Chapter 4: Hide and Seek

The smashers stood in complete silence for a moment, contemplating their next move. With Master Hand out of the picture, the smashers knew they had to rely on their shaky ally to transport them around. No one liked the idea, but they had no choice.

"Well, let's go to Master Hand's dimension first, anyway. Maybe we can figure out where they went." Clyne finally suggested. No one had any better ideas, so the group of 23 appeared seconds later, on a very empty platform.

"Yep, they're gone all right." Fox verified. "Now what?"

"Wait, look at this!" Kirby shouted. Being so close to the ground, Kirby could easily find the small, somewhat camouflaged object that he showed to everyone else.

"What is it?" Ness wondered.

"It's a purple hexagon." Mewtwo replied scornfully. "It seems obvious to me."

"Sure, but what could it mean?" DK wondered.

"Could it have something to do with the fact that a hexagon is a polygon?" Link asked knowingly.

"The polygons! Ofa course!" Luigi shouted. "Comea on, Clyne!"

"The polygons? Oh…I don't think that's…what it means…"

The original 12 smashers stared at Clyne. "Of course it is, Clyne! Come on, let's go!" Falcon replied.

"No…I don't-"

"He's scared." Mewtwo jeered.

"Thought you couldn't read his mind, Mewtwo." Falco taunted.

"I can tell from here. This man…er…person…is afraid of these polygons."

"A…afraid? M…me?" Clyne stammered.

Pikachu rolled his eyes. "Pika! Pikapi! Kachu pika pi!"

"Yes, they are very easy to defeat." Ness agreed, after translating Pikachu's babbling to English.

"Well…it's just that my parents always used to tell me stories about the polygons to…get me to be good."

Mewtwo burst out laughing. "Oh, that's rich! Do your homework or the polygons will get you! Oh, this is too much!"

"OK, that's it." Clyne growled, and a split-second later, Mewtwo was on the ground. Clyne pulled his staff back to his side nonchalantly.

The smashers gaped in astonishment. No one had even seen the weapon move!

"Thank you." Ganondorf sighed, having recovered his composure first.

"Unfortunately, his boasts had some validity to them. He's a very powerful psychic and a good fighter." Clyne reported. "We'll have to carry him along."

"Are you sure?" Zelda protested. Clyne nodded.

"OK, well, let's go visit the polygons." Popo suggested.

Clyne agreed reluctantly and opened a portal. Link grabbed Mewtwo with his hookshot, and they appeared among a group of polygons.

"We just want to talk-" Ness began, trying to send the message in their language, but it was no use. The polygons attacked.

The smashers heard familiar, distant, maniacal laughter as the battle began.

Clyne exploded forward, moving his staff so quickly it was almost invisible, knocking out scores of polygons at a time. The smashers were further thunderstruck by Clyne's talents, and almost forgot to fight themselves. A few polygons reminded them, but the battle was over within minutes.

"How could you be afraid of these guys? You cut through them like a knife through butter!" Samus marveled.

Clyne shrugged. "Misinformation, I guess. Come on, let's see if there's another clue."

"Oh…my head…" Mewtwo moaned.

"Good morning, sunshine!" Clyne grinned sardonically, then his voice turned darkly menacing. "Don't insult me again." Mewtwo groaned and nodded.

"Pichu!" The tiny mouse's shout indicated that he had, in fact, found something.

"That appears to be a small doll with the likeness of an old man in a suit." Marth observed, confused.

"That looks like Giovanni!" Bowser scowled, remembering his onetime ally.

"Chu! Pichu!" Pichu shouted angrily at the doll. "Pichu pi!"

Mewtwo, for once, was dead silent. He stared at the doll as if awakening memories that were blocked out. No one bothered to ask him what was wrong, because they didn't really care.

"So what kind of clue do we get from Giovanni?" Clyne prompted.

"Well, the Pokemon dimension." DK suggested.

"That seems too easy. What about the Battlefield dimension, where you fought us?" Ganondorf replied.

"That's a good idea. Clyne, take us away!" Falcon shouted melodramatically.

Clyne laughed and opened a portal. The smashers soon appeared on the familiar (to some of them) dull landscape.

"What a whole lot of nothing." Popo commented.

"Yeah, really. Good place for a battle." His sister replied.

As if on cue, a portal appeared in front of the smashers. Giga Bowser appeared with a bang – well, more like a thud – as he hit the ground.

"Hello there. Crazy Hand couldn't make it so he sent me instead! He wanted me to tell you to go to where it all began…that is if I don't destroy you!" the mutant roared, setting his stance for battle.

"I beata you bya myself, Giga Bowsera! Whata makes you thinka you have a chancea against all ofa us?" Mario mocked.

"Oh…just the fact that I have help." Giga Bowser replied, and an army of wireframes immediately appeared around him.

"Oh, what fun." Yoshi sighed.

"Finally, another chance to fight!" Roy grinned.

"Roy, wea just foughta 5 minutes agoa!" Mario pointed out incredulously. Roy shrugged and charged forward.

"Leave Giga Bowser to me!" Clyne shouted, as the phalanx of wireframes closed in on the smashers.

(A/N: No, this fic isn't almost over. Crazy Hand is still very much at large. Hmm…what did Giga Bowser mean when he said 'go to where it all began'? Gee…maybe that'll be important…Stay tuned!)