Two days had passed since the adventure on Lavalava Island. They all had a proper funeral for DK (against Mewtwo's wishes) despite not possessing the carcass, and after the ceremonies they gathered together. Mewtwo's words were fierce and urgent.
"My friends," he said, "this is most urgent. That funeral was a waste of time! We have no time to lose. Do you realize that by holding this ceremony you may have killed millions of people? We need these gems to stop the universe from ending, damnit, and we had better move faster to our next destination. Understood?"
"Relax, Mewtwo," said Samus, standing up from her chair. "We'll get the job done. I'm confident that-"
"DAMN YOU, SAMUS! You don't understand the urgency of this situation! We have little time!" Mewtwo shouted furiously. Samus, shocked by Mewtwo's outburst, sat down instantly. "Now," Mewtwo continued, "the next gem is in Hyrule of all places. We must make haste to the Desert Colossus!"
Link and Zelda raised their eyebrows. "The Desert Colossus?" Zelda asked. "Surely you must be mistaken."
"No," replied Mewtwo. "I am never mistaken. Now let's go."
All seventeen stood up reluctantly. "How are we supposed to get there?" asked King Dedede, narrowing his eyebrows at Mewtwo.
"I have enough power to teleport us to Lon Lon Ranch. There I suppose we will be able to take some horses and use them as our primary source of transportation until we arrive at the Desert Colossus."
"We can't just take those horses!" Link protested. "They belong to Talon and Malon, the owners of Lon Lon Ranch."
"I think it's in order that we take them seeing the urgency of the situation," said Mario. "The end of the universe is nearing. We cannot stop to ask permission. I'm sure they'll understand in the end."
"Indeed," said Link, still frowning.
"Does everyone have an adequate amount of supplies?" asked Mewtwo, looking around.
"Yes," everyone responded.
"Good then," Mewtwo resumed. "Everybody gather around me and I will teleport us to Lon Lon Ranch. Is everyone ready? Good. Now we're off." Mewtwo glowed an odd blue as an aura engulfed them all and transported them right into the middle of a large, fenced off green field. It was midday and around them were about twenty horses.
"Excellent," Mewtwo said deviously. "Let's take these horses and get out of here."
Link took out his ocarina and blew a tune into it. A horse instantly came riding to him, seemingly out of nowhere. "Hello Epona," Link said with a smile, stroking the horse's mane. "Shall we?" Link mounted Epona and looked down upon the rest of the travelers.
"Everyone grab a horse!" shouted Mewtwo. "The quicker we get out of here, the better," he said flatly. Just as the last one had mounted their horse, they heard a sound coming from the house.
"What in the name of Din is going on out here?!!" yelled a screaming Talon. Link tried to hide his face. "YOU! I always knew you was trouble. I tells my own daughter, I tells her to stay the hell away from you. That's 'sactly what I tell her. Stealing horses! Wait 'til them kings soldiers heah about this 'un. They will be ridin yo' ass outta Hyrule."
"Oh shut up," yelled Zelda and waved her arms in the air. She mumbled some ancient lore and instantly Talon fell asleep.
"Let's move," declared Link, as he prodded Epona on. They rode out of the Ranch like Ali Baba's thieves would ride out in the Arabian deserts. However, the desert our heroes were riding into was unfamiliar to most of them. After a long journey, the riders finally reached the Gerudo fortress. Many were shocked to see a kingdom of only women. Falco, in particular, gazed in awe. "Why did you never tell about this place, Link?"
Link just smiled and dismounted his horse. He spotted a familiar face and gave her a wave.
"Ah, Link," Nabooru exclaimed, "it is good to see you after all this time. Come and enjoy the pleasures of my fortress."
"Pleasures?" Falco asked eagerly.
Link shook his head. "We'd love to, Nabooru, but time is really not on our side. This is even worse than that mask adventure when I really had no time. There is a lot more at stake here. I just need you to get me and my group of adventurers here to the Desert Colossus. Can you lead us?"
"Well, let's see who we got here," Nabooru said to Link as she examined the party. "Mm-hm. You sure landed yourself some good friends here," she remarked sarcastically. She looked at Mewtwo. "Who is this? The Happy Mask Salesman on a bad day?"
"That is quite enough," Mewtwo exclaimed. "Look, are you going to lead us to the Desert Colossus willingly, or do I have to use... other methods."
Nabooru laughed. "Big tough guy. I see some passion there. You're lucky I'm not in the mood for fighting, bud."
Mewtwo made a move towards Nabooru, but Zelda restrained him. "Nabooru, why don't you just lead us to the Colossus?" she asked. Many nodded in agreement.
Nabooru swerved around and stared at Zelda. "Since when do I owe the princess of Hyrule anything? After all you did to our lands, to our people..." Nabooru grew more agitated. "We were once prominent in this land. We were once the defenders of righteousness! We once lived in the magnificent palace of Hyrule, alongside your brethren. But as with so many of the other races in this land, you have driven us from your sight. Driven us to the desert: the most uninhabitable place on the planet. When will our plight end? Why must my race be forced to labor in the desert? Why must my people die defending your lazy brood from enemies you could not vanquish. The golden age of Hyrule, the age of the valiant knights is but a myth now. It's time for a new age." Nabooru gazed at Link and grinned with wild eyes. "The age of the Gerudo."
Throughout Nabooru's speech, more and more Gerudo women seemed to be gathering around her. The smashers were heavily outnumbered.
Link stared into Nabooru's bright blue eyes. "Nabooru, have some sense here. Did I not come here years ago and save your life? Do you bear no allegiance to me?"
Nabooru casually walked towards Link so that they were face to face. "Link. Your people, too, have suffered by their hands. You know well the mockery the Kokiri have been forced to endure. You've heard the grumbles in Castle Town. The Kokiri, too, were once equals, until the Hylians began their mad quest for power." She noticed Link looked slightly agitated, so she added, "You know what it is I speak of."
Link looked away for a moment. His mind drifted back to a moment, years ago, following his victory over Ganon. He remembered bringing Saria into the castle to celebrate their friendship. He remembered the horrible ridicule she suffered, how people would call her "midget" and "the green monster." Link had never been so angry with people in his life.
Nabooru, sensing Link's weakened state, treacherously strode to Link and touched his chin, raising his downcast eyes to hers. "Besides," she smirked. "What has she got that I haven't?"
Zelda stood, shocked, but waited to see Link's reaction. Link fixed his eyes upon Nabooru for a moment, and Nabooru moved closer to him. Link could feel Nabooru's body pressed against his. Link turned his head and looked at Zelda. Zelda seemed to be confused with what was going on, but Link just smiled at her. "You forgot one thing," he whispered into Nabooru's ear, loud enough so Zelda could hear it. "I am Hylian!"
With that, Link shoved Nabooru backwards. Nabooru, stunned, stumbled and had to regain her footing. She narrowed her eyebrows and let out a high-pitched war cry. "Now, you shall learn the wrath of the Gerudo! Sisters of my tribe, for too long have we served the hogs of Hyrule. Let us show these beasts who the true defenders of peace are! Charge!" she shouted. Riled by her words, seemingly hundreds of Gerudo women flooded down the sand dune and towards the party.
Samus instantly took charge. "Let's kick their butts," she simply said, and instantly fired a plasma beam into a group of oncoming Gerudos. Fox and Falco, roused by Samus' valor, joined in, picking off Gerudos with their blasters from their spot on a sand dune. Still, however, the Gerudos charged down upon the Smash Brothers. Kirby and King Dedede instantly jumped into battle, back to back.
"Let's show 'em why they call us smash brothers," Dedede said to Kirby, as they raised their hammers high above their head and swung them with a might so great that it easily took out three or four Gerudos at a time.
As many of the smashers fought at the front of the fray, Luigi had been providing support from the rear, launching the occasional fireball. Never looking to his rear, Luigi would never suspect that an attack would occur from that direction. On the top of the sand dune to his back, however, appeared a lone Gerudo on horseback. This rider was none other than Matsumi, the fiercest warrior of the Gerudos. She stealthily crept down the hill, heading right towards Luigi. However, just as she raised her spear to pierce Luigi, Bowser instantly consumed her in a breath of flame. Luigi, stunned, looked back at his savior. "Man," Bowser remarked, "Did I seriously just save a Mario brother?" Luigi couldn't help but smile.
Meanwhile, towards the outskirts of the battle, Link drew his sword and went straight for Nabooru. Nabooru met him with her ready machete. "So," she stated confidently, "do you really think you can beat me, kid? You forget I'm the best damn warrior in Hyrule."
"Next to me," Link responded coolly. He knew Nabooru was not nearly as skilled with the blade.
"You haven't lost your edge, Link," said Nabooru. "You would have made a fine Gerudo."
"I also make a fine Hylian," countered Link.
"Look, kid," snapped Nabooru. "Don't waste my time. I'm going to give one last opportunity to join the winning side. Think carefully, now."
Link didn't need much time to consider it. "You know where I stand, Nabooru. I stand with justice."
Nabooru looked away for a moment and rolled her eyes, shouting, "Why must you always be so damn PERSISTENT!" As soon as she exclaimed persistent, she lunged at Link, taking him off guard. Link recovered, however, and swiped his sword towards Nabooru's thigh. Nabooru blocked his attempt with her machete and took a swipe at his head. Link ducked and rolled to Nabooru's left. Nabooru thrust her machete towards Link, but again Link rolled out of the way. This time Link got up, just in time to block another oncoming blow from Nabooru's weapon.
"Not bad, kid," Nabooru said flatly. "Let's up the ante." Nabooru drew from her left hand another machete and pounced on Link. Link blocked her first hit with his shield, and then rolled out of the way of her follow-up swipe. Link thrust his sword toward her shoulder, but Nabooru quickly repelled the blow.
Link tried again to swipe at Nabooru, and this time he was able to nick her sash. Instantly, something fell to the ground: a round, yellow gem. Nabooru seemed perplexed for a moment, and she stumbled back. Link grabbed the glowing gem and held it into the light. As if on cue, Mewtwo entered the room.
"AHA!" he exclaimed. "I should have known your treachery was afoot!" he declared, pointing at Nabooru. "Now you shall pay the ultimate price!" Mewtwo instantly began charging a ball of energy, but Link intervened.
"Hang on," he declared. "This is a Hylian matter. I am to handle this."
Mewtwo ignored him, and continued charging it until he felt a gun pressed against his head.
"You better do what he says, pal," came the forceful voice of Samus. Mewtwo angrily turned towards Samus but then restrained himself.
"Fine," he growled. "But let's get out of here before more time is idly spent." With that, Mewtwo stormed off.
Link gently walked over to Nabooru and looked down at her. She seemed to still be in a daze. Gerudo warriors were gathered around her, as almost all the fighting had ceased once the leader of the Gerudos went down.
"She'll be alright, Link," Zelda told him, putting her hand on his shoulder. "But we still have a job to do."
"She's right, you know," Kamek remarked. He looked off onto the beautiful desert horizon. "I just hope we're not moving too slowly."