Smash Fighters at the beginning of Chapter 11: Olimar, Captain Falcon, Joker, Piranha Plant, Steve, Ryu, Ice Climbers and Falco
Chapter 11: Return Of The Great Fox
Meanwhile all the way back where the Great Fox was currently cruising along the mountain range, Steve was finishing off the last of the most important repairs on the ship, everything else was something Steve could do in his spare time but he was pretty proud of his achievement since he didn't have access to his usual blocks in his home world.
While he was doing that, everyone else was at the bridge of the ship trying to keep an eye out for anything that might look like a switch from above.
But maybe they were a little too high.
"Have you guys had better luck?" Joker turned to ask the others from where he was standing.
"Nuh uh." Nana shook her head.
"Maybe we can't see it because it's so small and we're so high up." Popo suggested.
"Falco, do you think we can descend a little? We might have better luck if we're a bit closer to the ground." Captain Falcon asked.
"I can't get too close to the ground—we'll end up crashing her...again!" Falco warned.
"Just a teeny-weeny bit lower, Mr. Falco. Please?" Nana asked earnestly.
"Ugh, fine. Just so you know, if Fox asks—this was your idea." Falco shook his head but complied with the request, nudging the ship to go downwards a small fraction.
That made all the difference as Olimar's Pikmin started to jump up and down and making noises as if to get everyone's attention. "Did you find something?" Olimar curiously looked over where the Pikmin were staring to see they were just coming up to a heart-shaped lake but what really got his attention was the red button smack dab in the middle. "Oh! I think we found it! It's in the middle of that lake!" Olimar called out to everyone.
"Really? You found it?" Joker ran over to Olimar's side to see what he was seeing. It certainly did look the same to the one Banjo and Kazooie found all the way back in the jungle, but this one was red. "Good job guys, I think we finally found our second switch." Joker congratulated Olimar and the Pikmin.
"Aw shucks, it was the Pikmin who spotted it." Olimar shyly answered back.
"What's this about a switch being found?" Steve's voice could be heard behind him as he arrived on the bridge.
"Oh Steve, finished with the repairs?" Olimar asked.
"Yup, it's safe to say that The Great Fox has been truly reborn," Steve started. "A word of caution though, I'm still working on the tiny details and fixing up the other rooms that we might renovate into proper facilities once I get some ideas for them. So, try not to push her too hard."
"Right, so I guess we won't be using the boosters still for a while. That means we'll have to keep this starship on cruise speed. I suppose since we don't have to worry about anything attacking us from the sky—other than you know who—It should be okay to take it easy." Falco explained in better detail.
"Right, Galeem. That's probably for the best. Once we finally take down his defenses, we don't know how long they'll stay down so we want to save those booster engines for when we need them." Joker understood.
"Exactly. Can't be too careful around that guy. I'll bet it's plotting something even as we speak." Falco nodded.
"We found a big red button in the middle of a lake, Mr. Steve. It's a heart shape too! It's so cute!" Nana carried on with what they were previously talking about before Steve arrived with much child-like joy.
"Oh ho~ Finally found one of them, have we? About time if you ask me." Steve was glad to hear the news.
"We don't know for sure but it does look a lot like the green one we saw before. The only way to find out would be to go down there and see it properly." Joker crossed his arms.
"I dunno. A button right in the middle of a lake and conveniently not a single Puppet Fighter in sight? I smell a trap if you ask me." Falco cautioned.
"That did cross my mind too—that's why we're going to go about this carefully. We'll take a small group of us down there in case it turns out to be trap which is probably is. The others can stay here as back-up in case things go wrong." Joker added.
"I like the sounds of that. Just so we're clear, I'm going with the group that's going down to the surface, I've been cramped up in this Starship for too long, a bird's gotta have freedom, y'know."
"Fair enough, Falco. How about everyone else?"
"Eh I'll stay up here then; I need to check up on a few things and start gathering some inspiration for the soon-to-be renovated facilities."
"Well...do we have a kitchen for one? If we plan to make this place our 'home away from home' it's going to need all the things you would expect from the Smash Manor." Captain Falcon suggested.
"...You guys had a manor?" Steve narrowed his eyes.
"Well...we DID have one...but it's probably gone now when Galeem merged all our worlds together into this one." The F-Zero Pilot answered.
"Ah, I see." Steve got the full picture now.
"Hopefully when our universe is restored to normal, we'll get our Smash Manor back too. Until then, the Great Fox will have to meet with the demands of handling...well an army of Smash Fighters I suppose." Ryu added for some optimism.
"Just how many are we talking about here? Gotta figure out how we're going to give everyone a room on here."
"Including all the fighters we have rescued so far...I'd say there's roughly over 75 of us. Maybe even more if we include you and the other Newcomers." Ryu answered.
"...Well...I better start working on those barracks. This place is gonna be packed by the time we find everyone. We might even need to ask people to bunk up." Steve whistled.
"Oh no, my room is a fighter-free zone—no room partner for me." Falco argued.
"Eh I don't mind, I'm used to sleeping with Morgana back in the world I'm from, so I can just team up with Piranha Plant if we need to share a room." Joker picked up the Piranha Plant who snapped its jaws and nodded in agreement.
"Morgana?" Ryu raised an eyebrow.
"He's a good friend of mine...also a cat. Please don't ask, it's a long story." Joker answered bluntly.
"Listen Bird Boy, if I say you'll have to share a room with someone, you'll have to do it. We've got to think about everyone else too you know—can't afford to be picky on room space." Steve was adamant on ensuring everyone had a place to rest and while the Great Fox was a big ship—it wasn't big enough to give everyone a room of their own.
"Gah! Fine! If I'm going to tolerate anyone—it'll be Fox." Falco negotiated.
"That is when we find him but sure whatever floats your boat—er—starship rather." If Steve's pixeled eyes could face roll he would have done so right there.
"So that's me and Falco to check out the lake, what about the rest of you?"
"Ooh we'll go!" Nana and Popo raised their arms excitedly.
"Heh, okay so that's Nana and Popo, anyone else?"
Piranha Plant raised a leaf arm to get Joker's attention.
"Okay that should be good enough. Will the rest of you be okay with Steve?" Joker turned to the remaining fighters who would stay on the Great Fox.
"No worries here, I can keep the Starship going until you guys return." Olimar reassured.
"Let's hope this switch on the lake is the one. Good luck my fellow fighters." Captain Falcon saluted them off.
And so, Joker, Falco, the Ice Climbers and Piranha Plant made their way to the exit of the ship as the Great Fox—piloted now by Olimar—made for landing near their next destination.
Once the Great Fox landed safely down near the heart-shaped lake, the small group made up of five fighters carefully approached the wooden path over the lake leading to the switch.
"I don't see anything suspicious too far. You can never be too careful though so tread lightly." Joker looked around the area first and saw it was strangely quiet.
They approached the lake with caution but it wasn't until they were about to head towards the middle of the lake that something stopped out of the sky.
"Eeep!" Nana jumped in fright.
"I knew this was an obvious trap!" Falco got ready to fight whoever was in front of them.
"Then we'll just have to fight through them." Joker also armed himself with his dagger ready to fight.
As the enemy approached them, they saw a familiar white hand with them.
"It's one of the Master Hand clones! So, this must be another fighter." Joker realized.
Falco recognized almost right away who the fighter they would be facing would be.
"Fox! Damn, so they got even him too. Geez, he's such a pain! Always causing problems." Falco exclaimed.
"Don't worry, we'll save him, just like how we were rescued." Popo tried to encourage Falco.
"If we cut off the strings connecting Fox to the hand, they won't be able to control him anymore.
"Huh—this is kinda of exciting—not every day that Fox is the one that needs rescuing." Falco smirked.
Piranha Plant didn't waste time and lunged at the Master Hand and already duking it out.
Joker face-palmed. "Well so much for the first move being ours. Let's go." He then leapt into the air and started slicing through the strings.
Falco charged in get Fox's attention and shared blows and kicks with his fellow Arwing Pilot.
Nana and Popo decided to work together to climb on to the back of the Master Hand, Popo jumped up first to land safely on the back of the hand before using a robe that connected the two Ice Climbers to help Nana up as well. Once they were both right up there with Piranha Plant—who was already biting away at the fingers—they helped with dealing damage to the hand with their hammers.
While this was happening Fox and Falco continued to block and attempt a strike at each other until Falco found and opening and managed to pin both of Fox's arms to immobilize him.
"Snap out it, McCloud! Is this really the best you can do? I thought you were stronger than this or am I wrong? If you're the Fox McCloud I know then let me know you're in there, don't let that giant rainbow winged freak control you like this!"
It took at least a few seconds but Falco saw Fox's currently red glowing eyes flicker as the fighter was trying to rebel against his controller.
"There's...a weak spot...the palm of the hand...shoot...there." Fox managed to get out, hoping Falco would understand what he meant.
"A weak spot?" Falco glanced for a moment at the Master Hand and it soon dawned on him what Fox meant. "Gotcha. Hey Joker, take care of this guy for me, I know how to take that thing down for good."
Joker was confused but he decided to trust Falco and stopped cutting through the strings halfway to switch places with Falco to fight Fox.
Falco got out his gun and aimed his shot right in the middle of the Master Hand clone's hand. He shot bullseye into the palm of Master Hand's clone that was Fox's puppeteer, the damage dealt from the shot seemed to have done the trick as the laser went right through the hand.
The Ice Climbers noticing how the hand was starting to freefall, they jumped off while picking up Piranha Plant, pulling it away from the finger it was biting into.
The Master Hand clone fell into the water making a huge splash as he did so. With the clone's defeat, the red glow in Fox's eyes disappeared, giving the Starfox captain his free-will and freedom back. He shook his head to try and shake the fog in his head before falling back on his rear feeling tired out.
"Ugh, now that's an experience I never want to relive. My head feels dizzy like I just did a barrel roll too many times." Fox rubbed his head in an attempt to ease the air-headed nausea he felt.
"Whew, you were tough to keep up with." Joker sighed in relief, having to counter every move Fox made was really rough. How Falco managed to do it with ease is impressive.
"Nice to have you back with us, Fox. You are such a pain in the tailfeathers you know that? Just so we're clear, you owe me big time for saving your tail." Falco out-stretched his wing for Fox to take to help him up.
"...Heh. Of course. Enjoy it while you can though, Falco. I don't intend to let it happen twice. But if it has to be said—thanks for bailing me out." Fox snorted with a retort of his own, but accepted Falco's wing to help him back on his feet.
"Yay! Welcome back, Fox!" Nana cheered.
"Hey Fox, that wasn't the real Master Hand, was it?" Popo curiously asked.
"Nah, just a clone. The real Master Hand is much stronger—though I suppose for Galeem—that's the point. It'll look bad if the clones matched the original in strength." Fox shook his head.
"How much do you remember from the time you were possessed to the present?" Falco asked.
"Honestly, not much at all. Apart from that one moment of clarity while Falco and I were fighting, everything else is a blank. I remember the fight we had with Galeem the first time but that's the last thing I can recall."
"Yeah, sounds about right for most of us here then." Falco shrugged.
"So anyway, who are those two? Pretty sure I've never seen them before."
"Okay, so it's like this-" Falco began to tell Fox everything that he was told by Joker and the others. Once Falco was finished telling the whole thing Fox looked back to Joker.
"Well, I suppose thanks are in order. You've really helped us out by choosing to put your neck out for us. You realize Galeem's not gonna let this down, right? It might even try capturing you and the other newcomers."
"Let it try. It wouldn't be the first time I got on the bad side of someone dangerous." Joker fixed his glove as he stated this.
"You've got guts, I like it." Fox smirked. "By the way, what brought you here? Not that I'm complaining—you've just saved me after all—just curious as to what brought you here to begin with." Fox questioned.
"We're looking for a switch!" Nana answered excitedly.
"The others said that these switches will open the way to a ruin that might have some of our friends being held captive inside." Popo added.
"Is that so? Well, I'm pretty sure I saw a red button switch in the middle of this lake. I take it that's the reason then?"
"Pretty much. Let's go do what we came here to do and make our way back to the ship." Joker nodded before heading off to where the red switch was waiting for them.
The others followed behind walking along the wooden path leading to the middle of the lake.
"Look at all the flowers, it's so pretty here!" Nana squealed in delight at the pink flowers dotting around the whole lake.
"I wonder which world this lake came from?" Popo wondered out loud.
"Probably Link's, he mentioned in his world there was this heart-shaped lake that is rumored where two fated lovers are supposed to meet." Fox answered for him.
"Wow...that's so romantic~" Nana sighed dreamily.
"Aw that's mushy stuff." Popo pouted in disappointment.
Nana huffed at Popo.
"Here we are, the switch we've been looking for. Please let this work." Joker took the bold move to activate the switch upon finally reaching the middle.
There was a tremor just like there was with one back in the jungle. They could only hope that meant one of the barriers were down now.
"Uh was that supposed to happen?" Fox asked.
"Yeah, it happened before with the first one. There's only one way to find out though—we need to go back to the ruins and check if the switch really did take down one of the last two barriers blocking our way inside those ruins." Joker answered.
"I don't think we have to worry about that. We've got the Great Fox; it'll be a piece of cake to get back to wherever this ruin is." Falco reminded.
"It can't hurt to check. Let's get back to the ship. I want to say hi to Olimar, Captain Falcon, Ryu, also that newcomer—Steve—right?" Fox was eager to return back to his pride and joy that was the Great Fox.
"Agreed, last thing we need is to be ambushed by Puppet Fighters." Joker just didn't want to deal with any Puppet Fighters that wanted to try their luck with them.
"If I remember right, it shouldn't be that far away from here. Let's move." Falco pointed in the same direction they had just come from when they first came to the lake.
Leaving the heart-shaped lake and returning to the parked Great Fox, they entered the bridge where Fox was immediately greeted by Captain Falcon, Olimar and Ryu.
"It's good to see you again, Fox. I take it our friends here were the ones who saved you?" Ryu was the first to welcome back.
"Yeah—as much as it shames me to admit it—Galeem got me and I would probably still be under his control if these guys didn't come along." Fox admitted.
"Does that mean the lake really was a trap by Galeem?" Captain Falcon asked.
"Sure was—we took care of it though and did what we came to do." Joker answered.
"Hmm...it's strange I feel like there's something important I've forgotten to mention. Maybe I'll remember once I have time to recover from being possessed." Fox couldn't help but feel like there was something he had forgotten to tell the others earlier but his mind was still going through loops due to his body controlled by Galeem' previously. He hoped it would come back to him sooner rather than later.
"Well try not to force it Fox, I'm sure it'll ring back in your memory once you've given it some time." Olimar reassured.
"True. While I barely remember anything between being captured by Galeem and then freed from his control, I get the feeling Galeem's the kind of god that loves to get into your head." Fox nodded slightly.
"We're going back to the ruins to see if that switch really did take down one of the barriers. So, we can take this time to relax." Joker told the rest what their next step is.
"Ah, good idea! We can get back there easily with the Great Fox." Captain Falcon liked the idea to check and see if the switch they found was really the one they needed to find.
With that Fox took care of piloting the Starship from Olimar, making it turn around to return back to the snow ruins in the direction Joker pointed out.
During this time Steve returned to the bridge and noticed the new face among them. "Oh, I take it you're the Captain of the Great Fox that Falco mentioned before." Steve pieced together.
"That's right. And you must be Steve—one of the Newcomer fighters I've heard about—sorry you got dragged into this mess."
"Eh I've gotten over it." Steve shrugged.
"Why does your words pop up above your head like that?" Fox questioned.
"Geez, is it really that rare over here? That's how everyone in my world talks." Steve sighed loudly in annoyance.
"You're the first one I've seen that does that." Fox replied bluntly.
"Well never mind that. I wanted to talk to you about upgrading some of the facilities on your ship. I don't mean to brag but I'm an amazing crafter and builder —I figured that since we'll be using your ship as our mobile headquarters, I wanted to go over some details with you." Steve started.
Fox's eyes widened in horror. "What?! Who gave you permission to mess with my ship?!"
Steve and everyone except for Piranha Plant simply pointed to Falco.
"Falco..." Fox growled menacingly.
"Remember Fox—you owe me~" Falco reminded with a coy smirk. "Besides, we both know that the Great Fox has been needing a huge upgrade for ages and we finally found someone who will do it for free. Like it or not—this needs to happen." Falco then reasoned.
Fox simply grumbled darkly to himself for a few minutes before sighing in defeat. "Fine...I'll allow it. You realize this makes us even now, right? Next time, tell your Captain first before you make any big decisions like this!"
"Yeah, I got it." Falco rolled his eyes and brushed off the scolding. "Trust me, you'll see the benefits to this arrangement."
"So... What changes were you planning for the Great Fox?" Fox asked Steve as he continued to pilot the Great Fox.
"I'm glad you asked. I mostly just done repairs to get everything working again so far. What I wanted to talk to you about-" Steve went on to discuss the final details with Fox about what he intends to do with the Great Fox's rooms, most importantly the one about making a barracks of sorts for the fighters they had now and those yet to be saved.
As this continued, they eventually arrived back at the Snow Ruins. Joker looked through the windows of the bridge to look down on the world below and saw that the second barrier had gone down now."
"It worked! That switch really was connected to one of the barriers!" Olimar cheered happily, even jumping for joy.
"Yup, the one we found was red which means there should only the blue one left. Once we find it, we'll be able to reunite with the other two teams and explore the ruins together." Joker nodded.
"Yay!" Nana and Popo also jumped for joy in perfect union.
"Excellent news but...where would the last one be? There's still much of this world we don't know about." Captain Falcon wondered.
"It's obvious, we go and find it ourselves. It's gotta be somewhere in the world." Falco stated as if it was the most obvious answer.
"I'm hoping either Mega Man or Mario's teams will find it first but it doesn't hurt for us to continue our search." Joker agreed with Falco's idea.
"Question is now—do we know where to start looking? We've checked the snow mountains and the heart-shaped lake so that only leaves going further east or south." Fox question their small team.
"...If only there was a way we can figure out where the other fighters are. I feel like they should be our top priority honestly." Ryu suggested.
"Actually...I may have an idea about that. Just give me five seconds." Steve hurried off out of the bridge as if to get something.
The rest of the group seemed confused but decided to wait for Steve to return and see what his idea was.
When Steve returned ten seconds later, it looked like some sort of sonar radar
"This baby what I like to call the Fighter Scanner! It'll let us find the other fighters we've yet to find by it tracking them down using their life signals as a sign." Steve proudly showed off his invention.
"Wow, this will really help us find the rest of our friends? Using their life signals? You mean like their heart or body heat?"
"Eh, sort of. I made sure to tweak it so it won't accidentally pick up Puppet Fighters or the wandering spirits that we've seen all over the place. So, it'll pick up only living beings like you and me." Steve answered.
"I'm impressed Steve, you'd give Slippy a run for his money and he's good at what he does too. Where did you get the parts to make this though?" Fox wondered.
"I basically used all the scrap parts that were left over after the repairs. I haven't tested it myself but if this works as well as I hope, we'll find everyone in no time." Steve answered.
"I'm eager to try it. Let's give it a go and see if it'll pick something!" Olimar excitedly told the others.
"Agreed. What do we have to lose by giving it a try?" Captain Falcon nodded in full agreement with Olimar.
Fox turned to Steve. "Well, one way to find out if this 'Fighter Scanner' really works or not."
Steve turned on the device and surprisingly it was already earning its keep as it pinged three dots on the screen already. "Whoa, I wasn't expecting to pick up that many at once. It looks like they're to the south-east of here."
"Nice, that machine's already proving its worth. Time to go see what waits for us over there." Fox piloted the Great Fox to turn from the Snow Ruins and make its way to the south-east.
Even with the Great Fox in cruise mode, it didn't take them long until they arrived near the location of where the Fighter Scanner was indicating. What they didn't expect to find was a massive city sprawling out before them.
"Wow...I didn't know this world has a city!" Popo was in awe looking out of the bridge window.
"Look it even has a really big tower in the middle!" Nana pointed to what looked like the center of the entire city.
"Huh, wasn't expecting to see something like this. It kind of reminds me of Tokyo. Looks like there's a big wall that divides the city up into two parts as well." Joker noted from above with Piranha Plant beside the Phantom Thief.
"I don't think the Great Fox will be able to land in the city itself, we'll have to go to the outskirts and then explore the city on foot." Fox decided that the Great Fox was just too big to fit anywhere inside the city itself so they would make do for the nearest clearing outside of it.
"We'll need to be careful when we're down there. There's probably a dozen or more of those Puppet Fighters in the city." Captain Falcon warned.
"True, also do we really want to leave the Great Fox all by itself?" Olimar wondered in concern.
"Who would steal the Great Fox in this world? Puppet Fighters wouldn't even know what it is let alone know how to fly it." Falco scoffed.
"Even so..." Olimar still had his doubts.
"I'll activate the camouflage before we leave—never hurts to be too careful." Fox reassured everyone.
"We have a camouflage feature on the Great Fox? Since when?!" Falco cried out.
Fox smirked and pointed to Steve who had a very smug look.
"I might have improvised and made some slight improvements to the Bridge and its systems while you were with Joker." Steve answered.
"And Steve was just telling me about it while he was going over his plans for the improvements to the facilities on board. I have to admit—Steve's quite a genius, I'm starting to warm up to the idea of him upgrading the Great Fox." Fox added.
Falco sighed. "Of course, I should have suspected as much when you said you made the Fighter Scanner out of the spare parts left over from the repairs."
"Heh, don't underestimate a Master Crafter." Steve chuckled.
With that said the Great Fox was moved to a clearing not far from the entrance of the city, little did they know that someone in orange clothes from below had saw the giant starship from afar and ran into a sprint to follow it.
Once the Great Fox had successfully landed in a patch of open green space and all the fighter exited from the ship, Fox activated the Great Fox's latest feature—thanks to Steve—and made the Starship invisible so that blended in with its environment.
"I hope you'll remember where you left it, Fox. Otherwise, we'll be back to sqaure one." Falco grumbled.
"I'll have you know I would never forget where my Starship is no matter how well hidden it is." Fox countered back.
"I wonder what we'll find here." Ryu looked up to what awaited them, the entrance leading into a towering landscape of skyscrapers and buildings.
"Only one way to find out. Let's go inside and investigate." Joker lead the group—as he was the current team leader for their group as they went into the unknown territory that was the giant city landscape.
Once they were inside the city, the first thing they noticed was just how full the city was with Puppet Fighters, who seemed be just listless and just standing there like breathing statues.
"If this is Galeem's idea of a thriving city—it's in very poor taste." Joker narrowed his eyes as they continued to avoid unwanted attention from the Puppet Fighters. The last thing they wanted was to alert them of their presence and find themselves overwhelmed—especially since this city was probably the most concentrated area of Puppet Fighters being stationed.
"I feel so bad for the spirits trapped inside of them." Nana looked sadly at the Puppet Fighters.
"I understand, young one. But at the very least when we defeat the puppet fighter, the spirit inside is freed so there is that small comfort to take away from this." Ryu gently comforted the pink-coated Ice Climber.
"I'll bet once we beat Galeem, all those spirits will be freed and go home back to their own worlds, right?" Popo stated out loud but still looked to the others with hopeful eyes.
"I'm sure it will, kid. First we need to beat that thing and we don't want to rush in and get ourselves defeated and caught again." Fox answered.
"I'm surprised we haven't seen any more of those servants of Galeem like the one we saw back in the secret base where we found Mega Man and Snake—do you think Galeem doesn't see us as a threat anymore?" Joker wondered.
"I doubt it. Maybe it's just scared that we'll beat their minion black and blue." Falco gloated.
"Let's not get too over-confident, Falco. This is Galeem we're talking about here. And the last time we tried fighting that thing head-on, it didn't end well for any of us." Fox reminded.
"Geez, don't remind me. It hurts my pride just recalling that defeat." Falco groaned.
"Hm? There is someone approaching." Ryu became alert as he heard incoming hurried footsteps.
Everyone was posed ready to fight if needed—thinking it was a Puppet Fighter that caught sight of them. However, when they were ready to jump on the incoming arrival, they didn't expect the person to also be posed ready to fight back.
"Aiya! More of those red-eyes weirdos? I warn you; I know how to fight and you'll be sorry if you cross me!" A young woman in a unique martial artist outfit and the most interesting set of arms the other fighters have ever seen warned them with a determined glare.
"Wait...you're not one of the Puppet Fighters?" Joker asked with a raised eyebrow.
"...No? Wait a minute. Your eyes don't glow that scary red and you didn't attack me right away? Are you normal?"
"Well, if by normal you mean we're not enslaved to Galeem's will—then yes." Steve bluntly replied.
"Oh thank goodness! I finally found some friendly people around here." She sighed in relief and removed herself from her attack stance. "Wait, now's not the time to relax! I need your help! My friend is in trouble!"
"Wait, calm down. Please explain to us the details." Ryu tried to calm down the frantic noodle-armed girl.
"Sorry. We've been on edge lately with all these strange people suddenly attacking us as soon as we tried exploring this city." She apologized took a few deep breaths before continuing. "My name is Min-Min, I suddenly arrived in this world out of nowhere. Thankfully I bumped into another person who was in the same boat as me. We decided to work together and find our way back home." The girl known as Min-Min started to recite the tale of hers and her friend's experience so far.
'She and her friend are the same as us then.' Joker noted mentally to himself, he would have to ask her later for details as soon as they dealt with Min-Min's request for help.
"So, when we tried to explore the city, those strange people with the red glow in their eyes suddenly attacked us—we couldn't fight them all so we had to run to an empty stadium nearby. As soon we got there, there was another person with the strange red glow in their eyes along with this really big white hand that seemed to be controlling them. They suddenly attacked us too! My friend is currently fighting them right now and told me to escape."
"But I couldn't just leave him alone! So, I hoped to find some help—that was when I saw this really big ship in the sky. I thought maybe I could ask them to help me save my friend." Min-Min explained the rest of her tale.
"I see, now I understand why you seemed to flustered and quick to jump into a fight. We'll explain things later but right now your friend needs help. Can you show us where the Stadium is?" Joker attempted to calm her nerves and agreed to help. It sounded like they had run into one of the Smash Fighters and that meant serious trouble for both parties involved.
"Thank you! I'll show you the way, let's hurry!" Min Min was so overjoyed to hear they will help and didn't waste time to guide them to where the stadium was.
It didn't cross their minds that they didn't even ask who Min Min's friend was but one thing was for certain—both of them were newcomers and right now they needed their help more than ever.
Back at the Stadium within the boxing ring—two men we're duking it out with their fists, the blonde-haired man in the red hat so far managing to block every move but it was starting to wear him down.
He could just retaliate but his hunch told him that this person wasn't really in their right mind and that looming white hand over the fighter was the cause of it. It didn't feel right for him to beat them up when they were being manipulated like this.
The fighter in question was Little Mac who had the red glow in his eyes burning bright as the Master Hand clone continued to weaken the fighter down.
"C'mon snap out of it! I don't want to fight you, man!" He tried to call out to the other fighter but it was almost like he couldn't hear him. He fell to one knee as he felt his body started to feel fatigued. "C'mon Terry, get yourself together, you can't fall here. You need to get back home!" He scolded himself as he tried to pull himself back up.
"Terry!" He heard the familiar voice of a new-found friend he had made since arriving in this messed up world. He managed to glance behind his shoulder to see it was indeed his orange-cladded friend and she wasn't alone as they were a number of people with her.
"Min Min? What are you doing back here? I told you to run away!" The man known as Terry exclaimed.
"No way. I'd never a friend behind! Besides, I managed to find other people who aren't crazy!"
"You know it sounds weird when you word it like that." Falco sighed.
Ryu and Joker jumped into the ring to help out the weakened brawler.
"We will explain later what's going on, for now we just need to distract him while the others take care of the one controlling him. Ryu informed the fighter in the red hat.
"I have no idea what's going on, but I'll go along with your plan." With that the two including Terry charged in to keep Little Mac's attention on them and away from the others who would take care of the puppeteer themselves.
"You'll pay for attacking us! Now you'll see what a professional Arms fighter is capable of!" Min Min glared at the hand and immediately used one of her long arms with a dragon on the end to grab hold of the hand and pull it down to the found before giving it a powerful punch.
The others took this opportunity and jumped on to the hand to start dealing their own damage to it, as well cutting off the strings connecting them to Little Mac. Steve used his diamond sword to try cutting through the strings as fast as possible.
"Why does there have to be so many of these dang things?" Steve grumbled at the multiple amounts of strings.
"Less talking more hacking." Falco retorted as he fired his pistol at the strings to shoot through them that way. Fox was also helped to shoot down the strings his own pistol as well.
Piranha Plant was showing no mercy, biting and ripping into the Master Hand clone's skin. While the Ice Climbers and Olimar continued to pound away using their hammers and in Olimar's case—his Pikmin—to deal damage to the hand.
Min Min surprisingly had a very good grip as despite the Master Hand clone trying to pull away from their attackers, Min Min kept them pinned to the ground with her noddle-like arms.
After at least ten more seconds of fighting, Steve finally got through the last of the strings. "There—that's the last one."
With the strings now cut away from Little Mac, the red glow in his eyes dimmed and faded, resulting him to fall to the ground like a puppet that lost all of its strings before changing back into a trophy.
"What the? What just happened to him?" Terry's eyes blinked in surprised confusion of what just happened.
"We'll explain later. Now we just need to finish off that," Joker glanced his head towards the Master Hand clone.
They managed to break away from their attackers and started to flee once it had lost its fighter.
"Oh no you don't! You get back here and take your punishment!" Min Min wasn't letting that hand get away after what that thing had put them through. Using her long arms, she managed to grab the hand again and pull them back towards her. She then used her other arm to deliver a punch containing all her anger and fury, resulting in making the Master Hand clone fly across the area until it crashed into the electric billboard where usually the contenders of the arena ring would be shown. Upon collision it exploded, destroying the billboard with it. It almost made it look like fireworks from a distance.
"Alright! That's a win-win for Min-Min!" Min-Min cheered victoriously.
"Nice punch. That's what I call a knockout." Fox complimented while adding a tiny joke at the end.
"Heh heh, guess I put a little too much power into that punch but I'm glad it's gone." Min Min laughed sheepishly.
"Whew, I don't know who you guys are but you really helped us out. Thanks. Can you tell me what's going on here though? Why did that hand thing attacked us using that guy who just got turned into a trophy? Also, where the heck are we?! I've been to many cities but I've never seen this one before in my life! Not to mention all the weirdos here with the red glowing eyes —now that I think about it — some of them looked a lot like you."
"Let's awaken Little Mac first then we can explain what is going on with all three of you." Ryu reassured the man Min Min called Terry that their questions would be answered soon enough.
"Awaken?" Both Terry and Min Min said in confused union.
As if to illustrate their point, Ryu approached the trophy and tapped it lightly once. The trophy glowed up, awakening the fighter within.
Upon being awakened, Little Mac brought a hand to his head and shook his head once. "Ugh, what just happened? Why do I hurt everywhere?" Was the first thing that Little Mac said.
"Welcome back, Little Mac." Ryu placed a hand on Little Mac's shoulder.
"Ryu? Fox, Falco, Captain Falcon, Olimar, Nana and Popo too! Am I glad to see you guys again after what happened back at that fight with Galeem." Little Mac caught his second wind and managed to make himself stand up although his head still felt light-headed and slightly bruised.
"A lot has happened since then and there is much to explain." Ryu spoke in a serious tone.
"That doesn't sound good. By the way...who are the new faces? Newcomers?"
"Pretty much or at least that's what you guys call us. Honestly I have no idea how we got summoned here." Joker answered for him.
"Wait, so you got suddenly brought here out of nowhere too?" Terry questioned.
"Yeah, not just me though, Piranha Plant, Steve and there are a few others who aren't here right now in the same situation. I have to ask to be sure, do you remember nothing except for a bright light and then find yourselves stuck here without knowing why?" Joker wanted to check if the backgrounds were exactly the same as every other newcomer they had found.
"Why...yes, exactly! I was in my Mintendo Ramen Shop, serving customers and the next thing I knew I was thrown into this strange city! Not only that but my clothes changed into my official Arms Tournament outfit."
"Same story here. I was minding my own business, training up for the King of Fighters Tournament then I saw this really bright light that blinded me, after that...everything gets hazy—next thing I know—I'm thrown across the sky like a shooting star and crashed right into the pavement of this city! I don't know who brought us here but they could have at least given us a safer place to land than just throw us like baseballs." Terry explained in detail everything he could remember.
"It wasn't so bad, Terry. At least we both ended up in the same place that's how we found each other." Min Min comforted Terry by patting his back.
"Yeah, that's true. I know I shouldn't make light of our situation but it's reassuring to know that I wasn't the only one stuck here without knowing how or why."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. There's a strange comfort in knowing you're not alone." Joker shrugged.
"I'm beginning to see a pattern. We all seem to have the same experience." Steve noted.
"I know thing for sure. Whoever summoned us is going to get a piece of my mind!" Min Min huffed.
"...I have so many questions." Little Mac was completely lost on what was going on anymore.
"Okay, let's start from the beginning—you see what happened after we lost to Galeem-" Captain Falcon started to regale Little Mac with everything that has happened so far and Min Min and Terry were also listening in with eager ears.
When Captain Falcon finally got to the end, the three newest fighters they have found were left speechless.
"Wow...that's a lot to take in. Basically, this Galeem guy is the one who kidnapped your friends and fellow fighters, enslaved them into Galeem's army all the while mass-producing puppets of them which are then possessed by spirits that Galeem forced them to possess—then they are scattered all over the world and you guys are currently trying to rescue every last one of them and finally defeat Galeem and restore the universe back to normal?" Terry tried to summarize all at once.
"Huh, you're a fast learner. That's the gist of it." Falco crossed his feathered arms over his chest.
"So... if we restore the universe back to normal...before Galeem squished all the worlds into one big world—we'll be able to go home?"
"I hope so, Miss Min Min." Nana nodded.
"Oh, you can just call me Min Min, little one. No need for formalities with me." Min Min smiled and petted the pink-coat ice climber.
"Would be okay if Min Min and I came along to help you guys out then? While I do want to go back home, I can't just stand by knowing there's some megalomanic 'god' out there. Besides, it's not my style to just ignore people in trouble—especially if they're being forced against their will to fight."
"Same! If you'll have us that is." Min Min added.
"Of course. We'd be happy to have you with us." Olimar accepted their offer to join without hesitation.
"We Newcomers should to stick together, I say." Steve nodded.
"Ooh, we need to come up with a cool name for our group, something that really makes us stand out. Like... The Newcomers Gang!" Min Min cheered.
"Oh god, you're as terrible as Sora with these names." Joker facepalmed.
"No? How about the Mintendo Squad then?" Min Min offered another name.
"I think I preferred the first choice." Steve sighed.
"Maybe we should wait until we meet the other newcomers, Min Min." Terry tried to convince the Arms Fighter.
"Aiya...And I was getting all fired up on these names too. Fine...but I'm not giving up on Mintendo Squad for a team-name contender." Min Min pouted but calmly complied.
"Who's Sora by the way? Another one like us?" Terry turned to Joker.
"Yeah, you two will get along just fine with him. I swear that kid can befriend with anyone." Joker shrugged.
"I'll come too. I want to make up for all the trouble I caused. Sorry, that I attacked you two while under Galeem's control." Little Mac also voiced his choice to join.
"It's fine. I had a hunch that something wasn't right when we were fighting." Terry accepted the apology.
"I still feel bad for what happened. Now that I think about it, I think I remember seeing Wii Fit Trainer in this city at some point too. The memory of it isn't very clear though."
"Really? Where did you see her last?" Fox asked Little Mac.
"Hmm...I'm trying to remember, right now my brain still feels weird. I think I remember seeing her at the City Gym." Little Mac answered once he delved deep enough in his currently fogged up memory to remember.
"Oddly enough that does sound like somewhere Wii Fit Trainer would go." Captan Falcon noted with a tiny smile.
"Guess Galeem couldn't figure a good use for her so it chose the most obvious location." Falco shrugged.
"At least we know she's in the same area." Olimar noted before turning to Little Mac. "Do you remember where the City Gym is?"
"I sure do. Odd how I remember that part in perfect clarity." Little Mac nodded although was a little puzzled why he could remember the location and yet he couldn't be sure if he had seen Wii Fit Trainer or not.
"I know how that feels. My head still feels messed up from the whole possession too." Fox sympathized with Little Mac.
"We must rescue her then! Can you show us where it is?" Captain Falcon
"Leave it to me! I'll get us there in no time flat." Little Mac gladly agreed to help and guide the group to this city gym where another fighter was in waiting to be saved.
It didn't take that long to find the City Gym with Little Mac expertly leading them straight to the front door of the building since it was not that far from the stadium where they were previously.
"This is it. I'm certain of it." Little Mac confirmed. "Wii Fit Trainer and I often came to a gym like this to prepare for our matches in the Smash Tournaments. I hope she's okay."
"Once we free her from Galeem's control, she will be, Little Mac." Captain Falcon reassured him.
"Uh...do we just go in or..." Olimar was unsure how best to proceed.
"That's probably not a good idea, Olimar. We don't know what to expect in there. We do have the element of surprise on our side however. This is our chance to get the drop on the Master Hand clone controlling Wii Fit Trainer and free her without much trouble."
"Oh, good point." Olimar realized.
"What does...element of surprise mean?" Nana asked innocently.
"That's when we sneak up on our target without them become aware of our presence. It allows us to give us a better chance of winning." Joker tried to explain.
"...Oh, I think I get it now!" Nana clicked as she started to get an idea of what the phrase means.
"So, we basically jump on the hand all at once?" Popo tilted his head.
"Sort of but with a little more elegance," Joker added, he then noticed Piranha Plant was about to barge into the gym and managed to grab it before it could even make it past the doors. "Nice try, Piranha Plant. Not this time."
Piranha Plant sulked.
"So, a surprise attack huh? I feel kind of bad for ganging up on a girl like this but if it helps to rescue this friend of yours. Let's give it a go." Terry fixed his hat and cracked his knuckles.
"We just need to take down the hand controlling them, right? This will be a piece of cake." Min-Min grinned.
With that on Joker's signal, they all barged into the Gym together and just as entered the actual gym itself, what they found instead left them all dumbfounded and stunned.
Some of the Smash Fighters that were with Mega Man's group were already inside the Gym, Pichu, Pac-Man, Dog Hunt Duo, Banjo and Kazooie in particular were enjoying some fruit smoothies. Pichu in particular made a very loud sipping sound when drinking through the straw that came with it. There was also Wii Fit Trainer who looked very much back to usual self, doing a yoga session with Kazuya of all people.
"Pichu!" Pichu beamed as they noticed the new arrivals and greeted them.
"Oh, hey there fellas! Good to see ya again!" Banjo warmly welcomed them.
"Took you guys long enough to get here. Better late than never I suppose." Kazooie simply huffed before returning to her smoothie using the straw that was included.
"Oh, hello there, it's so good to see you all again. I see we have some new faces as well, are you the other newcomers that Banjo and Kazooie mentioned?" Wii Fit Trainer greeted the group, stopping her yoga routine to greet the new arrivals.
"Uhh...Wait...hold up, let's rewind a bit here. What's going on? Where's Mega Man, Snake and Marth? And who are these two?" Joker glanced at Duck Hunt Duo and Pichu.
"Oh, they're other fighters that we saved while exploring that mist forest and this really strange power plant hidden inside of it. Those two are known as Duck Hunt Duo and the little guy over here is Pichu." Banjo answered.
Duck Hunt Duo greeted with a unified quack and bark while Pichu gave a cheerful 'pichu' before returning to his smoothie.
"Also, we took care of the hand that was controlling Wii Fit Trainer." Kazooie chimed in with a smug expression.
"If you're wondering about the others, they went on ahead to check out the Stadium after I had told them that I remembered seeing Little Mac there." Wi Fit Trainer finally added at the end.
"Wait, so did we literally just pass them and not even know?" Fox blinked in shock.
"Well, this is a big city with lots of streets, they could have taken a different road from us. I mean I was super lucky to bump into you guys when I did." Min-Min noted.
"She's got a point you know." Steve agreed with Min-Min's point.
"Now I feel worse. I hope they come back safe once they find no one is there now." Little Mac sighed.
"I'm sure they'll be fine, Little Mac. They were able to take out the one that was keeping me under Galeem's control after all so I don't think a few Puppet Fighters will cause them problems. Why not stay here and wait for them to return in the meantime? I'll go make some more smoothies for everyone while you can tell me everything that's been happening with you guys." Wii Fit Trainer kindly reassured them and then offered them to stay in the gym to recuperate and make some new refreshments for everyone.
"...I am kind of thirsty." Min-Min admitted shyly.
Joker shrugged with a sigh. "Might as well. This wasn't how I expected we'd meet again but we could use a break."
And so, they did just that, enjoying some fruit smoothies while Joker explained to Wii Fit Trainer everything that has happened up to this point on their side.
While Joker was doing that, Ryu turned to Kazuya. "I'm curious, what prompted you to take part in Wii Fit Trainer's yoga sessions?"
"Oh that," Pac-Man snickered. "That's because I told him about Wii Fit Trainer's infamous Tree pose move just before we went in to save Wii Fit Trainer."
"Ah...yes. That move." Ryu realized what Pac-Man was talking about.
"Kazuya being Kazuya, he outright ignored me and tried going straight up to Wii Fit Trainer. But he made his punch move-" Pac-Man continued on with his tale before Kazuya interjected.
"I had no idea here this 'Tree pose' move had the power to deflect even my most powerful of punches. I must find her weakness and destroy her before she becomes a threat. I refuse to be beaten by a Fitness Trainer of all things."
"...By joining her yoga sessions?" Ryu raised an eyebrow.
"I was studying the enemy! Not 'joining', the great Kazuya Mishima doesn't do 'joining'." Kazuya corrected.
"Keep telling yourself that," Pac-Man snorted before taking another sip of his smoothie.
"You know, Kazuya disturbingly reminds me of a guy I knew back in my world." Terry noted thoughtfully.
"I see...so you and the other newcomers have no idea how you ended up in this world. All you remember is this bright light?" Wii Fit Trainer asked.
"Yeah, that seem to the one thing we all have in common."
"But that doesn't really pin it down much. That bright light could have been anything." Little Mac was puzzled.
"If you ask me, I think it was Galeem." Steve huffed.
"That doesn't make any sense. Why would Galeem summon other fighters here if its goal was dominion over our universe which it already accomplished when we got literally decimated by its beams of light." Fox reasoned.
"I usually loathe to agree with Fox here but he's got a point. That's like inviting your own death, Galeem wouldn't be that stupid." Falco had to admit that Fox had brought up a good point.
"I never said I was certain, it's just a hunch." Steve shrugged. "I just can't see who else it could have been."
"Hmm...Maybe what Snake said before wasn't too far from the truth after all." Pac-Man wondered thoughtfully.
"Oh? What do you mean?" Terry became inquisitive at this and pressed for an answer.
"Well...we kinda had this talk a little while back after taking down the Power Plant. He suggested that maybe there is a higher power that summoned fighters from beyond to bring back order to our universe."
"That's a little too far out even for me." Joker shook his head.
"Same here. I mean if that was the case, why don't we remember it? I find it a little too suspicious that we all seem to have selective amnesia about how we got here yet we all remember that bright light. There's a huge gap in our memory and I'll bet that's where our answer lies." Terry stated.
"I'm with Terry on that. Something must have happened in-between that bright light and then suddenly being thrown into this world." Joker nodded.
Just then, they heard the door to the gym open, revealing Mega Man, Marth and Snake who had returned back.
"Well, we've checked the Stadium but we didn't find Little Mac over-Oh!" Mega Man started to say but was then pleasantly surprised to see Joker's team was here along with the very fighter they had tried looking for.
"Hey guys. Heh heh." Little Mac sheepishly made himself known.
"I see our help wasn't needed in the end. It's good to see you guys again and I see you've rescued quite a few of our friends on your side too." Marth welcomed them.
"Yay! It's Mega Man, Marth and Snake!" Nana and Popo ran over to happily greet the three fighters.
"Heh, looks like you guys have been busy. You even found Fox and Falco." Snake crossed his arms with a smirk.
"You don't even want to know where I ended up in this messed up place." Falco shook his head.
"If it helps, we actually came here to help Wii Fit Fighter after finding out from Little Mac about her being here. Guess our help wasn't needed either." Joker smirked back.
"It's a bit of a long story. This is the perfect time for us to correlate our findings and find out what we learned on each side. I'm curious to learn what happened on your side." Mega Man suggested.
And with that, Joker and Mega Man shared the details of each of their own team's journeys and their discoveries—along with the fighters they met and/or rescued along the way. Once they had finished sharing their own side of the story, they proceeded to introduce Terry and Min-Min to Mega Man, Snake and Marth who were Newcomers just like Joker, Steve, Kazuya, Banjo and Kazooie and Sora (who was still with Mario's group for now).
"That's amazing! So that large anomaly I detected in the mountains was actually the Great Fox?" Mega Man was shocked at this discovery.
"Yup, and I got it back up and running again." Steve bragged proudly.
"It is true, without Steve we would have never been able to repair the Starship." Ryu stated.
"We had to leave it outside the city since the Great Fox was too big to land but we can always go back there when we're ready to return." Olimar added.
"You sure it's wise to leave it unguarded? What if a Puppet Fighter decides to steal it?" Snake raised an eyebrow in concern.
"Relax, I got it covered on that part. Steve added a camouflage feature to the ship and I made sure to activate it before we left." Fox brushed off the concern.
"You do realize I can still detect things even when they are invisible right? If I had still been under Galeem's control, that could have ended badly." Mega Man reasoned.
"Well, it's a good thing you're on our side then, isn't it?" Falco countered.
"Fair point," Mega Man smiled. "But what about the Puppet Fighters that were cloned from me? It's very possible that if they were able to mimic my moves, they'll be able to mimic my other abilities too." Mega Man then grew serious again.
"..."
"..."
"...Oh no, I didn't think of that." Steve felt dread at the prospect.
"We need to go back and check on it! I'm not letting my ship get destroyed by some Mega clone!" Fox panicked.
"I'll say! I worked hard on fixing that thing!" Steve also panicked.
"Calm down, you two. I'm sure the Great Fox will be fine. Mega Man said it was possible but he never said it was in danger right now." Captain Falcon tried to calm down the pair.
"Also, you have to find a spirit smart enough to know how to use Mega Man's body correctly. And let's be honest, a lot of the Puppet Fighters we've seen aren't exactly intelligent." Falco also added.
"That being said, we now know you have found one of the switches. You said it was a red switch, right?"
"Yeah, we even confirmed it by going back to the Snow ruins using the Great Fox." Joker nodded while putting his hands into his pockets.
"So that leaves only the blue barrier remaining—so it makes sense that there would be a blue switch to match it." Marth placed a hand under his chin as he went deep in thought. "Do you think it could be somewhere in this city?"
"I doubt it. I mean if that was the case, wouldn't Wii Fit Trainer and I be sent to guard it like Fox was?" Little Mac doubted.
"That's true. Galeem's going to be on the defensive so it'll want to protect that last switch." Mega Man agreed.
Fox suddenly became alert as he finally recalled something that he had forgotten which was now resurfaced in his memory with a disturbing realization. "Oh no... Guys, do you remember what I said about how that I felt like I forgot something important before? I finally remembered what it was."
"You mean back when Galeem was still controlling you?" Olimar asked.
Fox nodded. "Shortly before you guys arrived, Galeem gave out new orders to all the fighters that it still had control of. It ordered that all fighters are to be recaptured along with the Newcomers at all costs."
Nana and Popo gasped.
"Uh...is this bad for us?" Kazooie gulped.
"Galeem truly thinks we're a threat to his rule now. So to ensure its control is absolute, he plans to wipe out all resistance. Including us that it had no interest in before." Joker explained.
"Are you saying it wants to turn us all into slaves?! Nuh uh! No way! Not while I'm still standing, I'll peck their eyes out before I let that happen!" Kazooie ranted.
"Easy there, Kazooie." Banjo tried to calm down his friend.
"I don't think Galeem has eyes." Olimar noted quietly.
"You mean...we'll end up just like how Little Mac and all the other fighters were before they were saved?" Min-Min shuddered at the thought.
"I say let it try! I said it before and I'll say it again. I bow to no one—not even this self-proclaimed god has any power over me." Kazuya scoffed at the very idea that Galeem could control him.
"This is bad. We've really gotten under Galeem's skin. That means those Master Hand clones are going to try even harder to capture us now. Even the Newcomers aren't safe anymore." Marth grew concerned for Mario and the others who were still out there.
"Oh no! Mario and the others! They're still out there! We've got to find them!" Mega Man stood up quickly.
"I agree. While I don't doubt that they're capable to protecting themselves, they have no idea about these new orders. Now's the perfect time to unleash the Great Fox. We should be able to find them if we use the Starship." Fox agreed with Mega Man.
"Let's do this then," Terry stood up from where he was sitting before. "Galeem's just made a new enemy today. No way I'm going to stand by and let it just play around with people's lives as if we're just toys!"
"Will you be coming Wii Fit Trainer?" Little Mac asked.
"Of course. Although I'm not sure how much help I can bring to the fight against Galeem." Wii Fit Trainer gladly accepted the invite to help save their friends and defeat Galeem.
"What if I told you I plan to make a Gym on the Great Fox?" Steve offered.
"Oh! That sounds delightful, and it would be beneficial to the physical and mental health of all fighters." Wii Fit Trainer was delighted by this.
"To the Great Fox everyone!" Fox led the charge as the two teams now united in a new purpose to reunite with Mario's team so they can not only find the last switch but also to warn them of Galeem's new intentions for the Smash fighters—especially the Newcomers who were also now in danger.
They hurried as fast as possible back to where they last saw the Great Fox as it was a now a race against time to find Mario's team before Galeem's army does.
Whew, this was a really long one but I'm glad it's finally done. I decided to merge Joker and Mega Man's teams back together again for this chapter. No joke though, during my play-though Kazuya did die once to Wii Fit Trainer. XD I thought it was too funny to not include. And I remember the Tree pose meme that went around about Wii Fit Trainer at the time when the Smash 4 was about so I thought it would be a nice nod to that.
I should also note here that I have recently caught COVID, so I'm a little under the weather at the time of writing this. But I'll do my best to update as I can. Good side to this is that I've gotten into the right mood to write more and now I have time to spare to write it, so more chapters soon hopefully as I have a chance to continue my play-though after the next chapter. XD But I apologize if there's mistakes, having COVID sucks. :(
Anyway on to Review Corner =3
~:Review Corner:~
DigiHero2001: Thank you for reviewing! As I edited in the previous chapter I have corrected the mistake you mentioned. Sorry again for the mistake, for some reason I got the two mixed and my mind went to lake rather than ravine. XD
Uknownnights97: Thanks for the review! I'm really glad you liked Sheik. ^-^ I wanted to give Sheik a chance to shine so it's good to hear it worked out well. Also I hope you like the two newcomers that have debuted in this chapter. =D I had originally planned to have Terry debut when we save Ken but for some reason I thought Ken was in the city but...turns out Ken is in another area and I had always pictured Terry to appear in the city location in the World of Light so yeah I teamed him up with Min-Min instead. ^-^
Dario Soto: Thank you for the review! I do have something like that in mind for Sephiroth when he appears in the story. We're definitely having a Cloud VS Sephiroth moment. No ifs or buts about it. XD Also Sora will have moments with him too. Of course, that's until we get to that part of the story. If you get my meaning. Can't say anymore than that. ;)
~:End of Review Corner:~
Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, Favorited, alerted and followed the story so far. I hope you all continue to enjoy the story and I'll try to keep the updates coming in.
Until next chapter, happy reading everyone!
Moogle Empress out!
Moogle: Kupo!