"Alright Kyros, you got me here so it better be good." said a warrior with spiky blonde hair. He wore a purple military uniform and had armor on his right shoulder. Behind his back he held a large buster sword, as tall as the warrior himself.
"The reason is legitimate, Cloud." Replied the warrior mage. He had asked the Smashers involved in Matthias' visions to meet with him in a cafeteria near the training area. "The reason for our meeting is because I have disturbing news."
"Is Matthias okay?" asked Samus. She was wearing her red suit, the gun returned to her arm.
"The ninja is fine. For now. But it does concern him." The mage began, taking a deep breath. "While Link, Sara, and myself were visiting him, someone was attacking his mind. I broke in to help him, and visions were shown to us of a danger that we face in the future. These visions showed us in combat, and each of us meeting our end.
"I propose the first course of action would be determining and making known the adversary who defeats us, then working as a team to put an end to these visions before they even begin. I will describe to each of you the battle that was fought, and from there we will formulate a plan."
"Well a'right, den, Let's get dis started,." said a man wearing a long, brown trench coat. He wore black fingerless gloves and knee-high silver boots. His hair was brown and unkempt, kept upright by a headdress he wore exposing his face and top of his head. But it was his eyes that set him apart from the other Smashers; they were red with black irises. That had always separated him from others. He was Remy LeBeau, also known as Gambit.
"Fine. If patience is not known to you, I will begin. The first vision showed Link." Kyros said, gesturing to the Hylean. "You were lying still on an altar, and above you a purple tribal mask lowered tentacles down to your body."
"That was Majora's Mask." the Hylean replied, puzzled. "But I destroyed it years ago in Termina…"
"The second vision," Kyros continued as he turned to face the one with blonde hair. "Was of you Cloud. You were on your knees being executed by a man with silver hair and a long sword."
"Sephiroth… so he's back…" Cloud trailed off. "I killed him when he tried to summon a force to destroy the planet."
"What was the third vision?" asked Samus.
"You." Kyros replied. "You were in battle with a lizard-like creature and it latched onto your armor and started to pull you limb from limb."
"I killed Ridley along with his brother Kraid, and the Space Pirate's Mother Brain back on Zebes."
"The fifth vision showed the Cajun fighting a duel in a swamp. His opponent wore a red form-fitting suit and a hooded mask, and he wielded a rapier."
"But Julien's dead, mon ami." replied Remy. "I killed 'im myself back in N'orleans, and then he was brought back to life and killed by his father."
"It seems he has risen again, in that case. The fifth vision was of myself, fighting a psychic illusionist I thought dead as well." said Kyros.
"And who was in the last vision?" asked Sara.
"The final vision…" the blind warrior trailed. "Was of you and Matthias. He was fighting another like him, but an old man."
"That's impossible." Sara shot back. "That man is not only dead, but his spirit is trapped in the pits of Hades!"
"I don't know how these people have returned," the mage finished. "But we must find a way to stop them before these futures come to pass. Something will happen soon, for while I was inside the ninja's mind I heard a voice say to him 'They are coming for you and your allies, and they will not stop until you are destroyed.'"
"So what do we do now, Kyros?" asked Cloud, still shocked from the new of his returned enemy.
"For now, I think it would be best if-" Kyros was cut off by a loud crash from the medical wing of the training area.
All at once, the six were on the move, rushing to see what had happened, fearing the worst. They knew that Matthias had enemies, and they knew that at the moment he was powerless to defend against them. They had made sure he would be protected, but with the news of the visions, they feared it hadn't been enough.
When they reached the medical wing, nurses and staff did their best to get out of the way, but the Smashers were relentless on helping their ally.
Cloud and Remy were the first to reach Matthias' room. As they came near they slowed to a trot; the door to his room had been thrown into the wall and damage had been done to the surrounding area, the guards that had been posted were lying dead nearby. The two ran in, and saw a strange shadow hovering over the ninja's unconscious body.
The cloud seemed to turn, and yellow eyes appeared, staring for a moment at the two challengers. The eyes shifted down towards Matthias, and then back at the mutant and mage. Slowly, the dark form shifted and transformed until a warrior in black armor dropped out and landed in a crouched position.
Gambit was the first to act. He rushed forward with his white staff in hand, but his attack was met. The shadow warrior dissipated as Remy charged through, and then rematerialized behind him, facing him. The shadow hit Remy with a blast of energy that sent him through the wall and into the Stadium on the other side.
Kyros then rushed in, Cloud now at his side. The blind mage placed the tip of his swords on the ground and flipped forward, bringing his heels down through where his target should have been. Quick as the air it was made from, it appeared on top of Matthias' bed. Kyros again jumped up to kick, placing his weight on the blades, but once again the shadow had moved.
Cloud tried to follow the movement, but it was impossible. In one moment the shadow was there, and in a puff of smoke it was gone. Cloud reached into his pocket and pulled out a small green orb and touched it to his weapon. The magic orb, called material, was absorbed into the sword and waited to see where it would be next. When it gave him a target, he pointed his sword at it.
"Stop!"
A set of roman numerals, as if to signify a timer appeared like a belt around the shadow. Frozen in place, it could only watch as Kyros jumped again and used his momentum to swing the large blades at it, slicing it through the middle with both weapons. The blades cut through the shadow, and the pieces feel to the floor, dissipating in smoke.
At that moment, the others had made it to what remained of the doorway and Remy started back through the hole.
Cloud put his hand on the smooth edge of his sword as the green Time Materia fell out.
"Any idea what that was?" he asked Kyros. Sara ran in to Matthias' bedside to make sure he was alright.
"Whatever it was, it wasn't trying to kill anyone." Kyros said. "It had the perfect opportunity to end Matthias' life, but it didn't."
"Here's something!" Sara said, finding a note near her lover's bed. She rose and waited for everyone to enter the room, and then read it aloud.
"I am but a messenger. My master's entrance to this situation will mean your death. You had better prepare yourselves. They are coming."
"I know this seems to be an old question, but what do we do now?" asked Samus.
"I don' know, but I'm gonna head home to find out was' goin' on." Remy said as he brushed the dirt and dust from his trench coat.
"You should wait for Matthias to wake up." Sara replied. "We're from Earth too, and we know someone who might be able to help."
"Very well." Kyros cut in. "I propose we divide in two teams. The first team will be here and wait for Matthias, and the second will head out as soon as possible. The first team should be Remy and Link. Remy is from a world Matthias is familiar with, and being a smaller team it would be wise for Link to stay behind."
"I can get ahold of someone who can give us transportation back to my homeworld." Cloud suggested. "And when we get there we can get some more help in battle. And if Sephiroth's back, we're going to need it.
"What about Super Smash Brothers?" asked Link.
"The competition can wait. They aren't going to try and stop us, they couldn't anyway. There are other fighters they can schedule, but with an attack like this they wouldn't put them at risk anyway." Kyros replied.
In silent agreement, the Smashers turned and left the room. Sara stayed back with Matthias, stroking his hand worriedly. Slowly, she could feel the Spirit Staff's energy, as if it were trying to pull itself to the ninja. A deep glow started, and steadily grew.
Hesitantly, Sara moved the Staff closer to Matthias, and suddenly his hand shot out and grabbed ahold of the weapon. The power of the red light intensified, and Sara watched as the birthmark on his scarred chest began to glow the same as the weapon.
Taking this as a sign that he would return shortly, Sara exhaled and left the room, knowing that he would be alright.