Seth's trek hadn't been too pleasant so far. From the aching boots and sparing to get the use of his powers, it wasn't going to be easy.
His three current Hero Medals were giving him quite the work.
With Mario, the plumber had taught him to use his jumping ability to the best of his ability. Seth was jumping higher and higher in the air, even managing to double jump: a feat not normal in his world.
Link's training involved swordsmanship and how to use the Sheikah Slate correctly. The Triforce of Courage bearer wasn't an easy teacher but Seth managed to pick up a few moves from him.
Kirby didn't teach much since he couldn't talk fully. However, his Copy Ability was still accessible, perhaps a side effect to being trapped in Hero Medals.
Despite the teachings, Seth was still surviving in the harsh World of Trophies. He had gotten over the taste of Maximum Tomatoes, despite them replenishing his hunger and stamina but it didn't take the fact away that he had no clue to where the World Library is.
It was about 3 days of walking on the side of the trail when Seth officially asked, "Do either one of you actually know where the World Library is?"
Mario and Link glanced at each other while Kirby idly rested on the reincarnation's head. The Italian replied, "Well-a, we believe it's in the tallest mountain." He pointed to said mountain with the storm clouds above and snowy peak.
Seth blinked several times before rubbing his eyes in mild irritation. "You mean to tell me that this library is on the tallest mountain." He repeated in a groan. "I don't have anything to help me survive a trip like this!"
He remembers a camping trip where he spent 12 days in the wilderness and trekked up a mountain. It wasn't anything too tall with snow and such but he still gets flashbacks from it.
Repressing his irritation for the time being, Seth mustered up the courage. "Alright. Let's make way!" The human took a few steps before his stomach growled. "Right after we get something to eat…"
Hearing the mention of eating, Kirby woke up and was about to wander off but Seth prevented that. "Sorry, Kirby. As filling as the Maximum Tomatoes are, I need some meat." The human felt a tinge of guilt mentioning this but he wanted some protein. Kirby nodded and sat idly on the reincarnation's head.
"Well-a, what are you thinking?" Mario asked.
Seth thought for a while. "Not sure. Are there any berries that aren't poisonous around here?"
Link shrugged, "Not that we know off. Living in Smash Mansion, the Announcer provided food, although some of the Smashers made their own meals."
Seth nodded before he began to smell a heavenly aroma. It smells enticing and well-prepared. The human trailed away to find the source.
"Seth?" Link questioned as the heroes rode on his shoulders. The human made his way over to the woods, following the smell and eventually came across a well-done steak.
"What's-a steak doing-a out here?" Mario questioned.
Seth immediately snapped out of his trance, knowing where this was going. "Oh great. A fresh piece of food. In the middle of the woods. Bandits. Thieves. Blah-blah." He groaned as his stomach growled. "I really don't need this right now.
"How do you figure that's what is going to happen?" Link asked. Seth rubbed his temples.
"It's in the movies. Obvious trap to lure someone or something and then boom! Surprise attack." Seth explained. He shouldn't be tempted but the sight of the protein looked better. Seth licked his lips, wanting to devour it, but it was obviously a trap.
He weighed the pros and cons of his debacle.
Pros included meat, satisfaction, and an alternative to Maximum Tomatoes.
Cons included a trap, potential death or robbery. Plus he was still getting used to his abilities.
"Errgh!" Seth growled to himself at the idea of getting jumped.
About 8 minutes later, he came to an agreement.
"Screw it."
Seth marched with an eye roll and took the bait. He reached for the steak and saw the rope.
'3… 2…'
Several bandits appeared from smoke, something that caught Seth mildly unguard until he was shot in the neck with a dart.
'1.'
And the reincarnation of Smashus fell to the ground.
"Wakey wakey…" A voice mocked.
"Ngh…" Seth groaned before a hard slap woke him up. "Ow! What the f-"
He cut himself off as a dagger was dangerously held up in his neck.
"I suggest you just nod and keep your mouth shut." His aggressor threatened. Seth complied, doing the exact action.
Once his aggressor was sure that he wouldn't do anything funny, he put the dagger away.
"I admit, I thought you would be a smart little boy and walk off. But you just did a stupid mistake."
'Well, maybe if you don't make it obvious with your tactic and I hadn't ate Maximum Tomatoes for the past few days, I wouldn't have been kidnapped and made my way to my destination. But no.' Seth thought as he just glared.
His aggressor was unfazed by the glare, ignoring it. "I'm not intimidated by you. Had you been smart enough, my little gang would have just pursued you. But you aren't."
Seth would have rolled his eyes again and made a snappy remark but he was not about to test this individual.
His aggressor was mostly bare, wearing some clothing and accessories, with a few rings on his arms and ankles. His clothing was a brown loincloth. His eyes were pure black and it seemed he wore a white mask. His bare chest was a red symbol carved as an eye for what Seth could tell.
'Why does that symbol look familiar?' Seth thought.
The aggressor noticed where the eyes were trailing. "Seems like you've seen this symbol before."
Seth wordlessly nodded and the aggressor continued. "It's the Yiga Clan symbol. A group of bandits and assassins. I defected and decided to make my own clan, one that doesn't involve a love for bananas and stuff. I have my own motives."
'And those would be?' Seth thought to himself. If the assassin was willing to monologue, it would give him a chance to think of an escape option.
A buffy, grizzly minotaur walked up to the assassin, bearing a shoulder guard with the Yiga Clan symbol. Seth would have gasped if he wasn't threatened.
"What is it?" The assassin asked.
The minotaur revealed Seth's bag, "Nothing but a phony device and three pathetic disks. Nothing worth looting." The minotaur dropped the bag and revealed the contents.
The Yiga Clan defect didn't show an ounce of astonishment but was rather annoyed that they had just robbed a fanboy of the Smash Bros, based off his shirt. At least to their knowledge.
"Yep, very disappointing." Seth spoke, "So, here's an idea. How about you let me go, don't follow me and I'll be on my merry way?"
The leader and minotaur shot a harsh glare. "You better stop talking before my dagger cuts your tongue off." The leader retorted. For emphasis, he drew said weapon and Seth gulped, silencing himself from making any retorts.
"He has quite a mouth." The minotaur responded. "Maybe Shred would enjoy feasting on him."
"No, Undertow," the leader replied, revealing the name of the minotaur, "While he looks pathetic, weak, useless…"
'I'm right here.' Seth thought.
"And above all normal, he could be useful." The defunct Yiga Clan member noted.
"And what would that be?" Undertow asked, folding his arms.
"I will decide later." The leader mused before leaving with the minotaur. "In the meantime, he's our prisoner." Once the two clan members left, Seth sharply exhaled.
"Well that could have gone better." The reincarnation remarked. He struggled somewhat, trying to loosen up the knot ties that bound his wrists.
Mario, Link, and Kirby appeared in their holographic versions and saw the predicament. "Not a word." Seth commented. "I take it you can't use your abilities while in the medals?"
Mario shook his head, "Nope. Sorry-a. If we could, I would have used a fireball or Link would have cut you free."
"Seems we can only use our strengths when we are summoned." Link noted.
Seth frowned at that before having another idea. "Wait. Can one of you hand me one of the Switch Joycons?"
Mario presented one to Seth, who concentrated and managed to summon the Master Sword. Carefully, he cut himself free before grabbing his belongings and holding his wrists in mild discomfort.
The three Smash Bros. got back in their summoner's bag, trying to be hidden as Seth took a peek outside.
The camp was fitted with multiple creatures, both human and beastkin. All had the Yiga Clan symbol on their armor or garb. Seth gulped as these foes were far different than Scylla's minions.
"Not sure if I can just sneak out of here." Seth whispered.
"Well, do you want to be captured again?" Link asked. "I've dealt with the Yiga Clan before but this is not in my league. And you can't summon us without being obvious."
Seth looked around, thinking of potential ideas to sneak out unnoticed. 'It's not like I have stealth. That seems more in Sheik, Joker, Snake, or Greninja's category.' Glancing to the left, he spotted a dense undergrowth that could allow him to escape and lose the defunct Yiga Clan members.
A cyclops with a Yiga Clan brand on his left arm stomped past the tent and Seth took this opportunity to blend in. He shadowed the one-eyed monster, matching movement. Afterwards, Seth hid behind some crates and peeked out to see a harpy with a Yiga Clan brand on her hairbrand on a sentry tower.
'Of course they have aerial surveillance.' Seth remarked. If he hadn't been held hostage, he would almost commend them. Closer to the undergrowth, Seth was careful.
Tip-toeing slowly, he was prepared to escape unnoticed when the harpy screeched.
Immediately his cover was blown but didn't allow this to cost him. Seth made a break for it, disappearing in the foliage just as the leader and Undertow came over.
"He got away!" Undertow snorted in anger and gripped his ax. He prepared to charge but the leader held him back. "Why are you stopping me?!"
"Because you forgot." The leader sharply replied. "That's Oakley's domain. Once you enter…"
"May whatever gods he believes have mercy." Undertow finished. He hung his ax back and walked off with the leader. "Such a shame. I think Snarl was looking forward to eating him."
Seth was running for his life, hoping the Yiga Clan wasn't chasing after him. Pushing through every plant, the reincarnation turned back and realized they weren't after and slowed his pace. Eventually he came to a stop and caught his breath.
"Whew! Thought I wasn't going to get away." Seth let out.
"I say it's a bit strange." Link commented, the Smashers revealed themselves. "The Yiga Clan is persistent. I know they were always trying to assassinate me."
"May I remind you that this Yiga Clan is completely different since those were just some banana-loving lunatics." Seth said.
"They are still challenging warriors." The Hylian remarked.
"Let's-a just get out of this forest." Mario chimed in. "This place might be-a dense but we-a still need to find-a the World Library."
"No sweat." Seth eased their worries. "All we need to do is find the trail again."
"And how are you going-a to do that?" Mario asked.
"Well, let me try something." Seth replied and pulled out the Switch. Concentrating, he transformed the device into the Sheikah slate. Booting it up, Seth was greeted with a map of the land.
He paid no attention to the nearby structures and focused on his objective. After analyzing the map to the best of his ability, he pointed northwest. "We go this way."
Pocketing the Sheikah Slate, Seth was about to move when a soothing, hypnotic voice was heard.
"Northwest? I can help you… Just follow the sound of my voice~."
Internally, Seth was well-aware that whoever said such a thing was definitely something evil in this world. But the speaker was so… comforting, like they wouldn't harm him. Maybe a potential ally in the craziness of this world.
"Don't be scared… I can help you… Smashus~."
Seth almost balked at hearing the name. "You know my reincarnation?"
"Of course, I do. I wish to help you. I can protect you. Give you the aid you seek."
Seth's temptation was growing stronger and stronger by the second as the voice spoke. Eventually, the temptation was stronger than the concern for his well-being and gave in. "Alright, where can I find you."
"You don't need to worry. Here is my domain. I shall guide you through my gift…"
Feeling something tugging him, Seth looked down and saw a vine snag his leg. Jerking his vision to it, the vine immediately released and slowly snaked back, no doubt to the owner of the voice.
Taking heed, Seth followed the vine.
Eventually, he made it to a grove and the vine fully retracted to a closed flower. If Seth didn't know any better, he had a feeling was about to encounter Poison Ivy.
The flower opened up, releasing a plume of pheromones, and introduced a human-esque figure. The human was female but her body looked wooden to a certain degree. Greenery crawled up her face and matched her lime green hair. Vines and ivy worked their way from her fingertips and to her elbows. She had a small flower crown with splashes of colors. Opening her eyes, they were a vibrant green. "Welcome to my domain, Smashus."
Seth looked indifferent at the reveal, not finding the nymph as attractive. "Hello… actually my name is Seth, not really Smashus. That's just my reincarnation as I've been told."
The nymph was unfazed. "Do not worry, child. I will help you on your quest."
"I'm not a child." Seth mumbled before straightening himself. "So, you will be my ally?"
"Indeed."
"Great. So, maybe I should learn your name?"
"Oakley."
Seth stifled a laugh. 'How ironic.' "Good enough. I suppose we should get out of here."
"Why would we leave?" Oakley asked, rather fast. Something that Seth picked up on.
"Because I need to get to the World Library, ASAP."
"Is that so?" Oakley said, "Well, I can guide you there."
"Wonderful." Seth dryly commented. 'She's so going to backstab me.' He was beginning to find the cliches so annoying.
A large root lifted Oakley to the side before the nymph gestured to the flower she was in. "All you need to do is enter my flower."
Seth gave a deadpan stare. "How do I know that I won't be swallowed?"
Oakley gave a smile, one full of coyness, "You are my ally. I would never do such a thing."
"Sure." Seth sarcastically said. "Well, I don't want to. Sorry. It's been fun but I think I'll find the road. Thanks!" The human was about to leave when thick roots emerged and blocked his exit.
"You will get in the flower." Oakley said, darkly.
"And I told you no!" Seth exclaimed before jumping over the roots thanks to Mario. Hitting the ground, Seth began to run for his life.
"You will not escape. Scylla will enjoy me bringing your corpse." The nymph said as multiple roots erupted to reveal what it was attached to: a monster consisting of roots.
"Of course, it's a monster!" Seth yelled and continued running.
"You can't hide~" Oakley said in a sing-song tone. "You have entered my domain and you can't do anything about it." The root monster roared and stomped after the reincarnation.
"I can sure as hell get out of here!" Seth exclaimed and jumped more and more.
Oakley didn't sit around for her pet to do all her bidding and thrusted her palms out. At her command, trees began to dip down and grab the trespasser.
Seth weaved through each of them, and his Smashers hanging on for dear life.
"Well, she seems friendly!" Link yelled.
"I am really sick of these tropes!" Seth shouted and jumped high once more.
"Woah! Woah!"
Seth almost paused at hearing that voice. "Do you guys hear something?"
"Like-a what?" Mario questioned.
"Another voice. It sounded like they were falling." Seth said.
"Poyo, poyo!" Kirby said.
"Fair point." Seth translated. The reincarnation analyzed an escape option before hiding behind a rock, having outpaced Oakley's manipulative range.
Breathing rapidly, Seth placed his hand over his heart, trying to calm himself. "I can't shake her."
"She did mention this place is her domain." Link recalled. "She knows the ins and outs better than you."
"If that's your version of confidence, I'll take my chances elsewhere." Seth remarked. But then he had a thought. "Maybe there is a Hero Medal here."
"What makes you-a say that-a?" Mario asked.
"Like before, when I encountered you three at the village." Seth recalled. "I heard your voices when you were in those so, maybe-"
"A friend of ours is stuck here!" Mario and Link simultaneously said.
"Yeah, but I got an evil nymph coming for me." Seth said, "Unless she wants to call a truce, I'm not getting your friend anytime soon."
"Maybe we-a don't need a truce." Mario suggested. "Just pinpoint the medal, we'll handle Oakley."
"If you say so." Seth said before pulling out the three medals he had.
"The Hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, summon Mario!"
"The wielder of the Triforce of Courage, summon Link!"
"The pink Star Warrior, summon Kirby!"
Seth yelled all three summons and the Smashers revealed themselves.
"Let's-a-go!" Mario declared and ran off with Link and Kirby.
Immediately, Oakley saw the three heroes and had a grin on her face. "Well, well. The Smash Brothers. I'm surprised you have trespassed onto my land."
"Well, considering you threatened our friend, we think we can return the favor." Link remarked, his Master Sword gleaming.
Oakley snickered. "I welcome the challenge." With a wave of her hand, vines sprouted around the heroes and charged at them.
Mario, channeling his Firebrand, punched a vine causing it to burn. Link cut one down before hacking a few more that got close. Kirby inhaled one and gained the Leaf Copy Ability before using Leaf Spin into Leaf Scatter.
Oakley realized this fight might not be as easy and purred to her root monster. "Take care of them, my beautiful creation. I've got a reincarnation to kill." The root monster roared and charged head on while the nymph hopped off and used a sentient tree to walk away from the fight.
"She's-a getting away!" Mario noticed but the undergrowth creature prevented the heroes from advancing after its mistress.
Meanwhile, Seth was concentrating on where the Hero Medal was. "Come on, where is it?" He was trying to retrace his steps but with all the trees having fallen down, he was finding it difficult.
"Hey! Hey! Hey, you!"
Seth looked around through the fallen trees. "Hello? Where are you?"
"Under some trees!"
Seth facepalmed. "Just… sit tight. I'm going to find you." He rummaged through the branches, trunks, and leaves that had fallen from Oakley's assault. "Ugh, where are you?"
Eventually, Seth saw something yellow. "Jackpot!"
"I agree~" Oakley's voice said, causing Seth to whip around and realize the nymph found him. "Hi again~." She greeted as her tree steed dropped her off.
"Jesus, back off!" Seth responded.
"I can't do that." Oakley said, her eyes now glowing green. "Maybe if you hadn't run off, I wouldn't have unleashed the jungle on you."
"I feel like you would have done that anyway." Seth said, slowly backing to where he saw the yellow object.
Oakley put a finger to her cheek. "Yeah, I probably would have." She shrugged and balled her hand. Another vine erupted and coiled around Seth's neck. Slowly, he was losing oxygen.
"Ack!"
"Losing air?" Oakley said. The vine began to rise with Seth in its grasp. "Honestly, I was expecting a challenge. You aren't much of a threat."
"*Wheeze* Well- *ack* I'm sti- *ack* -ll new he-* here!" Seth coughed out.
"Then I'll be sure to give you a proper send off." Oakley said with a grin. Balling her fist more, the plant was getting to the point where Seth's face turned blue.
"Any last words?" Oakley asked, not caring.
"A-" Seth said, "Few." He summoned his replica Master Sword and cut the vine off. Gasping for air and plummeting, Seth activated the Sheikah Slate and summoned several Remote Bombs.
Landing on the ground with the bombs, Seth kicked all of them before activating them. The explosion blew Oakley back and she hit the trunk of a tree.
With the nymph recovering, Seth immediately dove for the Hero Medal. Picking it up, it was a faded yellow color with the initials 'DK'. Seth smiled as he knew the character inside.
Oakley recovered and her face adopted a scowl. "That was naughty."
"But worth it for me." Seth retorted and prepared another summoning. "The King of the Jungle, summon Donkey Kong!"
Throwing the Hero Medal on the ground, the leader of the Kongs appeared and beat his chest. "Ook, ook!"
The ape shook himself and gave a thumbs-up. "Thanks for the freedom, pal."
"Anytime." Seth said and readied to take on the nymph.
Oakley snarled at the duo. With a snap of her fingers, she had her flower throne uproot itself and she sat back on it. The flower throne began to morph into a hideous botanical monster resembling a chimera of sorts. "I will kill you, Smashus!"
Throwing its tendrils, Seth and DK swerved out of the way before the ape charged head on. Coming to a halt, he picked up a tree and used it as a weapon, slamming it into the flora chimera. Seth saw this and had a theory.
Copying the simian, Seth managed to uproot a tree with a newfound source of strength. "This is gonna be sweet." Seth said to himself and swung the trunk with the same force. The petal chimera howled out from the pain and disoriented Oakley's control.
Donkey Kong discarded the trunk and charged up a Giant Punch. Meanwhile, Seth jumped and avoided a few vines before one struck him. Sent to the ground, Seth managed to stand but was assaulted back to back with tendrils holding him down. Struggling, Seth managed to break through some and quickly had the Master Sword in hand. Cutting himself free, he saw Donkey Kong unloading spurts of coconuts from his Coconut Gun, irritating the nymph.
Seth figured he had to take care of the flower monster before dealing with the nymph herself. But to do that, he needed to hit it. Oakley had her attention split between the heroes and caring for her 'pet.'
Seth tried to calculate a way to do that while Donkey Kong continued to deal with botanical female fatale.
Various flowers sprouted and released a series of spores, floating to the ape. Undeterred, Donkey Kong spun around with Spinning Kong, creating a gust of wind that dispersed the spores. Clapping his hands together, the King of Swing made a shockwave which resulted in Oakley faltering.
"You are the King of the Jungle!" Oakley shouted. "Why are you defending this human?! You should be with me, defending the jungle."
Donkey Kong beat his chest again before answering. "Well, obviously you're evil. You may represent the jungle but you manipulate it."
"I guard it!" Oakley screamed and several more vines appeared. They wrapped around the ape but he managed to shrug them off and even grabbed one.
"If you guard it, no one would get it." Donkey Kong said. "And the jungle is more than its plant life. It's the creatures that live in it too. I don't sense any animals roaming these parts." He tugged on the vine he was holding, causing the plant chimera to lurch forward.
Oakley glared, "I think you should have remained a medal. If I found you first, I would have been set and had a powerful ally!"
Donkey Kong smirked. "Well, I am powerful. Strong but also smart enough to know when to provide a distraction."
Oakley took a second to realize what the ape meant as her flora chimera roared out in pain. The nymph felt her beast's connection, sensing pain from the inside.
Seth, holding the Sheikah Slate, let out a breath of relief. He had managed to sneak a few Remote Bombs into the mouth since Oakley directed her attention to the King of Swing.
"A nice distraction DK." Seth smiled. "If you let me call you that."
"Of course!" Donkey Kong replied with a thumbs up. "You freed me. You earned it." Then the ape turned his attention to the nymph.
"How… how could you?!" Oakley screeched at the loss of her pet.
"Maybe if you didn't try to lure me, I would have walked away." Seth responded. "But I think I should thank you since you helped me find a Hero Medal. By the way, DK? I believe you have something to give her."
Seth gave Donkey Kong a wink as the ape knew what he meant. Walking up to Oakley, Donkey Kong pulled his fist and roared. "Here comes a BANANA SLAMMA!" Releasing the Giant Punch from earlier, the impact sent the nymph flying into the air.
Seth watched Oakley become a twinkle in the sky before relaxing. "Thanks for the help, DK."
"No prob." Donkey Kong replied.
Mario, Link, and Kirby ran over to see another fellow Smasher freed. "Donkey Kong!"
"Glad to have you back-a!" Mario applauded before reverting back to his medal. Link and Kirby followed shortly.
"What happened?" Donkey Kong questioned as Seth picked up the three Hero Medals.
"Timed out." Seth explained. "It should be happening to you too soon." No longer than 15 seconds after that, Donkey Kong reverted back to his medal. "See what I mean?"
Picking up the faded yellow medal, Donkey Kong's hologram appeared. Checking himself out, the rest of the saved Smashers also appeared.
"How did you take care of the root monster?" Seth asked as he left the jungle.
"Nothing too big." Mario shrugged, "Me and Kirby-a used our fire abilities on it while Link fired some Bomb Arrows." Seth nodded, seeing how much easier that was.
"Glad the nymph is gone." Seth let out, using the Sheikah Slate once again. Mapping his way out, the reincarnation finally came across a road.
"Alright. Not the detour I wanted but hey, I found DK's medal." Seth admitted.
"Let's hope we can find more of our friends before we reach the World Library." Link prayed for.
Seth nodded. 'Given my luck so far, we are bound to have some encounters.' He thought to himself and carried on.
A battered Oakley said on the forest floor, writhing in pain. The nymph looked towards the sky, feeling her time almost coming to end as she closed her eyes.
But then, a wave of refreshing energy flowed through her body, causing Oakley to recover.
With the use of Curaga, Mage strolled over to the nymph. "How did you get like that?" the magic archetype asked.
Oakley sat up, shot a glare at the magic user, and growled. "Smashus came waltzing through. Almost had him begging for mercy but he found a Hero Medal." She clutched her fist in anger at the defeat.
Mage shook his head. "You were cocky."
"I had the jungle at my side." She paused and remembered. "That no-good human… killed my pets."
Mage rolled his eyes. "I didn't heal to save you. I healed you because you are a valuable asset to 'Her.' So stop moping around and connect with nature to create more of those botanical creatures so you can have the advantage."
Oakley flipped her hair and got up. "Well, I do have some information for you."
"And how did you find this out, heard it through the grapevine?" Mage joked.
Oakley ignored the jab. "He's heading to the World Library." She revealed.
This piqued the Mage's interest. "The World Library…"