(A/N: Yes, I went on vacation again and left this fic alone for a week. So sue me.)
Chapter 2: Warm Welcomes
The smashers found themselves in a gloomy, nearly featureless dimension. The sky was a dark pink, and the ground was
"Where are we?" Ness wondered.
"Nowhere I recognize," Clyne replied warily.
"Couldn't you just take us back?" Falcon asked dryly.
"Well, I-" Clyne began, then stopped suddenly.
Clyne was fading away before the smashers' eyes. Before any smasher could fully comprehend the situation, Clyne had vanished completely.
"Very ominous indeed," Samus commented.
"Yeah, but look!" Young Link pointed cheerfully.
The smashers followed his finger to behold a large, golden statue. The base was nearly covered with dedicatory writing, and on the top was a large glove.
"Hey, any dimension that has a statue honoring Master Hand must not be too bad," Kirby pointed out.
"Yes…but why would Emerald send us here?" Roy retorted.
No one had an answer. The statue stood as the only feature in the skyline.
"Let'sa explore a bita," Mario suggested.
The smashers walked around in circles for what seemed like hours, but found nothing but…well, nothing.
Clyne groaned and stood up. His surroundings were completely dark; he could barely see himself. He stretched a bit, and was about to explore, when he heard a voice behind him. He gripped his staff tightly.
"Welcome, Clyne. Don't even think of trying to teleport away; it won't work,"
"Who are you?" Clyne demanded, whirling around. Of course, he still couldn't see anything.
"Don't move around too much, either. This room is rather small," the voice continued, ignoring Clyne.
"I said, who are you? What do you want with me?"
"Impatient, aren't we? You'll know soon enough. I want to chat first,"
Clyne stared into the darkness. What sort of insane opponent was he facing? He swung his staff experimentally in front of him. He hit something metal; presumably a wall.
"I told you this room is small! You don't listen, Clyne."
Clyne rolled his eyes. He was at his captor's mercy.
Emerald stared at his creation with amusement. "The war went badly, didn't it?" he asked casually, as if he were discussing the weather.
"Er…yes, it did," Aelali replied, somewhat afraid.
"But you played your part well. It's a shame you had to go and remember everything."
Aelali found no reasonable response to that, so he remained silent.
"Don't worry, my little pet. Although you failed miserably and are now presumably planning to join the smashers against me, I am not upset. I probably would have done the same in your place. Except the miserably failing part."
"That…I couldn't have…"
"I know, I know. Super Sonic was an unforeseen variable."
"Wh-what are you going to do?"
Aelali felt his anxiety increase. He realized that Emerald was somehow toying with his psyche, increasing his fear.
"You'll see, my little pet. You'll see."
"This is ridiculous! What in the world did Emerald send us here for?" Bowser roared furiously.
"Well, the only thing here is the statue," Peach pointed out. "Maybe there's a clue on it or something."
"Good idea! I'll go check," Ganondorf volunteered.
"Oh, come on! You can't read!" Link teased. Ganondorf glared at him.
"Now children, no fighting," Game & Watch admonished.
Grumbling, Ganondorf walked over to the golden sculpture.
"Pika!" Pikachu pointed out.
"Yoshi!" Yoshi agreed.
"Puff?" Jigglypuff wondered.
"What're they saying?" Popo whispered to Nana.
"We never bother to ask," Nana replied.
"Are you ready to show yourself yet?" Clyne sighed, after a long session of bantering.
"Ever impatient! Well, I suppose now's a good a time as any," the voice replied mischievously.
The lights came on suddenly, and Clyne shielded his eyes. After a few moments or recovering his eyesight, he found that the room was neither small nor metallic. Then what did his staff strike earlier? He turned around, and gasped in incredulity.
"Any day now, Ganondorf," Falco sighed.
"I told you he couldn't read," Link grinned.
"Damn!" Ganondorf shouted, much too loudly.
"What could be so important that would prompt you to use such language in front of children?" Zelda scolded.
Ganondorf, instead of responding to Zelda's reproach, simply stared at the writing on the base. "This statue isn't honoring Master Hand,"
"Who elsea could ita be honoring?" Luigi wondered skeptically. "That'sa a very gooda likeness."
Ganondorf nodded. "It's honoring Crazy Hand."
(A/N: Oh no! What sort of sick, twisted dimension would have a statue honoring Crazy Hand? Who is Clyne's opponent? And what will Emerald do to Aelali? Find out…sometime.)