Super Smash Brothers: Guardians Arise!

by PitFTW

An old enemy returns, this time ripping the souls of the Smashers away from their bodies. By taking possession of them, he hopes to take over the Smash World. 100 years later, the Smashers must turn to humans for help. But some just can't get along...

13. Ridere and Traca

Traca and Ridere, the Fire Lord and the Superb Soldier

Hooray for cheesy titles! Okay, so I realize that this thing really needs to move on with plot and stuff. So… until I can think of something better, it looks like I'm doubling up on Guardians.

So what excuses do I have for the super late update? Let's see… major writer's block, school, E3, my excitement over Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Kid Icarus: Uprising, and my Sims 2, Mario Galaxy 2, and Twilight Princess addictions. Galaxy 2 is amazing though!

I'll admit it now. This chapter might be kind of boring… it shows you guys how bad that stupid writer's block was. When it really got that bad, I eventually had to force myself to write at least one page a day so I can get it out. Hopefully, future chapters will be better.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, Ivysaur! Please don't sue me, Squirtle! Up the butt, Charizard! This disclaimer's really f(bleep)ing annoying, Charizard! Isn't that right, Craptain Falcon?

"It's too tight in here!"

"Have these vents shrunk or have we grown?"

"I'm hungry!"

Ness glared over his shoulder at Kirby as he said those final words. He hissed a single curse as the pink puffball looked innocently back at him through the eyes of his guardian, not understanding what his glare meant. With a small shake of his head, he pressed on.

The two Smashers had been crawling through the vents of Hyrule Castle for quite some time now, taking care not to make too much noise. Kirby, innocent as ever, did not fully understand what it meant to sneak around, being wanted as they were. To him, it was just another trip to the kitchen.

"Ness, I'm hungry!" he whined, his high voice echoing around the dark corridor ahead of them.

Though the young boy felt a surge of annoyance pass through him, he was just barely to restrain himself from launching a good sized fireball to silence his young companion. Gritting his teeth, he chose to ignore him for the time being.

"I don't get it," Picho said in exasperation, "Why are we sneaking around like a bunch of cowards? I say we set stuff on fire!"

Ness rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time that day. That question had been asked several times before. "I've told you already, Picho. If we run around setting things on fire, we'll just end up being captured again." He placed a great emphasis on the final word to try to drill it into his guardian's head.

For a few moments, Picho was quiet. "… So… does that mean we can't get captured while burning stuff?"

Ness heaved a small sigh. This was going to be one long search.

In truth, he was quite unsure of the circumstances of the situation at the moment. Link had had a very, very limited amount of time to smuggle both he and Kirby out of the cell and into a hidden room in the castle where they were then given instructions. From the rushed instructions they were given, Ness had deduced that Princess Zelda and her guardian were trapped somewhere in the castle. The Usurper had to be dethroned before any of the guardians currently trapped in Hyrule could get home. Since their guardians were able to fit through the vents, he and Kirby were both charged with finding their way through the vents, searching for information.

All Kirby had deduced from the explanation was a quick trip to the kitchen.

"Zel- Princess Zelda's in trouble," Link had told them, "Go through the vents, find her guardian, and gather as much information as you can." He had also shot a small look at Kirby at that point. "And no, Kirbs. No raiding the pantry."

Of course, they didn't listen.

It had taken most of Ness's strength to drag Kirby away from the pantry before they were discovered by the guards. Though it took both boys less than a minute to knock out the cooks, it had caused a great uproar in the halls, when Ness rather clumsily allowed one of the serving boys to escape. Now once again, their guardians were wanted men. He cursed himself for being so naive.

"It's been so long since I've eaten that turkey…" the pink puffball continued to moan behind him, "I'm dying!"

"Quiet!" Ness hissed over his shoulder, "Do you want us to get caught?"

"But it's been soooooo looooong since we raided the kitchen!"

Ness couldn't help but gape at him over his shoulder. "But that was only about ten minutes ago!"

A small grumbling filled the vents at his words. Smiling sheepishly, Kirby lifted his guardian's sparkly shirt and patted his stomach. "See? My stomach's growling so much, it's shaking! Let's go back to the kitchen and pick up something!"

"And get me a burger while you're at it!" Pichn said cheerfully, "One with lots and lots of cheese!"

"And pickles!" Kirby grinned.

"And onions!"

"And tomatoes!"

Ness gritted his teeth, trying his best to keep his temper under control. "Would you also like fries with that?" he asked sarcastically.

Kirby's eyes lit up at his words. "Yes please!"

"Get your hands off me!"

Ness let out a shout of surprise at the unexpected sound of the voice, banging his head on the ceiling. Kirby, who also heard the voice, was quite accustomed to such surprises and merely cocked his head in confusion. The muffled voices below them ceased their shouting for a moment, as if they were listening for the source of the strange banging noise Ness's head had created.

An icy silence fell in the area as Ness's blood froze in his veins, his breathing shallow as could be.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

His breath caught in his lungs as the deadly head of a spear protruded from the opening of the vent, just barely grazing Kirby's arm. Though the scratch it made was not deep enough to draw blood, tears jumped to the young Star Warrior's eyes as the spear head felt around some more. Once it came dangerously close to Ness's face, but it moved away, much to his relief.

Meanwhile, Pichn was gaping at the spear head. "Awesome! I want it!"

Kirby nodded. "It's really cool looking!"

"And sharp!" Picho added, grinning greedily at the sharpened point, "Just think of what we can do with something like that!"

Without thinking, Kirby reached for the head of the spear, ready to rip it from the grip of the soldier that held it. Quick as lightning, Ness extended his arm and held his wrist in an iron strong grip. A small, nervous smile escaped the puffball as he looked apologetically into his companion's dark, angry eyes. He turned his attention back to the spear head as it prodded some more.

Then, as if deciding that there was no one hiding in the vents, the deadly point was lowered and Kirby let out a small sigh of relief. That had been too close.

Kirby felt Ness's dark eyed glare boring into him as he shifted uncomfortably in his spot. "Sorry, Ness…"

Without bothering to acknowledge the puffball's apology, Ness turned his attention back to the scene below the vent. He watched as Rinku struggled with the guards that held him down, wondering how on earth someone so stealthy could be captured so easily. Then again, he reasoned, Link wasn't exactly known for his careful behavior.

"Unhand me you cretins!" he snarled, trying to stomp on the guards' toes, "Or I'll have your heads! And maybe all your other limbs while I'm at it!"

That sparked Ness's interest. Rinku, never spoke like that. He leaned in closer to the vent, watching as the desperate struggle soon transformed into a full on fight. He saw the blue pass over the young man's eyes as he aimed a back kick at the tender spot of one of the guards that pinned his arms behind his back. While the other guard shouted in surprise, he left himself wide open for a quick punch in the jaw.

Kirby's eyes widened when Rinku's fist connected with the guard's lower jaw. Lightning sparks danced around it for the briefest moment before disappearing again. The puffball blinked in surprise.

"Whoa! Didja see that!" Pichn asked excitedly, "He totally owned the guy!"

But Kirby was not listening. He watched as Rinku grabbed the spear shaft of the third guard, fire dancing at his fingertips. With a great whoosh! a great stream of fire burst forth from out of nowhere and engulfed the shaft.

"No way…" Ness gasped, his eyes glowing slightly at the sight of the orange flames, "Link hasn't used any magical attacks since he was the Hero of Time!"

"Oh, so you let him light things on fire?" Picho asked, offended.

Ness shook his head in disbelief as Rinku then rolled out of the way to avoid a thrust of a spear, giving him just enough momentum to aim a swift sweeping kick at the guard's feet. Despite the behavior of his fellows, this guard seemed to be quicker to learn than the others. He snatched Rinku's leg from midair and gave it a firm twist, slamming the young man's face on the floor. Before Rinku could retaliate with yet another blast of fire, he had jammed his leather gloved fist into his jaw, flooring him.

Kirby began to wring his hands in fear. "Ness, we need to help him!"

Ness gave a vigorous shake of his head. "No, too dangerous. Our mission right now is to-"

Pichn was aghast. "What's up with that guy! Doesn't he care at all about Link… or Rinku… or whoever that is!"

In spite of himself, Kirby let out a small sniffle at Pichn's comment. "I… I don't know… he didn't use to be like this…"

"I'm just looking out for you, Kirby," Ness said, trying to hold back his impatience, "Both Link and Rinku are great fighters. They can take care of themselves. For now, we need to concentrate on our job. Just… just stop being a whiney baby and-"

Tears rolled down the puffball's cheeks at the insult. "S-See? You used to be so much fun to be around! A-And… and you used to actually help people in need! Now you're… you're..."

"I'm what?" the boy asked dangerously, his eyes darkening.

"Ness, maybe you shouldn't…"

At that moment, the poor Star Warrior lost it. Angry drops of salt water poured down his cheeks as he shot a determined glare at his former friend through the eyes of his guardian. "Y-You're… you're a big bully! You used to be the coolest guy around and now you're just a big, fat bully! You never have fun anymore and it's all business to you now! You used to help us play tricks on the older guys all the time and now… now all you care about is getting back to your body!"

"Oh, so you're saying I actually grew up then?" Ness retorted, "Well, I've got news for you, wise guy! I have grown up! In case you haven't noticed, it's been a hundred years since I last played a single prank on anyone and a hundred years can change a lot of people! It's like you're the only one who's still… still a big baby about everything!"

"Burn!" Pichn commented, "That's cruel!"

"Ness, that's pretty harsh…" Picho told him uneasily, "May you should tone it down a bi-"

"But at least I'm still nice!" Kirby countered, more tears rolling down his cheeks, "At least I actually care about something besides getting back to my own stupid bo-"

"You know as well as I do that to help out any of our guardians, we need our bodies!" Ness interrupted, "This is war, here! Get it, Kirbs? W – A – R! There's not time for niceness around here! Everything's going to change, Kirby, whether you like it or not."

Kirby let out a wail, not caring that the sound of hand to hand combat had stopped for a brief moment at his sound. "You're right! I don't like it! I hate it! I hate it how everything's changing! I was fine being in a jar for a while, but when I get out, everyone's been changed so much! And you… you've changed the most, Ness! You used to be one of my best friends…"

"He's right, Ness," Picho said reasonably, "I mean, from what I heard about the Smashers-"

"Me? Changed the most!" Ness seethed, his fury rising to breaking point, "I'm not the only one who changed! Look at Link! He used to talk and then he just stopped talking one day! Marth used to be sensitive about everything and now he's out there spilling guts and who knows what else! Pikachu used to never be afraid of anything and now he's afraid of his own guardian! Samus doesn't have as quick of a temper! Luigi used to pee his pants at the sight of a cockroach and before we left, he promised to be as brave as us! Metaknight used to be so cold and now he's opened up to everyone! Gosh darn it, Kirby! You think that we've all changed? Of course we've changed! We've grown up!"

"Ness…" Picho warned, taking note of Kirby's increasing tear flow.

But Ness took no heed. "You're the only one that's still some blubbering baby that can barely walk around without someone holding your hand! You're the one that won't last two seconds against a battle with those Primids! Well, I've got news for you, in a war, there are no holding hands! You have to fight and survive on your own and in case you didn't know, you have to grow up and learn how to do that! So just suck it up and just freaking grow up!"

He placed extra emphasis on the final two words, slightly satisfied with himself for giving Kirby what he deserved. He watched the tears flow down the puffballs cheeks and felt a faint surge of guilt, but quickly covered it up. The puffball deserved it, he reasoned, and that was that.

When he turned his attention back to the vent, his anger rose. Rinku had finished up beating the guard and was currently wiping some blood off of a pair of sharp needles that he seemed to had gotten out of nowhere. To his great surprise, the young man's eyes flashed a deep crimson, rather than Link's signature sky blue.

Then, a great crack! sound through the air, followed by a flash of white light. For a brief moment, Ness was locked in a daze, a feeling that he had not experienced since his last Brawl match when he ran into a Deku Nut. In the blink of an eye, the flash disappeared and Rinku was gone.

Gritting his teeth in anger, Ness wheeled on Kirby, who was using Pichn's shirt to wipe the tears still dripping down his cheeks. "See what you did? Now he's gone!"

In Kirby's mind, Pichn curled his fist. Kirby, though his spirit was by now over a hundred years old, was still a child at heart. He didn't deserve to be treated like this.

"Don't let him get to you, Kirby," he said huffily, "He isn't worth it."

"I-I… d-do-don't… l-like… ch-ch-change…" Kirby hiccupped, still wiping away his tears.

"Didn't I just finish telling you? There are changes and there are going to be more changes," Ness huffed.

He braced himself, expecting more tears from the pink puffball. To his surprise, a dark look of acceptance mixed with pity passed over his companion's face. When he spoke, his voice was free of hiccups.

"When I first heard from Pit, I thought he changed the most out of all of us," he whispered, "He was so mean… he didn't like his own guardian… he didn't crack a smart joke or anything… he was just so… so different…But when I talked to you today… I saw that Pit wasn't the only one that lost some of the best things about him…" He heaved a sigh, his bottom lip trembling. "Pit used to be a really nice guy… then, when he met his guardian, he changed just like that… Link used to be kind of quiet, but he still talked occasionally… then he just stopped talking at all one day… Wolf used to be real mean, but he had a lot of time to think about everything he did and I think he's just a bit nicer… Ness, I thought we would be friends forever…" His throat tightened as he said this. "When I first met you, I hoped that you and me… we'd always be friends… I thought that even if we fought a little, we'd always forget about it and make up. I guess… I guess what I'm saying is…" He swallowed. "Is that if you keep acting like this… I… I can't be your friend anymore…"

Silence fell between the two, broken only by the almost inaudible sound of both Picho and Pichn biting their bottom lips at the same time. Ness felt a weight go through him, bypassing all barriers and finally landing in his stomach. He felt weakened, tainted. It was as if a piece of his very soul had broken off and disappeared into the night. Twice he opened his mouth to speak, but closed it and set his jaw. So be it.

"We'll talk about this later," he said tightly, trying to keep his voice from quavering, "Until then… we've got a mission to complete."

With that, he shoved Kirby aside and crawled on ahead, the sickening pain in his stomach growing larger and larger with each passing second. He passed under a few trickles of water, leaks of what he assumed to be the moat of Hyrule Castle, or perhaps a leak in the plumbing that ran above. To his great annoyance, the water dripped on top of his head and ran down his face. He raised his hand to wipe away some of the drops, but still they kept coming.

Strangely, some of them tasted of salt.

---

His palms were sweaty. His very form shook under the light layer of chain mail he wore. He didn't understand why he chose to come here in the first place, especially since he had made a childhood vow to stay away from this place and all places such as this for the rest of his life. Why, oh why, did he have to come here? Why now?

Why ever?

In his mind, Link rolled his eyes. "Just open the door already! Sheesh!"

Rinku gulped and tugged nervously at his collar. "Uh… well… maybe there's another way we can-"

"There's nothing in there that'll eat you," the Chosen Hero said with forced patience, "Just open the door."

Rinku extended his hand, but hesitated over the door handle, his palm covered in sweat. He was still shaking, still too tense to lower his hand. The handle glared at him forebodingly, challenging him to grasp it and pull. He gulped, withdrawing his hand.

Link banged his head against a wall in Rinku's mind. How could a warrior so courageous on the battlefield be so cowardly in the face of a mere unknown room?

"It's not like I need to be here," the young man amended, removing his hand, "I mean, there are plenty other rooms in this place that-"

As the young man babbled on, Link sat back and closed his eyes. This door seemed familiar somehow, with its mahogany finish and the carvings of the adventures of his ancestor, the Hero of Time upon it. He remembered being dragged here often by the princess, despite his protests that he would rather be on the training grounds. He remembered lost hours in this room with Princess Zelda, lost in another world, perhaps that of the fabled Hero of Winds or the legendary Savior of Seasons and Ages. He remembered sitting side by side, just the two of them, as the sky outside darkened and turned to night. What was this place? Why did he feel so miserable when he thought of it?

Link looked up. His patience was wearing thin.

"Is there anything you'd like to share with the class?" he asked, gritting his teeth.

Rinku gulped. "N-no sir!"

"Then do me a favor and… OPEN THE STUPID DOOR ALREADY!"

Wincing in pain, Rinku reached out and wrenched the door open with a deafening creak! The unpleasant sound of not oiled hinges filled the air as a cool draft wafted through the open doors. Link recognized this smell. It was the smell of old, dusty books, the sweet scent of knowledge just waiting to be learned.

It was at that moment he remembered.

It was the royal library.

"The library?" Link asked, surprise evident in his voice, "You were afraid to go into the library!"

Rinku grinned sheepishly. "W-Well… my tutors and I didn't exactly have a great history in here, so…"

"They whipped you, didn't they?"

Rinku winced, a horrible sting running down his spine as he remembered the sharp crack of a whip across his shoulders. "More or less… and occasionally bury me in a pile of books if I didn't do the reading…"

"That's nice," the hero interrupted loftily, "Go in."

Rinku did a double take. "Wha-"

"Go in," Link repeated, "We have to get researching soon if we're going to get to the Smash Mansion."

Fighting back his intense reluctance, Rinku forced himself to walk in, casting nervous glances at all the darkened corners of the room. Reaching into a hidden pocket of his armor, he pulled out a small match and struck it, holding it aloft. The tiny flame from the little match illuminated the room just enough for the young prince to spot a candle wick on the table next to him. After lighting that, he put out his match and looked around.

It wasn't all that much different from the library he remembered studying in with his tutors. In fact, he was still able to see the tiny drops of blood that fell upon the little wooden table, as if one of his tutors had just whipped him yesterday. He saw the ruby eyed dragon, his father's crest, curled upon a jet black tapestry in the very back of the room.

Most of the books, the ones about Ancient Hyrule especially, looked like they hadn't been touched in years. There were tiny piles of ashes here and there, as they were once the books that described King Daphnes's, Zelda's father's, reign.

The reign now lost.

"Good times," Rinku grumbled sarcastically as he turned his back on the tiny stains of blood, "Real good times…"

Link too gazed at the jet black tapestry with its ugly worm of a dragon, his anger rising. Who dared tear down the tapestry featuring the three sacred triangles that had adorned the back wall of Hyrule Castle for so many years? The Triforce, the crest of the Hylian Royal Family, had been torn down, destroyed, by the Usurper King.

"W-Where… how…?" Link whispered in disbelief.

"Burned," Rinku answered simply, "Burned three days after the king fell."

Silence fell between the two. Link fidgeted slightly in his guardian's mind, unable to think of anything else to say to him. By the time he opened his mouth to speak, Rinku was already browsing the nearest shelf, his fear of the library now gone because of the tiny light he held in his hand. He brushed some dust off the spine of one book, revealing it to be one on poetry.

"Well, where should we start looking?" he asked, gingerly removing a thick novel off the shelf, "There are at least a thousand of these things in here!"

"Then get reading!" Link told him cheerfully, "Try starting with the 'old folktales' section and then work your way throu-"

Rinku lifted his eyes to the heavens. "Why great goddesses? Why did I have to be the one stuck in the library!"

"Because you're the one that can't fit in the vents," Link answered briskly, "Start reading."

Irritation ran through Rinku's mind at that command. "Who died and made you king?"

Without even waiting for an answer, he grabbed a large volume off the nearest shelf and dragged it over to the table. Dust filled his eyes and nose, causing them to water severely. Taking care not to breathe in the dust, he sat down and began to read.

Though there are many heroes throughout the history of Hyrule and possibly in many other worlds besides who gained recognition and honor for their deeds, there was not a greater honor than being accepted into the Tournament of Smash Brothers, where one's fighting prowess and intelligence was put to the test…

"Not really much to say there…" the Chosen Hero observed, "Is there a part where it describes how to actually get there without being summoned?"

Rinku flipped through the pages, his eyes and nose watering from the copious amounts of dust that flew forth from the yellowed pages of the ancient volume. "Nothing… unless you want to read about how 'honorable' and 'wonderful' the entire tournament is."

"Check the index," Link ordered, his mind racing, "There's got to be some kind of passage describing what it's like when the Smasher disappears… we have to close our eyes when we're being transported to Smashville, but surely someone's seen what it's like in the past…"

Reluctantly, Rinku picked up the book, letting out a cough or two as at least a pound of dust poured from its pages. As he did so, a thin object fell out form between the pages, clanking to the floor before he could catch it. It rolled a bit upon hitting the floor, making small clanking noises as it went. It finally stopped near a book shelf, glowing slightly in the light of the single flame.

At the same time, a single piece of paper fell out as well, yellowed with age. Link recognized this as sheet music, but having grown up in a simple village, he took little interest in it. Rinku managed to catch a quick glance at the title as it fluttered to the table: "The Elegy of Smash".

Link's interest was trained on the mysterious object. "What was that?"

Rinku stooped down to pick it up, careful not to drop it or squeeze it too hard. It was a fragile looking thing that was shaped in the form of a wedge of sorts. As the young man turned it over in his fingers, a strange, mysterious power seemed to pulsate from it, radiating a great energy.

Weak though this energy was, he could feel it and it filled him with a sort of power, a potent energy that rushed through his veins to his very toes. He gingerly turned this wedge over in his fingers, marveling as the object seemed to pulse with life.

Though dust clung to the surface of the web like a spider to its prey, he could just barely make out a pattern of swirls gently dancing upon the surface of the delicate object he held in his hands. And he saw the energy that pulsed from deep within it coming off of it in waves, watching as faint colors seemed to swirl within this wedge. Blue, red, green… every color of the rainbow and all the colors in between seemed to live and breathe as they danced around.

Link frowned as he stared at this strange object, wondering why it seemed so familiar to him. As he felt the energy radiate off the wedge, he thought he could hear a voice. It seemed to sing to him, filling him with peace and belonging. The pulsating colors seemed to move with the music.

His sharp blue eyes caught the jagged edge of the wedge, as if it had once been part of a whole thing, but was shattered long ago. He searched through his memories, but found nothing. The wedge remained a mystery to him.

And still the singing never ceased.

Audi famam illius

Solus in hostes ruit

Et patriam servavit.

---

The wind whistled through her hair, her eyes were bright and alert. It was a strange feeling, standing in this strange place, with no one but her dearest friend for company. She looked up and met his eyes, deep brown and beautiful. She smiled. He grinned back.

"So what do you think, Psyche?" Austin asked, gesturing to the clearing.

All around them, colorful tents were set up. Lively music could be heard wafting up from a fiddle of sorts and the sweet aroma of freshly cooked food danced circles in the air. Psyche closed her eyes and breathed in, as if she was truly breathing for the first time. This was paradise.

She felt a light tug on her arm as the boy she had followed began pulling her towards the nearest tent. His grip was unusually strong, stronger than the grip she knew and colder than ice. Then, as if she was waking up from a dream, the image of the clearing before her began to shimmer and quake.

"Psyche… don't… not… danger…" a voice called from deep within the crevices of her mind.

In front of her, Austin stopped, his shimmering form frowning in confusion. "What's wrong? Don't you wanna meet the others?"

He was less solid now, his body began to fade. Psyche blinked. Her old friend solidified once again.

"Psyche?" Austin asked, worry clouding his voice, "Psyche? Hellooooo?"

Before she could pull away again, he reached out and grabbed her arm. The girl flinched at his touch, but soon relaxed. It was now soft and warm, the exact touch she remembered. Her confusion faded and the voice disappeared. She grinned and allowed herself to be led into the clearing.

Pit kicked the wall of his guardian's mind, his anger rising with every passing second. Was his guardian really that stupid? Did she not notice how the images shimmered right before her eyes? The weightlessness of her every step? The unfamiliar grip of her friend's hand on her arm?

"PSYCHE! SNAP OUT OF IT!" he screamed, though he knew his efforts were futile.

He had to do something, quick. There was just something about Psyche's old friend that made him untrustworthy. Though he seemed nice and the memories his guardian had of him were full of fondness, there was still something that wasn't right.

Pit took another look at the boy's eyes. They were the exact shape and shade of brown Psyche remembered, yet at the same time, they weren't those same eyes. His grip felt familiar, yet so foreign at the same time.

Pit walked to the very back of his guardian's mind and began searching through her memories, trying to find a clue. Suddenly, there was a great gust of wind, as if a tornado had decided to take up residence in his guardian's mind. The angel was thrown right off his feet and slammed against the wall, getting buried in who knows what in the process.

Sputtering in utter shock, Pit threw off the numerous books and things and looked up at the white portal that allowed him to look out. He dropped his things in astonishment.

A great beast awoke deep inside his chest, rearing its ugly head and letting loose a great and terrible roar. Anger, hate, betrayal, and another feeling he dared not name filled Pit's mind, causing his vision to turn red. Wait, not red…

Green.

With a battle cry that shook the heavens, the former Smasher lashed out with his powerful twin blades, hacking and slashing at the horrifying image before him. He stabbed and he stabbed, over and over again he stabbed. But it did little more than make the image shimmer slightly before it materialized again. The beast in his chest continued to roar and it too soon added its anger and power to his. With every attack his anger rose, rising almost to breaking point.

All too soon, he gave up, collapsing to his knees in anger and shame. Sobs wracked his body, his anger fading to a mere whisper. He didn't understand.

He held no love for his guardian. She was useless and weak, unable to even fire an arrow properly let alone fight. The only thing that she was needed for was to keep his life force intact, to help him exist in this world while his body was corrupted and evil. Once this battle, no, this war was all over, she could do whatever she wished, love whomever she wanted. It did not matter to him how she chose to spend her life as long as he was no longer a part of it. She could spend the rest of her life at her dead friend's grave for all he cared.

But why did he feel so protective?

His overwhelming feelings did not make him notice the loud resounding thud inside of his guardian's mind...

---

SLAM!

The scream of pain from his guardian shook the walls of the new home of Wolf O'Donnell. He cried out in shock as he scavenged to see what had happened.
She hadn't landed on her back. She hadn't landed on her front. She hadn't landed on her head either. As for a matter of fact, she had landed on her two feet and neither leg was broken.

But she was in the most excruciating pain he had felt so far...

Heather instantly let go of Psyche and collapsed on the ground upon feeling the shooting pain burst within her left leg. She continuously kept roaring in pain,

completely unable to think of anything.

"Heather! HEATHER! LISTEN TO ME! HEATHER!" Wolf desperately called out to his guardian.

Heather barley managed to hear his voice.

"W-Wolf..." she stuttered as she growled loudly in pain.

"You stupid girl! I knew you'd-"

"No let me explain! My left leg..." Heather cut him off. Her shaking left hand pulled up her jeans.

A horrible burn along with deep scars engrossed themselves in the leg. A bandage was wrapped around the burn and Hylian was tattooed black on her left leg. Wolf could barely make out the metal plate on her knee.

"T-That...that's my weak spot on my body...it causes me more pain than being stabbed three times in the chest...it causes me the most physical pain of all...it was either break my back, my ribs or kill myself by snapping my neck or land on my feet and bear the excruciating pain..." she explained.

Wolf instantly felt guilt. So she was actually trying to save herself...well, this time she had tried anyway and had succeeded.

"How did you get that scar?"

"..." Heather remained silent.

"Heather...?" Wolf asked in concern.

"You live inside my mind Wolf...surely you'd be able to find out yourself." she stated.

"You really think it's that easy for me to see your memories! You block them out all the time! They're all black blotches!" Wolf snapped.

"..." she again remained silent.

Wolf then lost his temper completely.

"YOU'RE SO FRICKING CARELESS! DO YOU NOT CARE OR DEVOTE TIME TO YOURSELF FOR ONE SECOND? HAVE YOU NOT DONE THAT AT ALL IN YOUR LIFE?"

"OF COURSE I BLOODY HAVE! I TRIED TO KILL TABUU AND MY UNCLE TO AVENGE MY FAMILY!" Heather roared back.

"BUT DOESN'T HE TREAT EVERYONE LIKE CRAP NOW? HUH? SURE IT'S PERSONAL BUT I BET YOU WANT TO SAVE EVERYONE ELSE TOO! YOU STUPID GIRL, YOU CAN'T SAVE EVERYONE!" Wolf roared.

A massive wave of hurt and mental pain swam through her mind at that point. But Wolf did not care.

"Listen to me. Us smashers...look what happened to us. LOOK AT US! We're stuck in JARS! We have been for 100 YEARS and now we're taken to live inside different people's minds. 100 years ago we got defeated by Tabuu. 100 YEARS AGO and now look what's happened! You see? We failed to save everyone! All our friends as we know it are dead! My team mates are dead! Yoshi's island is destroyed! Ike's friend's are gone! Ness's family is dead! We failed to save them and we're never gonna see them again! NEVER! Why? CAUSE WE FAILED. FAILED! FAILED FAILED FAILED FAILED FAILED!" Wolf screamed.

A moment's silence occurred as Wolf sat down on his knees, breathing heavily. It was about damn time this girl had some sense knocked into her. Why could she not realise she had to live for him! For him! She'd be killing him too if she died!

"...my team mates were the only real friends I had. I longed to live the life I had before after the SSB tournament. But then that bastard had to come back and take it all away from me forever! I can never go back to what I was! I wasn't strong enough...and now, I have the chance to avenge him for taking away what I lost. He took my pride, my strength, my power, he took away the fear that people had of me, he dishonored me and not just me, but every single one of us Smashers!" Wolf's teeth gritted as his fist shook in anger.

"..." Heather still remained silent.

"...Heather...do you understand now why you can't just recklessly put your life in danger like this anymore? Your life is already in danger as it is not by force and yet you force yourself to put it in danger for others. Consider this for a moment - how can you protect everyone you love...when you can't even look after yourself?" at this, Wolf's voice trailed off sadly.

"...I can...I can look after myself...I have done so-"

"No you haven't. You never have and you never will. Even when your sister got killed, that Regenade saved you and looked after you. He trained you to what you are today. Then you decided that you were capable of taking care of yourself and strong enough to take on Tabuu. But you weren't...and you're not...and you never will be. Because no person goes solo. No one. Not an assassin, not a criminal. How did Tabuu take your family away from you? Your own uncle betrayed you to him. He didn't do it himself - someone else HELPED HIM DO IT."

At long last, Wolf felt the rush of realization smash into Heather's mind. Of course only a reference to her dark past, to her family, could reach the girl.

"You didn't train yourself, someone helped you do it. Even when you were in The Subspace Army, you were trained by someone else to do it and your sister was there to support you. You've never taken care of yourself, Heather. NEVER and now, it's me watching you. But you've got to watch me too...I can't do all the work. We've both got to watch each other, okay? 'Cause we both want the same thing...and the only way it's gonna happen is if we help each other do it. Tabuu smashed me down, I couldn't do it alone. He smashed you down, you couldn't do it alone. But the two of us...along with the rest of the smashers and their guardians...we can do it. We can take the damn guy down. You'll get your vengeance and your justice just like us. You just can't do it alone. All right? So get up and find help for Psyche right now, 'cause I highly doubt you have medical experience." Wolf instructed her.

Heather nodded in reply, standing up...

...to face a purple eyed Psyche staring into her eyes.

"What the?" she said in confusion and without warning, Psyche rushed forward and raised her sword. She yelled in shock, whipping out her metal arm just in time. Sparks flew from the metal as Psyche pressured the force of the sword on her.

"What's wrong with her?" Wolf asked.

"PSYFORCE!" Heather send a wave of psychic which blasted Psyche across the floor. Wolf felt the worry that filled his guardian, but as it turned out, Psyche was barely hurt at all. She turned to look at Heather and fiercely glared into her with dark, purple eyes. She let go of her swords and lunged forward again at Heather and this time grabbed her throat, pinning her to the rock wall. Heather gagged, struggling to concentrate on her psychic power to push Psyche away again.

"KEH HA HA HA HA! DO YOU SEE? She's possessed...she's full of bloodlust...just like me...let me have a go at her...I wanna challenge...I'd love to taste her blood as victory, HA HA HA HA HA!" Black Heather cried.

"Possessed...great. What now?" Wolf thought in despair.

"Easy! Let me have a go at her! Let me taste her blood! She can have some of mine if she asks really nicely too!" Black Heather roared in manic laughter.

But soon, Wolf saw Heather's mind slowly turning black. She was losing it.

"DAMMIT HEATHER!" Wolf got ready to take over.

BANG!

Psyche suddenly stuttered before Heather. She loosened her grip from Heather's neck as she walked back two steps. She looked down to see a gunshot wound on the left side of her torso. She collapsed on the ground.

"NO!" Heather yelled, but stopped when she saw a man with her gun. Instantly, Heather's sword and staff came out, ready to take him on.

The man almost dropped the weapon he held under her piercing gaze, but held his ground. Heather saw that he was actually rather short, with dark blonde hair and blue green eyes. He was quite thin as well, and she saw the tiniest shiver go through him as his eyes darted from her sword to her staff. Possibly the most prominent feature about him were twin scars just under his left eye, sword slashes, most likely.

Wolf, also analyzing the young man also noticed the clothes he was wearing. He recognized them as the clothes of a pilot, most likely one who flew a powerful fighter jet of sorts. Off in the distance, he saw what looked like an exact replica of his old Arwing parked nearby. No doubt, the stranger's helmet and belongings were in there as well. He frowned quizzically, unsure of whether or not the stranger was a friend or foe.

Heather raised her staff and aimed it directly at the man's chest, ready to send a bolt of psychic magic at him. Powerful energy began to pulse from her fingers, channeling into the staff. Just one shot and it'd all be over…

"No wait! I just saved you! I was saving you from her!" the man shouted, holding his palm up in a gesture of surrender.

"You didn't have to kill her for it!" Heather roared in anger, the energy still pulsating around her staff.

"I didn't shoot her in a severe spot! She's not dead! I just knocked her unconscious...see for yourself, trust me." the man assured Heather with a calm voice.

"He's right, you don't know if she's dead." Wolf told his guardian.

Heather slowly lowered down her weapons and knelt down near Psyche. She put her two fingers on her left hand to check Psyche's pulse.

It was still beating.

"...she's alive." Heather breathed in relief.

"See, I told you. Now we need to get her some place safe." the man said.

Heather suspiciously looked at the man before asking.

"...who are you?"

The man smiled and replied.

"Eric."

---

"Captain!"

Squall's wrenched his head up, almost banging the ceiling at the sudden intrusion in his private study. He had been studying some maps and was deeply intent on finding a good place to raid. He hated it when he was interrupted. With a scowl, he turned to glare at one of his crew.

"What is it?" he spat angrily, "Can't you see I'm busy here?"

"Sir, we've sighted land!" the pirate blundered on, spitting foul smelling flecks of saliva in the young captain's face.

Squall rolled his eyes. "Your point being?"

The pirate hesitated for a moment before answering. "Sir, Lord Tabuu's sending out search party of them bounty hunters to look for some slave lass that escaped…"

This sparked Squall's interest. "Go on…"

"The girl, Captain! We can sell the girl!"

Squall tapped his fingers on his desk, deep in thought. Low on money and provisions, it would be a true blessing for the ship to dock at shore and unload some… unnecessary cargo. Then again, he reasoned with a scowl, the girl they held hostage now might not be the one Tabuu was searching for. And it was never a good idea to piss off the Lord of Subspace.

Squall waved his worries aside. If the girl proved to be the wrong one, he could always escape and leave his crew behind. They were just a few petty little lives, after all.

"Fine. We'll dock in Smashville and sell the girl. She'll fetch a fair price and we would have made an honest bargain."

Snort!

Squall's anger flare at the noise. Reaching forward, he grabbed the unfortunate man by the shirt and brought him off his feet. "What was that!"

The pirate struggled to free himself, but Squall held him in a vice like grip. Giving up, he turned his fear filled eyes into the cold, heartless jet black ones of his captain's. He gulped.

"It wasn't me, Captain! I swear!"

With a sudden jolt, he was thrown right out the door, the pitiless eyes of his captain following him. Squall dusted his hands off and spat in his direction.

"Next time you interrupt, you better have a good reason!" he snarled, slamming the door shut.

Up above, an army brown cloud of gas heaved a heavy sigh. If this is what kids were like these days, he couldn't say that he was eager to meet his guardian. Squall reminded him of a young man that was just too young for such authority and power over his own crew. An authority, he thought grimly, that would've been more fit to a person like his old Colonel.

He shook his head. There was no time to complain now. He had been thrust out into the world only seconds after the cloud of fiery orange gas known as Roy had been released. Truth be told, he wasn't all too happy about being freed.

It only made his job harder.

He phased through the ceiling of Squall's cabin and found himself hovering over the ship. Unsure of where to go, he hesitated for a moment before the same strange force that brought him here gave him a small tug. Turning in the direction of the tug, he was just barely able to pick up the smallest amount of movement from down below.

Bingo.

"Target locked," he muttered out of sheer habit before diving towards the deck. He made it just in time to catch a flash of orange and green hair disappear behind a door before it slammed shut. One good thing about being smoke, he thought, was that he could go anywhere now, regardless of doors.

He phased through the door, a simple thing for a cloud like him. He was met by a rather short boy with the same colored orange and green streaked hair he had seen earlier. His wide, innocent face was twisted in concentration as he stared at a pot on top of the stove. His eyes darted back and forth, watching as the pirate wearing an apron carefully added something to the pot, stirred once, and walked away. Snake heard the boy draw in his breath.

As soon as he heard the door on the other side of the room close shut, the boy sprinted out of his hiding place and in one swift, fluid motion, grabbed a small cup from the shelf above and scooped some of the rather thin looking soup into it. In the exact same amount of time it had taken him to do this, the doorknob of the door he had been watching so intensely began to turn. Taking care not to spill the soup, the boy skittered away just as the door opened and the cook came back.

Snake was quite taken aback by the boy's stealth and speed. His small size had allowed him to move at a lightning pace and he had carefully timed his movements so well that he was able to steal food in the blink of an eye. What was more, Snake noticed that there was one less piece of hardtack on the plate on the counter than there was before. In spite of himself, a smile crossed his features. The boy was a natural.

But where was he now? Snake looked around for him, finally spotting the boy out the window as he darted across the deck. It was quite a spectacle to watch as he hid in all the hiding spots available, even though there was absolutely no one around.

Snake watched as he slammed his back against the main mast and pulled out a yoyo, wielding it in one hand like a weapon while grasping the small cup in the other. In a flash he had jumped from behind the great mast and thrown his yoyo out, as if surprising an enemy. But there was no one there so his yoyo flopped uselessly to the floor. Nonetheless, he strung it back up and continued pretending he was a spy. The former soldier shook his head. Now the kid was just overdoing it.

He flew closer to the boy as he continued to slink about and pretend to ambush enemies. Despite everything, he liked the kid, even though more than once he bopped himself on the head with his own yoyo. And he was not at all surprised when the wind picked up and his world began to spin.

The other Smashers had described this feeling of merging with their guardian's mind. He found it to be not as bad as they had described it. Then again, he was a soldier. He was made of tougher stuff then them.

"This is Agent Ridere to Agent Bob, come in Agent Bob," the boy said suddenly, speaking into an invisible walkie talkie, "Come in, Agent Bob!" There was a moment of silence before Ridere continued speaking to himself, "Copy that, Bob! The target is in sight! Repeat, the target is in sight!"

The target, it turned out, was the door right in front of him. A sign on it marked it as the entrance to the hull of the ship. Or in Snake's words, the storage room.

"I know the risk, Bob," Ridere said gravelly, "But I have to do it. There's someone who needs saving in there and it's the manliest thing I can do!" Another moment of silence. "Right then! I'm going in! If I don't survive… tell my sister… she still owes me five bucks."

"What, no 'I'll miss you' or 'I love you' or some random Chinese proverb?" Snake asked, remembering Mei Ling. It had been so long...

Ridere jumped about a foot in the air. "Holy cow! Agent Bob's talking back to me!" He whirled around and once again threw his yoyo, only to have it ricochet off the mast and smash into his temple. "Ow!"

"My name is not Bob," Snake said reproachfully, "What kind of name is that?"

"It's an awesome and manly name and you know it!" Ridere retorted, winding up his yoyo, "But if your name's not Bob… who are you?"

"I am the son of the legendary soldier Big Boss!" Snake replied proudly.

"Who?"

Snake frowned. What did they teach kids in schools these days? "The Iroquois Pliskin?"

Ridere shook his head. "Still don't know who you are."

"The Legendary Soldier?"

"What?"

"The Legendary Mercenary?"

Ridere paused for a moment before answering. "… Ike?"

A groan escaped Snake at this remark. "No… my name is not Ike…"

Ridere shrugged. "Too bad. He has a giant manly sword!" He continued walking towards the door. "So… who are you? And speak English this time."

"Look kid, I'm a guy with a lot of guns. Just remember that."

"Oh!" Ridere gasped, "I know who you are now!"

"You do?"

Ridere nodded. "There's no other person! You're a guy with guns and you're a fighter! It all makes sense now… you're Wolf!"

Snake turned around and bashed his head against a wall of Ridere's mind. This kid had to be messing with him. The boy winced slightly at every hit, the pain of a small headache impacting him every time Snake hit his head.

"Wow Wolf, some temper you have," Ridere remarked with a shake of his head, "It's just like those stories I used to hear from Grandma, way back when she was alive."

"My name is not Wolf," Snake said, gritting his teeth, "I am known as Solid Snake, or Snake for short."

Understanding finally dawned on Ridere's face. "Oh! Why didn't you say so? You're the guy with the box!"

Snake sighed. Was that box all he was remembered for? "Yes… I'm the guy with the box…"

Ridere shrugged. "Cool! Can I have your C4's?"

Snake did a double take. "No! Absolutely not!"

"But I won't do anything bad with them!" the young boy argued, "All I'm going to do is maybe blow up the ship, but no one cares about this place anyways, so…"

"Are you kidding me! You'll be killing at least ten people if you blow this place up! No way! You're staying right here until I can figure out a way to get you off of this damned ship and up Mount Smash."

"But what about Mah?" Ridere asked, turning serious, "I mean, I promised that I'd help get her outta here and everything…"

"Mah? Who's Mah?"

"She's in here," Ridere replied, opening the door to the hull of the ship, "Captain Squall got her a little bit ago and he's forgotten about her ever since. I think he said something earlier about selling her back to Tabuu. Man, you won't believe the guy! He's got this huge manhunt- or is it womanhunt?- out for this one slave that escaped him! Apparently, some girl managed to break out and somehow was able to beat Marth, even when he came after her full on. So when Tabuu found this out, he went completely nuts or something! Now there's a million Subspace Coin bounty on the girl's head and Squall thinks that Mah might be her!"

Snake made note of how fast the boy talked. He also wondered about where he got all his information. Then again, he had seen how stealthy he was. Eavesdropping was probably one of his main hobbies.

The air suddenly changed as soon as the boy stepped into the room. Though he was no Lucario, Snake had hoped to improve his fighting abilities and thus trained with the blue aura Pokemon for many days on end before he was captured and shoved into a jar. Though he was not a master like Lucario, he was able to sense what sort of aura a person had. The one he felt at the moment was warm and inviting, with just the tiniest hint of innocence and purity.

"Mah!" Ridere called out, "Mah! It's meeeeee! You won't believe who's talking to me in my head right now!"

A light, but weak laugh answered him. "Ridere! Hey!"

Ridere tried to leap over the stair railing, but ended up slipping and landing face first on the floor. Despite the hard fall, he got up with barely a scratch on him. Snake shook his head. The boy was also a klutz.

He watched as the small cup of soup was handed through the bars of a tiny iron cage into the skeletal hand of a young teenaged girl. Her aura, he noticed, was weak from malnourishment and starvation, but something in her kept her alive. Her deep brown eyes, he noticed, were bright and alert.

While the girl ate, Ridere chatted on. "So anyways, I was walking around earlier doing… stuff when I hear this voice inside my head." The girl raised an eyebrow at this, but said nothing. "So at first, I thought that my pal Agent Bob was finally talking to me for once. But then the guy said that his name wasn't Bob. Apparently, it was Snake. So Snake here." He tapped his temple. "Used to be a… soldier? And he said that he's going to figure out a way to get us out of here and back to the mainland, isn't that awesome?"

Mah didn't seem to hear him. Her eyes were closed and her brow was furrowed in concentration, as if she was listening to something. When she opened her eyes, Snake realized that they were no longer the dark chocolate color he had seen before, but now jet black. And they were wider, more innocent. Above all, they were a pair of eyes he hadn't seen since his very last tournament battle one hundred years ago.

"Snake!" Yoshi crowed happily, struggling about a bit in the cage to get a good look at him. Ridere gave a start at the sound of Yoshi's strange voice coming out of Mah's mouth. Snake, on the other hand, gave no sign of surprise as the other Smashers had explained this to him before.

"Ridere?" Snake asked, "Mind if I… take over?"

Without waiting for a reply, Snake pushed Ridere's mind away and allowed his own to dominate. It was a strange feeling to be sure, and there was quite a bit of pain. But it was not unbearable, as the other Smashers had described it and the ex soldier shrugged it off almost as easily as he could shrug off a bullet. Almost.

His first waking thought was that everything that grown. Literally. Ridere was not the tallest boy around and since he was once a tall man, he wasn't all too accustomed at seeing everything so big compared to him. What made it even stranger was the fact that he was standing on his feet, not crouching.

"Snake!" Yoshi exclaimed again, "It's really you! I can't believe you're here! And… you're short! But you're here!"

Snake couldn't help but laugh. "It's good to see you too, Yoshi. Looks like you got yourself in a pretty awkward situation there…"

"It's been horrible, Snake," the little dinosaur said with a small sniff, "There's nothing to do… those pirates are being horrible to Mah… and there's absolutely nothing to eat!"

Snake quickly analyzed the cage, gently brushing his fingers over the hard iron surface to try to find a weak spot in the works. The lock, he realized, could be opened with a key of some sort. He cursed himself for not having a skeleton key with him. It would make things so much easier.

"I have a nail file in my pocket," Ridere offered, "I was going to use it today to dig her out."

Sure enough, Snake found an old fashioned nail file in the pocket of Ridere's shorts. Though he set to work with it immediately, he soon put off the idea. The file was an inadequate saw and it would take weeks to be able to saw through those bars. By that time, Ridere would be discovered down here. He put down the nail file with a small sigh.

"Can I see that?" Mah asked, Yoshi no longer in control of her body. Before Snake could answer, she shot out her arm and wrapped her hand around the little file. She then proceeded to doing her nails, much to Snake's chagrin.

Mah felt his eyes on her and looked up with a shrug. "What? Can't a girl get her nails done?"

Snake opened his mouth once to speak, but closed it and shook his head. As he placed his hand yet again in Ridere's pocket, his fingers met a flat, round disk of some sort. He gasped in surprise at the sudden cold touch, a touch he had not felt for such a long time. He pulled the precious item out and held it aloft, watching as it caught the light upon its smooth black surface. A C4.

Not caring how in the world it got into Ridere's pocket in the first place, he immediately placed it right in front of Mah's cage. "Stay back!"

Hearing the urgency in his voice, Mah obeyed without a single hesitation. After making sure she was safely out of the way, the former soldier found the controller in Ridere's other pocket and pressed the large red button.

"NOW!"

With an explosion that shook the heavens, the C4 detonated, sending bits of metal and other debris flying in all directions. Snake rolled out of the way and flattened himself against the floor, avoiding as much of the now blown up cage as possible. To his great relief, Mah rolled out of the explosion unscathed and she too flattened herself against the floor to avoid all the debris. Once the smoke cleared, both simply laid there, consumed with worry and relief.

"Awesome!" Ridere shouted, "Epic explosion for the win!"

What would have been a joyful celebration at Mah's freedom was immediately cut short by voices up above. Running footsteps could be heard up above. Snake knew he only had seconds, perhaps a minute at most, to get the girl out of here. His eyes did a quick scan of the room, searching desperately for a porthole, a secret passage, anything.

A shadow loomed on the side of the wall near the door, their one exit out of the room. It was very dark, very ominous. But it was not the shadow that made a surge of fear go through Snake's mind, but the long, dangerous scimitar that it held. With a firm but gentle hand, he forced Mah to stand behind him, protecting him with his young guardian's body and life.

"Stay behind me," he whispered hoarsely as the shadow came closer and closer.

"This is going to get pretty ugly," Ridere agreed.

---

Ike couldn't sleep. In fact, he hadn't been able to sleep for the past hundred years. He never understood why he couldn't. While the other Smashers slept peacefully in their jars, he was haunted, hounded mercilessly, by the same exact dream. Every night of his life since he lost Mia, the same dream returned to him, growing in definition and detail with every passing night.

The image of Mia's dying face.

He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. Now was not the time for such mourning.

But he had lost so much…

"Hey Ike, you still awake up there?" Cameron asked.

Ike flinched at the sound of his voice. "Uh… yeah… I'm awake. But you should be asleep. We've got another long day ahead of us tomorrow, and-"

"Is that all you think about all the time?" his guardian asked suddenly, "What's going to happen tomorrow and the next day and the next day? Don't you ever… I don't know… look back into the past?"

"…" Ike remained silent.

"There are a lot of things way back when that… that I wish I could go back to," Cam continued, "And other things that I wish I could just… change… like… like all those times I was hired to go kill off the sub- the laguz. A lot of them seemed nice… what about you, Ike?"

Ike bit back tears. "Yeah… there are an awful lot of things I want to change… like instead of going to try to take on Tabuu when he took out our veteran Smashers... not coming back Tellius like I promised instead of going on that mission… not making absolute sure Tabuu was dead and would stay dead when I had the chance…"

"But it's not like all of those were your fault," Cam amended," I mean, you didn't have much of a choice when you went off to face Tabuu, right? And… and someone else could've made sure that the guy was dead! And-"

"Cam, shut up."

Cameron shut his mouth, looking incredulous. "Excuse me, but-"

"Cam, no. just stop," Ike sighed, "If you really want to know… I was one of the last Smashers standing when we went to face off with Tabuu for what we thought was the last time…"

Now it was Cameron's turn to be silent.

"I was the one that stayed behind to look at the guy's body after the other Smashers left…" Ike continued, "I was the one who spat on his wounds… I was-"

"What was that?" Cameron interrupted, sitting upright with a sudden jolt.

"What was what?" Ike asked.

"That noise," his guardian answered, "There it is again! Don't you hear it?"

Ike shook his head. For a few moments, the two simply stood there, listening. When the noise did not return, Cameron slumped back down. "I was so sure I heard-"

"Shh!" Ike shushed him abruptly.

Cam pricked his ears, listening intently to the whistling of the wind outside. It was the tiniest noise ever heard by human ears, so quiet in fact that it was almost lost to the wind. But every word that was sung, ever note that was played, was woven into a beautiful, soothing melody. It was powerful and gentle, uplifting and saddening, mysterious explicable. As soon as it reached Cameron's ears, he knew that it was not of this world. But deep inside him, he felt as if he had heard it once before, a long, long time ago.

Audi famam illius

Solus in hostes ruit

Et patriam servavit.

Cam dashed to the other side of the cave to where Nask slept, her long red hair sprawled all over her face. "Nask! Nask, get up!"

"Urgh… five more minutes…" the girl groaned groggily. Much to her annoyance, Cameron only shook her harder.

"Come on, Nask!" he shouted, "There's something outside we have to check out!"

"Marth… tell him to shut up…"

"Nask, I think it's best if we do as he says, and-"

"Everyone's against me today," Nask grumbled irritably as she stood up and stretched. Already, she noticed, Cameron was buckling his rapier to his belt. Despite her grogginess, she groped around a bit for her own weapon before finally closing her fingers around its ash wood pole.

"Hurry up, Nask!"

"Give me some time…" she yawned, using the cave wall to help her stand up.

Marth sighed. "Well, who knows… it might be a good sign that Cam's so happy… maybe Ike's talking again…"

"Nask!"

Marth felt Nask's tired, heavy steps as she sauntered out of the cave, scowling at the sight of the stars and moon still up in the sky. "Well, I'm pretty sure it's close to morning."

And then the song came to his ears. Though he did not know it, it was the same song Cameron and Ike had heard only moments before.

Audi famam illuis.

Concurrit quaeque

tetigit destruens.

"What's that?" Nask asked, echoing the question he had thought of only moments before. The dark outline of Cameron could be seen against the horizon, staring at something that seemed to be very, very far away. Nask ran over to him, ignoring the pain of her broken arm.

A great rush of heat met both her and Marth as they approached their traveling companion. They saw the boy's eyes open wide in fear and Marth saw a flash of deep blue behind those dark eyes, as if Ike was fearful as well. But that was impossible. Ike feared nothing!

Hesitantly, Nask turned her head to where Cam stared. What met her was a transparent vision of a forest of deep green, more beautiful than anything she had ever seen. But the beauty of the forest was soiled by the leaping orange flames that coated the trees. Only adding to the horror of the scene were the people that ran about, screams being torn from their throats. All of them were human in form, except for the brown or black wings that sprouted out of their backs. Had they not looked so fierce, Marth would've mistook them for angels.

He watched as a male with deep brown wings and sharp pointed ears fell, fire engulfing his very being. Another male, whom Marth assumed to be a close friend of his, desperately tugged at his fallen friend, begging him to get up. His efforts only served to spread the flames upon the man's body onto his own wings and it was not long before his wings, too blackened and soot covered to carry him any more, failed and he fell next to him. A sob was torn from Marth's throat as his screams seemed to echo through the burning forest.

"Oh… my… Ashunera…" Cameron gasped, his sword hand falling uselessly at his side. A strong looking man with jet black wings was trying to escape with an unconscious blonde woman with pure white wings in his arms. The woman's eyes were closed, her chest unmoving. She was dead before a great burning branch cast her "savior" to the ground.

"She… she looked so young…" Nask whispered hoarsely, a lump forming in her throat, "Just… like… Mom… little brother…"

"Nask…?" Marth asked nervously as a single tear fell from his guardian's eye, "Nask… is everything alright…?"

A boy with jet black wings, who shared the features of the man and the woman who had just fallen, tried his best to run away, but an arrow shot from out of nowhere and impaled itself right in his chest. He fell, crimson blood splattering the ground.

"My brother…" Nask whispered, her tears falling faster, "Gone… so fast…"

"Nask…?"

Nask tore her eyes away from the scene, wiping away her tears. "That woman… and that boy… they reminded me so much of my mom… and my… my little brother…"

"Your mom and your brother?"

"Mom died a long, long time ago… almost right after little Ridere was born…" Nask told him, "Dad never liked either of us and didn't care so I had to raise Ridere by myself… I used to really want to be a Wyvern Knight and was studying to be a Pegasus Knight… but I had to give it all up…"

"Give it up…?" Marth asked, "For what…?"

"Mom was gone. Ridere needed someone to take care of him… someone who actually cared whether or not he was alive…"

"But what about when he grew up and could take care of himself?" Marth protested, "Surely then you could've picked up your studies again!"

Nask shook her head. "He never got the chance… he never… he never got the chance to grow up…"

"Nask… what do you mean?"

By this time, Cameron and Ike had noticed their conversation. Though Ike would rather leave Marth and his guardian in their privacy, he could not help but listen as the conversation continued. He felt weak, vulnerable, as the dark memories of his past returned to haunt him yet again.

Nask took a deep, shuddering breath. "It was years and years ago… Ridere was playing with his yoyos and… I was studying up on how to get an Elysian Whip. The attack happened so fast… an arrow flew through the window… Ridere was on his knees, blood everywhere. I ran to him, but Dad came in and grabbed me…"

"He saved you? Then surely he must-"

"He hates the both of us," Nask whispered, "He only saved me because he needed me… in case he wanted to forge an alliance with another nation… I had been betrothed at least three times before that day… he took me and… and left Ridere there to die…"

"…" Marth didn't know what to say.

"Wow…" Cameron said, "I… You…"

Nask gave him a small, sad smile. "It's been tough, but I've managed… I mean, I'd rather be here on the battlefield than sitting around at home… stuffing my face… doing needlepoint…"

Without his noticing, Ike took over Cameron's body. Though he was surprised at how much less painful it was than it used to be, another pain was slowly spreading through him. The pain of his past, bottled up for the past century and more.

"Nask…" he began. To his surprise, Nask blinked once and he was staring into a pair of ocean blue eyes instead. "Marth…?"

"Ike," the Altean Prince answered, "You're finally speaking again."

Ike opened his mouth once and closed it. There was nothing to be said.

"Ike, what's wrong with you?" Marth asked, "Lately, you've been so… aloof! True, you were always sort of like that, but suddenly, you just stopped talking completely one day!"

"I…" Ike began, "Marth…"

"And don't blame yourself for this mess," Marth snapped, sensing the other swordsman's intentions, "It's no your fault that Tabuu isn't dead yet."

"But… it was my fault…" Ike said weakly, "I was the one who stayed behind and spat on his body… I should've made sure he was-"

Marth waved his excuses aside. "I was the one who delivered the final blow. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine… I was the guy who hit him last…"

"But you were too weak to really stay behind and check…"

"But I still hit him last…" Marth said firmly, "And as the man who dealt the final blow, I take all the blame for not making sure Tabuu was dead and would stay dead for the rest of eternity."

"You don't understand…"

"Look Ike," Marth snapped, "Nothing that's happened since the last Subspace War was your fault. You weren't the one who dealt the final blow. You weren't the one who stuck us in jars. You… you weren't the one who burnt down that poor forest!" He gestured towards the still ongoing vision, the still leaping flames.

"…"

Marth placed his hand on Ike's shoulder and gave it a rigorous shake. "Ike… we both lost a great many things because of Tabuu… I lost all, if not of my former army mates… my pride… my dignity… the woman I loved… my sister… but we have to move on… we can't keep blaming ourselves for something we didn't do. We have to move on…. To become stronger…"

Ike tightened his grip on Cameron's rapier. "Mia…"

"She died to save you…. To make sure you live to see another day…" Marth countered, "If you loved her… if you really truly loved her… don't let her die in vain, Ike… let's both live to see the end of this war… and then… and then I'll help you rebuild Tellius."

Ike's eyes widened in surprise. "But… Altea…"

"Is gone. I cannot rule over a kingdom any longer if I am no longer a prince… if I live to see the end of this… I'll stay at the Smash Mansion… there is no aging there and it's been my home… it's been my home for so long…"

Ike glanced over at the burning of the forest, watching as a tall, muscular man with powerful brown wings tried desperately to rally up the panicking Hawk and Raven tribes. He recognized Tibarn, the Hawk King, bravest of all warriors. He was simply laden with arrows, his life's blood slowly pouring out of him and feeding the dying trees. And even as he fell to his knees, he still held on, shouting orders, begging his subjects to flee with their lives.

"A true warrior and king to the very end," a new voice said.

Both swordsmen turned at the sound of the voice, only to be met with a tall, cloaked figure. He had a strange bulge in his back, sort of like a hunchback in a way. His face was hidden by the cloak's deep cowl.

Normally, Ike and Marth would be wary of strangers, but there was something in the stranger's voice that captivated them. It was soothing, and full of kindness and comfort. In fact, it invoked a memory from deep within the former mercenary's mind. He frowned, trying to figure out where he had heard this voice before.

"Who are you?" Marth asked as the stranger approached.

The cowl of the cloak made a movement, as if the strange man- he was sure the voice was that of a man's- was shaking his head. "Names do not matter at this moment… what does matter, on the other hand, is that both of you are in need of a way home."

Not a single question was asked on how this strange man knew their intentions. Instead, Ike merely nodded his agreement and stepped forward. "As appreciative as my… friend and I are of your offer, I am afraid that you have done nothing to gain our trust."

Marth thought he saw a ghost of a smile within the dark shadow of the cowl. "Of course… my apologies." He turned to Marth. "Please, my dear, take this token of my word. I promise that as I transport you and your companion home, neither of you shall be harmed…"

Marth opened his mouth to protest that he wasn't a girl, when he realized that the stranger saw him in Nask's body, not his own. He instead held out his hand as a small, multicolored wedge was pressed to his palm. It was a truly beautiful thing, with a great many colors gently pulsating upon its surface. It radiated a kind of power that was beyond anything he had felt in a very, very long time. He frowned, trying to remember what this strange wedge meant to him as it throbbed gently beneath his clasped fingertips, as if breathing with life.

Ike frowned in confusion at the wedge, weighing his options. "I… I guess we can trust you…"

"We can trust him," Marth said immediately, his eyes filled with determination, "I can feel it in this wedge…"

"Are you sure Marth?" Ike asked nervously, "I mean…"

"We can trust him," Marth answered. Then with a small smile, he gave a nod to the cloaked stranger. "Take us home…"

The stranger placed both his hands upon Marth's forehead before doing the same to Ike. "You both have my blessings. May the Galdr of Transport guide you on your journey and… may your quest reap the fruits of success…"

Then, he began to sing in the same strange voice the two swordsmen had heard as they laid in their cave, clueless to the outside world. As his song wove its first notes, Marth felt a strange uplifting feeling in him, swelling up like a bubble. He sighed happily as the song wrapped around him like a warm blanket and closed his eyes.

When he opened them again seconds later, he was already floating away from the world. In his mind, Nask stared in disbelief at the sprawling landscape below her. A gentle golden light cast its rays upon both him and Ike as they floated higher and higher into the heavens. Marth watched as the stranger slowly shrank until he was nothing more than a tiny dot upon the surface of the barren landscape.

For a moment, the wedge in Marth's hand gave a sudden, violent judder. Blinking in surprise, the former Prince of Altea opened his hand and examined it, taking care not to drop the precious item., but the wedge did nothing more than pulsate its usual colors. And though he saw no more of the stranger, his voice still carried, clear as mountain air:

Audi famam illuis.

Audi famam illiuis.

Spes omnibus, mihi quoque.

Terror omnibus, mihi quoque…

---

Three things happened at once.

The first thing that happened was that he found himself smack in the middle of the vast forest that hid the Smash Mansion from view back in the old days. It was a convenient way to keep out the paparazzi and the fangirls.

Particularly the fangirls.

The next thing was that he saw Primids everywhere. As far as the eye could see he saw the evil minions of the Subspace Lord slowly working their poisons upon the small group of humans they had ambushed. Well, one of them was more of a Pokemon, but that was beside the point. He saw a girl with jet black wings, desperately reaching for what looked like a necklace that hung around her neck on a thin chain, only to be stopped time and time again by the oncoming Primid onslaught.

Meanwhile, the girl who looked a lot like Pikachu was holding her own pretty well, but by the looks of things, the Primids had acquired a new skill of sorts. If one looked directly into their eyes, they would be frozen in fear. At that very moment, the Pikachu girl was being submitted to such a gaze. The Primids were fast approaching, charging their guns and their powerful punches, ready to get rid of her once and for all.

He noticed a boy up in a nearby tree. His arm was set in a rather clumsy cast and he didn't look like he cared at all what was happening to his comrades. Well, at least he tried to not look like he cared. Every once in a while, he would sneak a glance, biting his bottom lip in nervous anticipation. He seemed to be having an internal battle with someone.

A Smasher, perhaps?

Roy's reputation as a master tactician had been well earned, as his ability to turn a seemingly impossible situation in his favor was a well feared tactic that impressed even Ike's tactician, Soren. But this situation…. Even Roy couldn't unravel its many complex mysteries and uncertainties.

He floated there, torn between the two young women who fought for their lives. He knew he had to help one soon or they'll both perish. On one hand, the Pikachu girl, he assumed, was Pikachu's guardian. The little mouse Pokemon had always been a wonderful companion to him and it would tear him on the inside if the poor Pokemon was lost forever. But on the other hand, the girl with black wings could be his guardian. If she perished, so would he. Roy sat there for seemed like hours before finally coming to a decision.

He looked at Pikachu's guardian, the infamous Pikana and bit his lip, tears pricking his eyes. "This is war…" he told himself uncertainly, "Everyone… everyone needs to make sacrifices in a war… he won't die in vain… I… he…" Roy didn't understand. How was it that he could easily send his soldiers into battle, but feel so guilty over a Pokemon?

For a moment, he hesitated, still floating in the middle of the two girls who faced death with naught but fear in their hearts. And still he hesitated as he inched closer to the winged girl, wishing to tear out his insides for being so selfish. But it was too late now. He could feel a powerful force slowly drawing him towards the girl, though he fought to fly back towards Pikana.

If he could cry, he knew that there would be no stopping his tears. "Pikachu..."

That was when the third thing happened. Roy didn't know how and why it happened, but it happened. There was a flash of brilliant white light. The piercing and all too familiar screams to two males could be heard. Two separate crashes and one "Oomph!" as one person landed on another. A large cloud of Shadow Bugs flew up into the air as the two figures- Roy's miracles- landed on top of the Primids on the verge of killing Pikana.

The battle was a storm of confusion and fear. The Primids attacked everyone in the vicinity relentlessly. It wasn't long before the two saviors were blocked from Roy's view, preventing him from seeing just who they were. Madness surrounded him. But he knew it was time for him to meet his guardian.

He was pulled in with a gut wrenching wind, like the air being sucked into a vacuum. Roy was taken through what seemed like hours upon hours of darkness. Once or twice he passed a shard of some sort, a memory that was broken and shattered beyond repair. He heard laughter, faint and distant, as if it were far, far away. For a few brief moments, he felt the warmth of a kind smile upon him and he wondered just what all of this meant.

Suddenly, he heard a male screaming. A female gasped. But he saw nothing, only the inky blackness before him. He felt a wave of what seemed like hesitation- the memory of a hesitation- before feeling the light touch of wind as the hesitator ran away. But all of this was distant, showing Roy that this was a painful memory.

What was up with this girl?

He was shoved and spit out into a wide open plain. Laughter filled the air around him and the sky above was beautiful. It reminded him all too well of the plains back in Phrae. He paused to breathe in the crisp country air, sighing all the while.

But it didn't last. As suddenly as he had landed in the plains, a fire appeared, casting every plant in flames. Roy leaped a foot in the air in surprise, but none of his efforts to put out the fire did a thing. Though his moves were flame based, though he was half dragon, he could not control fire as well as pretty much everyone thought he could.

Then came the roar. It started as a low, menacing growl. Louder and louder it grew before it became a full on roar. Taking care not to step into the flames, Roy turned around in fear, drawing his sword. What met him was a white portal, a window to the outside world. He saw the Pikachu girl, hugging what looked like a bazooka as tears of joy ran down her cheeks. He saw a boy grasping a jeweled rapier in one hand as he hacked away at the Primids with relative grace. He saw a girl holding a Naginata standing over the Pikachu girl, protecting her as the girl lovingly loaded the bazooka. But what caught his eye the most…

… was the huge column of flame shooting right out of his guardian's mouth.

"What the f-"

Bwoosh!

Her body was large and heavy, covered in gleaming black scales. Her wings had grown to more than three times their normal size, diamond hard claws covered her feet. Another piercing roar was ripped from her throat as a Primid with a Beam Sword latched onto her, but a single toss with her tail was all it took to send the would be attacker crashing into a tree.

Roy watched with a mix of horror and fascination. He was so busy watching that he didn't notice it when footsteps sounded behind him. It wasn't until the girl who appeared suddenly behind him in the middle of the field of flames grabbed him by the cape and forced him to whirl around that he saw her.

There she was in her true form, her wings folded neatly against her back. Her expression was fierce and defensive. She kept a tight grip on first his cape, then switching over to a double handed grip on his doublet so fast he didn't know what happened in between. Her eyes were dark and hard.

"Who are you?" she asked.

Roy showed no fear on his face. "I am Roy of Phrae, son of Eliwood and former Smasher of the Melee tournament. I have returned to the fourth tournament after being reinvited-"

The girl threw him on the burning ground where his cape just barely licked a tongue of flame. Luckily, he didn't catch on fire.

"And you are…?" Roy asked politely, standing up and dusting himself off.

The girl gently unfurled her wings, her expression searching him. "I'm Traca… that's all you need to know…"

Out of habit Roy bowed. "I am pleased to meet y-"

"Ike! Behind you!"

"Take care of that, will you? I'm busy here!"

"No! It's this dragon! She's flaming at you!"

"What the- AAAHHHH!"

Roy gasped. "Ike!" He sprinted over to the portal.

The boy holding the rapier rolled out of the way just in time to avoid yet another column of flame. But, Roy noticed, his hair was singed just a bit. Meanwhile, the Pikachu girl ran up to the dragon and held up her hands in a gesture of surrender.

"It's alright, Traca…" she cooed, "There's no need for… all of this… we can handle the Primids just fine on our own…"

"No they can't," Traca rolled her eyes, "If a certain hunter wasn't so…so… argh! Either way, they need me…"

Roy watched as she aimed her tail at a group of Primids that surrounded the girl with the Naginata. Though the Primids were quickly taken care of, the girl was knocked out as well.

"Can't you… you know, try not to aim for those guys?" Roy asked weakly as the boy sitting in the tree was knocked down to the ground by an unexpected blow from Traca's tail.

The girl shook her head, sweat pouring down her brow. "I- I'm trying… I just don't have as much control in this form…" She directed another pillar of fire at a few foes, narrowly missing Ike, who dived out of the way just in time.

"Traca, maybe if I can take control…"

The girl shook her head at his request. "I've got this all under control…" At that moment, she nearly singed the boy who fell out of the tree as he dusted himself off.

Roy gave her a look. "Right… you have it plenty under control…"

Reluctantly, Traca handed over the oddly colored necklace that hung from her neck. "Here… just don't do anything funny, alright?"

With stone in hand, Roy felt a sudden connection to the large dragon body. Though he remained the same size he always was, he felt larger, more powerful in every way. He flexed his fingers, his great claw twitched at the movement. He watched as Ike slammed his way through the Primids that surrounded him, headed for the large ghostlike creatures that floated not far away.

Roy gritted his teeth and directed a tail whip at the Primids as they approached him. Though the tail whip did its job, he also knocked the Pikachu girl off to one side. When he opened his mouth to apologize, he only managed to singe her instead as a column of fire billowed form his mouth.

"Roy!" Traca yelled, "You're going to kill everyone!"

Roy turned to glare at her. "Look, this would be a lot easier for me if I-"

"OW!"

"ASHUNERA THAT HURT!"

"That dragon's out of control!"

His face lined with horror, Roy turned back to the portal just in time to see the Pikachu girl pinned under his tail. But as he lifted his tail to free her, his claw smashed into the side of the girl with red hair. He couldn't control himself, his own body shook with the effort of just trying to regain control.

When concentrated on the claws, his tail lashed out at friends and foes alike. His flame breath incinerated everything in its path. Sweat poured down his face as he lunged drunkenly to regain control.

"You're doing it all wrong!" Traca snapped, reaching out to grab back her necklace.

Roy stepped away, but wasn't able to stop himself from squishing a Primid or two with his massive foot. "I'm certainly doing better than you are. Just saying!"

"Why you little…"

Tut- tut- tut- tut- tut- tut!

He felt a sudden vibration on the side of his right arm, as if it was being shot at by a gun of some sort. The boy he knocked out of the tree was standing right in front of him, his gun loaded and aimed. His eyes flashed brilliant sky blue as he rolled out of the reach of Roy's thrashing tail with superhuman agility. The bullets bounced off of his dragon scales without leaving a single mark, but whether it was by natural instinct or through his own fear, Roy couldn't stop himself from lashing out and slamming the boy yet again against a tree.

"Samus!" Ike yelled, whirling around as the huntress sailed past him.

Roy gasped. "Samus!" A huge tongue of flame sailed out of his mouth as he spoke.

"Give it to me!" his guardian ordered, trying to snatch it back from him. She managed to grab the chain, but the former Prince of Phrae held on tight to the stone itself. Traca yanked in towards her, causing the dragon to lash out with its claws. Roy tugged it back, creating a storm of powerful tail lashings.

"You're killing everyone!" Traca yelled, yanking it again. The dragon flamed away.

"You didn't do any better!" Roy shot back, trying to pry her fingers off. The dragon's wings unfurled with a great thwip! and knocked Pikachu off his feet.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Not!"

"Too!"

"Not!"

"Too!"

"N-"

Crack!

"No!"

"DEAR GODS FROM ABOVE!"

"Marth!"

"Marth!"

"Marth!"

For the briefest moment, all time seemed to stop. Roy whirled and glanced over his shoulder, just in time to see a tree, its base consumed by fire, crack under its own weight. Marth, too busy trying to avoid his thrashing tail, did not see the falling tree. Ike's shout came too late. Samus dropped her gun, her face pale as a ghost. Pikachu froze in his tracks, horror etched on the little Pokemon's face.

As for Roy, he did not know what to say. Though he still fought with his guardian over the powerful stone, his heart was a million miles away. He wasn't sure how it happened, but deep inside, he knew that it was all because of him. Because of his ignorance and his big headedness, he almost cost his friend his life.

He tried everything he could to concentrate on the conflict between him and his guardian, but could not.

The image of Marth's blackened face as he was pinned under the burning tree was still fresh in his mind.

---

Smashville began as nothing more than a great plain, covered in di-

"Whatever," Wrath drawled, tossing the book into the nearby fireplace.

There are many potent diseases in Smashville that have been discovered since the great Dr. Mario lived here long ago, but perhaps the most danger of all of these was-

"This boring book." It followed the history book into the leaping orange flames.

"Wrath!" Meta Knight said reproachfully, "A true warrior bears his challenges, no matter how-"

Wrath rolled his eyes. "Listen, Pops. This ain't a battlefield. This is a boring study session with just as boring books to read. As soon as I actually get some action around here, then maybe I'll listen to you."

"Wrath, be reasonable here…"

"I am being reasonable," his guardian shot back, "Stop trying to baby me!"

"Wrath-"

A sharp rap on Wrath's door interrupted him. Frowning in confusion, the boy moved to the door and opened it revealing none other than Captain Falcon. The former racer's yellowed eyes were locked directly onto the shorter boy as he stepped back to allow him in. But instead of stepping into Wrath's darkened room, Falcon only gestured for Wrath to follow him.

Wrath shook his head. "If it's about me burning down the west wing, tell Dad I didn't know that stuff was flammable!"

In response, Captain Falcon shook his head and made the same gesture. Meta Knight sensed the reluctance in Wrath and decided to intervene.

"Wrath, I think it's best you do as he asks," he told him, "After all, I hear your father's wrath is dangerous."

Grumbling to himself, Wrath nodded to Falcon and followed the former racer down the hall. He found himself in the throne room, once the Smash Mansion ballroom. Tabuu sat upon a gilded throne of obsidian lined with gold, his fingers interlaced with each other. He glanced up once as Wrath entered, but soon turned his attention back to the kneeling man before him. Meta Knight realized with a jolt that the man was none other than Marth, Prince of Altea.

"So…" Tabuu began, his voice just barely bordering anger, "You have failed yet again to find the girl?"

It was a truly strange thing to see fear behind those soulless yellow eyes. Meta Knight stared in amazement. "Perhaps just a small part of his soul resides in his body, after all…"

"Shut up," Wrath muttered.

Tabuu turned his head to look at him. "What was that, Wrath?"

The boy was quick to rectify his mistake. "N-Nothing!" But the blue man had already trained his attention back on the unfortunate prince.

"It has been days, Marth… days! Do you not understand why it is so important to find her!" he roared.

Marth flinched at the tone of his voice, but said nothing. Tabuu pounded his fist on the armrest of his throne.

"She is a danger to my rule, Marth!" he snarled angrily, "Don't you know what will happen if she continues to run free! Don't you!"

Marth fearfully shook his head, not meeting his master's eyes. Wrath raised an eyebrow and looked at Tabuu, willing him to continue. The blue man caught Wrath's eye and immediately calmed down. Now was not the time for such violence.

"That girl escaped with the diary of that stupid old hand," he whispered hoarsely, "if she is able to read what's in it, my kingdom will surely crumble to bits!"

This sparkled Meta Knight's interest. Didn't Pit once mention something about his guardian carrying a leather bound book?

"But surely she's illiterate," Wrath said lightly, "After all, slaves aren't taught to read and write…"

"My concern isn't whether or not the stupid girl herself can read the diary, but what's in it!" Tabuu snapped, "She might actually be able to find a person who's perfectly literate in this world or some other!"

Wrath did his best to hide his intense interest in this matter. "And what's in this diary…?"

Tabuu sighed and crossed his fingers. "A long, long time ago, almost right after I- Marth, move another muscle and I'll feed you to the hounds." Marth stopped moving. "Anyways, almost right after I took the throne from that idiot hand, I found a diary while looking through his things."

Meta Knight's anger boiled at that. How dared his hated enemy touch the Master Hand's personal belongings! If he had his body right now, he would run his sword through Tabuu for every offense he ever committed.

"In the diary, a prophecy was described," Tabuu continued, "The exact wording had long been faded away, but the basis was there. A hundred years after the Fall of Smashville, thirty five humans, mostly human teenagers, will arise. They will all be from different backgrounds, all of them having different morals and values. But they will all be similar in many ways. All of them will house the spirit of a Smasher, pre-selected by fate, and together they will rise and take down the darkness that has fallen over Smashville."

Wrath couldn't help but snort, though he shook with fear inside. "What the heck? What's with all this stupid prophecy mumbo jumbo?"

"This is serious, Wrath!" Tabuu snapped, "The old hand might've been weak as heck, but he wasn't stupid. He knew about the new power I had obtained… he knew about the dangers having such power would bring to him. So he got together with Ashunera, Din, Farore, Naryu, Palutena… all of those deities and created that prophecy. He hopes to overthrow me using humans to do his dirty work… but there's no way I'll let him…"

Meta Knight was just itching to kill the guy. But a warrior's creed stopped him. Now was not the time. A long time ago, he had tried to attack Tabuu head on. He had become nothing more than a mere cloud of gas as a result. He had sworn never to make that same mistake again.

"These guardians inherit the powers of the Smashers, nothing more. We can root them out while they are still vulnerable and crush them." He turned to Marth. "Prince of Altea, I give you one last chance. Go out there and find those guardians! You know who they are! You yourself fought one as her mind was merged for the first time with her destined Smasher! Three of my Elite Bounty Hunters fought against another when he was stupid enough to let an escaped slave go! A girl who was stuffed into my asylum for years on end suddenly shifted form and escaped! A young woman who was to be hung escaped with the help of the first escaped slave! I demand you find them and crush them before any more guardians can be united with their Smashers!"

"But surely one guardian dead won't matter much," Wrath protested, "Thirty four is just as good as a number as thirty five!"

"You don't understand, Wrath! Only with thirty five guardians will they have the power to defeat me! It says so in the prophecy described by Master Hand! Only with thirty five guardians will those hands come back to help them! If we can eliminate just one, then all of them will fall and I shall rule for all eternity!"

At that moment, a Primid ran in. Though Meta Knight was once unable to understand its gurglings, Wrath's mind translated the broken speech easily for him. He felt a small hope rising within him as it spoke.

"Sir, the guardians are growing in power. Reports of shouts that sound like Ike, Marth, and others have been heard in the forest. We are unable to pinpoint the exact location of these shouts, but they are definitely there, sir. We've also reportedly lost tens of thousands of troops since you've started searching for the escaped girl."

Tabuu suddenly snapped up and glared at Marth, still kneeling on the ground. "Marth, go round up the other Smashers and tell them to start training. They will need to become as powerful as possible to defend our fortress. By now, there are probably at least ten guardians running around! This must be stopped immediately!"

With a quick nod, Marth dashed out of the room. Meta Knight sensed that he was glad to be out of the Lord of Subspace's sight. He watched as Tabuu clenched his fists and his teeth, his anger evident in his glow.

"When I get my hand on a single guardian, I'll be sure to personally wring their neck and punish them for their very existence!" he vowed, "And then, I'll allow you to have your fun, young Wrath…"

Meta Knight felt fear engulf his guardian at Tabuu's words. With a small gulp and a nod of understanding, Wrath back out of the room, careful not to show any signs that Meta Knight now lived within him. His every step was calm and composed as he left. But once the doors closed on him, he took off in a sprint, his sword bouncing against his thigh with every step.

"What are you doing?" Meta Knight asked as Wrath kicked down the door to his room and grabbed a nearby knapsack.

"Leaving," his guardian answered simply. He began tossing clothes from his closet into the bag.

"Leaving? This is your father we're talking about!"

"I know," the boy answered calmly, peeling up a loose floor board. Underneath, copious bags of chips and other junk foods were revealed. "That's why I'm leaving." He began tossing the food into his bag.

"Your father shall be furious… you'll dishonor your family!"

"And I don't give a crap," Wrath snapped, "As long as I'm here, I'm in danger at every moment. At least out there I might run into the other…" he hesitated to say the word.

"Guardians?"

Wrath nodded, pausing as he zipped up his bag. "That's right… I'm sick and tired of this place… nothing but blood… gore… death… the very first thing I remember as I was growing up was… blood… just non stop blood… all over the place… it's a normal thing to me, but… it feels just so… so wrong…"

"…"

Wrath bit his lip. "I… I just can't stand it anymore… the longer I'm here… the more danger I'll be in… and… and if my dad wants to keep his throne so bad, I… I guess I'm sort of doing him a favor… you never know. I might die out there… the world seems so big compared to this mansion…"

"Have you ever been outside the gates?"

Wrath shook his head. "Never… that's why I need to go… it's more than an extra precaution to protect myself… it's more than a way to help the rest of the guardians… I want travel… I want to see the world… I want to be free…"

"Wrath…"

"What?" the raven haired boy asked "Is it so wrong to dream of the outside?"

In spite of himself, the Star Warrior almost smiled. "No… it's just that… your dream reminds me so much of a young puffball… a young puffball who… who was like a son to me…"

Wrath took a deep breath and slung his knapsack over his right shoulder, careful to keep it away from his sword. With a quick flick of his wrist, he opened his window as wide as it would go. Without a second glance at his room, he leaped out feet first, relishing the feeling of the wind on his skin.

"Look out World! Here comes Wrath!"

---

The continent of Tellius was a barren landscape, absent of all the life and beauty it once held. It was blackened everywhere, where the cruel hands of Fire had kissed its surface.

In the most blackened part of the land, a single man stood, his long black cloak billowing in the wind. A single particularly powerful breeze caught him, causing his hood to fall off. A face carved by angels was revealed, with very prominent cheekbones and eyes of sea green. He stood up straight and tall before gently unclasping his cloak, letting it slide off his shoulders and onto the floor. Once the cloak was off, he stretched his pristine white wings that grew out of his back. Long flowing blonde hair completed the look of an angel for him and as he looked to the stars, his face was set in a gorgeous silvery glow.

"By the will of the Goddess of Dawn, fourteen guardians have been revealed," he intoned, "And there are still yet many more to come. Know that I, Rafiel, Prince of the Heron Tribe and last Light of Tellius, hereby call upon not one, not two, but three more. Tonight, three more Smashers shall be released and when the sun rises tomorrow, three more guardians shall be revealed. So says the will of Ashunera and so says my own will. May the Galdr of Freedom guide the Smashers safely to their guardians…"

And thus said, Rafiel lifted his head and out of his throat, came the most beautiful sound. If anyone was ever lucky enough to hear a Heron sing at least once in their lifetime, that person would know that it was possibly the loveliest, yet saddest sound ever heard.

EGO primoris voco Vulpes volpes…

An orange streak sailed across the skies as he said this. It bounced about, as if happy to be free. But Rafiel took no notice as he continued to sing.

EGO secundus voco Flax…

A solid blue line lit the stars as he sang, seeming to bounce about with joy. Lifting his head still higher, Rafiel sang his final line.

Denique , EGO voco Lucario!

A third streak flew about as the song came to a close. This one was a deep purple, and unlike the other two, remained calm and flew in a straight line.

Rafiel stopped singing and sighed in relief. "Go, guardians! Fulfill your destinies! Become the last Light of Hope! May the goddess guide you…"

And once last time, he lifted his head and sung an ode to the young heroes just waiting to rise.

Exsisto existo tener tutela , presto vestri destinies.

Guardians Exsisto existo!

Primoris venit Vorago , Angelus of Lux lucis , primoris Smasher ut exsisto freed.

Next venit Samus , vereor Ubertas Venator , promptus ut fight.

Third venit Pikachu Pokemon numerus unus , desumo tentatio flying.

Fourth venit Yoshi loveable dino , promptus ut rock.

Fifth venit Ike , validus latrunculus , culmen of strength.

Sixth venit Link , fortis proeliator , animus quam many.

Seventh venit Zelda , sapiens satraps , ars quod princess.

Eighth venit Bellicus lost procer , promptus sumo tergum suus kingdom

.Ninth venit Lupus howler's ira , iratus avenger.

Tenth venit Ness PSI vox , promptus cretum up.

Eleventh venit Kirby forever ieiunium , promptus ut eat.

Twelfth venit Meta Miles militis , Miles militis in rutilus loricatus , proeliator code.

Thirteenth eram Snake , stabilis miles militis , vinco of boxes.

Fourteenth venit Roy , Rex rgis of Phrae , incendia of three magis vadum suo suum ranks.

Three tutela vadum exsisto existo!

Tutela Exsisto existo!

Again, sorry for the super, super late update. This is why Writer's Block can go die… T_T

Anyways, I hope all of you guys had an awesome 4th of July in America… for those of you not in America… happy whatever holiday you've celebrated!

Thanks to SkywardBlayderJulz for being an awesome beta reader and Wrath Draconian for awesome artwork!

If you've lost track on what's going on with each guardian, visit my website and look at their reports.

Bye!

PS. LEGEND OF ZELDA SKYWARD SWORD!

^ That was a random fangirl announcement from: PitFTW