Warning! This chapter has a lot of exhibition. I don't find that too fun to write which is why it took me awhile to get through it. But it has to be done for the sake of the story.

Chapter 4 – Beyond the Veil

Link and his friends sat under one of the stone arches as he recalled moments from his old life. He knew it would be a hard tale to sell, but his exploits within Hyrule entranced Freddy and Derwin. Lucario continued to stand rigid at the fountain, easily mistakable for a statue if not for the occasional sway of his blue tail.

Laying his back against the arch, Link felt exposed. Something was missing.

"So this world has no technology?" Freddy asked, a little skeptical. It wasn't the first time he touched the subject. "And you didn't pull your hair out?"

"There's some technology, but it's nothing like Centropolis. I think Hyrule more than makes up for it with its beauty and lore."

"So you cut down this Twilight stuff and the monsters in it," Derwin began excitedly, "you must have like, special abilities...right?"

Freddy raised his brows at the thought. "You mean magic and superpowers and stuff like that? How much of that really exists? I mean, besides him over there."

"Well, there's that Sonic guy and-"

"Puh-lease! Where's the proof behind him?"

"I don't know about him," Link interjected back into his own conversation, "but things like magic are quite common in Hyrule. I wasn't a mage or anything like that, but I had..." He inadvertently solved the mystery. Now he understood what was missing: his personal arsenal. Not a single tool remained on him, all likely still in Hyrule.

"Well I had special equipment, some of it enchanted. For example, there was the Gale Boomerang, which could create whirlwinds with a single revolution."

"See!" Derwin gloated to Freddy. "Magic is real! I bet you can give that pokemon a run for his money."

Link was puzzled. "Why? I don't want to fight him. He's not my enemy."

Freddy leaned forward and said in a hushed voice, "Since we're on the subject, how much do you really know about this Lucario guy? Don't you find it weird that he knows so much about you and your past life but all you know about him is his name?"

"Freddy's right," Derwin added. "He helped you solve the mystery of your dreams but why did he go through all the trouble of hunting you down? I still don't trust this guy."

Link suddenly stood from his seat on the ground. "Then it's time to find out. No more lounging around; I know who I am now and everything I lived through in the past. It's time for him to tell me the rest of his story."

He led the way back to the fountain where Lucario had planted himself for the hour that it took him to recollect and tell moments of his past life to his friends.

"Alright Lucario, it's time for you to tell me everything. Where did that demon come from and what did it want? And why did you come looking for me?"

The pokemon turned slowly to face Link, but then his eyes darted to Freddy and Derwin. He was hesitating.

"Whatever you tell me, I'm going to tell them anyway," Link admitted. A sigh escaped Lucario's lips in contrast to his telepathy.

"Fine. As I said before, you can pretend that what I am going to tell you is not true and return to your meager lives, but your perspective on the universe will change." His words were harsh, but the lack of a response persuaded him to continue. "I explained to you earlier that this world is but one of several. The seven worlds are connected to this world, the central world. They rotate and revolve around it in many ways. These enclosed spheres that maintain life exist in a cold vacuum known as The Void."

"And Hyrule is one of these worlds orbiting Centropolis..." Link reconfirmed, trying to picture the scenario in his head.

"Why is this a secret?" Derwin wondered aloud. "They don't even talk about the possibility of other worlds outside of Centropolis in school. Why didn't anyone figure this out?"

"There are people in the city well aware of the nature of this universe. They have no reason to spread this information."

Lucario's tone made Derwin curious about what would happen if someone did go around speaking of other worlds. The theory existed, but no one with political power truly entertained it.

"A normal being with the knowledge of the worlds would have little means to do anything with it," Lucario said, as if reading Derwin's mind. "It takes incredible power or special technology to pierce the shell protecting the world. These are not readily available in the city."

"Oh...it still seems suspicious the way it's never brought up."

The mood changed. Link felt a sudden importance exuding from Lucario. "Link, these next two points I am going to make should highly interest you."

"Go on."

"The first is that Kneph is still alive and in Hyrule."

Link felt sick to his stomach. He had been so consumed with his past that it never occurred to him that the demon was still around.

"You severely wounded him in your previous fight...but a year after you died, he returned and continued to attack Hyrule. His actions puzzled me at one point, as you were his target."

Infuriated, Link replayed the last moments of his life in his head. Innocent people were slaughtered just to get to him, and now that scene had most likely repeated itself countless times, except there was no hero to stop Kneph. The bloodshed was pointless and mindless.

"Why would he come after me?"

"Deep within The Void is a being known as Azazel. He believes himself to be god," a hint of distaste lingered on Lucario's words. "He spawns demons from his own body. Kneph is his pawn, sent to the worlds with the goal of eliminating any hero with the power to challenge Azazel. You were a target because he wanted to get rid of you before you could cause him any problems."

"That's some pretty big stuff," Freddy said, airing his skepticism. "And the only one that knew all of this before was you?"

Lucario gazed down upon Freddy with indignation, but kept his composure. "Myself and the Brotherhood. Which brings me to my second point. It is within your nature to protect the innocent, Link. I know that at this very moment, you wish to return to Hyrule to defeat Kneph once and for all."

"Of course!" Link shouted. "That is why you recovered my memories, right? So I could finish what I started."

"I do not want to see a repeat of your last battle...there is a secret technique known as Ascension that will give you more power, power that could even rival my own. I can help you realize this power..."

Link narrowed his eyes. For such a hard and mysterious individual, Lucario was divulging a lot of information, and on top of that, offering power beyond his imagination. It set off his alarms.

"What's the catch?"

"Dedicate yourself to the cause and join the Brotherhood. We simply want to protect the universe from Azazel and his offspring."

"That's not a subtle request at all."

Lucario folded his arms under the spike in his chest. "I will not enable such power to those I don't feel I can trust."

Link looked to his friends. From their expressions, they had been pretty much lost in the conversation. The offer was sudden and he was unsure of his choice – he did not want to be hasty, but he also didn't want potentially powerful allies to slip through his fingers and leave Hyrule at Azazel's mercy.

"I'm not declining your offer, but there's still too much ambiguity. Even if we ultimately have the same goals, I don't know much about your Brotherhood. And I've never heard of this Ascension power, so you might want to elaborate."

Lucario nodded; it was a reasonable request. "Every being born within our universe has one of the nine elements that compose life linked to their soul. Ascension is simply fostering the relationship between the person and their element, bringing forth that power and allowing them to use it adeptly. Your element is that of Nature."

Link knew of the elements from both of his lives. Hyrule was filled with magic, while Centropolis ran on theories. But the news of nine specific elements and their tether to the soul was entirely new to him, as well as the news of his own element.

"Everyone's got an element, huh?" Freddy sneered, "what's mine, then?"

"Idiocy," Lucario replied bluntly, never turning an eye to him.

"Ohoho! That's almost as funny as the thought that a guy like you even knows what sarcasm is!"

"What makes you believe that I am being sarcastic?"

Derwin nudged his friend. "Looks like he got you there."

"Whose side are you on?" Freddy asked irately.

"Alright guys, you've had your fun, but it's time to go home," Link said. He ignored his friends protests as he asked Lucario, "will you take me to Hyrule?"

The pokemon nodded. "We can leave immediately." Lucario moved away from the fountain and out into the field, motioning for Link to follow him.

A slight guilt hit Link as he held his friends' shoulders. He had a request to make. "Guys, if I'm not back before nightfall, you have to tell my parents what happened to me."

Derwin's eyes widened. "What!"

Freddy's reaction wasn't much different. "You want us to tell your parents that you aged up a few years and then went to another world with a pokemon? You really think they're gonna believe that coming from a couple of teenagers?"

Link sighed. "It's better to tell them the truth than leave them in the dark. They're my parents."

"All right, we'll tell them," Derwin decided in a sudden moment of confidence. "But we're not responsible for their reactions!"

"Don't worry. I will come back," Link promised with a smile, "and I'll tell them everything that's happened myself. They'll believe me if I look like this."

Link backed away, fighting a heartrending chill that suggested that he wouldn't see his friends or parents for a long time...or possibly ever again. He would see to it that his promise would never be broken. He was so sure of it that any notion otherwise felt silly to him.

Approaching Lucario, he thought of what it would be like to step foot in Hyrule again. He felt a pang of excitement that quickly subsided with a sad realization.

"It's been so long since I died. No one can possibly be waiting for me."

"Each world exists within its own time axis. You may have spent fourteen years in Centropolis, but only four have passed in Hyrule."

"Seriously?"

Lucario nodded. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, let's go."

And that concludes the first stretch of the story. Several SSB characters will make their debuts in the next few chapters as the story moves to Hyrule and picks up a bit. Kneph has some revenge coming his way.