(A/N: I know that Captain Commando and his friends are probably not action figures, but he's cool and his moves are cool. By the way, if you've never seen his moves in Marvel vs. Capcom I or II, it might be confusing when I talk about him. Just use your imagination!)
26. Battle (Bowser)
Apocalypse had told me before we left that Juvenor would be fighting on our side if he showed up, so I wasn't too surprised when he KO'd his dad. However, I was surprised when the Smashers thought that Mistress had teleported us here. I saw Mistress's body (or something…), but then again, most boxes look alike, I guess.
Before I can launch a surprise attack on the Mario brothers, Master Hand disappears, but probably not by his choice, since he was still unconscious. Once again we all recover from the shock, and we begin fighting again.
Apocalypse's choices for this battle were quite strange. I mean, Doomsday is practically invulnerable and unfairly strong, Knuckles is quick but weak, and Captain Commando doesn't seem to be able to do much without his friends. I must admit, he took care of Pikachu impressively before he got knocked out, but it may not be enough.
In any case, I have more important things to deal with. Luigi is trying to punch me while Mario is running around me in circles, probably trying to grab my tail, which I find amusing. I spin around quickly, hitting Mario with my tail, and also sending Luigi's punch right into my spiked shell. I grin as they both recoil in pain, then stare in shock as Ness comes flying toward me. Apparently Doomsday is picking off fighters one by one.
"Falcon…PUNCH!" Falcon tries to hurt Doomsday, but he barely seems affected by the powerful blow. Doomsday growls and swings his fist around, sending Falcon flying as well. He goes over to relieve Knuckles, who is having trouble with Link and his sword. Before he can reach Link, though, Yoshi stalls for time by trapping Doomsday in an egg.
Ouch. Damn plumbers. That's what I get for not paying attention.
Mario has just punched me in the side, and Luigi is jumping up to kick my face. I breath a stream of fire at him, and he falls to the ground. Then, I punch Mario out of my way. This is easy.
Apocalypse, who as far as I can tell is invincible and omnipotent, is having no trouble with Samus and Fox. Doomsday has just taken Link out with a heavy blow, and Knuckles is approaching DK. Obviously he will be much too quick for the big monkey, but DK is winding up for his most powerful blow. Captain Commando even wakes up, and sends a mummy to spin around with sharp blades who takes Pikachu out. Juvenor is standing there, but he seems to be in pain. He is holding his head and moaning quietly. Oh well. I have these pesky plumbers to deal with. I am about to barbeque the brothers when Juvenor lets out a blood-curdling scream and aims his gun. I am expecting him to take out another of our enemies, but instead, the blast hits Doomsday. Doomsday roars in pain and disappears in a dramatic sort of explosion. Juvenor groans and faints.
27. Explanations
"What the-" Apocalypse shouted. "I thought he was on our side!"
"He was." Knuckles growled. "Something weird is going on here."
Mario and Luigi stared at each other. Mario mouthed something to his brother, who nodded. Mario ran around and grabbed Bowser's tail, and before Bowser could do anything, Luigi knocked him unconscious. Mario spun the Koopa around dramatically and hurled him far, far away. That left only Apocalypse, Knuckles, and Captain Commando to deal with, but only Samus, DK, Mario, and Luigi on the other side.
Captain Commando suddenly leaned back and summoned his friends. Charging at DK and sending him flying up into the air, he called his friends to fly around and hit him. The captain finished DK off with a "pillar" of blue energy, and DK collapsed. Samus glanced at Mario, and he grinned confidently.
Luigi looked at them suspiciously. Mario picked up on his brother's distrust and shook his head firmly. Luigi grinned and shrugged his shoulders.
Samus, not having noticed this silent conversation, chose to battle Apocalypse. Mario chose the captain as a sparring partner, which left Luigi to battle the echidna.
After a few minutes of stalemated fighting, a flash of light appeared next to the opponents. A box emerged, looking as evil as a box could look.
"Destroy them! Destroy them all!" She (for it was certainly Mistress) shouted. "Let those Smashers see who is the real champion!"
"Mistress! What do you mean? I thought you were on our side!" Samus shouted.
"I thoughta you werea dead!" Luigi put in. Mistress laughed evilly.
Suddenly, Juvenor groaned and stood up. All six combatants turned to him worriedly, not knowing who the boy would shoot. Mistress laughed again.
"Juvenor is acting very strangely, don't you think? I wonder why!"
Mario stood silently, thinking about the situation, remembering everything that Master Hand had told him. Before he could voice his opinion, however, Mistress had something else to say.
"You are all fools! None of you can see the long-term consequences of your actions!"
"What are you talking about?" Apocalypse wondered. "It was you who told me to do this, wasn't it?"
"Of course! But none of you will survive this war!"
"War? Between whom?"
"You and me." Mistress replied evilly. They stood there, stunned, as Mistress explained her reasoning.
"I gathered you all here to distract the best warriors of the toy dimension and of all of the other dimensions." She explained matter-of-factly. "Once you were all here, I could take over the toy dimension with my polygons-"
"Youra polygons! I thoughta they werea Master Hand's!" Luigi protested
"Well, they do live by themselves in their own dimension. That's how he got them, so I just went there and borrowed a few for my own purposes."
Apocalypse glared at her. "Why the toy dimension, though?"
"Well, that's easy. I want revenge on Master Hand. And what better a place to kill him than the very place that he killed me?"
"Well…" Mario started to argue, but Mistress would not listen.
"You have no say in the matter! If you wish to attempt to overthrow me as leader of the toy dimension, be my guest, but I have too much planning to do for me to stay here arguing with you."
Captain Commando interjected. "Look, Mistress, I don't think-"
"SILENCE!" Mistress shouted. Before the others could do anything, she cackled, "Now I shall take my leave…oh, and you won't be needed them anymore…"
With that, she disappeared in a flash of light, taking all of the unconscious warriors with her.
28. Preparation
"Well, we'rea stuck here." Mario remarked.
"Yeah, anda we really havea to stop Mistress." Luigi put in.
The others nodded their agreement solemnly.
"This is all very confusing." Captain Commando remarked. "Are you toys?"
"No, we'rea real peoplea." Mario answered. "Wea appaently justa haapen to bea the same size asa the toys."
"Oh."
"Any ideas?" Samus brought the conversation back to the important matter. "WE have to find a way to the toy dimension, but without Mistress, Juvenor, or-"
Suddenly, a flash of light appeared, and Master Hand appeared. He looked scorched and unhappy, but also excited.
"Master Hand, Mistress is-" Knuckles started to say, but Master Hand interrupted.
"Yes, I know. We don't have much time to talk. Mistress had me in a guarded cell, but I grabbed the guard and took him here. He's OK now; I think Mistress used zoned controllers to keep the toys in line."
"Zoneda what?" Luigi wondered.
"Oh, zoned controllers. Basically, they emit a signal that reaches a few miles in diameter. Anything inside the zone is under the control of the builder of the controller."
"Is that the most efficient way to control toys?" Captain Commando wondered dubiously. "It seems like there'd be a better way…"
Master Hand shrugged (as much as a glove could) and replied, "Don't ask me, but they seem to be working fine. Either way, the guard is on our side-until we get back to the dimension."
"How easy are these controllers to destroy?" Apocalypse wondered, thinking ahead.
"Not difficult, but I'm sure they'll be guarded." Master Hand replied.
"So who'sa the guarda?" Mario asked.
"Oh, right! Everyone, meet Crash Bandicoot." Opening his hand, a small, brown figure was revealed.
"Hi, everyone." Crash said amiably. "I hear you guys are in a tough spot."
"Well, so are you." Samus replied frankly. "Mistress is threatening the whole toy dimension."
"She pretty much already has it." Crash agreed.
"How area you feeling, Mastera Hand?" Luigi asked politely.
"Not very good, but thanks for asking."
"So, Master Hand, we should probably get back to the toy dimension." Samus pointed out, ignoring Master Hand's last comment. "Could you-"
"I'm still very weak. Just be patient!"
"All right! I was just asking."
Mario sighed and wandered around. There was just too much to this mystery for him. Why did Juvenor change sides? For that matter, why did Mistress change sides? And whose side is Master Hand on? Moreover, if Mistress had control of everyone in the toy dimension, would the seven of them be enough to win?
Apocalypse jolted him out of his reverie.
"Mario, Master Hand says he's ready whenever you are." Apocalypse reported.
"Let'sa go." Mario replied.
