BornToDream03: Hey, would you look at that; we got more Magolor (though this is probably the last we'll see of him for a while)

SmashBrosOdyssey: We've got Mario in space, Kirby in space, Samus and Fox in space, so why the heck not Pikachu?

Mario clenched his gloves, and a tiny squeak slipped between his fingers. Anyone who walked in front of him quickly wilted under his glare and passed by, leaving the street almost empty and lifeless.

Not too far behind, Yoshi and Donkey Kong eyed the red-capped plumber warily. They both wanted to ask what was on his mind, but neither of them knew what to say.

"So, that egg guy," Mario said, keeping his eyes on the bank across the street, "Magolor, right? He said Wario and Waluigi and the crocodile guy crashed their pod on this planet here. And we know he's probably going to hit this bank because if there's something Wario can't stand, it's having his pockets empty."

Out of sight, Yoshi hummed in agreement.

"Well, we've been sitting here for two hours, and they haven't so much as shown up. I'm starting to think we might've gotten a wrong lead."

No one else spoke. Yoshi looked somewhere else. Donkey Kong crushed a chair under his palm, and Mario glanced over as the wood crumbled beneath the ape's hand.

"You gonna pay for that?" he asked, nudging a hand towards the splintered mess.

Donkey Kong's face spread into an awkward expression. Glancing away for a moment, he swept the remains of the chair behind him, as if to pretend nothing happened.

A green tail tapped Mario on the shoulder, and he turned around. Yoshi flicked his eyes over to an alley across the street, and Mario followed his gaze just in time to see a bushy orange tail vanish into the dark. He didn't miss the blaster strapped to its side, and he instantly became suspicious. No one from this planet used blasters.

The red-capped plumber exchanged looks with his two companions. Without a word, the three of them got up to tail after this mysterious figure.

Footsteps echoed through the narrow walls as they slipped between the buildings, and as his eyes adjusted to the unlit alleyway, Mario could barely make out a small figure disappearing into the distance. He looked over his shoulder and motioned for his companions to be quiet, but when he turned back, the figure was gone.

Very carefully, Mario, Yoshi, and Donkey Kong crept forward, throwing cautious gazes around the walls towering over them. The cold stone underfoot gave no sound, and Mario grew more wary as they made their way down the alley, passing by the back of the bank.

"They know we're here," he whispered, bringing his guard up. Out of his sight, he could hear Yoshi and Donkey Kong shuffling around as they did the same.

Then a blue glow gently washed over his cheek. Mario's eyes swiveled over to his right, and he found himself staring down the barrel of a cannon and the faceless green visor that lay beyond it.

"You were right," Samus said, keeping her focus on the short red-capped man.

Out from the shadows, Fox stepped forward with an arrogant grin. "What'd I tell you?" he said, tapping his pointy ears. "A fox's ears never lie."

"Wait just a minute," Mario cut in, lowering his arms. "Who are you guys? I ain't never seen you hanging around the Mushroom Kingdom before."

"You don't get to ask questions," Fox said, unclipping the blaster and bringing it in front of him with one swift motion. "Now, what do you know about Andross?"

Samus cleared her throat.

"Or the Space Pirates," Fox added begrudgingly.

"If they don't got business in the Mushroom Kingdom, they ain't my problem."

"Sounds simple enough," Fox said, "but I don't buy it."

"At ease," Samus said, and she pushed down Fox's blaster with her cannon. "I know this man. This is Mario, the guardian of the Mushroom Kingdom."

"How can you tell it's him?"

"His files say that, outside of the Mushroom Kingdom, he doesn't care about anything else." Samus turned to face Mario. "Am I correct?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"I see." Fox's smile quickly changed to a more friendly one, and he slid his blaster back onto his belt. He extended a hand towards Mario. "I apologize for that. My name is Fox McCloud, and the tall lady in the suit is Samus."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Fox," Mario said as he took Fox's hand. "If you were a goldfish, I'd introduce myself again, but I think you can remember who I am."

Fox's tail swished, and he frowned. "I actually know a few goldfish, and they're a lot smarter than you think."

"Really? Well, I wouldn't know. I lived my entire life in the Mushroom Kingdom, I don't go out a lot."

"That would be like if I said your monkey friend liked bananas," Fox said, pointing to Donkey Kong. The ape snorted, but it went past Fox unnoticed. "Who are your two friends, by the way?"

"These two?" Mario looked back to check if they were still there. To his relief, both of them hadn't moved an inch. "The green dinosaur is Yoshi. The big ape is Donkey Kong."

"I see," Fox said again. "Now, if you'll excuse me for being suspicious, why aren't you back home?"

"I got my brother holding down the fort while I go chase down some yellow and purple wannabe me," Mario said with a shrug. "The criminals back home don't usually move around, so I don't go off-world very often."

Not to be forgotten, Donkey Kong grunted and straightened his tie, bringing all eyes to him.

"Oh yeah, and he's here because one of his bad guys went with 'em. They've been working together, which is kinda strange, but criminals don't usually make sense so I ain't gonna question it."

"Odd," Samus said. Everyone turned to her in an instant. "First the Space Pirates with Wolf o' Donnel. Now this."

Mario tilted his head. "What are you thinking?"

"It's probably nothing. Just that I'm used to criminals keeping to themselves."

"Yeah, but things change," Mario said. "Take my good pal, Wario. You used to be able to see him from a mile away 'cause he'd blow up half the block every time he went out for some cash, and now I can barely find him in this pint-sized city."

As soon as the words left his mouth, an explosion shook the alley. Dust sprinkled down from above, leaving tiny specks scattered over their clothes. A confused murmur rose between them, all of them wondering where it had come from.

And then they saw a plume of smoke unfurling over the rooftops, and the fire clawing its way out of the bank down the alley as the walls splattered against the other buildings like the scraps from a burst balloon, and they all sprinted back to the street. Above the crumbling stone and crackling flames, an alarm wailed, and the screams of the crowd filled the air.

Can't talk. Too busy slamming head into wall cause I spoiled Magolor in the last chapter. If I hadn't brought him up there, this throwaway mention could've been a fun little cameo. Ugh.

I mean, I didn't plan on using him again (at least, not any time soon. He'll get his time to shine later), but the rewrite can really screw you over. This was supposed to be the part where the whole gang finally assembles, but then I realized that I would be throwing too many things in at once, so I split the scene in half. Going from too little to too much, talk about ironic.

Anyway, I'm going to try to start doing multiple stories at once again, so updates might be a tiny bit slower. (Not that they weren't slowing down in the first place. So much to do, so little time. Gah!)