(A/N: Had a little problem where the site (for computers) had trouble displaying the chapters, but I saw that it was fixed now. Anyway, on with the show.)

A laser bolt smacked into an airborne, miniature figure of Pit, sending it falling out of sight. Fox holstered his blaster and looked out at the scenery before him… a scene his fellow Smashers were awestruck at.

Floating chunks of rock rested off in the distance. The largest one had water sailing off it and into the blue abyss below. And far to the right, a large star couldn't keep Kirby's eyes trained on anything else.

"Oh, wow…" gasped Pit. "It's just like Skyworld!"

Ryu squinted. "I see movement on those islands. Probably puppets. We need to head over there and take them out."

"That's great, except for how to get over there," pointed out Falco. "Maybe it would've been a good idea to bring the Great Fox after-"

Mario pointed out in surprise. Cutting through the clouds, a looming airship with rotating oars hovered across the sky. Its sails fluttered with the passing wind… but what really got Mario's attention was the fact that its deck wasn't empty. Puppets of K. Rool (donned in his pirate hat and blunderbuss), Peach, five Mii Brawlers in Flying Man suits, Ness, and a giant Jigglypuff were all scrambling about as the ship neared the massive beanstalk.

"It appears we have a vessel to seize," noted Marth. "Shall we?"

"Let's board that baby!" cried Pit, breaking into a run towards the edge of the stalk. He jumped strongly into the air, a short burst of his Power of Flight propelling him towards the deck. Mario ran after, springing into the sky himself.

A Clawshot thunked into the wood of the railing, allowing Toon Link to grapple over and kick a Mii puppet. Everyone else soon followed in suit, Bowser and DK having to grab onto the hull and climb up. As soon as he jumped on, DK rushed for the blunderbuss-blasting K. Rool puppet. Mario and Peach went for the princess pretender, where Peach's golf club met a frying pan. Kirby and Pikachu tag-teamed the big Jigglypuff by the steering wheel, their quick attacks landing blows on the pink foe. One of the five Miis flip-kicked Mac in the face while two more rushed Ryu at the same time. The World Warrior and the Bruiser from the Bronx blocked and deflected each blow, landing powerful strikes of their own. Pit lashed out at the Ness puppet, keeping it occupied for the Ice Climbers and Yoshi to dogpile it.

In under a minute, some of the puppets had been thrown overboard. While they fell through the sky, they rest burst apart and released their spirit hosts. Kirby danced around one of them in joy as Pikachu playfully batted at another. Mario jumped up to the steering wheel in no time, gripping the instrument with Kirby by his side.

Cappy flashed open his eyes. "So! Where to, Captain Mario?"

Mario looked off towards some odd-looking pink cotton-candy-colored clouds. He pointed in that direction. "That way it is! As you would say it, let's-a go!" The plumber just gave an amused smile to Cappy's impersonation. He turned the wheel slightly to the left just as Link, Marth, and the Mii Swordfighter cut some ropes, releasing more of the ship's sails…

...and sent the ship full speed ahead.

The colored clouds neared the ship's port side in no time. DK and Bowser- with the help of Charizard- pulled on some ropes to close up some of the sails, reducing the ship's speed. Three figures, two of them human, watched a spirit summon forth a rainbow that they proceeded to traverse. At the peak, they broke into a slide that sent them into a fit of happiness… and onto the deck of the ship.

Mario noticed a building on the clouds, a Warp Pipe not too far away. The spirit responsible for summoning the rainbow bridge flew towards the ship, vanishing inside Charizard's chest. Lucas looked around the ship in awe, Pikachu scampered up to a happy Pichu, and Captain Falcon stepped forward at the third figure.

"Ness! It's good to see you, kid!"

"Ha! Likewise!" replied the boy with a tip of his hat. "You can thank Lucas for getting me back!"

"Ah, it was nothing. Really…" replied the boy from Nowhere. "We did run into some old guy with a hammer. Said he wanted to train spirits in ways of weapons and all kinds of equipment."

"That sounds like Dyntos," realized Pit. "The Forge God. He's the one that made both the Three Sacred Treasures and the Great Sacred Treasure. All used by yours truly, of course."

"Good to have one more to cross off the list," said Fox, patting Ness on the shoulder. "Alright, set course for those islands!"

"Okey-dokey!" replied Mario, turning the wheel sharply to the right. Everyone else scrambled to the railings, peeking out at the aerial abyss before them. And being the one more experience with sailing ships, Toon Link grabbed onto a rope holding up a sail and pointed out to the sky.

The experience felt like a tour… if tours included hostile figures that would leap on board and attack whenever you passed by a notable location. It fell down to the Smashers to stop incoming boarders from downing the ship- not that a single puppet would be capable of doing that, but it never fails to stay prepared for anything. Three Lucina puppets were the first to hit the deck, initiating a triple duel at once as Link, Marth, and the Mii Swordfighter rushed up to meet them. Smashers hung back, cheering the swordsmen on or hanging back with confidence and watching the show.

"So this is how spectators feel about witnessing a fight with their own eyes," commented Mac, watching the Mii parry a thrust and kick his opponent in the head.

The three puppets were cut down just as Mario steered the ship between two more islands. He carefully maneuvered the airship between the floating islands… while a Falco puppet jumped on from the starboard side and a Rosalina puppet from the port. Ivysaur whipped a drawn blaster from the phony bird's hand while Ness introduced flying Star Bits with PK energy. Vines lashed out and magical bursts filled the air all as Mario casually continued to steer into a sharp right turn.

"PK FLASH!"

"Ivysaur, use Bullet Seed!"

Bright flashes of light, one stronger than the others, sent both intruders off the deck and falling to their doom. The Rosalina puppet used a Launch Star to recover… but its ascent halted just before it could reach the railing. Mario circled the ship around one of the islands until another came into view on the port side. From there, two new unwanted guests stormed the ship: Four Squirtles, who immediately washed away the real deal and Ivysaur with a combined Water Gun, and a Marth puppet who Shulk ran in to engage.

Pikachu, Pichu, and Lucario dove in to fight off the Squirtles, a high kick from the latter sending one flying and landing on its shell. Shulk clashed blades with the Marth puppet, switching to the Buster art to lay down the pressure. Toon Link fired off an arrow, aiding Shulk and making the false prince stumble.

Mario was still not at all fazed by this. He widened his eyes in awe as he passed the waterfall- which Diddy, Pit, and Charizard were happy to experience up close. But their brief moment of relaxation was cut short when the angel spotted something Mario couldn't clearly make out. He commanded Charizard and Diddy to follow him, and the trio took off towards the opposite side of the island… where three Robin puppets awaited with their tomes alight. Pit and Diddy rained down arrows and peanuts on them like planes performing an attack run, accelerating away towards a small charging herd of four Yoshi puppets. Charizard touched down with a roar, lashing out at the magicians.

Mario looked back to the deck, where all was once again settled. Shulk switched off the blade of the Monado and moved to holster it… but froze and redrew it when a loud shrieking noise cut through the open air.

"We have incoming!" screamed Marth. From above, three Ridley puppets dove down towards the ship with claws extended and mouths wide open. Two of them blasted fireballs down onto the deck, blowing burning holes into the wood. The third one swooped low, failing to nab Link in its talons and meeting only the surface of the Hylian Shield instead.

A pair of furry arms seized it by the ankles. Donkey Kong wrestled it to the ground, jumping up onto its back and wailing at its head. Red commanded Squirtle to put out the fires before they spread, the Villager moving to assist the little Pokémon. Bowser gave the second Ridley a strong punch to the gut while Samus and Toon Link worked together to bring the third one down with their Grapple Beam and Clawshot.

The flyers soared back to the ship in no time, immediately going to work. Diddy blasted peanuts at one Ridley's face, Charizard tackled another to engage it in aerial combat, and Pit delivered a welcoming hit with his Upperdash Arm. The trio forced the intruders off the ship and into the open sky… where the Smashers bore witness to an extreme display of aerial combat in which the dragons were knocked out. Three more spirits emerged: three more to add to the collection.

"I think that's all of 'em," said Pit, holstering his bow. "Galeem should be on his last leg by now… uh, metaphorically, of course."

"Hold on there," noted Fox. "Looks like Kirby's got something he wants to check out."

Mario moved the ship close to a star-shaped platform. Kirby hopped off, touching down onto the yellow surface. Just as he did, golden sparkles rose into the air and surrounded the puffball. He stared out at the sparkles in awe…

...and made a happy face just before he blinked away.