As the group of heroes arrived at Count Bleck's position, Bomberman alerted Mario, and the plumber dropped a sizzling smoke bomb!
BLAM!
The corridor filled with a putrid smelling gas, smelling almost like sulfur. "*hack-hack*! Mr. S! Can you, *cough* hear me? Where are you", Mr. P cried into the smog.
He felt a hand on his arm, and thinking it Mr. S, he followed it. Near the entrance to The Phantom Hourglass, Mario looked over his squadron of assist trophies trying to pull the masks off Sonic's, PAC-MAN's, and Luigi's faces. "Good work everyone!', Mario cheered, 'But, has anyone seen-a Rock and Zero'.
'Okay', the red Maverick Hunter counted silently, 'that's one, there's two, Mr. L's with Knuckles, so where's Little X'. Zero could see Rock's silhouette through the haze, and it was being carried by Count Bleck and Nastasia! "LITTLE X!", Zero shouted, chasing the evil count down the hall. 'Ugh', Count Bleck thought, 'when is this girly red punk gonna give up'.
Zero followed Count Bleck into a strange fuchsia room with a capsule at the far end. The red reploid picked up the pace, he had to catch Nastasia and Count Bleck before they did something horrible to Little X! He air-dashed about three meters to tackle Nastasia, sending Mr. R flying across the room.
Count Bleck waved his staff around, trying to subdue Zero, but the Maverick Hunter wasn't having it! He hit Count Bleck so hard with charged shots and Z-Sabre swipes that it shredded his cloak. "BLECK!', Count Bleck screamed, 'my cloak! Why you?! You will pay for your insolence". (Xenoblade, anyone).
"Oh, I don't think he'll be the only one, Bleck", a mysterious voice chortled in the corner. Count Bleck turned and his expression of hate morphed into one of fear and anxiety when he saw who the voice belonged to:
Dimentio, the one who had ruined his plans all those years ago, was standing about five meters from Zero, and he was holding the comatose Mr. R by his torso.
"I'm warning you', Zero threateningly snarled, 'drop Little X now, or things aren't going to end prettily for you". Dimentio giggled in response to the Maverick Hunter's harsh comment. He proceeded to set Mr. R on the ground as Mario, the rest of the assist trophies, Bowser, Peach, and the newly purified Sonic, PAC-MAN, and Luigi ran into the room, out of breath from all the running.
Count Bleck and Nastasia groaned noisily in response. "That's right everyone', Dimentio smirked, 'I'm back, better than ever before! I would like to thank Count Bleck for supplying me with a new friend', he shook Mega Man a little before continuing, 'he'll be very helpful! What a coincidence too! I was looking for him anyway, and you, Count Bleck, just so happened to make him your minion. But now, my Lord can finally come back from death! Has anyone here heard of Tabuu? No? Well, here he is."
Sonic looked horrified at the thought of his friend, his best friend, becoming the one thing that he wanted to destroy most in this universe. PAC-MAN, Luigi, and the assist trophies looked similarly worried, and Zero looked murderous.
"Don't, you, dare", he hissed. The assist trophies raced up, ready to attack, only to be blocked by a massive purple shield. Dimentio set a teal Shadow Bug on Mr. R's chest, which he absorbed, and it surrounded his unconscious body with a teal aura.
The ritual had begun, and Zero couldn't stop it in time!
Rock's facial expression was blank, but something was resonating within him, like a little spark. Something was happening, and Zero didn't like it.
Angel is out!