Hey guys! I'm back again during these uncertain times to bring forth another brand new chapter for you readers to enjoy! We pick up on Link and his group making their way through the mysterious Lost Woods. On top of that, Link has ran into a curious boy who shares a similar aura to his own. What is this boy hiding? What awaits them inside the forest? Will everyone make it out of the woods in one piece? Read on to find out!
As of now, I'm making it my best to stay home and keep on pumping out chapters for you all to read through. Since I have more free time, I'll upload more frequently, so no more waiting a month for the next chapter. As always, don't forget to fave, follow, and review! Be sure to stay safe and healthy as well! Now, without further ado, let's get into this brand new chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Super Smash Bros. It is owned by Nintendo, and Masahiro Sakurai.
Lost Woods, World of Trophies
Link and the younger blond-haired adventurer had reached their destination within the forest maze. When they both entered the much brighter center of the forest, they both saw little treelike entities surrounding them with curious intent. Some of them were relieved by Link's presence, while some were skeptical at the younger boy's intentions.
"What are these things?" Asked the younger boy as he struggled with confusion.
"They're called Koroks. I've met them before, and they mean no harm." Replied Link.
"I am relieved you finally made it here, Link." Said a new booming voice.
The two heroes looked at the source, and found it was coming from a tree that was at least two hundred feet tall.
"Great Deku Tree." Said Link as he humbly bowed down.
The younger hero bowed down as well, indicating how he had met the Great Deku Tree before in his home village.
"There is no need for that, young ones." Said the tree. "You have come here for a new source of power required for the Master Sword."
"Yes." Said Link. "I wish to wield it as long as the threat of Galeem is upon this world."
"You possibly have the strength to enter the trial that lays before you, but you cannot complete it alone." Explained the Tree.
He then moved his wooden eyes towards the young blond haired hero. "Tell me, what is your name?"
"Link." Responded the adventurer. "Some people refer to me as the Hero of Time."
This took the older Link off guard. "Wait? You're the Hero of Time? From over ten thousand years ago?"
The younger Link took it upon himself to finally explain his origin. "I am. I was the one that saved Hyrule after seven years of Ganondorf's rule, along with saving a parallel dimension from a cursed mask."
"This is indeed intriguing." Said the Deku Tree. "It seems the light not only brought new people from unknown dimensions, but has also brought different eras together from the same dimension. This is unlike anything I have ever seen."
"Wait, if we're the first ones to arrive here, where are our friends?" Asked Link
"They are completing their trials as we speak." Said the voice from earlier. "But, right now, you have a guest that would like to speak with you. Look behind you."
When the two heroes turned around, they saw a wolf as golden as the Triforce itself. It looked to have one eye scarred from a battle while the other was open and glowed an intimidating bright red.
"I was the one who guided you two here. As we speak, I am currently guiding the strength and souls of your allies." Explained the wolf. "However, some are doing better than others."
Sheik and Kirby were following those branches that laid out the path for them. Unfortunately, there were apples and other fruits spread throughout the ground. This made the journey difficult for the puffball because it was hard for him to avoid the fruity temptation. In fact, this strongly reminded him of his times in Whispy Woods or participating in the Gourmet Race.
As the two fighters were following the trail, something red and shiny caught Kirby's eye. The puffball managed to squint a little farther. The object looked to be a large tomato with a letter M on the front side.
Kirby recognized this as a Maxim Tomato and immediately ran off toward it.
Sheik immediately took notice of the puffball's sudden move and caught her off guard. "Kirby no!"
However, Sheik's warning was too late. He swallowed the tomato and felt his hunger completely satisfied.
The Sheikah warrior was expecting something to happen, but after about five seconds, nothing took them by surprise. "Maybe we can let this one slide."
Unfortunately, some light rumbling happened. Sure enough, something was digging its way out of the ground where the Maxim tomato was.
It looked to be an automation similar to the one doing battle with Shulk. Sheik immediately recognized this from her extensive research. "A guardian scout?"
The scout immediately raised its head and took out its powerful ancient weaponry.
"It looks like we'll have to fight." Surmised Sheik. "Ready Kirby?"
Sheik looked back at her companion and found a face of determination looking back, indicating the puffball was more than ready.
Meanwhile, Shulk was struggling against his machine because it was learning the Monado Wielder's attack pattern over the course of the fight.
The warrior was about to get ready for another attack, but its eye laser was forcing him to retreat. He hid behind a wide enough tree to buy himself some time.
"I've got to finish this thing soon if I want to catch up with Link and the others! I can't afford to get lost in this forest forever!" Muttered Shulk as he was planning another attack.
However, the Monado Wielder thought of an idea that would be the best chance of defeating him.
After the guardian scout fired its next round, Shulk emerged from his hiding spot with his speed Monado Art activated. This proved to be beneficial to the Monado wielder because he was able to outrun the guardian's next laser blasts.
Once he closed in enough distance, he switched to his buster Monado art to sever the three legs on the bottom of the automation.
He managed to succeed, and also managed to sever its arms which were holding its weapons.
Shulk could see that the guardian was disabled. However, before he could deliver the final blow with the Monado, he failed to notice the eye lighting up rapidly.
The resulting blast knocked Shulk back over twenty feet until a tree abruptly stopped his momentum, hurting his back in the process.
The scout then proceeded to fire its laser again, only for the Monado Wielder to avoid the attack in the nick of time. This was even more remarkable because of the bad shape Shulk's body was in.
It continued to fire its laser more wildly in every direction to keep Shulk at a distance. However, the Monado warrior knew that he would cool down eventually.
When that time came, he switched to his smash Monado Art to deliver the finishing downward strike. Without any further delay, the attack succeeded, and the guardian scout was cleaved in two separate halves.
With all his adrenaline wearing off, Shulk got down on his knees and was panting wildly.
He then noticed a light on his left side which was then followed by the wolf's voice. "Congratulations. You have completed your trial of strength. Go on to the light. It is there that you will reunite with your friends."
The Monado Wielder immediately went toward the light. Mostly unsure of what to expect on the other side, but remaining confident nonetheless.
Pit was still struggling with his trials as the clouds of illusion became even stronger. Images of Palutena, Dark Pit, and even Link surrounded him.
"You could never defeat Galeem!" Spouted Palutena. "You're nothing but a failure!"
The illusion of Dark Pit was next. "I always knew Palutena preferred me. You were nothing more than a stepping stone on my path to overshadow you for good!"
Pit was struggling to retain his composure. He felt his spirit slipping away.
"I only needed you on this adventure because of an additional person! I never wanted to be your friend!" Spouted the illusory Link.
Just when the angel warrior was about to give into the overwhelming force against him, something clicked in his mind. Something came over his mind like water on a hot summer's day.
"This isn't real." Said Pit as he regained his confidence.
The angel then looked towards Palutena. "I know that isn't the real you. The Lady Palutena I knew would lay down her life if it meant her friends and kingdom would be safe! Besides, she would be way more playful and upbeat rather than being all doom and gloom like you! You're an embarrassment defiling her name!"
The illusion of the Goddess was taken aback by Pit's words of truth that she turned back into mist.
Upon seeing the result of his verbal action, he turned his head toward the illusory Dark Pit.
"I never wished to hurt you, Pittoo. I only wanted to build a brotherly bond and friendly rivalry between us! I proved that time and again when I let you live after each fight we had! However, all those times paled in comparison when I had to sacrifice my wings to save you from the Chaos Kin! That was the final sign of love I showed for you, Pittoo! May you be my brother even in death!"
Dark Pit's illusion then proceeded to vanish in a similar manner like Palutena did.
This left the illusory Link.
"The real Link would never see me as a liability. Both of the Links I know hold a humble and selfless spirit within them. They wish to put their lives on the line before everyone else! You don't hold a candle to them! Begone!"
The Link then faded away, but this time, the entire cloudy cyclone of dark mist faded away, leaving Pit in a spacious area of the forest.
"Congratulations, angel." Said the golden wolf's voice. "You have passed your trial of the soul."
A light then shone through a treeline to his right. "Go into the light to accept the end of this journey."
The angel warrior heeded the voice's word and went into the light. Once his eyes adjusted to the brightness around him, he saw Link, Shulk, and Young Link.
"Link! Shulk!" Shouted Pit as he ran up to them. "You're here!"
Pit then proceeded to wrap his arms around both of them at once in a warm embrace. The two blond warriors reciprocated this feeling back for a few seconds before breaking away the hug.
"I'm glad to see you two here!" Said the angel before noticing the younger Link. "Who's this? And why does he look so similar to you?"
Link didn't really want to talk about it at the moment. "Hard to explain."
This got Pit confused, but still curious about the boy's nature.
"Wait, where's Sheik and Kirby?" Asked Pit as he began to panic. "Don't tell me they're still inside the forest!"
As he was about to run back out into the forest, Link firmly grabbed his shoulder. "There's nothing we can do but wait. This is their trial to complete, as we completed ours."
Shulk nodded in agreement with Link's statement. "That's right. For me it was defeating a weird Mechon that I encountered on the way here."
Link's action got Pit back in place before worrying how the Sheikah warrior and pink puffball would fare in the trial they found themselves in.
Sheik and Kirby were currently fighting for their lives as the fully armed guardian scout was swinging its weapons at breakneck speed.
The Sheikah Warrior was having no problem keeping a distance from the onslaught. Unfortunately, the pink puffball was struggling.
The scout was charging up a laser blast against its opponent and fired almost immediately.
Fortunately, Kirby was quick in his thinking and rapidly inhaled the blast before spitting it back out at the automation.
The rebound attack landed a direct hit on one of the guardian's arms, severing it and the sword component it was holding.
Desperate to win, the automation focused on using its eye laser once more. Unfortunately, the puffball realized what he could do with his new counterattack. As a result, he managed to inhale each blast and regurgitate them back at the scout.
With no shield to protect itself from the returned onslaught, the automation burst into flames as it soon exploded into robotic pieces.
Fortunately, Kirby and Sheik were unharmed.
"I'm glad we managed to get this far, Kirby." Said the Sheikah Warrior. "Let's hope you learned your lesson."
The puffball expressed a sense of learning at Sheik after what had happened before. He made sure not to pick up any more food off the ground until they reached their destination.
After a few more minutes of following the branches, the duo saw a light over a large arch of trees.
The golden wolf's voice made it known once more. "You are the last two to complete your trial. Go and join your friends."
The stealth warrior and the puffball did what the voice said and crossed the light.
Once they were on the other side, they saw Link, Pit and Shulk all come up to them.
"Sheik! Kirby!" Shouted a relieved Shulk. "You made it!"
Pit got even more worried "I was gonna go back there and look for you two! Glad to know you two made it here alright!"
Link then walked up to the two warriors and hugged them. The duo returned the embrace.
"I knew you could do it, Zelda." Said Link under his breath. "I never lost faith in you."
"I'm glad to hear it, Link." Responded Sheik as she started to look around the green environment. "The forest looks unchanged from the last time I visited it."
"That is my doing, princess." Said the Great Deku Tree as he made himself known to Sheik and the others once more.
Zelda bowed in respect of the elder tree. The younger Link then came up to the duo, upon recognizing Sheik's garb. Once the Hero of Time got a good look, he was understandably confused.
"...Zelda?" Asked Link. "Is that you?"
Before Sheik could say anything, Link decided to fill her in. "This may be impossible for you to believe, but that kid is the legendary Hero of Time. The same hero that defeated Ganondorf over ten thousand years ago."
"Hold on… That's the Hero of Time?" Said Zelda in a shocking voice.
Unsurprisingly, the remaining fighters were confused as to what the two heroes and undercover princess were talking about.
Before things could get too out of hand, the Great Deku Tree decided to quiet everyone down. "Everyone, I understand your confusion, in the observations my Koroks have made, this world has been significantly changed by that light. As I mentioned before, it not only pulled in entirely new beings, but also brought in different eras from the same universes."
This was enough to fill in the six fighters on all they could know about the Great Light Convergence.
The golden wolf then reemerged itself in front of the trio. "Also, the being responsible for that light will continue to be a threat unless something happens. Something divine to stop it."
The heroes, save for the two Links, all got on the defensive. However, Zelda recognized the voice. "You're the one who guided me and Kirby through our trial."
The others recognized the voice as the one that helped them as they lowered their weapons.
"Who are you?" Asked Shulk. "Who are you really?"
Pit grew curious at the wolf as well.
The wolf responded with something simple yet cryptic. "A ghost of a hero's past."
This confused the heroes significantly. Little did they know though, that their true trial had yet to begin.