The mood around the room was very morbid indeed. Mist had not felt such a dark, dreary atmosphere since the last war had ended.

The war room was filled to the brim with people, some she knew, some she didn't, exhausted and wounded, standing around a vast table.

Fox McCloud looked as if we was he were about to collapse. A large cut that had looked to be inflicted by a sword crossed his eye. His wife, Krystal, stood over him with an ice pack pressed against it, looking grim. Further down the table Cloud Strife sat. His hands were folded in front of him. He looked distant and contemplative. Lucina, the girl that was to marry Link, was standing by Chrom. They looked remarkably similar.

Almost everyone she had met at the wedding was present. The one notable exception, that she could spot, was Samus Aran herself.

She turned to look at Ike, concerned. He had said nothing to her about Samus when they had reunited, only asking her if she was unhurt. It had taken quite a bit of convincing to have him allow her into this meeting, but she was determined to do everything she could to help resolve this situation.

At the head of the table sat a large, mustachioed man she had never seen before. Dressed in a bright red cap and overalls, he was not the large, imposing figure she had imagined the leader of the Super Smash Bros to be. However the group assembled gave him the utmost attention as he and his personal assistant, Princess Peach, walked at the end of the table.

"As I'm sure you are all aware." The man, Super Mario, said. His voice very grave. "This situation is a disaster of unprecedented proportions. What we are experiencing is a coordinated attack from… for lack of a better word, essentially everyone."

"Our enemy is so great it was impossible for even our most dedicated scanning systems to identify all of them." Princess Peach said. "I've spoken with Adam, and he says the sheer variety of the enemy is inconceivable. We are seeing an alliance made up of thousands of different places and armies… many of whom previously had no idea they even existed. In other words…"

"Some kind of higher power." Mario said. "Has organized an Ultimate enemy for us to face."

The room fell silent. Mist had no what was going on. Higher power… were they talking about gods?

"Our enemies." Mario said. "Traditionally seek to eliminate all of existence. To drag us into subspace, or throw off the balance of the universe. Our cause, simply put, is above the traditional dichotomy of 'good' and 'evil…' Heroes and Villains working together to preserve the very fabric of this reality. From what we understand someone… has decided that a similar force needs to be weaponized against us."

"My apologies." A man that Mist had never seen before, a man that looked remarkably like Lucina, stepped forward. "Is it unfair to assume that this coalition is… chosen by the Other Hand?"

"The Other." Mario repeated. "Is an essential part of this universe. Much like Galeem and Dharkon, The Hand requires the Other in order to Create, as it always has, and always will. The Other, in a way, is just as essential as the Hand."

The blue haired man lay a hand on his chin. "So… who is our enemy?" He asked. "Something beyond even the Hands?"

"It is possible." Mario allowed. "There are signs of it. But we have no definitive proof. From what I understand, we have not even begun to see the depths of what this army offers. It is possible that these people have organically formed and-"

"That's absurd."

The man who had spoken was someone that Mist had never spoken to before. Large and muscular, a colorful helmet and visor covered his face.

"Captain Falcon." Mario said.

"Are you really suggesting." Falcon said. "That such a large force could assemble, completely organically and naturally, to invade a single planet that we just happened to be hosting a wedding on? With no higher power involvement?"

"A large number of our allies do have a lot of enemies, Captain." Peach said.

Falcon shook his head.

"Think about this logically." He said. "We saw all of the people out there fighting. They had no cause. No purpose. No reason to be there. They were out causing mayhem for the sake of causing mayhem. Fox, you were telling me that General Scales was leading the charge… is that correct?"

"If Samus Arans' testimony is correct, yes…" Fox said.

"What possible benefit." Falcon said. "Would a fallen dictator have in invading another planet that he has no stake or interest in? How did he assemble the Sharpclaw? My understanding is that a new leader took over once Andross took him out, and was making major strides to form better ties with the other dinosaurs on the Planet."

Fox bent his head. Krystal pulled away from him, not looking at him.

"I encountered an animal." He said. "By the name of Sabre."

The entire room was staring at him. Mist could see Young Link in particular narrowing his eyes, deep in thought.

"He was from the Planet Animus." Fox said. "But he had been sent to Dinosaur Planet to stop the Sharpclaw… he was there when I was. He was-"

"He was on our side." Krystal said. "Dinosaur Planet lacked the technology to send a distress signal to request the aid of General Pepper. When the Krazoa Palace was attacked by the Sharpclaw, the Earthwalkers requested the aid of the Wizard Rancorn for help. Rancorn, in turn, turned to General Pepper." She paused, as if trying to decide what to say next. "Rancorn was- Saber's father." She said. "Saber would have no reason to align himself with the Sharpclaw, and yet…. There he was, fighting alongside them."

Edelgard Von Hresvelg raised her hand.

"Do I have permission to speak?" She asked.

"You may." Mario said.

"I observed something similar." She said. "During the battle I defeated Walhart, the Conqueror of Valm. I knew nothing about him, other than that he was on the other side of the conflict. However, I was soon informed that he was in fact an ally of Exalt Chrom at some point."

"Is this true, Chrom?"

"Yes and no." Chrom said. "Walhart was a warlord who desired to conquer our own continent and subjugate it under his rule. When he was defeated, our attention turned to the rise of the Dark Dragon Grima. Sensing a greater threat, Walhart thought it best to fight alongside us. However, it was an alliance of necessity. There was no true friendship or comradery there. When he left us he was not missed."

Edelgard bent her head.

"My apologies." She said. "I was told that he was an ally of yours, nothing more."

"This only reaffirms my point." Falcon said. "What business does someone like Walhart… like Scales, like Batman… have in coming here and fighting us?"

"We have an idea." Cloud said, his voice a little quiet. "Samus Aran spoke to Yuna, the summoner who called forth Dracula's Castle."

"Yes…." Mario said, a little slowly. "Yuna. Cloud, do you have any thoughts on this?"

"High Summoner Yuna." Cloud said. "Is a figure from ancient myth. It was said that she helped save the world from a creature that caused endless suffering and death among the people…. But no one alive believes she was even real."

"Yet she claims to know you."

"She did." Cloud affirmed. "And she thinks that I'm such a disappointment that she regrets saving the world."

No one laughed.

"Cloud…." Peach said, her voice a little quiet. "If you know anything, anything at all…"

"I want to speak to Aeris." Cloud said. "If I could speak to the Planet, maybe I could get to the bottom of this."

Peach sighed.

"Cloud, calling her spirit back now would just be putting her at risk." She said. "You know that."

"We need to resolve this situation first, Cloud." Mario said. "Please understand."

Cloud did not look very happy.

"Yuna is not the leader of the enemy though, is she?" Falcon asked. "Surely summoning Castlevania was not their end goal?

"Certainly not." Peach answered. "Summoning the Castle is just an easy way for them to continuously spawn monsters into the world… without having to lift a finger."

Simon Belmont stepped forward.

"As we are on the subject." He said. "What is to be done about Dracula?"

"Well, Samus Aran says she can handle it." Mario said. "I doubt there is anyone here who is more capable… besides those of the Belmont clan, obviously."

"She isn't just fighting Dracula though." Richter said. "Take if from me, if someone summons Castlevania of their own accord… they tend to have some sort of agenda. In those situations you have to deal with the summoner as well before dealing with Dracula."

"What agenda could that be, though?" Peach asked. "Other than spawning monsters into the world, I mean."

"It could be all manner of things." Simon said. "The castle embodies pure, natural chaotic energy… There's a lot you can do with that sort of power. For a sorcerer looking to put the universe at risk there really is no better place to go to."

"Was it Yuna's idea to summon Castlevania… Or someone else's?"

The entire room fell silent.

"We need to destroy Castlevania before anything else." Simon said. "Then we can focus on purging the invaders and taking back this planet, on behalf of all the people who live here."

Air travel is impossible." Mario noted. "Enemy ships would blast us immediately after take off. We're going to have to go on foot."

"But enemy armies will be lying in wait for us!" Zelda said. She looked somewhat alarmed and frazzled.

"Yes." Mario said. "Which is why we need a capable general. Someone who knows the land and the people. Who can lead us all to victory."

Every head in the room slowly turned to Ike. He sighed, shaking his head.

"I knew this was coming." He said. "You're really putting me in charge?"

"A lot of us." Mario said. "Need to prepare for the invaders. You just focus on getting a team to Castlevania, who can destroy Dracula."

Ike nodded. His gaze ran all over the room.

"Marth." He said. "You ready?"

"Just like old times, huh?"

"Corrin." He said. "Lucina, Chrom… Link. Young Link."

"Eleven."

"Pyra. And Mythra, I suppose."

The red haired girl transformed into a blonde beauty. "You suppose WHAT exactly-?"

"Byleth."

"I will be going as well." Edelgard said immediately, as she moved beside the Professor."

"Donkey Kong."

A gorilla wearing a tie snorted.

"Diddy."

The monkey clapped.

"Fox."

Krystal shot him a reproachful look, but Fox shook his head.

"I need to settle things with Sabre and Scales." He said calmly. She grimaced, clutching his shoulder tightly.

"Minmin."

The blonde girl gave a surprised start, and then looked rather pleased.

"Kazuya."

"Hm."

"Sheik."

Mist saw someone move from the shadows.

"Zelda."

Zelda stood up, as if preparing to say something.

"Ganondorf."

She sat back down, looking dejected, as Ganondorf smirked at her.

"Palutena, would you and Pit….?"

"Why, I would be delighted." Palutena said immediately, tapping her staff against the ground.

"Shulk?"

"I'm in."

"Bayonetta?"

"Darling, I was born ready."

"Robin."

"On it."

"Cloud, King K. Rool, Inkling…"

One by one the group accepted.

"And Simon and Richter, of course." Ike said. "We'll need your talents."

Richter gave him a thumbs up. "Got it!"

"If any of your guests and allies wish to join us…" Ike said. "It would be greatly appreciated. However be warned that we cannot guarantee their safety."

"I'm coming too!" Mist blurted out, as she slammed her hands against the table. "I'm not… I'm not letting you go without me!"

The table fell into a shocked silence. Mist felt her cheeks become a bright pink as a light tingling of laughter rose up from the people at the seats.

A/N

So yeah, a bit of an exposition heavy chapter. I thought it was about time to have one. The battle kind of came out of nowhere, and I want to take my time building things up going forward. Yes, the era of endless character introductions is OVER! Only ONE DLC character remains as of this writing, and I expect that character will be revealed very soon.

I'm not sure how much of the DEEPEST LORE I need to explain in an author's notes for this chapter, but I think I need to re-emphasize that this story is utilizing aspects from Rareware's Dinosaur Planet, a title that never saw release. I've found myself very surprised at how compelling that game was set to be before Rare ruined everything by allowing themselves to be acquired by Microsoft, so I thought it would be interesting to incorporate elements, characters, and ideas from it in this story as if the events from that game transpired alongside Star Fox Adventures. Obviously I don't want to give away too much of what I have in mind, but the general idea is that I want to put the events of Star Fox Adventures into a completely different light.

Oh, and Edelgard is in this story because I think she's hot. Please leave a review if you agree.