Chapter 7: Ghost Town
Thanks to Steve's tunnel and with his help in guiding everyone to the top of the mountain, they finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel.
"Ah there we go. You can get a great view of the entire area from up here." Steve told them before stepping through exit with everyone following.
"Oooohhhh." DK looked out in awe at the sight.
"Yeah, you're telling me DK, what a great view! You can see the jungle and everything." Sora exclaimed as he excitedly took in the sight.
Kazuya also carefully analyzed the mountain cliff. "Hmm, this would be a good place to throw bodies off, I will have to commit this spot to memory."
"Feeling very unsafe right now." Banjo stepped back a bit from the muscled heavily scarred man.
"This would make a good spot to get a good idea of our surroundings." Joker took out his half-finished map and started to draw in the parts of the world he'd yet to draw down.
"I didn't know you kept a map, Joker. It's really well-done for a self-drawn one." Mega Man was interested.
"Thanks, honestly this is just something I got used to doing when I was investigating palaces back in my world." Joker explained.
"We should correlate our maps later and see what parts we haven't checked yet, I'm sure if we were able to pinpoint locales we haven't explored, we'll find our friends much quicker."
"Sounds like a good idea. You still have the updated map of this area in your head right?" Joker asked.
"Yeah, as accurate as it can be as of now-Galeem made sure I didn't get anything important when he deleted most of the things from the Master Computer." Mega Man nodded.
"We knew Galeem wasn't going to stand idle once he realized what we were doing." Joker shrugged.
"I know. I still wish I was just more help."
"You're plenty of help, Mega. Don't feel bad about it." Snake reassured.
"Snake's got a point. It was you that caught on that Galeem was weakening itself by sending its servants to stop us." Joker added.
"I'm surprised we haven't ran into another one yet. Not that I want it to happen but you would think Galeem would be more active in trying to stop us." Mega Man noted.
"Pfft, I would like to see that thing or its servants try take me down." Kazuya snorted.
Snake rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, tough guy."
"Poyo poyo." Kirby tugged on Sora's shirt while he was still latched on to him and pointed to dark forest with purple mist coming out of it.
"Uhhh...that's kinda ominous-looking."
"You didn't tell us there was a forest here too, Steve." Pac-Man turned to the block-man.
"Oh yeah. Oops. You didn't ask so I didn't mention it but yeah, there's a forest nearby as well but that forest looks creepy as heck. You're not going to see me go in that place alone." Steve told them.
"It certainly doesn't look like a place one should walk alone." Marth agreed.
"See? This guy gets it." Steve pointed to Marth.
"But that-a does look like-a place where some of our friends would-a be hiding." Mario reasoned.
"Either way, we should explore the village first and foremost, we can decide our next course of action once we've checked the area once." Captain Falcon suggested to the group.
"You're right. Some of our friends could be inside that village in need of rescuing." Link agreed with Captain Falcon's idea.
"My gut feeling tells me that our fellow fighter is somewhere in there, I just know it!" Captain Falcon declared proudly.
"You said that you felt something change north from this village right?" Joker put his map away before turning around to face the road leading to the village.
"That's right. According to the data from the base, there's a ruin a bit further north."
"A ruin? That's sounds like something worth checking out."
"You don't think we'll run into any ghosts here, do ya?" Banjo gulped.
"Oh don't be silly Banjo, the only ghosts around here are those spirits and the Puppet Fighters." Kazooie scoffed.
"We'll worry about the forest later. Let's get moving before we attract any unwanted attention." Ryu told the others as they start to make their way along the path towards the village.
It really was a ghost town. The Smash Fighters arrived at the entrance and could not see a single soul, not even a wandering spirit or a Puppet Fighter.
"Well, this is not the slightest bit suspicious. I thought you said this place was swarming with Puppet Fighters, Steve." Snake crossed his arms while being sarcastic.
"I could have sworn I saw them when I looked earlier-although it was some time ago so they might have moved on?" Steve defended.
"I doubt it. Puppet Fighters are usually left to their devices while taking orders from Galeem. The ones who control our friends, the Master Hand clones are the ones that are likely to migrate from place to place." Marth shook his head.
"So we just need to look around right? I'm sure there's one hiding here somewhere." Sora looked around hoping to see anything looking like a white hand.
"Now that Galeem is aware of our activities, the Master Hands are likely to be wary of us. So I imagine it will only get harder to find them from here on." Marth reasoned.
"We need to check out that ruin anyway so it doesn't hurt to explore the area while we do so." Link countered with his own opinion.
"That is true. Either way we have to go inside, just be on your guard for anything. They might be waiting to ambush us." The Altean prince warned.
"Ooh Ooh!" DK pointed to something on the eastern side of village.
"Hey, check it out, there's another tunnel!" Sora followed DK's direction to see what DK had seen, it underground road tunnel with a yellow bus nearby.
"I'm curious to ask-did you happen to make that one too, Steve?" Villager questioned.
"Nope. That one must have been part of whatever world this used to be before it got merged." Steve shook his head. "Looks like we can use the bus though-that's cool I guess."
"So that's two new points of interest, the dark forest just outside the village and this road tunnel and wherever it leads." Pac-Man listed from his fingers.
"Let's not worry about them for now. We can come back later." Captain Falcon kept everyone on track on their main goal.
"Right, the ruin should be just straight north from here."
"Then north we-a go," Mario pointed to the north before leading the way and the rest of the group followed after, all the while being careful of any puppet fighters lurking nearby.
Making their way through the desolate town while on the look out for any Puppet Fighters. The newcomers were trying to think up names for their club.
"How about...The 'Destiny Squad?'" Sora suggested.
"I refuse to be called that. You're rubbish with names aren't you? Although I suppose it is better than Kazuya's idea." Kazooie shook her head.
"Tch, you have no taste in names. I thought the Mishima Clan is perfect. The ones you have all thought of are childish and absurd." Kazuya scoffed.
"Gosh, this a lot harder than I thought it would be." Banjo noted.
"Well, we've got plenty of time, there's no need to rush for one." Steve told them.
"Yeah, who knows maybe we'll meet others that are the same as us." Sora placed his hands behind his head as they continued.
"Are you guys still thinking of names?" Link slightly turned his head to look behind with a playful smile.
"Yeah, but it's hard thinking of a name that everyone can get behind." Sora shrugged.
"Well, this might not be my place to say but how about something that defines all of you as a whole? In my world, we were simply known as the 'Champions', so it doesn't need to be overly complicated." Link gave some advice to the brunette.
"Hmm..." Sora gave this some thought but before he could answer, they heard DK's voice call out.
"Ooh!" DK pointed his large hand towards the westward sky, upon further attention, they realized it was a white hand hovering across the village as if heading somewhere.
"It's one of the Master Hand clones!" Sora was the first to call out.
"And it's heading west-that means one of our friends are here-let's go!" Link located where the hand was heading and lead the charge. The others followed Link's lead, as they kept checking above them to locate where the hand was going.
They finally halted their movement when they came face to face with another fighter that was currently the other direction opposite to the group. "Lucas?"
When 'Lucas' finally turned around they saw the familiar red glow in his eyes, he then fired a PK fire towards the group without any warning.
Everyone managed to dodge out of the way and armed themselves ready to fight.
"So even children is fair game to Galeem-I didn't think it would sink that low."
"We just need to cut the strings right?" Banjo recalled.
"Well obviously we can't get anywhere near the thing without getting past the kid first." Kazooie hotly stated.
"So we just need someone to distract them right?" Steve turned to Mario.
"That's-a right." Mario answered back.
"Alright then. Leave this to me." Steve stepped forward bringing out his wooden sword.
"By yourself Steve? Will you be okay?" Mega Man asked in concern.
"I've defeated an Ender Dragon among other things, I'm pretty sure I can handle this kid."
"Just go easy on Lucas, he's not himself so he'll not hold anything back. He's a lot stronger than he looks." Link warned.
"Got it. Just got to keep the puppeteer's ey-ah I mean-fingers-on me while you cut off his control over the kid." Steve nodded.
"Right. Just to be safe, some of us should stay a bit further back and remain as back-up. If things go wrong, the back-up team can take over." Mega Man suggested.
"That's not a bad idea. If we all end up being captured, there won't be anyone left to rescue us." Joker agreed.
"Pfft, there's only one of them and a dozen of us. They can't catch all of us." Kazooie scoffed.
"Even so, it's better to be safe than sorry. We don't know if we could get ambushed by Puppet Fighters while fighting the Master Hand clone or if another one comes in and corner us." Snake cautioned.
"Let's trust them, Kazooie. They know about those things than we do." Banjo reasoned.
"Alright then. Sora, Joker, Kirby, Piranha Plant, Villager, Kazuya and Olimar, you guys hold the line and keep a lookout for any Puppet Fighters that might come running once we start fighting. If see any of them, take them out while we take care of the main target."
"Got it, c'mon guys." Sora signaled to the group in charge of fighting Puppet Fighters that might end up being lured by the sounds of battle while the others take care of the Master Hand clone controlling the fighter known as Lucas.
"Hmph, the Great Kazuya Mishima will do no such thing. I relish the thought of taking down these hands myself, maybe even throw them off the cliff just outside."
"...You've got problems, dude." Joker sighed.
"What's with Kazuya and cliffs?" Sora questioned to Kirby who simply looked just as puzzled.
"I don't know and I don't wanna know, kid." Kazooie retorted.
"I'll go then and you're coming with us chump. Don't make me one-shot you back into a trophy like Galeom did." Pac-Man barked.
"I like to see you try gumball."
"Gumball?! Listen here you-!"
"We don't have time to argue. Kazuya, think about it like this, there's a good chance that the fight will lure a lot of Puppet Fighters towards us. That means you would be fighting more than one foe which means you would gain more strength. Isn't that what you prefer?" Ryu reasoned.
"...I loathe to admit you make a good point. Fine, then I will fight the Puppet Fighters-if only just to make me stronger."
"You are quite the diplomat, Ryu." Pac-Man playfully teased Ryu while nudging him with his elbow.
"We all have our reasons to fight. Kazuya's is just much more simplistic than others." Ryu answered.
"Clearly," Pac-Man rolled his eyes.
With that, they moved further back while the rest got ready to fight the menacing white hand.
Steve was already charging towards Lucas and dodging most of his psi attacks while trying to get close enough to get a hit in.
The remaining fighters jumped in the fray and tackled the giant hand head on.
DK jumped up bringing his two large arms together and bringing them both down on the hand, causing it to fall the ground stunned from the heavy blow.
Some of the fighters worked on the strings to cut them off while others dealt most of their attacks on to the hand itself.
The hand managed to shake them off and lift off back into the air before clenching into a fist and rocket launching itself towards the fighters themselves.
"This one's fiesty." Snake off-hand remarked as he prepared his rocket launcher.
"Maybe so, but it also seems a lot more easier to stun to the ground, we should coordinate our attacks to bring back down rather than try to fight it in the air." Marth suggested.
"Ooh ooh!" DK beated his hands to his chest, hyping himself to mimic the same attack as before.
On the other side-like they had thought, the sounds of battle lured the Puppet Fighters that were hiding previously to crawl out of the woodwork, most likely under the orders of Galeem to try and capture them.
"Here they come." Pac-Man warned as they approached.
"Alright everyone, keep them busy and don't let them interfere with the Master Hand fight." Joker brought out his knife and posed ready to attack.
"Don't worry. We've got this." Sora summoned his keyblade, armed ready to counter as soon as the Puppet Fighters reached them.
As soon as the Puppet Fighters were close enough, they made the first move, launching themselves towards the Puppets and keeping them busy while avoiding getting trophified.
Back with the main party and Steve who was still fighting Lucas, they were waiting for the right moment to stun the Master Hand clone again, but it certainly was making it difficult for them, with all it's counter-attacks deflecting their every move.
"This is-a getting nowhere. It's just too high for-a us to reach and stun again." Mario shook his head as he landed back on the ground with his feet but still full of energy to fight.
"It must have realized we found its weak-spot. We need to find a way to lure it back down to finish it off." Link cursed their luck.
"Hey! Are you guys done over there?! This kid is becoming a real handful!" Steve yelled out while deflecting another attack and countering with his own by trying to throw a box of dynamite down at the psychic child.
"Raaaaahh! I had enough of this! Just lay down and explode already you giant brain-dead hand!" Kazooie growled and ranted at the giant hand.
"Kazooie! Don't make the giant hand ma-!"
That seemed to have gotten their attention as they directed themselves over where Banjo and Kazooie it showed the flat-side of its hand before bringing it down to try and slam them.
"Eeek! I told you so!" Banjo squeaked in panic but managed to barely dodge out of the way.
As the hand made contact with the ground, DK saw this as an opportunity and jumped on to the hand before pounding into the ground. The Hand being unable to move was stunned non-stop by DK's heavy-hitting blows.
"This is our chance!" Captain Falcon realized that they have now trapped the hand on the ground with DK not giving it a chance to recover. He wasted no time charging forward and delivering a 'Falcon Punch' to the hand.
The final strike was all that was needed for the hand to recoil and be thrown backwards before exploding. As a result Lucas had suddenly dropped moving, his red eyes growing dim before collapsing and turning back into a trophy.
"Whew, finally." Steve sighed in relief.
Feeling the defeat of their superior in the air, the Puppet Fighters stopped their fighting with the second group and retreated out of the town, in fear that they would be next.
"And don't come back!" Sora called out at the quickly departing army of Puppet Fighters that previously ruled this ghost town.
"Alright, nicely done team." Pac-Man winked and gave a thumbs up.
"Let's go check in on the others, if those Puppet Fighters left that means the others were able to beat that Master Hand copy." Sora nodded.
"I can't wait to see Lucas again." Villager was anticipating the reunion with a fellow fighter.
"Hmph, those Puppets are barely worth the effort of fighting. Such weaklings." Kazuya snorted.
"The idea was to keep them busy, but it does look that they won't hang around as soon as their boss is defeated." Olimar reasoned gently.
"I've noticed that too." Joker agreed with Olimar's thoughts, as he also came to the same conclusion-considering how the Puppet Fighters seem to follow whoever is strongest and when they fall, the Puppets are quick to retreat rather than fight on.
"Oh, so it's kinda like the Heartless. The weaker ones usually follow the orders of someone who is stronger than them, especially if they have a lot of darkness-that's what attracts them." Sora made a connection between the Puppet Fighters and the Heartless back in his own universe.
"So you're saying someone like Kazuya could attract Heartless to him and they would obey his every order until he is defeated?" Joker summarized.
"Yup. Pretty much." Sora nodded.
"Well, good thing we don't have Heartless in this world then. That's the last thing we need on top of fighting Galeem and the Puppet Fighters." Joker sighed.
"Poyo." Kirby voiced his thoughts.
"Kirby's right, let's go meet back with the others." With that the group returned to where they left the main party before.
When they did arrive back they noticed everyone was huddled around a trophy-which they assumed belonged to the one called Lucas.
"Hey, look who's back. The Puppet Fighters didn't give you trouble right?" Banjo waved them.
"Nah, they ran away as while we were still fighting them. I guess that means you guys have succeeded?" Joker answered.
"If you mean we defeated the Master Hand clone, yes. Although it sure made an effort to be annoying." Snake commented.
"That's interesting. So the Puppet Fighters will run away if they know they can't win?" Mega Man guessed.
"Seems so. Take down the leader and rest will flee." Joker crossed his arms.
"While this is all exciting stuff, can we awaken this kid already? The poor thing's probably going to be a nervous wreck when he wakes up." Kazooie brought everyone back to the main issue at hand.
"Right, sorry." Mario apologized before tapping on the trophy to awaken Lucas once more.
Lucas shook his head to shake the eerie fog-like trance that he felt he had been trapped in for a long while. At first while still dazed, he looked confused and lost.
"Huh? Where...am I? How did I get all the way here?" Lucas wondered to himself out-loud.
It wasn't until his mind became clearer as the fog in his head started to disperse that he recognized the people before him.
"Mario!" Lucas was on the brink of tears and hugged the red plumber tightly.
"Welcome-a back, Lucas. It's-a good to see you back to your normal self."
"It was so awful! It was so dark and scary! I don't remember what happened after Galeem used those huge beams of light and devoured everyone-but I remember feeling like I was in a dark place." Lucas sniffed and sobbed into Mario's overalls.
"Poor fella, it must have been awful for him." Banjo sympathized.
"The more I hear about this Galeem, the more I hate it." Kazooie voiced her opinion.
"It's-a okay now, Lucas. You're free from Galeem's control now."
"I...I was under Galeem's control? You mean I attacked you guys? I'm really sorry!"
"It's alright, Lucas. You didn't hurt anyone besides we were in the exact same situation as you were. If it wasn't for Kirby and his new friends, we'd probably still be under Galeem's thumb." Villager reassured.
"Really? Even you guys?" Lucas looked shocked at this revelation.
"We were. Thanks to Kirby and the newcomers though, we were able to rescue some of our friends from the same fate." Link added.
Lucas looked to Kirby and the new faces he hasn't seen before. "Um, thank you for helping us."
"Aw don't mention it, little guy. Good to see you back to your usual self." Sora gave a sunshine filled smile to Lucas.
Lucas softly smiled back and gave the smallest of nods. "Oh! What about Ness? Have you been able to find him yet?" Lucas asked earnestly.
"Unfortunately no, there's plenty of our friends that still need rescuing-but rest assured-we plan to save every last one of them." Pac-Man answered.
"I-I want to help too then! Ness is a dear friend to me and been supportive ever since I first joined. It's my turn to help him."
"That's the spirit, Lucas. I'm sure we'll find him and the others." Sora cheered.
"Now that we have another fighter with us, we need to start thinking about how we travel from here on out. Our numbers are starting to get big and that could end up being an issue if Galeem really wants stop us. We need a place where we can plan out our teams and allow those who had been fighting non-stop to rest and recover." Mega Man suggested.
"So what you're saying is we should start thinking about setting up a headquarters of sorts to be better prepared for our fight with Galeem and have smaller parties to scout the world?" Marth summarized.
"Exactly. This will also be an ideal chance for fighters to rest and recuperate their strength before fighting again. We can't afford to mess up our fight with Galeem again." Mega Man continued.
"That sounds awesome, let's do it!" Sora excitedly stated.
"But can we build such a thing on short notice? We simply don't have the time." Olimar wondered.
"Oh just leave that to me. You're talking to a guy who crafts for a living, I can build something like a headquarters in no time. I mean have you seen my tunnel?" Steve proudly boasted.
"He's got a point. The fact he was able to build a tunnel like that in such a short amount of time is nothing short of impressive. I believe if we were to consider making a base of operations for us to work from, Steve would be our go-to 'builder'." Ryu vouched for Steve.
"You leave all the building work to me and I'll turn it into a masterpiece."
"Then in that case, we greatly welcome your offer, Steve. That being said, we don't need to rush into it. We still need to check this ruin out after all." Mega Man brought back up his sensors again to try and locate this ruin based on the map blueprint he has in his data banks.
"There's a ruin all the way up here?" Lucas asked curiously.
"Apparently. You wouldn't happen to remember something like that while up here, have you?" Joker asked.
"Umm...I don't know. All I remember was that fight with Galeem and then nothing." Lucas shook his head.
"Worry not, dear child. We'll just simply comb this entire place until we do find it. It must be around here somewhere if the map Mega Man was able to download is to be believed." Captain Falcon reassured the blonde psychic boy.
"Okay, if we keep going north, we'll end up in the snow area that Lucas mentioned, it also looks like there's a path that goes up the mountains as well. I'm detecting something strange up on those mountains too that wasn't on the map data. It's really big whatever it is." Mega Man reported his findings after scanning the area and correlating that data with the map that he downloaded from back from the base.
"Wait so now there's three different routes we need to look at?" Snake placed a hand to his head.
"We can look into-a that once we've seen the ruins for ourselves. Let's-a go." Mario led their group northward.
"You don't think we'll see those Puppet Fighters again will we?" Banjo wondered.
"I hope not in this village-best to keep our guard up just in case some were left behind. In any case, let's follow behind Mario." Joker picked up Piranha Plant before following after the rest of the group.
"It's...SO COLD! HOW DID IT GET COLD SO FAST?" Kazooie complained while trying to duck her whole body in the warmth and comfort of Banjo's backpack.
"Well this world is kinda kooky, we were in a jungle not long ago and remember how humid it was in there?" Banjo commented.
"Galeem merged all these worlds together without really thinking about the geography. That would explain why there's a snowy mountain range here while there's a jungle just below this mountain." Mega Man answered plainly.
"Are you handling okay back there some of you aren't...well...equipped for cold weather." Link looked behind to notice how some of the fighters were wearing shirts and short-sleeved clothing that exposed their arms to the cold. Kazuya was practically shirtless.
"Pah, this is nothing. It builds character to withstand the cold." Kazuya boasted.
"I would prefer not dying of hypothermia, thanks." Joker countered back.
"Wah!" Kirby accidentally tripped and face-planting to the floor.
Sora picked up Kirby and wrapped his jacket around Kirby and himself to help maintain warmth. "Feel better?"
"Poyo!" Kirby gratefully thanked Sora.
"Hold on, I think this is it." Mega Man raised a hand to signal to everyone to stop trekking in the snow.
"You found the location, Mega?" Snake asked.
Mega Man nodded. "Yup, this is the location."
They all looked in front of them to see what looked like a stone ruin with some pillars peaking out of the snow. What was most suspicious about this ruin was the three barrier wards in front leading to the ruins, all in three different colours...well two of them at least, the green one seemed to been deactivated.
"A ruin protected by three different kind of shields huh? They're clearly hiding something or rather someone in there." Pac-Man declared.
"Without a doubt, this can only mean some of our friends are in there somewhere. I just know it." Mega Man agreed with Pac-Man.
"Um...but it looks like only two of the barriers are still up. What happened to the green one?" Lucas pointed.
"Indeed, that's suspicious that only the green barrier would be down. Could it have run out of power?" Ryu wondered.
"Nah, Galeem wouldn't be that careless. Something else must have triggered the green barrier to go down." Link doubted.
"Out of curiosity, Sora. Think that Keyblade of yours can unlock those barriers for us?" Joker asked.
Sora shook his head. "I don't think so. It can unlock any lock but I don't think this is the same thing."
"That's unfortunate but I guess you have a point." Joker sighed.
"Did you guys by chance step on anything that might have been like an off/on switch?" Steve asked.
"Hmm...Hey wait a minute..." Joker gave this some thought before a thought struck him. "Banjo, you pressed something back in the jungle right? The one that Kazooie told you not to press?" Joker turned to the bear and bird duo.
"Oh yeah, that big bright green button!" Banjo clicked instantly as soon as the memory resurfaced.
"Wait, you mean Banjo did something right?" Kazooie's mouth gaped open in shock.
"Hey," Banjo was a little hurt although he was used to Kazooie's jabs by now.
Joker nodded. "What if that button was actually the switch that controls the barriers depending on the colour of the button. For example, the button Banjo pressed was green-so it was connected the green barrier." Joker explained.
"Oh, so now that it's been turned off, we can go through where the green barrier used to be!" Sora figured out.
"Right. If we follow that logic-that means there are two other buttons just colour-coded as well and somewhere in the world." Joker continued.
"But this world is huge! It would take ages for us to scour the entire world for two buttons." Olimar pointed out.
"Olimar has a good point. This might be a good time to actually consider Mega Man's words and break up into teams of three." Captain Falcon suggested.
"Teams of three?" Villager asked curiously.
"Ah I see what Captain Falcon is saying. There's three different routes we saw on the way here. If we split into three groups, we'll be able to explore the world not only faster but we could end up saving some of our other friends that are elsewhere in the world while we're looking for those remaining two switches to get into this ruin." Mega Man broke it down to make it easier for other fighters to understand.
"We do have a lot of fighters now, we might be able to pull this off." Marth warmed up to the idea.
"But say we do find the two remaining switches, where do we all meet up again?" Banjo asked.
"Hmmm...Oh I know! Why don't we meet back in the village? It's not that far away from this ruin and it's where all the three routes we found intersect." Olimar realized.
"That could work, that purple mist forest is outside the village, the snow-path we saw also connects back to here and there's also that road tunnel that leads to who knows where, but they can also go back that way if they wanted." Link reasoned.
"Then all that's left now is to decide the groups. I don't think it's a good idea to make an important choice like this out in the cold though." Pac-Man stated.
"Well no one's using those houses back in the village right? So how about we hijack one for now?" Steve offered an idea.
"I feel a little bad, but you're right. One of those houses would be ideal as a temporary safe-house. Let's do that." Marth told the others.
"Right, in the mean time-Joker can I ask for your help in comparing your map to mine? If we put our maps together, we might be able to create a much accurate map of this world."
"That sounds like a good idea, Mega Man." Joker took out his map and started to compare notes with Mega Man with his own data from the information he downloaded back from the base as the group retreated for now from the ruins and returned to the ghost town to make use of one of the empty houses.
Upon returning to the ghost town, they've agreed to use one of the houses that were closest to the yellow bus they saw earlier just outside of the road tunnel.
During this whole time, Mega Man and Joker had been sharing their maps and trying to create a more complete version of the world map with the knowledge they have. And they were still in the process of this even after entering the empty house.
The rest of the group took this time to have a quick reprieve and save their strength for the bigger challenges ahead.
Marth being in charge of the 'emergency rations' as they've come to call them, decided to share out more of the snacks for the group for a quick energy boost.
"Will you be alright Mega Man? I know you can't consume human food or drink." Marth asked with concern.
"I'll be fine, don't worry. I can go for a long time without an energy can." Mega Man smiled kindly and reassured the blue-haired swordsman he would be okay without a recharge for now.
"What ya doing there, Steve? You seem busy with something." Banjo asked the block-man who was busy scribbling down some kind of blueprint.
"Just making a mock-up blueprint of our headquarters when we find a good spot to build it. I'm thinking it would be nice if we had a mobile one that we could take with us wherever we go, but that's really unlikely. I'm just making sure we have enough room for everything we need in it." Steve answered while going back to drawing his blueprint.
"Well you didn't waste anytime did you? How did you come up with a blueprint so fast?" Kazooie bluntly commented.
"Art can't be rushed, my red-feathered friend. When inspiration hits-you've gotta strike while the iron is hot. Crafting buildings is no different." Steve smirked while his text floated up every-time he spoke.
"I'm never going to get use to that floating text above your head. It just feels too surreal." Kazooie groaned.
"Eh, everyone else seems to have adapted to it so I'm sure you guys will get used to it too." Steve shrugged.
"You want some more, Kaoozie? These snacks are really tasty." Banjo offered what looked like a pocky stick to Kazooie.
"Eh, sure why not." Kazooie shrugged her feathers before biting into the pocky stick and taking it from Banjo's paw. Banjo then went back into the packet to get another stick and bit into it himself.
It took at least another hour until Joker and Mega Man seemed to have looked satisfied with their finished product. "Here we go, thanks to Joker's map that he drew and the data from the base we've obtained, we're able to make up more complete world map. Of course, it'll need to be updated as we go along and explore new areas but I can do that easily with my programming." Mega Man used his sensors and his eyes flickered and glow as brought up a holographic bird's eye view of the world they were in with the information they have already using his eyes a projector of sort to the rest of the fighters.
"Whoa, this place seems huge. There's still a lot of places that are still blanked out." Sora was in awe of just how big the world still was despite how far they have come already.
"But this is-a better than no map at all."
"True, can't argue with that." Sora nodded.
"Joker, Mario and I have also agreed on how we're going to explore all three routes at once." Mega Man also added. "Joker, if you would begin,"
"We decided if we split into three teams made up of seven fighters each, it'll allow us to explore each of these routes while not making us weaker in the process." Joker started to explain the plan he had worked out with the Blue Bomber.
"The goal is simple-we need to find the remaining two switches that correspond with the colour of the barrier in question. So in this case, we need to find a red button and blue one. We know that there's always a large-wide shake that happens when a switch connected to these barriers are pressed. So that will act as our sign of our progress." Mega Man then continued.
"Also while finding these switches, there's a chance that we might run into puppet fighters-but more importantly-we could end up finding other fighters like us being controlled by the Master Hand clones that we've seen throughout our journey so far."
"Which is why we agreed on the idea to have seven fighters in each of the three groups. Not only will this ensure the safety of our own team members but also that we have enough fighters in each group to take down the Master Hand clones."
"Hmm...you two have clearly put a lot of thought into this." Ryu was impressed.
"So this is how each team will work: Team one will investigate the snow path leading up into the snowy mountains where I detected that large anomaly-I will make sure that I pinpoint the location for the team going up there so you won't be able to miss it. If it really us as a big as my sensors say it is, it's worth checking out." Mega Man started to explain the roles of each team, using his holographic map to make icons for represent each team.
"Team two will be checking out the Purple Mist Forest, it's possible Puppet Fighters might be hiding in there but maybe some of our friends as well. Be on your guard and don't get lost in the mist." Joker added next.
"Last but not least, Team 3 will be making use of that yellow bus and using that road tunnel to learn where it leads and also rescue any fighters and if possible either of the remaining two buttons we need to press." Mega Man finished.
"So...how are we deciding who goes with who?" Marth questioned.
"Both Mega Man, myself and Mario agreed to act as team captains for each group for now." Joker told the group.
"We agreed that we should-a balance out our-a teams to make sure we're prepared for any scenario." Mario added into the conversation.
"Cool! So...uh...what teams are we in?" Sora was excitedly hyper for the whole plan.
"Calm down, kiddo. We're getting there," Joker playfully teased before continuing on. "Team 1 will me, Ryu, Steve, Olimar, Captain Falcon and Piranha Plant because apparently it won't leave me alone so I'm forced to bring the plant along." Joker added at the end with Piranha Plant snapping happily on Joker's shoulder.
"I can see that, you don't sound disappointed though." Link smirked.
"Oh shut up." Joker grumbled.
"Team 2 will be myself, Pac-Man, Snake, Marth, Kazuya and finally-Banjo and Kazooie."
"Aw man, do we have to bring this guy along?" Pac-Man complained pointing at Kazuya.
"It'll be fine, Pac-Man. I don't think Kazuya has any reasons to cause trouble. Even if he just wants to fight Galeem- he knows his limits...I think."
"I wish I had your optimism, Mega." Snake sighed.
"Hmph, so long as I fight to keep getting stronger, I couldn't care less where we go." Kazuya scoffed.
"Oh you'll be a barrel of laughs won't you? Don't think I won't peck your eyes out if you cause any trouble for us." Kazooie snide a retort.
"Um, Kazooie, please don't make enemies." Banjo did his best to defuse as tension between his friend and the muscled heavily scarred man.
"Then that-a leaves me with Sora, Kirby, Link, Villager, DK and Lucas." Mario finalized.
"Sweet! That means we get to drive the bus! Dibs on being the driver!"
"Sora, we're not putting you in the driving seat." Link shot down instantly.
"Awww..."
"Um, you aren't going to put Mario in the driving seat...are you?" Villager was scared to ask since he was still feeling traumatized by the F-Zero experience.
"Oh it'll be-a fine, Villager. I won't-a crash it like before." Mario reassured the boy.
"So that's what happened to the F-Zero I saw back in the race track." Captain Falcon at long last got his answer to how that F-Zero vehicle ended up as a burning inferno back on the race-track.
"...We're gonna die, aren't we?" Villager was not the least convinced.
"U-Um, I'm sure Mario will be okay driving the bus, I-I mean...what's the worst that can happen?" Lucas tried his best to defend Mario's driving skills while stuttering with some of his words.
"Ooh?" DK tilted his head in confusion.
"Yeah, I have no idea what they're talking about either, DK." Sora turned to the ape with the red tie. "I'm a little sad I missed out on seeing that racetrack though, that must have been awesome."
"Trust me on this, Sora. You were better off not being there." Joker replied almost instantly, not wanting to relive that F-Zero experience again.
With their three teams settled and decided on to search for the remaining two switches that are connected to the snow ruins, the gang left the house and went to the yellow bus to see the third team off as they entered inside it.
"Oh hey, these seats are actually pretty nice." Sora commented while Kirby sat down on Sora's lap.
"Um...is it okay if I sit next to you, Sora?" Lucas shyly asked.
"Sure, take a seat." Sora beamed and helped Lucas into the free seat next to Sora.
"Oh, they really are quite comfy huh?" Lucas noted once settled into his seat.
"Whoever owned this bus before must have really prioritized comfort for their passengers." Sora noted.
"Poyo."
"Link, are you sure you want to put Mario as our driver?" Villager questioned again.
"It'll be fine, Villager. Mario has driven before. Sure it was a kart but it still counts." Link reassured.
"..." Villager simply sighed and got on to the bus.
DK struggled to get inside at first but thanks with help from those already inside and Mario and Link who was still outside, they managed to push DK in.
"Might be better for you to take seats in the back, DK." Link called out to the ape.
"Ooh!" DK acknowledged and went to the far back of the bus.
"If you guys see any Puppet Fighters in that tunnel, just punch right through them. Don't waste your time and strength on them if you can avoid it." Mega Man informed Mario.
"Okie dokie." Mario gave a thumbs up before getting into the driver's seat.
"Okay, so if we feel the ground shake two times, that means the two switches have been found and reunite back here in front of the snow ruins, did I get that right?" Link double-checked to make sure they knew when to return back here.
"That's right. Just like what happened to the green switch that Banjo pressed, it's safe to assume that the other two switches will trigger in the same way." Joker confirmed.
"Got it. Take care of yourselves guys. Here's hoping that we'll be able to save some of our friends along the way."
"Same to you guys, good luck in your search." Mega Man bade them farewell as Link stepped in the yellow bus last, with all the fighters in team 3 settled, the yellow bus's door hissed shut and Mario started up the engine.
With that, the yellow bus departed from the bus stop it was stationed at and drove into the road tunnel that lead to who knows where.
"I hope they'll be alright. We don't even know where it leads." Olimar was concerned for them.
"Don't worry, they'll all great fighters. They'll be fine, I'll bet they might even come back with some of our friends as well." Captain Falcon comforted Olimar's worries.
"Well, now it's our turn to make our way to the Purple Mist Forest. You guys take care while climbing up the snow path, okay?" Marth turned to the fighters in team one.
"We will. I will make sure that everyone is safe under my watch. You also take care in that forest. We don't know what's inside there but keep your guard up all the same." Captain Falcon cautioned.
"We'll see each other soon. Good luck guys." Mega Man gave a thumbs up to them.
And with that, the remaining fighters went in their assigned teams and went down their opposite paths. Team one going up the snow path into the snowy mountains and team two venturing into the mysterious purple mist forest.
What these three groups will find when they arrive at their destinations? Only time will tell.
Alright! Finally got this chapter done! Writer's block is a pain. XD
But this also means I get to continue my play-through now to continue the story, exciting times. And Lucas has now joined the fight! Yay! Moar party members! =D
So in order to search for the remaining two switches that will turn off the remaining blue and red barrier that blocked their path into the snow ruins, the Smash fighters have now split into three different teams to explore the three different locations. The snow path leading up into the mountains, the mysterious forest that gives off purple mist and finally the road tunnel using the yellow bus that was left behind to see what laid beyond the tunnel. What awaits the three groups? Who can say? ;)
Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorite, alerted and followed this fan fic so far. I really appreciate all the support so far, also really happy you are enjoying the story so far and hope you continue to enjoy the story as it continues!
As for what the newcomers are going to be called, suggestions are still open. Although I do like the sound of Lifelights and DLC Squad so far though. XD If anyone else wants to suggest an squad name for the newcomers, feel free to do so. =3
As for Super Saiyan's question about the fighters mentioned, perhaps there will be for some of the fighters, but in the end I think they all would agree that they have a bigger enemy to contend with so they would probably agree on a truce. XD Cloud's definitely not gonna like Sephiroth being there, but hey at least he has Sora-the ultimate weapon against Sephiroth. :P
To Dario Soto's question: Worry not, Female Byleth will be the FE lord for Three houses in this story since she won the vote a few chapters back (by a landslide I should add). =3 Also sure, I'll try and make it work with Sephiroth and Pichu. XD
Also to Snake Screamer, yeah, I did worry that I might have messed up Kazooie a little, sorry. I knew she was hot-tempered but since I haven't played Banjo and Kazooie, I didn't know the intricate details. I'll do my best to try and keep them as close to their game counterparts as possible.
Anyway, that's all from me for now. I hope you guys have a great day and until the next chapter, happy reading!
Moogle Empress out!
Moogle: Kupo!