When he came to the door of the hanger, it automatically opened up, and Mario stepped inside. Inside was a long hallway with a few doors, and up ahead it turned to the left and right.
"Welcome warrior. You're late. I almost gave up on you." The voice of Karlnak echoed in the hallway, apparently from a speaker somewhere. "Our sensors show that you have entered our ship, now continue on and take the path to the left." Mario did as he was instructed. As he came to the corner, he turned left, and saw the hallway continue on.
"Why is this place so empty?" Mario thought to himself.
"You'll then need to take a right." Mario went on, and when he turned around the corner, he was in another hallway, but this time there was a large purple door up ahead on the right side.
"You see that purple door? I'm waiting inside." Karlnak snickered. As he stepped up to it, he could see words on it written in the Zox language, which he of course couldn't read. The door slid open, and he then found out where the ship's crew was. Mario came to a large, spacious room. It was as long as a football field, and just as wide. The ceiling rose to about thirty feet tall, and all alongside the walls were glass windows where all the Zox watched. In the middle of the room was Karlnak, waiting for Mario.
"Of all the warriors, they send Mario? I was thinking they might have sent Link or Samus, but either way, you'll do just fine."
"So what's going on here?" Mario asked in all seriousness, a tone that Mario doesn't often use.
"It's your final battle, Mario. My crew has come to watch your death, and just for the memories, I'm recording the whole thing. To be honest with you, I've never been one for all this high-tech stuff; I'd much rather pound my enemies into the ground with my own two hands." Karlnak said as he cracked his fingers.
"A hand-to-hand battle?" Mario asked, thinking about the idea.
"Yes, and you can be allowed to use any means necessary to win." Mario was surprised that Karlnak would let him use anything he wanted.
"Don't look so surprised, Mario. You'll need all the help you can get. Not only am I the War Master, but I am also the strongest warrior of all the Zox. My people have learned the right way to exercise, and bring out the full potential of a warrior." Mario looked Karlnak over, and could see he wasn't exaggerating. He was three times the size of Mario, and a few inches taller than all the other Zox on the ship. His body looked like it was all muscle; his arms and legs bulged from the size of them.
"Trentin, activate the program!" Karlnak shouted. The room then began to change. Like a mirage, the room became a desert. The sky above them was orange, and the ground was a brownish-orange, with scattered rocks and pebbles, and large boulders were sparsely spread around. The terrain was quite flat, and no change in elevation could be seen for miles. The sun above them was bright, and he could feel its rays burning at his skin.
"This is our holographic training room, and this is the desert Karlnak, on my home planet Compet." Mario was again a little surprised, as either Karlnak was so popular a desert is named after him, or he was named after the desert.
"As you might have guessed, I was named after this desert. In my language, Karlnak means harsh and unforgiving. Like this desert, I will be harsh, and unforgiving."
"What a name for your mother to give you." Mario teased.
"We'll see how long you can keep up that attitude of yours." Mario then rushed towards Karlnak as he faced the final boss ). Karlnak just stood there, so Mario jumped over him, and as he tried to pound his feet into his head, Karlnak put his arms up, and as Mario jumped off, Karlnak pushed Mario up, making him fly up. As he flew towards the sky, he stopped in mid-air, hitting the invisible ceiling of the room. As Mario fell back to the ground, he couldn't do anything but watch Karlnak get ready to attack. As Mario came back to the ground, Karlnak slammed his fist into Mario's stomach, sending him crashing into the ground.
Karlnak wasn't finished, as he came up to Mario to slam his fist down at him. Mario quickly rolled to the side as Karlnak's fist crashed into the ground. Mario got back up and delivered a three-hit-combo, striking twice with his fists and once with his foot. Karlnak was knocked back a bit, but as Mario came at him to strike again, Karlnak grabbed him, and swung him around before throwing him into the invisible wall of the room. Shouts could be heard from the Zox watching their fight.
Though Mario was in pain, his determination was unshaken. Reaching into his pocket, he took out a feather, and unlocking its power, a cape appeared on his back. Karlnak ran towards him, so he did the same. As they approached each other, Mario jumped forward with his arms out. Using the power of the cape, he flew right into Karlnak's chest, and was then flying around the room. Karlnak got back up from Mario's attack, but Mario was then making a dive bomb for him. Karlnak was caught off guard as the bright sun blinded him from seeing Mario. Mario dived and slammed into him with such force that Karlnak was again knocked to the floor.
Mario got on his feet the moment he landed to prevent himself from getting harmed, running forward to slow down from the momentum. Mario looked back at Karlnak and could see a fury in his eyes. Mario began spinning in circles, his cape stretching out and knocking anything it touches. Like a spinning top, Mario raced towards Karlnak. Loose dirt spun away from Mario as his speed created a minute cyclone. Unfortunately for Mario, Karlnak easily saw the weak spot with this attack. Making a sweeping kick, Karlnak hit Mario's legs before the cap touched him, making Mario trip.
As the plumber tripped over, Karlnak grabbed him by the cape, and he became a punching bag. Karlnak stroke Mario with several powerful blows before he swung him around and threw him to the wall. Mario slowly got back to his feet.
"Still fighting? You're quite persistent." Mario was feeling weaker, but he charged towards him anyways. Mario jumped towards Karlnak to try pounding his face with both fists. Just as he was about to smash his face in, Karlnak grabbed both of his arms. Mario was at the hands of Karlnak, so instead he used his feet to kick him in the chest. As he did though, two hands stopped his feet. Mario was shocked to see that four pairs of arms were coming from Karlnak, both holding Mario's legs and arms.
"When I said with my own two hands, I may have lied."
"Exercise, you say?" Mario teased.
"Well, genetic engineering always helps." Karlnak snickered. With all four hands, Karlnak slammed Mario into the ground, and began pounding him. His arms repeatedly slammed down on him like lightning, each one sending vibrations through the ground. Mario was pinned to the floor, and took every hit. He could feel his bones breaking, and some parts of his body were actually going numb. Dirt was kicked up and formed a cloud of dust. With the damage he received, Mario lost his power, and the cape vanished.
Karlnak figured it was enough, so he picked Mario up by the head.
"Had enough, Mario?" Mario didn't respond, as his eyes were barely open. His body was covered in sweat, blood, and dirt, with bruises all over. "No? Well, let's take care of that." Taking one last swing, Karlnak smacked the battered plumber, sending him into the wall one last time. Since Karlnak could see that this battle was over, he put his extra pair of arms back in his body.
Mario hit the invisible wall, and fell on his back into the ground. As he hit the ground, something fell out of his pocket. Mario struggled to turn his head and look to see what it was. Right next to him laid the handkerchief, and right beside it was a starman. Mario didn't know how Ash came across one out here, but Ash had given him a starman nonetheless. Mario then tried to reach his arm out to grab it.
"Still alive? It's amazing how much stamina you have." Karlnak started running towards him to finish him off. Mario could hear Karlnak's footsteps getting closer and closer, and Mario struggled to get the star. His arm was in more pain then he could ever remember it, and the star was just an inch out of his reach. Karlnak was getting closer, so Mario ignored the horrible pain and lunged for the star.
Karlnak raised both his hands and slammed down on Mario. The blow made the ground shake, and would have easily finished him off, but instead it felt like he had tried hitting the hardest element in the dimension. As Karlnak stepped back, he saw that Mario was glittering all over, and his body was flashing from some sort of light.
With the starman's invincible power, Mario no longer felt pain, and immediately stood up. Karlnak again hit him, but Mario didn't even move from the impact. Taking the offensive, Mario did several three-hit combos before doing a jumping uppercut, right into his chin. As Mario hit him, a few coins fell out of his pocket. The blow sent him flying up, so Mario reached into his pocket to take out another fire flower.
As Karlnak was falling back down, Mario began spinning around in circles again, but this time, he fired off some fireballs. With his continual spinning, the fireballs were caught up in a whirlwind, and a tornado of flame encompassed him. Karlnak fell right into the flaming tornado, and was caught in it for several seconds as Mario also hit him with his twirling fists.
Mario could feel that the power of invincibility was starting to wear off, so he stopped his attack. Karlnak was sent flying as he finished, and was sent right into a large boulder, hitting the back of his head. The star's power wore off, and Mario could feel the pain again, but he felt rejuvenated enough to walk.
Mario walked over to Karlnak, who was still lying there; his body was covered in burns. As he stepped up to him, the hologram turned off, and they were back in the metal room. Even the dirt on his body was gone. Faint words were then heard from Karlnak.
"Eh...you win."
"You admit defeat?"
"Yes." Karlnak weakly said. He was breathing quite heavily.
"So this war of yours against this dimension is over?"
"Yes. Please, just don't kill me." Mario was a surprised to hear such a different tone from Karlnak. He was a ruthless killer, but now he was pleading for his life.
"If I spare you, will you promise to never return, and stop this silly conquest of yours?"
"Ye...y...yes. I promise."
"Good." Without saying another word, Mario walked out. He walked down the halls and back towards Fox. Mario then remembered about the bomb, and took it out.
"Heh, I guess I won't need this after all." Mario thought to himself. "They may be killers of dimensions, but I can't just kill them. He promised me he wouldn't come back, and whether he keeps his word or not, I know I have to give him the chance. Everyone deserves a second chance." Mario put the bomb back in his pocket, but then he started hearing voices.
"Sir, or you all right?"
"Argh, I'll live, just don't touch me. Ow! I said don't touch me, that hurts!"
"Sir, are you crying?" A laser shot was then heard. Mario then remembered that Karlnak used a speaker to tell him where to go, so they must have forgot to turn it off.
"Sir, what do we do now?"
"Have our engines been fixed yet?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then let's go home."
"But sir, what about Mario and the others."
"Forget about them! Going after them now would be suicide. We'll return home, then gather every single ship there is, even from all our other dimensions, and came back to finish them off." Mario had hoped that Karlnak would keep his promise, but he just heard him break that promise.
"But sir, didn't you promise Mario we wouldn't return?"
"Promise? What promise? I never made any promise. Did you here me make any promise."
"Yes sir, you did just...." Another laser shot was heard.
"Anyone else heard me make a promise?"
"Oh, no sir, not at all."
"Good. They won't be expecting us to come back, and that will give us the surprise advantage." Mario took the bomb back out of his pocket, took a look at it, and then stuck it to the wall. It began counting down from three minutes.
Mario got back to the hanger and hoped in the Arwing.
"Hey, you all right? What happened back there?" Fox asked.
"No time, just go!" The hanger door opened up, and Fox flew out. As they flew away from the mother ship, they could see them opening up a dimensional portal. The ship was still greatly damaged, so it slowly entered the portal.
When Karlnak finally had the strength to stand up, he noticed a red light on.
"What's that...? You idiot, you forgot to turn off the speaker! Mario heard everything; turn back now!"
"It's too late sir, we've already entered the portal."
"Sir, we just discovered that someone set us up the bomb!"
By the time they got back onto the ship and into the control room, they could see that the mother ship had fully entered the portal, and it was now closing. Just before the portal fully closed, however, an explosion bursting out of it. The portal closed, and the Zox were gone.
Mario hadn't said anything when he got back, and when they saw the explosion, they were confused at why he set the bomb.
"Mario, if you won, why'd you kill them anyways?"
"Because...because...." Mario wasn't able to finish speaking as he collapsed from exhaustion.
They took Mario to a bed to let him rest, while Link used some healing potions on him. Mario stayed asleep for almost a day, and since he was the one who piloted the Nintendo 64, they didn't go anywhere. When Mario finally woke up, he told them what happened. Destroying the whole ship seemed a bit much, but since he broke his promise and said he would return, it looked like the only choice. With the War Master Karlnak and the mother ship gone, the Dimensional War was finally over. After eating a large breakfast, they all gathered in the control room. Link looked at his console and saw that the robot spiders had fixed most of the ship.
"Mario, the 64 is fixed enough to be put back in ship mode, and our engines are fully repaired."
"Good, put us in ship mode then. Sonic, did you figure out how long it will be?"
"Yeah. At maximum speed, it will take about five days to get back to Nintendo." Mario sighed, as it would be a while till they got back home.
"It's a shame this ship doesn't have a dimensional drive." As Samus said that, some of the unreadable words on one of the consoles turned into English, and said 'Dimensional Drive.' "You're kidding me." Ash then walked up to the console and sat down at it.
"We never knew what this computer did, but I guess now we do."
"We now figure this out? Seesh." D.K. said. Ash then took hold of the mouse at the console and began messing around with the dimensional drive.
"Hey, do you know what you're doing?" Link said, warning Ash not to mess with it.
"Hey, don't worry, this is simple. See here? At the top you select either dimensional portal or slip portal. I'll just click on slip, and...." Once Ash clicked on it, a three-dimensional map of outer space popped up on the screen, and Ash navigated it until he found Nintendo. "Hey, here's Nintendo! If I click here, then the portal will take us there!"
"Hey, hold on Ash, aren't you getting ahead of yourself? Samus and the Starfox team is till on board. That is, unless you want to come with us?"
"You know, we don't really have anything important to do right now. Why not? Hey, you guys want to go?" The rest of Fox's team affirmed him. Fox then took out his communicator.
"ROB, we're going to Nintendo, so follow the 64."
"Affirmative."
"Well, I haven't finished fixing my ship, so I guess I don't really have much of a choice." Samus said.
"All right then. Ash, take us home."
"Sure thing, Mario!" Once Ash clicked on the space near Nintendo, an electric-like energy came out from the four controllers in front of the ship. They joined together at a single spot about a hundred feet away from the 64. As the energy bolts began to separate, it pulled open a hole in space. Once it reached maximum size, the bolts disappeared, and a dimensional portal was open for them.
"Say, there's a timer on the screen." Ash said.
"I believe it's to say how long the portal will remain open." Zero said.
"Let's not waste any time then. Let's go!" The 64 entered the portal, and traveled back to Nintendo.
When they came out the other side, they saw Nintendo in the same shape it was before. Everyone again wondered if there was anyone alive down there, but suddenly, Link acted very shocked.
"Hey, Link, what's wrong? Link? Hello, Nintendo to Link, come in Link."
"Huh? Oh, what?"
"What do you mean what? You're the one all shocked and spacing out."
"Oh, it's nothing, I was just thinking about something. Hey, how about we head down to Hyrule? That's where both Peach and Zelda were."
"Peach....Fine, good of a place as any." Mario began descending towards Hyrule. At from their distance, it was only a green piece of land, but as they got closer, they could make out the mountains and forests. Closer yet, they could see buildings, but more importantly, buildings in one piece. The 64 was landing in the middle of Hyrule field, and to their surprise, there were hundreds of people from all different nations outside cheering. When they landed, they could hear the noise of many people happily cheering outside.
Everyone quickly ran to the door, and as it opened, they could see that everyone had come out to see them. They walked down out of the ship amongst the crowd, and they began shouting in unison.
"Hooray for the heroes! Hooray for the heroes!"
"Me? A Hero?" Ash doubted himself. Surely they weren't cheering for him. He hadn't done anything heroic.
"Of course you're a hero!"
"But I didn't do anything."
"Of course you did! Remember that star you gave me? I wouldn't have beaten Karlnak if it weren't for you!"
"Oh, yeah, but still, that wasn't anything."
"Come on! What about back there when you faced against the guardians of the keys? We would never have even gotten the Nintendo 64 if it weren't for you!" Sonic said.
"Really? Hey, Pikachu, do you think I am?"
"Pikapika!"
"Ha ha ha!" As the crowd cheered, they saw Peach and Zelda.
"Peach!" Mario ran to see Peach, who in return kissed him.
"Thank you, Mario! You've saved us all!"
"Zelda, it's good to see you again."
"You too, Link."
"Hey, how come you're all alive? We saw the CDs blast the heck out of Nintendo!" Mario asked.
"Well, when you left, Zelda and I thought that we should try to warn everyone about the attacks. We had trouble getting people to believe us about people attacking us from an alternate dimension, but when both Kanto and Johto was attacked, we got more people to believe us. By the time you unlocked the Nintendo 64, we managed to inform most of the planet about the danger. Before the CDs did their final attack, most everyone had taken shelter. I'm sure not everyone survived, but most did. There's a lot that was destroyed, but we can always rebuild."
"Hey, you knew then! You told us to come here!" Mario said to Link.
"Yeah. When we came out of the portal, Zelda contacted me telepathically, but told me not to tell you so it can be a surprise."
"So that's why you acted surprised. Well, I'm just glad you're all okay."
"Hey, don't forget about me!"
"Luigi? Luigi!" As Luigi came out from the crowd and found Mario, they both embraced each other.
"Why do you always go out on adventures without me, huh?"
"I'm sorry, but we couldn't just come and get you."
"Hey, I'm just messing with you! Ha ha!"
"Sonic!" Sonic turned around to see Amy rushing out to grab him. She quickly hugged Sonic and started to cry.
"Oh, Sonic, I was so worried about you."
"Hey, don't cry Amy; I'm okay." Sonic then saw Tails and Knuckles.
"Tails! Knuckles!"
"Sonic! I'm happy you're okay!"
"You came to see me too, Knuckles?"
"I just came to see if you survived." Knuckles teased.
"Heh, figures."
"But seriously, you did good, Sonic."
"Hey, shouldn't we be giving a welcome worth while for our heroes? Come on, let's celebrate!" As Drunia said this, some Gorons and Kokiri began playing music ). Everyone from all the nations of Nintendo celebrated their victory against the Zox, and their heroes were the guests of honor.
As Tails was dancing to the music, he noticed that Sonic was missing. He started hovering above the crowd to get a good view, and saw him on a small hill away from everyone. He flew over to him to see what was wrong.
"Hey Sonic, how come you're over here?"
"They're still out there, you know."
"The Zox? Come on, Sonic, we finally gave Karlnak what he deserved!"
"We might have gotten rid Karlnak, but there are still Zox out there. Their species extend through the dimensions, and there's still planets out there that are under their control."
"You're thinking about Mobius, aren't you?"
"Yeah."
"But hey, the Zox would be crazy to try to go against the Nintendo 64 again! Besides, if they ever show their ugly heads here again, we'll be ready for them!"
"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Sonic and Tails then walked back to the celebration.
Peace had once again returned dimension N, and the war that they came to call the Dimensional War was over. Everyone was able to have a peace of mind knowing that they wouldn't have to fear destruction from an alien race. With the help of an ancient ship called the Nintendo 64, they were able to rid their selves of this evil. Who had built and why was unknown, but it was a miracle that they could use such a powerful weapon.
Peace had come to dimension N, but for some unknown reason, there always seems to be some strange twist of fate in this land that makes peace short lived.
And that, my friends, is the last of The N Wars. Thank you very, very much for continually reading this CrazyChocoboGirl!