tried to summon this thing known as The Ancient One that would have destroyed us all just by entering this world," Leaf said. She didn't have time to get into her death and resurrection. She was still trying to process it herself. It was a line of thought for after all the immediate threats had been gotten rid of. Akasha laughed.
"Tried? Look again," Akasha said. Leaf looked up. The hole in the sky was expanding by itself. Ulti let out a whimper. "Alas, this play is over regardless of what you do. An alarm ceases to have meaning once the sleeper has awakened. And thus my role has been fulfilled. The gate will open by itself now." Akasha vanished. One second she was there, the next she wasn't. The hole in the sky was only growing larger.
"Hello! Smashers come in." Master Hand's voice flickered through a layer of static. "Help is on the way, but we need a way into Wuhu Island. Entrance into that world is being blocked. Somebody is trying to open a gate to awaken an entity that we can't allow to be awakened, otherwise we're all done for. I can seal it, but I need to reach it first." Leaf looked down at her hands. Then she looked at the apparent source of her new powers, Ulti. She felt a little bitter about the fact that of all times for the sudden flow of just knowing things to stop, it had to be when the world was at stake.
"Ulti, can you help them get in?" Leaf asked. Ulti looked to Leaf, then Akira. He got between them, his leaves reached up towards their hands. With a bit of reluctance Akira took hold of the leaf. Leaf gripped it.
Power began to well up inside Leaf, and she became aware that the same was happening for Akira. Satanael appeared above them, pointing his gun towards the horizon. Lizardon flew into position next to the persona. Another persona appeared. It was bipedal, its skin was black like obsidian, and it had no face. Tentacles reached out from various points along its body. There were some yellow spots on the body that somewhat resembled a honeycomb. Leaf knew its name, Hastur. That too was Hastur, as was the form that Akasha had taken. And the persona belonged to Ulti, because he was Hastur as well.
"Kaleidoscope Bullet!" Satanael fired a bullet up towards the sky. It cut through space itself, forming another rift in the sky. Lizardon flew up and spewed out blue flames that expanded the hole. Hastur extended its tentacles to reach inside the newly opened rift, pulling it open. The assault continued. Leaf could feel her strength draining. Akira was letting out deep breathes. They were attacking the world itself, forcing it to bend to their will. In the midst of all the chaos, they succeeded. The path for Master Hand was open.
A large fortress flew through the newly opened rift, casting a shadow over Wuhu Island. It looked similar to the buildings that had been seen in the battlefield simulation. A large number of cannons were built into it. Lizardon landed in front of Leaf, transformed into his Y form and hunched over. Leaf got on his back, Akira hopped on behind her. Ulti jumped onto Akira's lap. They took off towards the fortress.
Up in the sky they had a better view of it. It was actually a floating island. While a majority of it had been covered by the fortress there were sections where the natural environment had been left undisturbed, even a pond could be seen. Tall towers stood at various spots on the island. The Smash Brothers logo was all over the fortress. Master Hand flew over to greet them. "What do you think of Smash Fortress?" Master Hand asked.
"It looks amazing. But we kind of have an emergency going on right now," Leaf said.
"Yes that is true. This way." Master Hand took off towards the hole in the sky. Lizardon followed behind him.
Master Hand grabbed the edge of the rift in the sky. Then he pulled along the side like he was pulling a zipper, it closed the gate. He let go. It forced itself back open. Master Hand quickly repeated the motion, this time he didn't let go. "Seal it. Use the same power that opened the gate that let Smash Fortress in," Master Hand ordered. Lizardon breathed fire that collided with the seemingly empty space that the gate occupied. Master Hand was still struggling to keep it closed.
Skulls appeared by the gate, covered in a dark aura. Akira readied his gun. The skulls opened their mouths, unleashing lasers on the rift. A large cobra like creature flew up to the gate, covered in a bright aura. The name of the creature popped into Leaf's head, Starface. Starface raised his tail, beams of light reached up from various spots on Wuhu Island, gathering together on the tail before rushing at the gate. Master Hand loosened his grip, then let go. This time the gate did not reopen. Leaf released her breath right as she realized she had been holding it.
"So, can I get an explanation of what's going on now?" Akira asked.
Fox looked up at the now sealed hole in the sky. Everyone in the fight had stopped to watch it be sealed. It had been enough to force him to reevaluate the situation and forget how hot it was inside Maka Wuhu. Fox looked around for James, he was already gone. "What a coward. To think someone so spineless would liberate me. Next time our battle will not be so easily disrupted, and I will reclaim this island," the Dark Emperor said. A portal of darkness appeared above him, he flew through it. If he didn't have a reputation to maintain, Fox would have begged the Dark Emperor to stay. It had become clear that despite everything, Fox really had confronted his own father.
"You two should get going too if you know what's good for you. I'll give you a pass for now since you gave up your own bombs to close that nasty little crack in the sky," Bayonetta said.
"That's quite generous of you," Daphnes said. He looked away from Toon. Another man entered Maka Wuhu. He wore a white hooded cloak, the hood obscured his face. His bright blue hair was long enough for parts of it to poke out from under the hood. "Anankos, you took your time."
"The enemy was even more skilled than I expected," Anankos said. "We may be enemies now, but I have one request to ask of you Smashers. Tell Corrin and Kamui that their world is in more danger than they realize." A bright portal appeared behind Anankos, he fell backwards into it.
"Don't stop protecting the legacy of Hyrule, no matter which world it belongs to. Even if we have to fight now, I'm still proud of you Link," Daphnes said. He walked through another portal. It stayed open.
"Daphnes already said what I wanted to, and we've had this conversation before. This time I'll try not to attempt any genocides," Balder said. He walked through the portal and closed it. Bayonetta turned around and walked away.
"Well, come along little one, you too kit. This heat is atrocious, no point moping in here," Bayonetta said. Fox and Toon followed her. It was clear that many unpleasant battles were waiting on the horizon. Fox was going to have to check in with Peppy.
Despite the ancient looking exterior, the interior of Smash Fortress was rather advanced. All of the Smashers present on Wuhu Island were gathered in the command room. The walls were covered in monitors and a large table sat in the center of the room. Akira had tried to follow the explanation about the hologram projecting technology in the table, but had given up. "What was up with Ulti?" Akira asked.
"He's actually an aspect of an elder god, Hastur, the same one who Akasha claimed to be a priestess of. It looks like Akasha and Hastur have a relationship very different from priestess and god though. Ulit is his own being now though. It's like when a Nincada evolves, from that point onward the resulting Ninjask and Shedninja are distinct individuals," Leaf explained.
"How did you learn all of that?" Bayonetta asked. Fox shook his head in confusion.
"Some part of me just knew once we joined our powers together. And Ulti gave me some of his power too," Leaf said. She was withholding something. The way she gripped her bag and fiddled with the zipper made it obvious.
"I don't care about Hastur or The Ancient One, I want to stay with you guys," Ulti said. Nobody said a word in response. Ulti's mouth had moved, but the actual words sounded as though they came from somewhere else. Somehow, Akira had no doubt it was Ulti speaking. Leaf patted Ulti's head. Fox held his head in his hands.
"Well that's good to hear," Lucario said. Normally Lucario could stand in place like a statue. He was currently fidgeting in his seat, and had been doing so throughout the entire debriefing. Something else was clearly on his mind.
"And what about all of those weird people who showed up?" Akira asked. Lucario, Fox, Toon Link, and Bayonetta all developed an interest in other parts of the room.
"It looks like some of you already know. Galeem and Dharkon are still alive in some form. They split into pieces, and those pieces have fused with what remains of the dead from various worlds. The resulting beings are about fifty percent the original, fifty percent Galeem or Dharkon respectively. They have all the characteristics of the original person, even memories and feelings. But their goal is the same as their other half," Master Hand explained. One of the monitors came to life and displayed a list. Akira was surprised to see Maya Amano listed as one of the aspects of Galeem.
"Could there be more of them?" Leaf asked.
"Maybe. With beings like Galeem and Dharkon it's fully possible new aspects are forming as we speak," Master Hand said. Bayonetta placed her legs on the table.
"So, what happened to not being able to create a place for us Smashers to gather?" Bayonetta asked.
"This wasn't made by me. But with Peach's help I set it up as a base of operations for the Smashers going forward. Though there is something I need to confess. I may have been greatly simplifying the definition of Smasher this entire time." Master Hand curled up his fingers. Fox leaned forward in his seat.
"Well, go on, you've only been holding this back for years," Fox said.
"Smasher refers to anyone who has formed a contract with a being that exists between worlds, not just those aligned with Crazy and myself. By that definition, the aspects of Galeem and Dharkon all qualify as Smashers. Before there weren't any other beings capable of making Smashers so the exact definition didn't matter, and I could afford to watch from the sidelines for the most part. But things have changed. I'll be taking a more active role now. And I've already recruited some support staff." Master Hand gestured to the door. Three people entered. "These are Lincoln, Siegfried, and Edelgard."
"Nice to finally see you again, Leaf, Ulti. Master Hand fixed my little portal problem so it'll be nice to stay in one place for a while," Lincoln said. "Master Hand we've already checked in with one person on your list. Spring Man turned us down, but he directed us to some other people with the ARMS gene we can try to contact."
"Good. Meeting dismissed." The gathered Smashers split up and left the room with an uncharacteristic silence. As Akira made his way to start exploring the fortress, he felt something in his pocket. It was a note.
I'm sure we will fight each other once more. Here is a riddle for you to contemplate until then. What binds a person more, love or hate?- Akasha
A voice resounded in Akira's mind.
I am thou, thou art I
The vow has been broken and reforged.
The cursed chains of hate now bind you,
Thou must bear the title of enemy.
With the unmasking of The Faith
Thy heart's liberation becomes possible
The mocking truth of The Jester will lead you to power...
Enderman stood in the corner of the space, watching the other Dharkons argue. Gaster punched James in the face. James fell to the ground of the dark world. Gaster shouted at James.
"I can't believe I just got yelled at in wingdings," James said. "You guys do realize the Galeems were using literal bombs, right?"
"This is about you, not them," Rundas said. "Next time I'm not going to even try to bail you out of having to fight your own son."
"Enough," the Dark Emperor said. The other Dharkons stopped and turned to him. "There is no point protesting what already took place. This world of ours is desolate. At least the World of Light has something, we only have this vast empty void. Now that we have enemies we must craft plans of our own to acquire something of substance for our world. There are many tactics aside from hostage taking that we can employ."
"Like…" James said.
"Instead of just waiting for new aspects to form, we will seek out allies. It will give you the needed experience for when the worlds are all unified as our empire," the Dark Emperor said. Rundas and Gaster exchanged a glance. Enderman wondered what an empire was.
"I don't care for leading people. But I know someone I want on our side," Volga said.
"Contact them then. Enderman." The Dark Emperor's call brought Enderman to attention. He didn't understand why, but he was fine when the other Dharkons looked at him. Anyone else looking at him was an obvious threat. "I have a mission for you. There are certain worlds I want you to scout with your power."
A/N: And the FP1 arc is now done. This chapter was quite hectic, but I've been looking forward to it for quite some time. Hopefully it wasn't too hard to follow. If you want to know what Gaster is saying the A03 version has his dialogue in wingdings, which FFN didn't like so I had to modify this version to remove his direct dialogue. One advantage of falling so far behind was that I was able to plan for this from the Piranha Plant chapter, I actually wrote Leaf's death and resurrection well before I started working on the Terry chapter. As you may have guessed from the final scene, fighter seventy-seven will be represented in this fic as Enderman. I learned my lesson about using every alt from Hero. Hopefully the FP2 arc will be able to include visitor chapters, at the cost of being less planned out than the FP1 arc.
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