A/N The current Allstars here are: N64 Mario, N64 Luigi, N64 Link, N64 Peach, and N64 Donkey Kong. In this story, GameCube hasn't launched yet, so SSBM doesn't exist yet. Give me time tho....

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Chapter Five

It began that morning with Banjo and Kazooie yelling about their missing Jiggy. The Allstars didn't pay that much attention to it. One Jiggy wasn't too big a deal. The Prankster seemed to be slipping on the tricks. That thought instantly changed when the NES, SNES, and GB Links all raced up to them in a panic.

"It's Allstar Link! Something's really wrong with him!" NES Link wailed.

"He's all pale and sickly looking and weak and he wouldn't open his eyes!" SNES Link added.

"His Triforce is missing! We've got to get it back! Without it, his heart will just stop beating! He'll die without it!" GB Link cried.

"And he won't be around for GameCube!" Mario exclaimed, "Quick! We've got to get to Master Control! Kazooie, come on! We'll need you!" The group raced to the Master Control while the Links ran off to get their sick descendant to the infirmary.

"Kazooie, fly across and press the button!" Peach called out as they reached the pit. The Breegull flew across and jabbed the button, then looked in surprise at the Jiggy that lay on the floor next to her. The group raced across the bridge as she collected it and followed them.

"Are you happy now, DK?! Now the Zelda games were hit!" Luigi snapped at the ape, "Only this time, that hit could cost us GameCube sales! And the life of one of our own! Are you satisfied?!" DK looked a little guilty.

Master Control had only one chair out of place this time and the tapes were all melted as before. Mario raced to the Zelda control panel, pushed the chair out of the way, and punched in his own code.

"DK! Gimme a boost! I can't reach the controls!" he yelled over his shoulder. DK ambled over and picked him up so Mario could begin checking the program for what prank had been pulled. His fingers pushed keys so fast, it looked like a blur of white. "Okay! I see what happened! The Triforce for Allstar Link was erased! Just like the Golden Bananas! I'll just rewrite the code and...." he started to say and suddenly an alarm went off. The screen flashed red instead of blue and everyone looked down at it.

"Access denied. Please enter password." the screen said. Mario stared at it in shock, then put in his own code again. The computer rejected it.

"Let me try." Peach said and entered her code on the lower keyboard. The computer rejected it, too. DK tried his code. The sounds of the keys were faintly familiar to the Allstars, but they couldn't place them. The computer rejected it anyway.

"Let me have a shot." Luigi said and entered his own code. The computer rejected that, too. "The Prankster must have locked us out of the program! We can't get in to put the Triforce back!"

"This is bad! We have to hurry up and solve this mystery, or Allstar Link's as good as dead! Again!" Mario cried. DK nodded.

"Yeah, and this time there's no Nintendo Coin conversion to give him a second chance." he muttered, referring to the Master Tournament's end from long ago.

"All right, let's not panic." Sonic told them, "Let's think this through carefully. Who is fast and not heavy or fat and knows an Allstar's code?"

"Well, it can't be DK. He's not fast and he is heavy and fat." Peach remarked.

"I'm not fat. I'm just big-boned." DK grumbled. Mario scratched his head and sighed.

"I don't know. We have a lot of characters who fit that description." he remarked.

"Then do you know anyone who could have gotten over the pit without using the bridge? And why was Kazooie's Jiggy there?" Sonic asked. Kazooie nodded.

"Yeah. My Jiggy was on the side of the pit where the button was, like it was left there for a reason." the Breegull put in. Mario thought hard, but couldn't come up with anything that could put the clues together. He pressed a button on the speaker system.

"GB Link! How's Allstar Link?" he called out to the infirmary. The elf's face came on screen as nurses and doctors bustled about in the background.

"We've got him hooked up to the Nintendo Power Core through the capillary conduits, so he's stabilized for now. I don't know how long he can survive without the Triforce. Did you get it back yet?" he replied.

"We've got trouble, GB Link. The Prankster erased the Triforce from Ocarina of Time and then blocked the program with a password we can't break. We can't get in to rewrite the code!" Luigi exclaimed.

"What?! But, he can only stay stabilized for a day and a half at best! After that, we're talking iffy!"

"We know! We're coming up with a new plan! The Prankster likes to strike at night, right? Well, let's set up a stake-out and wait for him to try another prank, then we'll catch him in the act and make him give us the password." Mario declared.

"Do what you can, Mario. We're depending on you to pull this off." the elf replied and cut the connection.

"How are we going to catch The Prankster? Every defense you put up, he just finds a way to get past it." Sonic told Mario.

"Then you think of one, Mr. Hedgehog. This guy is a Nintendo character, sneaking past Nintendo defenses. Maybe a Sega trap will finally nab that rat." Mario replied with a grin. Sonic looked startled and sighed.

"I'll see what Tails and Eggman can do. They're the inventors. I just run as fast as my legs can go and let my speed do the thinking for me." he replied, "Speaking of which, Tails analyzed that red stuff and he says it's not blood. He doesn't know what that liquid is, but it's definitely not blood."

"See? No nose-bleeders." Mario told Kazooie, who only rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Well, then. Let's go and get ready to put in the new defense tonight! We can't afford to lose anymore time on this! We've got to catch The Prankster!"

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DC Tails and DC Eggman were put to work on building the new defense. To help them were their Nintendo counterparts, aiding in whatever the Sega characters needed. Sega's defense system consisted of thin trap wires that would drop robots down from the ceiling onto the floor when they were cut. The lines would be strung between the walls of the hallway and the robots hidden in ports in the ceiling. For hours they worked, building and setting things up.

Meanwhile, the Allstars continued working on the clues they had. They still couldn't figure them out. Peach was sure that all they needed was a really good hint to get them on the right track to finding the identity of The Prankster. She didn't mention DK's code sounding familiar until she heard the tape again.

"That's it!" she cried, "I knew I recognized that music! DK's code, when he put it in the computer, sounded just like that!"

"Then The Prankster used DK's personal Allstar code to access the game computers?" Mario asked.

"Impossible! How could he have gotten my code?! I only use it in my computer in my room and the ones in the computer room!" DK exclaimed, on the verge of another fit.

"I don't know. But The Prankster must be a really good spy to have learned an Allstar's code." Mario muttered, "The codes don't have a pattern in them, so that may be why The Prankster wrote down the numbers and letters to remember them. Then the paper got lost. How could The Prankster still remember the code if the paper was gone?"

"Maybe from the sounds." Peach wondered aloud. Everyone looked at her in confusion. "Well, there are four numbers and one designation letter to DK's code, five symbols in all. And there were five notes on that other paper. Maybe The Prankster rewrote the code from memory as music notes because he couldn't remember the numbers and letter. That way, without really knowing the code, he could just punch the keys whose sounds matched the notes." she explained.

"The Prankster remembers music better than codes? Musicians must have lousy memories." DK snickered. Then he paused. "Wait, I remember music as good as codes." he said to himself.

"Great. You insulted yourself." Luigi remarked, "Proves how dumb you are."

"You lookin' for a fight, plumber?!"

"Yeah, maybe I am! What's it to ya, Banana Brain?!"

"Quiet!" Mario shouted and dug his fingers into his head. "I can't think anymore! I need a break. Allstars, dismissed! I'm going to grab a bite to eat and check on Allstar Link." he grumbled and left the meeting room, an alternate conference room when the Master Control couldn't be used.

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Master Control's new defense was in place after another hour of work. Allstar Mario was in the infirmary, visiting the ill elf. The other Links had been right; Allstar Link did look like death warmed over. He sat on a chair next to the bed and studied him.

"Link? Can you hear me?" he called softly. Slowly, the Allstar opened his eyes a little and looked at him.

"Pretty good. My ears are still the best. Well, second best at least. Advance Link has a bit better hearing than me." he replied just as softly.

"Link, we've got trouble. The Prankster erased your Triforce and locked us out of the program. Do you think your code will get us in?" Mario asked him.

"Told you he was a punk." Link said with a dry grin and sighed softly, "Okay, my code. I don't know. Give it a try. It goes like this." he added and took a little breath of air. "Da dee dum doo dah." Mario gave him an odd look. Link laughed a little. "Sorry. I can't remember a mess of numbers and letters. Get me a number pad. I'll play the tune again." he apologized. Mario left and came back with a play phone. Link struggled to press the keys, listening to the sounds. "Okay. Write it down while I play."

"All right. I'm ready for the code." Mario reported. Link played the tune again with the number pad and Mario scribbled down the code. "1572Beta. Got it. Thanks."

"No problem. Just tell Zelda I'll be a little late for our dinner date tonight." Link replied with a grin, then closed his eyes and fell asleep, exhausted. Mario pat his hand and left just as GB Link came in with two pairs of gauntlets.

"Whoa. Didn't see you here, Mario." the elder elf remarked, "I just dropped by to return Allstar Link's gauntlets. He just got them back from the cleaners." He held them out to him and the gold and silver shone bright. "They did a good job, don't you think? I hope he'll recover soon. Then he can wear them again." GB Link sighed sadly and entered the room.

"Me too." Mario replied to the door and left in a hurry. Link's code was their last shot at unlocking the program.

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Advance Link tagged along behind NES Link as he rushed about the living area set aside for them. The little elf had his harp with him, still practicing the various notes on it.

"NES Link! What's going on? Where's Allstar Link? What happened?" he asked the questions over and over as he played the same quirky tune again and again.

"He's at the infirmary. The Prankster erased his Triforce. Go play somewhere! I've got to get this place cleaned up! If I don't keep my hands busy, I'll tear out my hair!" the elder elf babbled.

"You mean that triangle thing we all have inside us? It's important?" the little elf asked.

"Yes! Very important! If we don't have it in us, we die. Go play somewhere! Practice your harp in the rec room!" Advance Link scurried away with the harp after the other Links came in and shooed him away.

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Tiny had a hard time with her trick. It was one prank, but it had been hard to work out. Now all she needed was the right time to do it. But with everyone in an uproar over what had happened, she would have to wait until she could find the perfect window of opportunity.

"Oh, man! This is so not fun! Why did Link have to go and get so sick over losing that thing? You'd think he'd just throw a fit like DK, but nooo! He had to get sick!" she complained loudly and blinked in surprise when Advance Link ran by with the harp under one arm. "Hey, where's he going in such a rush? That's where the vaults are." she mumbled and hopped down from her seat with her saxophone in hand. Then she raced after him to see what he was up to now.

When Tiny reached the vaults, she found the one for the new Zelda game on Gamecube open. She tiptoed up to it and peeked in. Nothing. She couldn't see Advance Link anywhere. Curious, she walked into the room as quietly as she could, walking on her toes and moving very cautiously. Tiny looked around as she moved, searching for the little elf.

"Why are you following me?" a voice from behind her asked. Tiny jumped with a yelp and landed on her feet, whirling around in shock. Link stood a few feet behind her, harp in hands and a frown on his face. "What are you doing here? And why are you following me?" he asked again.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing." Tiny stammered and looked around. "So, this is the GameCube vault for the new Zelda game." she changed the subject. "It looks nice. I bet the game is going to be great."

"It's stupid." Link replied flatly and began to play the Harp of Ages. "I hate it. Allstar Link doesn't need to be in this game." Tiny looked shocked.

"But, this is a Zelda game! How can a Zelda game be stupid?!" she cried in disbelief. Link hated this game?

"First time for everything. It's stupid. This is a stupid Zelda game. It should be scrapped and redone. All the power GameCube has and this was the best they could do for us? Everyone else got nice, new things for their new games and we Links got this trash." he went on and sniffed disdainfully. "If this is what the future looks like for The Legend of Zelda, then Allstar Link might as well be dead already."

"You don't mean that." Tiny protested and looked around, "Although, now that you mention it, the graphics do look a little cartoony. Not at all like a third gen game." She shook her head. "And what do you mean, 'might as well be dead'? Is Link really sick?! That triangle Triforce thingy was really important?!" Link nodded. "Even more important than our Golden Bananas?!"

"When your bananas were erased, the Kongs didn't have any after-effects. But as soon as Allstar Link's Triforce was erased, he got really sick, really fast." Link replied, "So that makes it more important than your Golden Bananas. By the way, I hate banana pudding."

"So, how is Allstar Link anyway?" Tiny asked, backing away from the things in the room and slowly making her way to the door. Link shrugged and played the same tune again, each finger on his left hand plucking one string to play it.

"GB Link said that he was connected to the Nintendo Power Core to keep him alive. It's got way more power than the Triforce of Courage so they think it should keep him going until the Allstars get it back. Which they haven't." he remarked. "Don't let the door hit ya on the way out." Tiny fled the vault.