Tiny tan grains slid through the fingers of a white glove, falling to the sands of the desert below. Mario rose from his kneeling position, instinctively wiping his forehead with an exhausted sigh. He held a hand up to his eyes, peering out at the surrounding dunes while only a trail of sandy footprints led to his position. The sun was bearing down on him, indicating that he needed to make his way across the desert as soon as he could… or risk being cooked.
"Whew!" gasped Cappy. "I haven't felt this hot since the Sand Kingdom in Tostarena! We… ugh… we need to get out of here."
"Poyo…" groaned Kirby.
"Gee, I'd hate to be you right now," commented Mega Man. "Since I'm a robot, I don't feel any exhaustion from the sun. I'm solar-powered, actually, so it kinda helps. The only problem I've got? This stupid sand. Too much of it gets into my circuits and everything will act up. And that's not what I need if we're ambushed out-"
"Not… helping…"
"Sorry, Cap."
A glowing streak from overhead touched down onto the sand, facing the empty armor of Samus Aran at attention. "Status update on this aerial recon?" asked the soul trapped within. Pit cleared his throat. "Something's just up ahead. Railroad tracks and another Master Spirit building like those two ninja girls from earlier."
"Train tracks?" Cappy repeated. "Not sure how that'll help, but good looking out. Let's head for that building, team… Kirby and Mario need rest. Not to mention me."
"Good idea, too," Pit continued to Samus. "Y'know, for the short recon flights. It'd take way too long for me to survey this entire desert, and I'd burn through my flight time real quick."
"It always helps to have a sufficient strategy," replied Samus. "Let's move."
The sand began to shift and shake right under their feet, putting everyone on high alert. Mario held on tight to Cappy, looking around for the source of the vibrations. Mega Man took aim. "We've got incoming!"
"Where?!" shouted Pit, who was looking around in a frenzy. "I can't see anything!"
The robot's only reply was a silent gaze to the sands below. "Uh, scratch that. I meant to say we've got UPcoming!"
A giant R.O.B. wielding a drill burst from the sand in front of them, the tool spinning like mad. Its optics flashed a bright red as the grains fell, acquiring the targets below it. "Scatter!" Mega Man cried, instantly opening fire on the robot's head and running to the right. Samus broke left, letting loose blasts from her own cannon. The massive machine retaliated with blasts of its own, kicking up sand that nearly obscured the fleeing Kirby's view. Mario rolled out of the way, his eyes locating the base of the bot. With the ranged fighters keeping it occupied, he thought, it would be too busy trying to blast them and not notice his next move.
Pit was guided into the air by Viridi's spirit, positioning him into an attack run on the robot's head. Lasers spat out at the sand, Mega Man and Samus reacting with slides and rolls to evade. In the midst of his movement, Mega Man landed a shot right at the machine's left optic, momentarily stunning it. Pit fired off arrow after arrow at the head, causing significant damage. But through the smoke, crimson beams streaked out. One beam landed a direct hit… right on the angel's wing!
"AGH!" cried, Pit, spiraling out of control towards the sands below. "No, no, no, no, no, no!" He hit the tan dunes in a cloud, sliding to a halt near an almost-out-of-breath Kirby. The puffball noticed the angel face-first in the sand and nudged him on the head. "Poyo?"
Pit suddenly jerked up from the sand, surprising Kirby. "PLEGH! PFT! YUCK!" He frantically swiped at his tongue and spit out bits of sand. "Aw, that's awful!"
THOOM! The R.O.B. puppet collapsed to the sand on its side. With a proud look on his face, Mario brushed his hands together. "Nice thinking!" Cappy congratulated. "I mean, I know you're strong, but strong enough to lift the base of a giant robot and tip it over is-"
VEROOSH! Cappy was sent flying off of Mario's head with a scream as the plumber got a face-full of thruster power. The hero was sent tumbling back with a yell from the high winds and the robot boosted forward, sending the other heroes diving for cover. The robot ascended, rotated itself around, and fired off its drill.
"Uh-oh…" gulped Mario.
The drill burrowed itself into the ground below, vanishing into the sand. But as it dug, the heroes also picked up the sound of cracking rock. Mega Man noticed Pit take a quick look behind him… and freeze up. "Uh…"
"Don't tell me," said the Blue Bomber. "Imminent sudden decrease in altitude?"
"If you mean to say a-"
The ground beneath them broke apart, sending the chunk they were standing on into a freefall.
"CLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIFFF!"
A loud crashing noise echoed across the entire desert when the stone ledge and the Smashers hit the ground below. Mario popped his head out of the sand, only for a yelling Kirby to land right on top of it and bury it into the sand again. Mega Man and Samus fought to rise up, the impact causing some damage to their chassis. The two ranged Smashers quickly set their sights on the hovering R.O.B. puppet while Pit shakily hoisted himself up.
"Yeah… if you meant to say a cliff, that's what it was."
The robot was unfazed by the shots from both arm cannons, coming for a landing right in front of an arched tunnel. Mario sprang up with balled fists… but something right below him caught his eye: wooden planks with steel rails running across them.
"Hey, are those…" queried Cappy. "...railroad tracks?"
The robot's optics lit up to zap the fighters with a charged laser beam… but something else increased in brightness right behind it. Pit lowered his guard… was he hearing some kind of chugging noise?
"What is-"
"Move!" called Mega Man, pulling Mario out of the way just as Kirby jumped off the tracks. The sound of a whistle cut through the air, causing the robot's head to swivel around…
BAM! A locomotive smashed into it from behind, sending the robot tumbling down the tracks. From the newly-arrived train, more Smashers disembarked and broke into a run. "SCRAPPING TIME!" roared Bowser, making a beeline for the downed robot with a charging Donkey Kong in tow. From above, Charizard dropped Link down onto a Dark Pit puppet, engaging in a clash of blades with the false angel.
"Whew," gasped Pit. "Thanks for the save, guys."
"No problem," replied Fox. "It seemed you could use a hand,"
"Never mind us, what are you doing here?" Cappy asked. "And where'd you get the train?"
"Yoshiiii!" cheered the green dinosaur, hopping excitedly and pointing to something in the sky. The group turned to where he was indicating… and noticed the form of Galeem with nothing surrounding him!
"The shield's… gone?" Pit realized. "You guys took it down?"
"What, the shaking ground and the sky sounding like it was gonna crack open not enough of a clue for you?" Falco asked.
"We, uh… might've been a little tired from trekking through this desert," Pit chuckled nervously.
Link paraglided down with a spirit in tow while Charizard touched down beside him. "Which is why we settled for another form of transportation!" shouted Red. From the train, a shout drew the group's attention. Toon Link hopped to the ground, and behind him waved… another Toon Link?
"Uh, what?" asked Pit. "Is that a Toon Link with an engineer outfit? And… why is he all glowy with rainbow colors?"
"It's… it's a long story," Fox answered.
The Inklings hurried up to the pilot's side. "We found this spirit that can talk!" replied Orange. "She didn't give a name, but she did something to turn a spirit into what they looked like before… uh, they became spirits!"
"A spirit that can manifest other spirits into physical forms?" Mega Man asked. "How?"
"Dunno," replied Falco. "She helped us out with Lapras and Engineer Link, along with… uh, what's his name?"
"Alfonso, if I recall correctly," replied Sheik. "Hmm… this place reminds me of the Gerudo Desert."
"We're on our way to Galeem now," Fox reported. "The train should make it easy to navigate through the desert… which is a good thing since some of us aren't clearly suited to hot and sandy environments." He gestured to the Ice Climbers, who were lying on their backs and sweating like mad. Yoshi picked the exhausted explorers up, trotting away with them on his back.
Fox's eyes rested on Kirby… and his ears perked up. "Oh! One last thing! That spirit said she ran into you earlier, Kirby. Do you know her?"
Kirby's eyes widened at these words as if surprised about the sudden comment, However, the puffball shook his head. "Oh. Well, in that case…"
Ryu and Simon approached. "We must go. Galeem and our allies await,"
"Yeah, you're right!" Fox nodded before cupping his hands around his mouth. "Alright, everyone! Enough chit-chat and let's move out! Flyers, scout ahead and sweep up any resistance!"
Pit's wings flashed, launching him into the sky immediately. Charizard beat his wings and followed Red's pointing finger. Squirtle and Ivysaur stayed behind with Pikachu, Lucario, and Jigglypuff with the yellow Pokémon smiling at them. Red and Charizard flew off towards the skeletal remains while Pit and a blasting-off Diddy Kong made a sharp right past the cliffs.
"Everyone else, stay with the train," commanded Marth, signaling for the locomotive. A few Smashers had their heads trained on a laughing Bowser. "BWAHAHA! Did you see how I ripped that thing's head off and held it like a trophy? If only I was allowed to keep it instead of it just turning into a trophy and exploding!"
"Yoshi, yoshi."
"Yeah, well, we did just take down a big dragon monster. But hey, a win is a win!"
"You slew a dragon?" repeated a shocked Shulk as the train slowly chugged forward.
"Indeed," replied Marth. "A Rathalos, as it was called in that world. A truly remarkable beast. And the third guardian."
"Hmm…" muttered Snake. "Rathalos… that name sounds familiar."
Donkey Kong wiped at his forehead with a big head, huffing at the heat. He glanced down at the group of small Pokémon playing together… and grinned as an idea popped into his head.
Reaching down, he nabbed Squirtle right before the Water-type Pokémon could belly-flop Pikachu. "Squirt!" he squeaked before Donkey Kong held him up with an open mouth…
...and slightly squeezed, making the Pokémon spray a jet of water right into his mouth. Once he was finished, Donkey Kong smiled in relief… and offered the little Pokémon to a bewildered Bowser.
"Uh… no, thanks. I'm good."
"Squirtle."
DK shrugged, tossing the tiny turtle over his shoulder and onto the sand below. Pikachu and Ivysaur scurried to pull him out and keep pace with the slow-moving train.
…
"HRYYAAAAH!"
A Chrom puppet lunged forth with its blade pointing forth, but an orange maw clamped around the sword, raised the warrior high, and slammed him to the ground. Nearby, Yoshi battled a copy of himself while Bowser struggled to hold his own against copies of Charizard and Ridley. The two puppets came close to lifting him into the sky when Duck Hunt jumped atop the Charizard, blinding it and sending it into a thrashing and clawing frenzy. Samus fired a missile at the Ridley puppet and engaged it, rolling to the side to avoid a dive attack.
A false Bowser blocked Mega Man's shots with a raised arm but failed to see Donkey Kong tackle it to the sand. Breaking off a piece of bone from a nearby rib, DK thwacked the puppet with it like a club. Before long, an uppercut and a jumping stomp finished off the puppet.
The fake Ridley nabbed its talon around Samus' Morph Ball formed… but only saw the blue glow of a Rune Bomb in its place. Sheik, tending to the bounty hunter, nodded at Link, who pressed the detonator and grounded the puppet.
"SHORYUKEN!" called Ryu, uppercutting the Charizard puppet to the ground. "PIKA!" Twirling through the air, Pikachu slammed down on the puppet with an electric discharge, granting it a shocking defeat.
The real Charizard grabbed the Chrom puppet in his throat, thrashing it around and slamming it against both the ground and bones jutting out of the sand. A final stomp finished the fight, and Charizard roared into the sky like a dragon triumphing over a vanquished knight.
An orb of light cut off the Pokémon's celebration, hovering around his head. "My friends…" it spoke. "You have my gratitude. I am Ryoma, eldest prince of Hoshido."
"Ah, yes," Marth spoke up. "Corrin told us about you. Though we have yet to free him…"
"I have no doubt you will add him to your ranks once again. Now, accept this offer in return. In this building, I will teach your spirits my personal Demon Style: a form of combat specializing in swift, furious attacks that leave none standing in the aftermath of the onslaught. But be wary, for the Demon Style can leave little room for defensive techniques."
"We're taking this fight right to Galeem," Snake said. "We can't afford to hold back. Offense is the only thing we need right now."
"Then it's settled. Come, then. Choose who you wish to be worthy of this form…"
…
Diddy Kong rocketed through the air, pursued by homing Bullet Bills. Spinning on his back, he fired his Peanut Popguns and blasted two out of the sky. More zoomed up from the ground, prompting the chimp to barrel-roll and weave past them. He fired at the ground below, where copies of himself and Donkey Kong waited. The copy of Diddy activated its own rocketbarrel pack, taking off after Diddy and chasing him through the air. The DK puppet howled, tossing a huge boulder into the mix.
Nearby, Pit performed a spinning slash at a giant Mega Man puppet, attempting to knock the robot replica off-balance. Splitting his bow, his wings flashed and propelled him upwards, delivering a vertical slash with one blade. The massive machine swung a fist, narrowly missing Pit as he flew backward. The angel equipped his Upperdash Arm, then flew straight forward. The weapon bashed the side of the robot's face… yet the machine didn't stumble.
"Urgh! Why won't you go down?!"
Diddy Kong flew right in front of the puppet's face, his chaser nowhere in sight. With a cheeky smile, he waved with both hands. The Mega Man puppet curled up a fist…
WHAM!
...and punched itself in the face as Diddy Kong flew away laughing. The chimp caught a glimpse of the dazed fake Donkey Kong behind him. He'd just flown literal circles around the big ape to disorient it… so now was the time for the final act.
Diddy Kong stuck out his tongue and made a raspberry noise, followed by all kinds of silly faces. The fake DK shook its head, bared its teeth angrily… then charged with an enraged howl.
Right as it jumped at Diddy, the monkey rocketed away at high speed, leaving the ape no time to react. It slammed against the head of the giant Mega Man puppet, taking them both down. The robot reverted into its trophy form, leaving the DK puppet to get clobbered by Pit's Upperdash Arm.
"Whew!" the angel gasped. "That was rough! Now, what's-"
He looked ahead to where the sand came to an end… where the tiny tan grains were replaced with dark rocks, stone paths, and flowing streams of lava. And at the top of the angry mountain, the tip occasionally belched out brimstone and coughed thick, black smoke into the air.
"A VOLCANO?!" The angel shrieked. "Oh-no, not MORE heat! What I would give to be back in those snowy mountains with the temple right now!"
"It looks like that's our only way forward," Samus stated while the rest of the Smashers disembarked the Spirit Train. At the sight of the fiery mountain, the Ice Climbers jumped in panic… and passed out. Mario just tightened his cap. After traversing through molten-hot lairs and fortresses, volcanoes were nothing. And Charizard looked right in his element as he flew up to the summit with Red and the other two Pokémon on his back.
"I've got some experience scorching-hot temperatures myself back on Norfair," said Samus, priming her cannon. "Follow my lead."
