Chapter 12: United They Stand

by storm_the_castle & girl_unclothed

"Milord! Milord! We are registering intruders on our scopes! The wire frames have been dispatched." The Master Hand was nearly as frantic as his brother as he burst into the Cloaked One's room.

The Cloaked One sighed and stretched out with his mind. "It is the Mario Brothers. With them are Prince Marth and that walking carpet Donkey Kong. This is most unfortunate."

Master Hand shook with nervousness. "What will we do?!? We only have two of the four! We're no match for their combined power!"

The Cloaked One hissed with scorn. "Control yourself, you worthless drone! All this means is that we must now step up our schedule ignore our safeguards. Defeat is a possibility, but the odds remain in our favor. You and Crazy Hand get out there, and destroy the meddlers. I'll contact Mewtwo."

Master Hand hurried to obey.

*

Outside, Mario and his friends were fighting for their lives. The Wire Frame warriors were weak, but there seemed to be an endless supply of them. Donkey Kong continuously slapped the ground, damaging the Wire Frames with the ensuing shockwaves. Mario, Luigi, and Marth remained just outside of DK's range, dispatching any attackers too clever to fall for the primate's trap.

They were doing okay so far, but they couldn't keep this up forever...

*

A Warp Star sped through the sky, speedily ferrying its passengers to the Kingdom of Hyrule. Kirby steered, as he had the most experience, while the others held on for dear life.

Ash, now healed thanks to Hylian Magic, was thoroughly enjoying the ride, but Pikachu was beginning to look a little ill. Zelda, however, was completely oblivious, her sense concentrated on other matters. Suddenly, she spoke. "Kirby, stop here!"

"Huh?"

"Something is going on below us! Circle for a bit while I take care of something, then land us as hard as you can!" While Kirby complied, Zelda closed her eyes and activated her magic.

*

Link was feeling uneasy in the Mute City nightclub. All around him were neon lights, flashing holograms, and beings too alien for description. It was all a bit overwhelming.

Next to him, Fox and Falco enjoyed a drink while Samus chatted with Captain Falcon. "And then they blew up my ship! Can you believe the nerve of those guys?"

Falcon nodded with sympathy. "That's a tough break, sweet stuff. Murder and kidnapping are one thing, but trashing someone's ship is really crossing the line."

Samus gritted her teeth. "We could have really used it, too. I had to hire Han..."

As Samus spoke, Link felt the world fade around him. [Link! You are needed right away!]

"Zelda?" he asked.

[Yes! Teleport to my position immediately.]

"It's too great a range," Link explained. "I don't have enough power."

It was a few moments before Zelda replied. [Use our mental bond to tap into my power. That should be enough. I'll keep just enough for you to sense my location.]

"But you'll-"

[It doesn't matter,] Zelda interrupted. [Destinies are unfolding, and we must accept the costs. Please, Link.]

Link sighed, and nodded in agreement. The techno-nightclub swirled back into existance. "Okay, everyone, time to go. Zelda has summoned me, and think we better get a move on."

The others looked at him. "Watcha talkin' bout, Willis?" Falco asked.

"No time to explain! We're needed right now! Stand together and I'll handle the rest." The others did as they were told, and Link began calling upon the spell known as Farore's Wind.

*

The Cloaked One nodded at the pokemon's hologram in a friendly manner. "Greetings, Mewtwo. I have decided to make a deal after all."

Although the psychic-type's face remained stoic, his eyes conveyed a full blown smirk. "Are you now? This wouldn't have anything to do with the All-Stars playing in your front yard, would it?"

The Cloaked One's voice was icy. "It is true that I am bargaining from a desperate position, but I am willing to pay a fair price. The location of the Ruins, in exchange for Roy, and the use of your minions."

Mewtwo's eyes widened in surprise. "The Ruins?!? I agree to your price! I'll teleport them to you immediately." Behind the Cloaked One, a large group suddenly appeared from thin air.

Roy was unconscious, and wrapped in heavy chains. The others were awake, and ready for action.

The Cloaked One whispered a string of descriptions to the holographic pokemon, and then ended the transmission. Let Mewtwo have the Ruins. There was so much more power at stake.

*

Donkey Kong was getting tired. He had been slapping the ground for a full twenty minutes now. His hands were starting to feel sore, and he had many painful bruises from Wire Frames who had managed to land a hit or two before dying.

Slap slap, slap slap.

He could see Marth, Mario, and Luigi, fighting desperately against the endless waves. They were all swaying on their feet, and heavily damaged. A solid blow could finish any of them.

Slap slap, slap slap.

Donkey Kong continued to pound, but knew it was futile. There were a hundred or more Wire Frames left to go, and who knows what would come after that.

Slap slap, slap slap.

What with the din of the battle, DK completely missed the soft whistling sound that would soon turn the tide. Everyone, in fact, was taken by surprise when the Warp Star landed right in the middle of the Wire Frame army.

Boom.

*

Kirby bounced off the ground like he was made of rubber, and as he descended again rained a fury of blows on the last few Wire Frames. Within a second, the battle was over. Ash and Pikachu stood guard over Zelda, who was now unconscious.

Mario sat down and gave a breathless laugh. "Mama mia! Are we-a glad to see-a you!" His happiness was short lived. From the fortress, two giant hands wearing matching white gloves, floated into the air.

"Now, All-Stars, by command of the Kube Master, you must die!"

"Yeah! Ha ha! And between you and me, hee hee hee, I'm really gonna enjoy it! Ho!"

Then, in the next of what has been a long string of sudden entrances, a green light appeared, and from it stepped a new group.

Link, the Hero of Time, had the Master Sword in his hands. Samus Aran, the galaxy's greatest hunter, pointed her fully charged plasma cannon. Fox McCloud, the Star Fox, smirked as he flipped off the safety on his laser pistol. Falco Lombardi, the arrogant ace, scowled and readied his own blaster. Captain Falcon, F-Zero champion, cracked his knuckles.

Link smiled. "Our mission is to inflict massive amounts of pain and suffering on anyone attempting to hurt our friends."

"I love my job," Fox declared.

"Pikachu, Kirby, go give 'em a hand," Ash ordered.

The All Stars lined up, facing the giant Hands. No one moved. "Show time," Samus said.

*

The Cloaked One watched on his security monitors as the newly arrived heroes systematically beat the Hands into the ground. Master and Crazy Hand fought well, working together to direct their great strength against their opponents.

But the All-Stars were just too good. Fox, Falco, and Captain Falcon were simply too quick for the Hands, and used their agility to keep the larger combatants distracted. Just for the thrill of it, they were landing blows with utter impunity.

Samus and Pikachu were hanging back, directing a storm of missiles and lightning straight into the Hands. The personal deflector shields worn by the Star Fox team made sure even the most wild misses were funneled back at the targets.

And Link and Kirby stood in the midst of it all, striking with sword and hammer, taking the most risk but yielding the most effect. At this rate, the Hands would be dead in minutes.

The Cloaked One sighed. Some days, you have to do everything yourself.

*

Link rolled out of the way. "Samus, charge shot, now!"

Without a word, Samus let loose with the fully charged plasma shot she had been saving. Master Hand levitated quickly and the blast sailed under him. "Ha! You missed."

Behind the Master Hand, Fox activated his deflector shield. The plasma ball bounced off the shield and into the Master Hand. "Amateur," Fox scoffed. With a scream, the Master Hand exploded into nothing.

A few feet away, Crazy Hand actually seemed to be doing better. He slapped Kirby into the air, and waited with an open palm for the unconscious puffball to fall to his doom. Yet victory was not to be his. Falco leapt with avian power, catching Kirby and bringing him to safety.

As the midair rescue took place, the speedy Captain Falcon run underneath Crazy Hand, deposited a small yellow package on the ground, and ran away as fast as he could. The last thing Crazy Hand heard was, "Pi-ka-CHU!"

"Shazam," Falco said as the lightning stuck.

*

With the Hands dispatched, the All-Stars took a moment to regroup. "Where did-a you come from?" Luigi asked Samus.

Samus retracted her helmet, revealing her tired face. "Link got some kind of message from Zelda, and used a magic spell to teleport us here." She turned to face the Hylian warrior.

"But why didn't you just teleport us around from the start?"

Link looked glum. "I don't have enough magical power for the range you're talking about. I had to tap into Zelda's power just to bring us here, but now she's really drained. How's she doing, Ash?"

"She's sleeping, but she doesn't seem to be hurt or anything."

"A situation that will soon be remedied," a gravely voice promised.

The All-Stars turned to behold a dreaded sight. From the fortress, a procession of evil was emerging. The villains, Ganondorf, Bowser, Wolf O'Donnel, and Metaknight came as a shock to no one. More surprising were Yoshi and Jigglypuff, with their glowing purple eyes, and faces that were contorted in expressions of hatred. The most upsetting presences were those of Peach, Roy, and Ness, all chained, the latter wearing an uncomfortable-looking metal helmet.

And of course, the cloaked man who was leading them was a complete mystery.

"Roy!" cried Marth. He glared at the Cloaked One. "Who are you? Why have you done this?"

Although no one could see it, the Cloaked One was smiling. "I'll tell you." He pulled back his hood, revealing his face.

To be continued...