The Mii Swordfighter darted onto the recently-repaired bridge, away from a huge wooden hammer that would've turned him into pulp. He hopped on top of it, delivering a flip kick to the Dedede puppet wielding it. Once it was downed, he jumped into the air and drove his blade into the puppet, vanquishing it and releasing the spirit.

"Whoo!" the warrior sighed, wiping his forehead. "It's like I can't turn a corner without running into one of these guys." He turned to a small pool that was being constantly filled with a waterfall. "And too bad none of these are hot springs. After what I've heard from Pit, I could use a soak after this." The Mii noticed three pools on this small mountain: at the top, the middle, and the bottom, where Yoshi was currently taking a little break of his own. And speaking of the bottom…

"You guys holding up down there?" the warrior asked. Down below, Lucario yanked on a lever that activated a turntable. The rotating track lined up with the rest while Snake kept his eyes on an unmanned train.

"This railroad system leads into the desert," reported the mercenary. "It could provide us with some quick transportation… but the only problem is that we need someone to operate us."

"Do not worry about us," Lucario added, joining Snake's side. "If you find yourself overpowered, we will assist in any possible way."

"Thanks, guys! Good hunting!" the warrior said with a salute of his blade. Moving forward, he hiked up the mountainside until he approached some tall rocky structures that served as platforms. A building rested off to the side… but some of the rocks looked a little colorful.

He tightened his grip on the hilt. He already knew they weren't rocks at all…

Three copies of Kirby jumped out at him, the blue one flashing a Cutter blade. With his own sword, the Mii deflected the strike and kicked the puppet back. The red one jumped over the tumbling foe with a hammer in hand, swinging for the Mii's head. The warrior bent over limbo-style, watching the weapon fly over his face…

The yellow puppet kicked out his legs from under him, making him hit the ground hard. The red puppet hopped forward again, about to smash his face in. The Mii quickly planted his feet on the red Kirby, throwing it off the edge and rolling back to his feet in one move. Down below, the red Kirby got a quick egg to the face from an alarmed Yoshi- not too happy to be disturbed- while Lucario rushed in to finish it off.

The Mii threw a quick Shuriken of Light to keep the yellow Kirby puppet back, spinning forward with his Airborne Assault technique. This knocked the blue puppet right off the edge, leaving only the yellow one.

The last remaining enemy lashed out with a series of Cutter swings, to which the Swordfighter flawlessly parried and blocked. A swift Blurring Blade move with his weapon aflame finished it. One more spirit to add to the collection.

He knew not to rest yet. The next opponent was likely at the top of the mountain. But before he could get there, he needed to do a quick stop. "Hello?" he asked, cautiously traversing the near-narrow path to the building. "Anybody ho-"

He got his answer in the form of an exploding cannonball directly in front of him. He instinctively rolled away from a second one, cartwheeled from a third, and backflipped away from a fourth. He glanced at the sky. "Guess that makes you the homeowner,"

A Roy puppet floated down in its Clown Car, laughing wildly. A hitchhiking Shulk puppet jumped off, igniting its Monado blade on touchdown. "Two on one? No biggie," the Mii told himself, expertly twirling his blade and holding it in a reverse grip behind him. "Let's do this!"

The Shulk puppet charged with a yell, thrusting its Monado forth. Sidestepping to the left and catching a glimpse of the blue beam, the Swordfighter pounded the puppet with his pommel. An upward slash- with an added transition into a normal grip- knocked the false boy to the rocks.

The Roy puppet laughed again, firing off more cannonballs as it hovered in. The warrior shot into the air, leaping off the black balls and tossing a chakram. It smacked the puppet in the face, momentarily stunning it. Grumbling to itself, the puppet readjusted its glasses… and saw the Swordfighter nowhere in sight. It made a sound of confusion just as a finger tapped it on the shoulder.

It whirled just to see the hilt of the Mii's sword smack against its head. With his other hand, the Mii grabbed the false Koopaling and threw him right out of the Car. Yelling all the way down, it hit the ground with three bounces. For the finishing touch, the Mii leaned to the right, using his weight to change the Car's direction. He launched off, sending the vehicle right for the helpless puppet.

The Car exploded, taking the Roy puppet with it while the Swordfighter landed on his feet. A smirk of victory came across his face.

Wait, hold on, he didn't exactly win yet.

He spun around, slashing the Shulk puppet critically across the chest. It fell, reverting to its trophy form. Now, he had won.

"Thank you! Thank you for saving Riki! You Riki hero!"

"Ah, it was nothing," the warrior chuckled, sheathing his weapon on his back. "I take it you're the boss around here?"

"Yes, yes! This place belong to Riki! Riki teach spirits here! Come! Riki show you!"

The spirit darted inside the building, prompting the Mii to follow.

An interesting style. Extra oomph for special moves, but not too focused on standard attacks, throws, or usage of items. But it'll do.

The Swordfighter had left a couple of spirits with Riki and stopped to get some treasure on the way. Now, he was reaching the peak of the mountain… with just two enemies in his path.

"HYAH!" With a spinning slash, he carried the Corrin puppet into the air. His final strike sent it careening off the mountain, and his boot smacked the fake Charizard's nose. A quick stab to the stomach and it was down.

Now, one final enemy was standing by the waterfall with his back to the warrior. Someone with a red sword and blonde hair. Seeing this, the Mii would've normally rushed in for the strike… but he didn't move an inch. He stood silently, his eyes trained on the fighter and his sword glinting in the sunlight.

"You're just gonna see me coming. You always do."

"True," spoke the fighter, turning to face the warrior. "But that didn't mean I wasn't expecting you."

"Of course. Besides, I hate to drop in unannounced."

Shulk readied the Monado, splitting it open and snapping the blue beam into existence. He slightly angled it downwards while the Mii took a defensive stance. For a full ten seconds, the two stared each other in the eye…

...and took off. They met with clashing blades and near misses, the beam of the Manado humming in the air. Leaning back to avoid one swipe, the Mii somersaulted away from another and readied several shurikens. He threw them at Shulk at blink-and-you'll-miss-it speed, the projectiles resembling flashing stars. Sprinting forward, Shulk blocked and deflected the stars, aiming another swing at the Mii's neck. Jogging up to Shulk, the Swordfighter slid underneath the Manado, bringing himself to a stop and lunging with a thrust.

Shulk was ready, a quick vision warning him of this move, He slammed the pommel of the Monado into the Mii's face, knocking him down. Gasping, the warrior rolled to the side, the Monado's blade puncturing the rock he exposed. A swift kick to Shulk's knee staggered him, allowing the Mii to vault up and strike again.

He traded swings and misses until his sword met the Monado, both duelists pushing against each other in a clash. They grunted and shoved, each of them trying to overcome their opponent. Shulk was the one to break it with an upward slice, giving a solid boot to the Mii's gut. The warrior tumbled to the ground, trying to get back up immediately after by using his blade to support himself.

But when his eyes readjusted… he saw that he was facing the cliffside.

"Back Slash!"

The Mii felt a searing pain right behind him… and with a yell nearly drowned out by the waterfalls, he was sent over the edge.

Shulk switched off the Monado, holstering it with a scoff. "Is that really the best you can do?" he taunted, approaching the cliff and looking out at the land below. "You went back to the wrong side. Galeem made you all tougher, and this right here is what you're missing out on! Now come on! Who else wants a piece of-"

Something snagged his ankle.

"Huh?!"

Dangling off the edge by one hand, the Mii Swordfighter yanked hard, sending Shulk tumbling into the waterfall. He felt himself falling, too, realizing too late that he had let go in the process. But by then, he was struck with a submerging sensation followed by a rapid current.

No matter how hard he tried to fight it, the Mii felt himself falling and splashing. He was carried off again, feeling himself falling again with one more impact. Then came a rise…

...and a breach.

He gasped for air, shaking his head of water. Yoshi, now on land, quickly fished him out with a heavy pull. Snake and Lucario rushed over while the Mii coughed violently. "Easy there!" Snake called as the dripping-wet warrior punched on his chest. "You just fell down two waterfalls. Must've been rough."

"I...I'll be fine. Thanks…" the Mii groaned. "Wait, where's-"

Spotting something in the water, Yoshi scooped it out and held it up with a "ta-da" noise. A trophy of Shulk. Setting it down, he touched it on the base. One flash of light later, the boy moaned like he had been rudely awoken from sleep.

"What… my… my vision, it-" he snapped to his senses with a startled gasp. "I… I'm sorry, everyone," he sighed sadly. "It was one of those visions. Where I could do nothing to stop it…"

"Don't beat yourself up," Snake butted in, helping both swordsmen to their feet. "We got you and some of the others back. We just need to get the rest and block out Galeem's sun."

"Riki says hi, by the way," the Mii added.

Shulk just smiled. "That's nice. Now, you were talking about the others?"

Distant sounds caught their attention. Some roars, laser fire, something splattering on walls, and shouting voices… all coming from a nearby town. Donkey Kong was making his way there now, with a hooting Diddy Kong on his back. The monkey looked back, gesturing for the group to come and join the party.

"Welp, there's our answer," the Mii said, cracking his knuckles and drawing his sword. "You guys ready?"

"It sounds like a warzone over there," Snake commented. "Nothing I can't handle." Yoshi threw a few punches and Lucario nodded.

"Then let's not keep them waiting!" Shulk ordered, igniting the Monado. "Let's go, everyone!"

With the Mii holding his sword high like an adventurer on horseback, the group charged for the town. Hopefully, there'd still be some enemies left for them once they arrived…

(A/N: Short chapter this time. I was gonna go for the Badlands, but I was kinda stuck on it so I just went with the Mountain Falls where you fight Shulk. But the dry, desert Badlands is up next.

Kinda conflicted at the point about the train. You need the spirit of Engineer Link (and Alfonso) to make it run to get across the Badlands faster, but you don't free the spirit until the Alolan Islands, where you find the portal to Rathalos. And I'm planning to do the Alolan Islands last, so maybe some a few time skips in the Badlands would do. Then there's the volcano, the Floating Islands, and the Gourmet Race to the north. Gonna need to fit those in somehow.

P.S. Had to get some crossover concepts off my mind, so sorry for the wait. Plus, I had to write an English paper today, which took a few hours of the afternoon.)