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...

14. Mars, Eric, and Aly

Mars, Aly, and Eric: Triple Threat

Fear the awesomeness that is Star Fox! *crushes everyone with Landmasters*

Notice how up there, the title is extra cheesy… I have no idea where that came from.

Tip for movie lovers: DON'T, I repeat, DON'T watch The Exorcist late at night on a day of a thunderstorm. It's the scariest movie ever! 'Nuff said. Also, don't watch Legion. It's really, really bad, despite its pretty good plot.

Oh yeah, a series that has a very special place down in Hell will make a little cameo in here. Yes, it will burn. :D

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. So you can have… *kicks the penguin onstage* THE BIG GAY DANCE!

Zelda stared at the red streak on her hand, horrified and fascinated all at once. She glanced all over Cimar's body, identifying many more streaks of horrible crimson red upon his clothes. She felt an unsettling weight in her stomach, something she knew was guilt. Though it was in truth, a triumph that she had solely punished those who had helped to overthrow her father, she still felt sick, very sick, on the inside.

Cimar had recently transformed back into himself again, about an hour ago to be exact. Neither of them was sure how or why it happened, but it did. Really, all that mattered right now was getting the blood off of them as soon as possible.

"There has to be some sort of logic behind all of this," Cimar insisted, "I mean, I know Usurpers are pretty corrupted, but that's just ridiculous."

"Mm…" Zelda agreed distractedly, taking care to stay as inconspicuous as possible as she moved swiftly through the shadows that lined Hyrule Castle. The princess wanted nothing more than to avoid more bloodshed. She had already taken a great many lives when she allowed her anger to control her while she was Sheik.

But there was something deep within her that, despite her total disgust over the blood on her hands, danced about inside of her. The people she… put to sleep had ridiculed and slandered her late father, though it had been years since he had died. She had overheard them as they laughed over the "Old Fool's" death over goblets of red wine, wine that had come from her father's private store. She had listened to them as she and her guardian dashed in the direction of the Royal Library. Their intent had been to quietly slip inside and find answers.

Zelda's anger and grief, however, proved to be a different story altogether.

She had lashed out like a tigress, first at the Duke of Ordon for calling her father a "daughter- obsessed old coot". Then, the Baroness of Eldin fell victim to her hands. She was flaunting the ring that once belonged to Zelda's mother, the dead Queen. It had been one of the Queen's favorite gems and it was buried along with her when she was put to rest. From what Zelda could gather, it was stolen right off of the skeleton of the long departed monarch and sold for an exorbitant price to the Baroness, who had called it "a foolish waste of rupees, but a wonderful treasure to keep!" The third victim had insulted Link, calling him "a charlatan and a schemer who is unfit for his title of Hero!" Strangely, that one was the most "fun" to kill.

"Got any ideas where we're going?" Cimar asked as Zelda turned a corner…

… and found herself in the exact spot she had just left five minutes before.

The princess groaned and leaned against a wall, her frustration growing. She hated it when this happened. Even though she had spent most of her life within the castle walls, she still didn't exactly know her way around. Then again, why did castles have to be built so dang big?

"I've gone around in circles… again…" Zelda groaned, slapping her forehead in exasperation, "What am I to do?"

"Well… don't you have a map or something of this place?"

The princess slumped against a wall. "Nope. Link's always been the one that has a map… I never… I haven't really… I don't know how to draw maps very well… and Link has always known what to do, and-"

"You miss him, don't you?" Cimar suddenly interrupted, "You're completely lost without him. Am I right?"

Zelda hesitated, unsure of what to say. "W-Well…" swallowed and regained her composure. "I… I suppose I do miss him… just a bit… a hundred years of being trapped in a jar… that can do a lot of things to you…"

"A hundred years of captivity? You two sure spent an awful lot of time together. I bet you got to know each other pretty well and everything."

"Erm…"

Cimar frowned as he noticed her hesitation. "What's wrong?"

Zelda shifted uncomfortably as she began walking again. "W-Well… he… he didn't really talk much…"

"So he really lives up to his nickname, doesn't he?" Cimar asked, bemused. "According to the history books, any hero named Link was a man of few words. But I remember reading somewhere that-"

"He spoke," Zelda interrupted quickly, "It's just that he didn't speak all too much. And when we got captured… he just… he just stopped talking at all…"

"… Then… it must've been awfully lonely for you…"

"It was… but it wasn't at the same time," the princess relented, "I always knew he was there, I always felt his presence… I knew that if anything happened to us, the first thing he'd do would to come and find me… make sure I was safe…"

"Sounds like quite the Hero…" her guardian mused, "Just like in those books…"

"But he was still Link to me," the princess insisted, "No matter what happens, he always, always, always will be Link. He'll always be the Savior of Hyrule, the Ordonian goat herder, the Sacred Blue Eyed Beast, the-"

"The man who has stolen your heart…"

She felt the blood rush to her cheeks. "Cimar! How dare- I… you… Link…"

Her guardian burst out laughing. "Great Din, what have we here? A Princess in love with her knight? What scandal! What shame! What intrigue!"

"Oh… be quiet, you!" Zelda commanded, "Now's no the time for such… gossip…"

"No time for gossip, you say?" Cimar asked incredulously, "I'll have you know that I've already spent half of my life immersed in books… facts upon facts upon facts… at times it was boring and other times… I just couldn't stop reading… most of the information would be useless in our search for your whereabouts, but still we read… we wanted to expand our knowledge, prevent your disappearance and many others from happening ever again… but we read nothing but fact, leaving as much fiction as we possibly could to burn… all the records of gossip we've ever acquired? Gone. Gone in the same way those nemocracy spell books and mythology scrolls went. Just gone… just like that…"

"So all your life… you've been immersed in nothing but facts?" the princess asked in disbelief, "They didn't even let you sit down with a good picture book or something to read to help pass the time?" She gulped, remembering that that was the exact thing her mother used to do with her before she died.

Her guardian shrugged. "Oh, there were some books that most of us were glad to see go. Some very, very badly written and just simply illogical books."

"Oh? And what might those be?"

For a moment, Cimar's thoughts swirled about a bit before bringing fourth a memory. There were four books, all thicker than any novel Zelda had every seen. Every single one of them was coated in black. The first book was rather simple, with only twin blood red cherries on the cover. The second held a single red rose while the third featured a piece of string cut neatly in half. The fourth featured what looked like a game of checkers as the red piece nearest to the front was about to be Kinged. And as Zelda watched, a single match gently kissed each book and it was not long until the four books were lost in flame.

"We called that the Dusk Saga," Cimar said amusedly, "That one was actually quite fun to burn. But then again, the theme of it is much like your little situation with the Hero-"

The princess did a double take. "Cimar, if you're suggesting anything…"

"I'm not!" another laugh was let loose. "I'm just saying that the theme of those books, though badly written, speak to both you and Link. Forbidden love between a Princess and her Hero. Or in this case…" Cimar snorted, "A human and her sparkly fairy prince."

"Cimar, you are just so… so…"

"Devious? Why, I thank you, Your Highness." She could sense the smirk at his lips. He was so lucky she couldn't touch him right now.

"Please, just don't say anything to him, alright?" the princess begged, carefully pushing a door open and looking around, "I don't want him finding it out from anyone but me…"

"My lips are sealed, Princess," Cimar chortled happily, "But just remember, you're going to have to be the one to tell him or my tongue just might slip…"

"You're very lucky I can't send you to the guillotine, you know that?" Zelda grumbled as she darted down the halls. She knew she had to be silent now, lest she risked the chance of getting caught.

Her footsteps echoed eerily in the long dark hall, indicating that she was the only life currently walking these halls. Every torch she passed flickered maliciously at her, as if taunting her for the crimes she committed. And with every torch she passed, the red stains on her hands were thrown into much more defined degrees of sharpness. She winced as this happened, but held her tongue, though she wanted nothing more than to scream. Maybe that would send Link running to her…

"Zelda, it's not worth the risk," Cimar said uneasily as he read her thoughts, "Because who knows where Link and Rinku are? They can be in Hyrule Castle Town for all we know and-"

"SKRAAAAAA! HYAH! AHHH!"

Zelda's head snapped up at those shouts, her sensitive ears ringing as they echoed throughout the castle. Cimar stumbled slightly as each shout hit him with brutal force. Though the walls of the castle distorted the sound slightly as they bounced off the stone blocks, they both knew whose voice that was…

"Link!"

Without another thought, Zelda broke into a run. She fluttered about like a ghost, surprising every guard and every noble she passed. She had no time to look back and chuckle at their reaction as Link's screams grew louder and louder. Her brow furrowed in concentration as she listened even harder for the source of the noise.

"The Royal Library!" Cimar burst out suddenly, Hylian ears twitching, "There's no other place!"

The princess turned the corner. Her heart beat at the speed of light as she ran on, her worry for Link growing with each step. She didn't know how or why, but somehow she now knew exactly where the Royal Library was. Whether it was a blessing from the Goddesses or just a rush of adrenaline, she didn't know. All that mattered at the moment was making sure Link was okay.

"HYAH! HYAH! AHHHHHHH!"

---

"HYAH!" Link spun his sword in a wide arc, keeping the guards at bay. In his pocket, the precious shard he found seemed to throb with energy as he spun, feeding him with raw power. He noticed how brightly his sword glowed, wondering if it was the power locked within the sword or the wedge that made it glow like that.

"Will you stop with the spin attacks!" Rinku moaned, "They're making me feel sick…"

Link knocked down another guard as he rushed towards him with the flat of his sword. "Rinku, if you puke up there, I'll-"

"Too late…"

For a moment, Link dropped his sword to glare up at him. "Rinku!"

Two guards, seeing their chance, rushed forward with their spears. Link cut them down with relative ease, but wasn't able to prepare himself when something whacked him on the back of his neck and sent him sprawling, his blood smearing upon the floor. His vision blurred, but he refused to black out. There was no time for a nap.

He rolled, the only true defense he had, seeing that he only longer held his Hylian shield. A broadsword whistled through the air and came down in the exact spot where he had been only moments before. The sword was held by a gigantic gloved hand covered in black armor. The Chosen Hero knew what it was even before he was forced to look up.

"D-Darknut…"

He had defeated many of these long ago, while he traveled as a sacred wolf with Midna upon his back. They were slow, but powerful and once their armor was off, they were just plain lethal. Though he had defeated them, it usually came at a great price. A fairy or a potion was always wasted in a fight with one of these.

The broadsword flashed through the air, aiming right for his vulnerable neck. He brought up his sword and parried it, stopping the deadly weapon just in time. But the Darknut continued pushing and the more he pushed, the closer the crossed swords approached Link's neck. It was a one- sided battle of strength, but the Hero knew as soon as he faltered his life was forfeit.

"Link!" Rinku shouted, fear evident in his voice, "Link, you've defeated these guys before, haven't you? What's so different now?"

The Hero gritted his teeth. "Let's see… it's been over a hundred years, I don't have any fairies or potions, and I don't have a shield…"

"But you don't need all of that!" the boy protested.

"Rinku, I don't know what stories you've been listening to, but I'm not a god…" Link grunted, his arms shaking with the effort of holding back the powerful broadsword, "I'm just a regular farm boy from Ordon… I'm not special…" his arms began to tremble under the great weight he was forced to hold. "I didn't know what the heck a Bulbin was until I saw them for the first time… I was scared, Rinku, scared of those stupid Bulbins… I kept telling Midna that I wasn't cut out for this… because I'm not cut out for this life…"

"Not cut out for this life?" his guardian asked in disbelief, taking his attention away from the interlocked swords, "What the hell am I hearing! You're Link! You're the greatest hero Hyrule's ever had, no contest!"

The only sound that passed from Link's lips was a grunt as the two swords were pushed even closer to his throat.

"I mean, you've defeated guys bigger than this idiot without any fairies or potions… you have the Triforce of Courage… you can do anything…"

"…" a single drop of sweat trailed down Link's brow.

"Link…" Rinku kicked at the ground in his mind, "You're a lot more than just some ranch hand from Ordon. You didn't have to go on that huge adventure with the Fused Shadows and the Twilight Mirror, but you did. You didn't go because you were powerful enough to stop it, but because you were the only one that could…"

"…" Steel, cold as ice pressed against his flesh. But still, he found the strength to hold on.

"There's a reason why the goddesses chose you to help save Hyrule… and do you really think it was a coincidence that your Guardian happened to be me? A random guy-"

"A random prince," Link corrected quietly, his strength slipping under the weight of the two swords.

"A random guy," Rinku stated firmly, "A random guy who just happens to live in Hyrule… the land you were destined to save… Link, if you really weren't cut out for all of this… why were you sent here again?"

His words echoed in the Hylian's ears as his strength began to give way. But with one final push, he forced his powerful opponent back. As the Darknut raised his sword again, Link chose not to dodge this time, but to unleash his greatest hidden skill, the fifth one taught to him long ago by the Hero's Shade. He closed his eyes and concentrated, knowing he only had one shot at this.

"Mortal Draw!"

He had only seconds to dodge the Darknut as it threw its great broadsword at him and unsheathe its thin rapier. He only had another three seconds to dodge the Darknut's now speedy melee attacks.

"That's the way the Hero of Hyrule does it!" Rinku whooped.

It was a truly strange thing how this whole situation had gotten started. All the Hylian truly remembered was hurriedly placing both the strange wedge and the song into a hidden pocket as the guards kicked down the door.

"Prince Rinku, you are under arrest under charges of murder," the first guard had announced.

"Come quietly and we promise, we'll try not to kick you too hard," another had laughed.

Though his guardian had voiced his innocence, Link had soon found himself being dragged away by the arms. He managed to dispatch the two guards dragging him, hoping to convince his captors of his innocence. He had never spilled a drop of noble blood in his life, he had insisted. Of course, the guards of the Usurper King had only laughed at him.

And that was they rushed at him with those stupid lances of theirs.

Rinku had put up a tremendous fight. He lashed out like a tiger at all his foes, watching them crumple beneath his sword. But somehow, Hyrule Castle had more than tripled its security since Link had been away. His guardian fought bravely, but allowed him to step in, despite the heat of the battle flowing furiously in his blood.

"Get him, Darknut!" a voice ordered behind him. The Hero didn't need to look to know it was the Captain of the Guards, the man who hid in cowardice while he fought the others.

The Darknut was all too happy to comply. He lunged forth, striking at Link three times in quick succession. The hero tried to roll out of the way, but he was slashed with the third strike. A warm liquid dripped down from the wound, but it did not matter. The Darknut was coming at him again!

Ignoring the stinging pain in his wound, Link dodged the fearsome sword and delivered a slash of his own while the monster's back was turned. He used the Helm Splitter, the Back Slice, and the Great Spin, only seeing his sword as it passed in and out of the Darknut's flesh. It was a battle of wits and strength, life and death were on the line.

He felt a pain at his side. A wound? How did that get there…? Another pain… another wound… more blood gushed forth… his face stung; his chest throbbed in pain, his vision turned red.

One last stab… one last thrust…

Crack!

Pain… in the back of his neck. He felt the warm substance running down from the gash that had been created. His sword fell loose in his left handed grip as his knees turned to jell- o. He took no notice of the Darknut's body as he fell, his vision swirling before his eyes.

"Link… hold… on…" Rinku's voice was fading.

He felt his body go numb. How? After all his efforts this was how the goddesses rewarded him? Was death coming to him so fast?

No… he could see a face. Zelda? He dared to hope as he lifted his eyes, his vision swimming. But the face that stared back was not the princess he had sworn to serve.

He saw the head of a spear, its side covered in blood… his blood. He saw the all too flashy armor, the cold black eyes, the triumph shining in those eyes.

"Y-You…" he gasped, "Y-You're… not… Z-Ze- Zel… da…"

The face of a coward smirked back at him.

---

He couldn't stand another moment of the silence. Except for the steady drip of water from the ceiling of the vents, there was not a sound. And if there was one thing he couldn't accept right now…

… was that the silence was all his fault.

"You were really hard on Kirby, Ness," Picho scolded, "And I mean really hard… the kid didn't deserve it…"

Ness gave a shaky gulp. "He… he needed to grow up… he just doesn't get it… I broke it to him as gently as I could…"

Picho glanced over his shoulder to where Kirby, eyes still red from crying, crawled. "Riiiight… you were really gentle with the guy… that's why he's still crying!"

Ness bit his lip at the impact of each of Picho's words. "It was for the best… for the best…"

"Keep telling yourself that," the boy sighed, "And while you're at it, can we get outta here now? This place smells like a sewer!"

Meanwhile, Kirby still hadn't exactly recovered from his bond shattering argument with Ness. He trailed behind his former friend like a lost child, clinging desperately to whatever strands of their former friendship that was left. Indeed, whatever had happened to shatter such a strong bond left him feeling cold and empty inside. For the first time, he realized, he wasn't hungry any more.

"Are you alright, Kirby?" Pichn asked for the umpteenth time since that argument. Kirby smiled at his concern, but was unable to hold back a sad little sigh.

"What did I do wrong, Pichn?" he whispered, on the brink of even more tears, "We used to be best friends… and then… and then… he won't even talk to me anymore…"

"He's just being a mean old grouch right now," the boy dismissed huffily, "He doesn't get that he's growing up way too fast."

"But do you think I need to grow up too, Pichn? I mean… I haven't really been anywhere else besides just around Dreamland and around Smashville… and nobody ever really… died when I was traveling around Dreamland…"

"…" Pichn shifted uncomfortably as Kirby prattled on.

"And when there was trouble, sometimes I could beat the bad guys, but other times I had a friend with me… and Meta Knight always said that I can become a great Star Warrior if I just kept training, but… but do you think that I … I should grow up, like Ness said?"

"Do you want to hear the truth, Kirby?" his guardian said finally when he had finished.

The puffball nodded eagerly, wiping away the few tears that strayed from his eyes. He heard Pichn take a deep breath and waited for him to continue.

"Kirby… I think you really do need to grow up… just a little… Ness was sort of right. This is war… a lot of things are going to change and we have to be ready for those changes."

Despite all he felt, the puffball gave a determined nod. "Then I'll grow up! I'll try to be just like Meta Knight! And… and I won't cry! I'll stop crying!"

Pichn grinned. "Atta boy, Kirbs!"

"Finally," Ness mumbled.

As the two boys crawled on, Kirby couldn't help but occupy himself by eavesdropping on the nobles. Most of their whispers were full of strange tales of murdered courtiers, all of them found with needle stabs all over their bodies. At first, Kirby dismissed these wild stories as mere gossip, until he happened to pass over a vent and a single word caught his ear.

"… Rinku…"

He stopped in his tracks, listening as hard as he could. The voices of the two strange men below were very low, but the puffball strained his ears as hard as he could to learn more.

"That idiot boy… that prisoner we took… did he take the drug?" one cold voice asked.

A high, rather wheezy laugh was the reply. "Oh yes! He took the drug… temporarily changed… it was marvelous! Marvelous!"

"And what of the… ah… side effects?" the cold voice asked, the smallest hint of a chuckle touching it.

The wheezy voice snickered again. "Oh… you mean the little berserker rage? He should've killed at least… people by now… maybe even… you can so easily execute him now, My Lord…"

A high, cold laugh ripped through the air, rattling every bone for miles around. "Yes! Rinku is now a criminal of the law! He shall die for his crimes!"

Kirby felt the blood rushing from his cheeks, his heart pounding loudly in his ears. So loudly, in fact, that he almost missed what the cold voice said next.

"My so called son… bah! If he were truly my son, he'd stop trying to help the peasants and fight on my side instead! But no! He has to study about that foolish meddler Link and that stupid princess and he thinks he can be a hero now! I'm done with him! Once those peasants see their great hero dead, none shall turn against me again!"

"My lord… the peasants see him as much more than a rallying point," the other voice wheezed, snickering, "They practically see the boy as a god… their last hope… oh how good it will feel to reap his blood from my hands…"

"Oh man…" Pichn groaned, his stomach squirming.

"Ness! Ness!" Kirby whispered, racing after the boy.

Ness was only about ten feet away, but his face was gray as ash. He too was staring down into a vent and as Kirby approached, he noticed that the former Smasher's hands were shaking.

"Ness, what's wrong?"

The boy turned his face to gaze at Kirby, his eyes widened in horror. He opened his mouth, but closed it. Instead, he gestured for the puffball to look in the vent below. Forgetting their argument, Kirby shuffled over and peered inside.

Redness… blood… that was the first thing he saw. There was blood all over a single young man standing with his arms pinned behind his back in the middle of what he recognized was the throne room. Drops of red splattered the young man's golden locks, bandages covered his entire torso. But despite the way he looked, the young man's eyes still bore an unwavering determination, flashing icy blue at all the jittering witnesses to his disgrace.

It didn't take a genius to know who he was.

"R-Rinku!" Picho gaped in disbelief.

"Rinku…" Ness confirmed. Then, he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye.

A flash of chain mail caught the light of the torches upon the walls. A small wisp of brown hair vanished into the shadows. And as Ness continued to watch the shadows, a pair of determined blue eyes appeared, transfixed concernedly on Rinku.

"That's the Cimar guy Link was talking about… so that means-"

"Princess Zelda is here as well…"

"And he's safe!" Kirby sighed in relief.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"This court shall now come to order!"

That voice was colder than ice, causing Ness's blood to freeze in his veins. Next to him, he felt Kirby shiver at the sound of the words. Despite their fight, Ness patted his old friend on the back to try to encourage him.

Of course, that didn't really work.

"SILENCE!" Sorius shouted, banging his gavel again, "I said this court shall now come to order!"

The jittering on the sidelines stopped. Ness and Kirby both leaned forward in anticipation. In the shadows, Ness saw Cimar's chain mail catch the light again as he too leaned forward to listen. Luckily, he was the only one that noticed.

The great man in black armor shot a glare once around the court with his evil yellow eyes before training them on his bloodied son before him. A smile curled at his lips at the sight of Rinku's weakened state.

"Prince Rinku of Hyrule," he purred, wetting his lips as if Rinku was another morsel he could eat, "Do you know why you're here?"

Rinku pretended to think of his answer before speaking. "… was it because I dumped salt into Lord Thimblewhistle's coffee this morning? Because I was really bored and-"

"Wait, that was you!" a rather fat man off to the side asked, his face going beat red. "I threw my servants in the moat for that, boy!"

Rinku winced slightly at the thought. "Well… I hope they could swim…"

"Well of course they couldn't! They're servants!"

"That is enough!" Sorius growled, shooting a hard glare at both the lord and the young man. He then banged his gavel for more emphasis and started speaking again. "Are there any attorneys represented here?"

"Uh… no. You just dragged me, bleeding like hell out of that damned library, tied me up, whipped me, then threw me in here. How the heck can I get an attorney!"

"Silence, boy!" the Usurper snarled, he shuffled his papers, "Prince Rinku of Hyrule, you are here on charges of the murders of three well respected nobles and many, many brave guards in service to the crown! You are also accused of plotting against the King-"

"The Usurper King," Ness hissed.

"Sh!"

"Bring in the jury!" the great man bellowed.

Much to Picho's dismay, the jury turned out to be made of the exact same courtiers that had scoffed at him and his brother. Even worse, said jury was obviously working for Sorius. In the corner of the portal of his mind, he saw Cimar make a small motion, as if he was gripping a weapon of some kind even harder. The Guardian of Zelda hated this as well.

"Bring up the first witness!" another gavel bang.

A man Ness recognized as the Captain of the Guards from his uniform boldly strode up to the throne. He flashed a smirk in Rinku's direction before sobering his face and kneeling before the king.

"My Lord," he said, "The boy's a monster that must be destroyed! He took out over 50-"

"Did not!" Rinku snapped indignantly.

"Silence, boy!" Sorius banged his gavel again, "Continue, Captain of the Guards."

"The boy has taken out over 50 of my brave men," the captain continued, "He would've gotten me as well had it not been for my extraordinary skill with a lance." Here, Rinku gave a loud snort. "You can see the blood of many fallen men right there on his clothes-"

"Really?" the young man asked loftily, "Because this blood looks an awful lot like mine and-"

"Another word out of you, boy, and I'll hang you from the gallows!" Sorius snarled angrily. "Next witness!"

No words could describe the witnesses as they followed. Lie after lie was spoken, many cruel words were exchanged. All the while, the boys were unable to do a thing and in the shadows, Cimar was held back only by his thorough examination of the situation. He was outnumbered and could easily be defeated, as magic took a lot of energy from him. He knew he'd have to do something about this sooner or later, but not now.

"And… and that's how that stupid little thief ran off with my lady's ring!" the final witness, a maid, sobbed. Rinku only rolled his eyes at the obviously fake tears.

"Those are the charges," Sorius said with a sense of finality, his smile widening, "Do you have anything to say for yourself, boy?"

"Other than the fact that I didn't do it?" Rinku winced as the gavel came down again, almost cracking the table in two.

"Has the jury reached a verdict?" Sorius spat at the six gossiping nobles.

"We have, your honor," one lady stood up, wrinkling her nose disdainfully at Rinku's bloodied state, "We the jury accuse Rinku of Hyrule guilty of all charges."

Sorius nodded, his smile never fading. "Very well… such crimes are punishable only by death…" His eyes gleamed menacingly at his bloodied son upon the floor. "Rinku of Hyrule, I condemn thee to die by burning at the stake at the crack of dawn tomorrow!" He smashed his gavel into the table one last time.

Three gasps could be heard around the room, only to be drowned out by Rinku's shout of protest as he was dragged away. Ness glanced desperately at Cimar, his face horrified in the shadows, wishing desperately that the young man would do something. For a moment, he could've sworn that their eyes met.

Ness blinked. Did Cimar know they were there? He couldn't have. He was right now too busy staring transfixed as Link's guardian was dragged from the throne room. Then, ever so slightly, Cimar inclined his head in Ness's direction and gave a tiny, almost imperceptible, nod.

Ness grabbed Kirby by the hand, who was still completely transfixed by the blood splattered on Rinku's clothes. "C'mon!"

"But… Rinku…"

"I said c'mon!" he began tugging the unfortunate puffball down the vent.

"Do you really think he saw us?" Picho asked.

Ness gritted his teeth. "Saw us or not, he needs our help… we have to save Rinku… we have to!"

---

Creak!

"Wot's goin' on in 'ere?" Mah winced as the pirate's disgusting breath wafted through the air.

Snake held her back with one arm as he dug around in Ridere's pockets for a grenade. His hand finally closed around a small object, but he had to wait until his target was completely visible before he did anything.

"This… is…" Ridere began.

"Say it and I'll throw this grenade at you instead," Snake growled.

"You can't throw it at me! You'll be hurting yourself too, you know!"

"Your point being?"

"I said, wot's goin' on 'ere!" the pirate bellowed, taking a step onto the stairs. Perfect.

Winding up his arm, Snake lit the fuse on the grenade and threw it with all his might. A deafening explosion sounded and drops of warm liquid sailed through the air. Grabbing Mah by the arm, Snake tried tugged her towards the exit.

"Don't look at the gut, don't look at the guts!" she urged herself.

"Don't eat up the guts, don't eat up the guts!" Yoshi chanted.

Bright sunlight met the two as they stepped out, nearly blinding them. But suddenly, the glint of sunlight on steel flashed before their eyes and they found themselves surrounded, rapiers pointed straight at them. Despite his height, Snake position his body to act as a shield for Mah. Alone of their captors, Squall did not have his weapon out. Instead, he gazed upon them with a look of utter disgust.

"What have we got here?" he drawled lazily, "The little cabin boy thinks he can protect our prisoner? Ha! He can barely swab the deck properly!"

"I do an awesome job at that and he knows it!" Ridere said indignantly.

Squall snapped his fingers. The pirate crew approached, their hot breath stinking the air. Mah braced herself into a defensive position, but to her surprise, Snake only placed his hand in his pocket.

"What's up with you and the girl?" he asked, his hand wrapping around a familiar object.

If Squall noted any change in his voice, he gave no sign that he did. "The girl will bring us a good profit." He laughed. "And if the price is right, we won't have to work ever again! This stupid sea… I'm sick of it! I'll buy myself a place on the mainland or something! They'll never hear from me again!"

Snake felt Mah tense beside him, but he only tightened his grip on the round object. "Listen, why don't you just get out of here? I mean, you're on open sea. It's not like he's going to come after you while you're out here. The world's a big place, kid…"

Squall shot him a glare. "I don't need a runt like you telling me what to do! I'm the captain of this ship! Seize them!"

"RUN!" Snake shouted, hurling the grenade to his left. The explosion caught three pirates by surprise before they were blown to bits, earning him and Mah enough time to break the circle.

"Get to the lifeboat!" he ordered, digging around some more in Ridere's pockets, "I have to do something!"

Ridere raised an eyebrow at the sight of the corpses and the blood as Snake leaped over them. "And I thought you said that killing people was wrong!"

"Shut up!" Snake growled, "That was an exception to the rule!"

"GET THEM!"

"Oh crap…" Snake muttered, "Now where are those damned C4s!"

"They're gaining!"

Sure enough, Snake felt the cold steel tip of the rapier just barely tap the back of Ridere's neck as he ran. The tiniest trickle of blood ran down, but the soldier didn't care. He had stopped digging around for C4s now and was running for his life. He cursed his inability to adapt to the boy's body.

"Let me take over," Ridere urged, "I know what to do!"

Snake bit his lip. "How do I know you won't go nuts with that yoyo of yours?"

"Just trust me!"

Snake blinked. The next thing he knew, he was watching as Ridere dashed to and fro, evading the deadly points of the rapiers. He raised an eyebrow at the boy's speed and stealth. It was almost instinct to him as he moved and amazingly, he even found the C4s in his pockets.

One by one, the boy began dropping them on the deck, sometimes even sticking them on the masts and the walls. Every time he passed the door Mah and Snake had come out from, he threw at least three in before running off again.

"Get the poop deck as well!" Snake ordered, "We want to make this a clean explosion!"

"Easy for you to say!" his guardian shouted, "You're not the one that's about to get hacked to pieces!"

"Stab to your left!"

Ridere whirled just in time to see the flash of steel as is lunged straight for his chest. He only had a split second to leap away. He landed lightly on his feet…

… right on top of the rapier.

Snake gaped at him. "What the f-"

"I fight for my friends!" Ridere yelled as he yanked the rapier right out of the pirate's hand and stabbed him in the head. "I also take crack and heroin."

"Seriously?"

Ridere rolled his eyes. "No!" He began dropping C4s again.

The footsteps behind him never ceased. Ridere rolled behind a barrel, but he couldn't run anywhere else.

"That's great! That's just great! I let you fight for a little bit and now you're going to get us both killed!"

"Not if I can help it!" the boy said triumphantly, "Epic disguise time!" With that, he pulled out an all too familiar object…

"My box!"

Meanwhile, Mah had managed to climb up the main mast using the netting. She had managed to evade the pirates and was holding onto the beam as if for dear life. She was not one for heights and the wooden beam she was currently balancing on rocked uneasily over the waves.

"We're safe now," Yoshi sighed in relief.

Despite her worries, Mah nodded. "Yeah… no one can get up here… no one…"

"That's what you think," a cold voice behind her snarled.

Mah whirled around, her eyes widening in horror at the sight of Squall, perfectly balanced on the beam of the mast. His gun blade was out and he spun it lazily in his hand as he glared at the girl. With slow, measured steps, he advanced towards her, his balance absolutely flawless.

"You really thought you could get away?" he snarled, "You really thought you could overpower me?"

Mah pressed her back against the main mast. "W-What do you want?"

The boy shrugged. "I told you already, didn't I? I need you to bargain with… with the right price, I can be free of this damned ship… I can finally live life the way I wanted to live it… not on this ship… on land… where I'll have people my age to talk to…"

"But is that what you really want?" Mah whispered, "It's not right to sell people into slavery…"

"Or capture them, or starve them, or starve little green dinosaurs!" Yoshi added.

Squall's mouth pulled back in a snarl. "No one tells me what to do! Especially prisoners like you!" He pointed his gun blade at her. She saw his finger move towards the trigger. "One squeeze and it will all be o-"

"MAH!"

Both Squall and Mah were immediately distracted by Ridere as he ran under the mast. His face was contorted with worry and he seemed to be holding a control of some kind.

"USE THE ROPE!" he yelled before dashing away again.

Mah looked to her right and immediately spied a rope that was just dangling there, swaying with the ship. Before Squall could recover from his surprise, she grabbed the rope leaped off.

"COWABUNGA!" Mah yelled, swing in a wide arc.

"AHHHH!" Yoshi screamed in response, "This is so awesome and so scary at the same time!"

True enough, though they were high up, neither Mah nor Yoshi had ever experienced a feeling such as this. The salty air swirled around them as they swung, the wind rushed at them at lightning fast speeds. There were butterflies in their stomachs, but they didn't care. The feeling was exhilarating. The adrenaline pumping through their veins only added to the excitement.

A sudden thought entered Mah's head. Shifting her wait slightly, she sent herself hurtling right towards Squall's astonished face.

"Eat my foot, jerk!" she yelled before delivering a quick kick to his face.

Yoshi watched as Squall lost his balance and tumbled off the beam. "Yeah! That's what you get you jerk!" He stuck his tongue out at him.

Ridere had just finished shoving the last of the food he could grab into the lifeboat. He estimated it was about three week's worth of food. He looked up into the sky long enough to see Mah use the rope he had pointed out to help her kick Squall in the face. He smirked. That kid totally deserved it.

"Is everything in place, Ridere?"

Ridere nodded. "Yep. We just need Mah to get here, and-"

Thump!

"Oomph!"

Snake looked up. "… Mah's here."

"Good to know…" Ridere's voice was muffled.

"Perfect landing!" Yoshi said happily.

Mah got off of Ridere. "Sorry! … you actually should've moved…"

Ridere dusted himself off. "It's fine… but we have to get out of here, fast!"

"I'm way ahead of you!" The heavy footsteps of the approaching pirates almost muted her voice.

The two jumped into the precious lifeboat, their blood pounding in their ears. Ridere slashed the rope with a knife he found and lowered it into the water with a great splash. Mah grabbed the paddle and began rolling. Ridere picked up his controller to the C4s and prepared to press it when a face he knew all too well popped up over the side railing of the deck.

Squall's face was lined in anger. "Ridere? What's the meaning of this! Get back here right now and bring the girl!"

Ridere frowned at the order. "No!"

"No?"

"No!"

Squall pounded his fist on the railing. "What madness are you talking about?"

A gleam appeared in Ridere's eye. "Madness? This… is…"

"Don't say it!" Snake warned.

"SPARTAAAAAAAA!"

"Must… not… facepalm…" Snake urged himself as Ridere pressed the button.

BOOM!

The little boat was pushed away with the force of the explosion, far enough so that both Ridere and Mah could watch as the ship caught on fire and sank beneath the waves. The smell of burning wood, flesh, and debris filled the air as the dreaded boat they had come to hate slowly disappeared in the icy water.

Ridere looked to one side at Mah, but she had fallen asleep. Then he realized that he too was exhausted. Not caring about the screams of about twenty dying humans in the distance, the boy rested his head on a small bag of flour and closed his eyes.

---

"Concentrate… clear your mind…"

"OUTTA THE WAY!" Falco raced past him, almost knocking the blue Pokemon off its course.

"Falco you cheater!" Fox yelled, racing after the joyous bird, "You got a head start!"

"I didn't get a head start! You just wasn't paying attention!"

"Why you…"

Lucario sighed inwardly as the two colored clouds raced off ahead of him. He hated it when his peace and quiet was interrupted, but he had long ago mastered his anger. He only needed to take deep breaths now and clear his mind…

"Falco! Get back here!"

Well, so much for clearing his mind.

He passed over a beach, where the first thing he saw was what looked like Wolf Wolfen parked on the beach. Blinking in surprise, he realized that this wasn't an exact copy of Wolf's former fighter jet. The ship seemed to be coated in extra armor and the back of it seemed to be a bit wider. But everything else was a near exact copy, right down to the exact shade of red that coated it.

Lucario looked up and watched the two squabbling pilots as they flew away. He meant to follow them, only a force tugged at him and told him to stay behind. He took a closer look at the people on the beach, reading their auras.

There were two females and one male. The two females seemed to have mixed auras about them as one aura surfaced while another one danced around them. It was a strange sight indeed.

He read the first girl's aura, the one who was kneeling and feeling the other girl's pulse. Her aura was deep red, like the secrets she possibly held. It pulsed gently with her movements, but never strayed very far away from her body. It wrapped around her like a sheet, fluttering softly like a veil. But this aura also showed traces of a color he did not often see: black. He recognized a gray aura dancing within her, one that was filled with harsh pride and the taste of adventure. So Wolf lived inside her as well.

The second girl, on the other hand, had a cerulean blue aura unlike that of Wolf's guardian. But to his great horror, Lucario saw traces of Shadow Bugs dancing within it. He knew that overlong exposure to those things was horrible for a human. The Shadow Bugs would eat away at their mind, heart, and soul until there was nothing left. The power of the Smashers protected them – and possibly their guardians- from ever being harmed by these things, but was it possible that she came in contact with them in the past? The girl did not have long…

But then, he saw another aura- this one gold- rising in her that helped cleanse the bugs just a little bit. Lucario floated closer. This aura was full of the energy of youth, with some cockiness mixed within. Pit's angelic force was trying to drive the bugs back, but even he was not strong enough to stop it.

Finally, the male. There was something else about him. For one thing, he only had one aura about him: his own. His aura was sky blue, filled with adventure and resourcefulness.

Lucario felt the force tug on him and he knew. The resourceful male was to be his guardian. There was no other explanation for it. His suspicions were confirmed by the sudden lurch in his stomach as he was pulled right form the air and into the male's mind. He sped through dark tunnels, turning this way and that until he was finally spat out into what looked like the hull of a ship.

The young man's mind.

"Is she alright?" the male was saying, "I mean, I really didn't mean to-"

"She's alright…" the girl across from him sighed in relief, "She's alive…"

He frowned in concern at the girl's unconscious form. "She looks like she needs some kind of medical attention… I can give you guys a lift on my Wolfen there. One of my teammates is a medic…"

"Eric?" a voice crackled to life in the Wolfen, "Eric where the heck are you? We need you, NOW!"

He dashed over to the Wolfen and snatched up the radio. "Mars? Is that you?"

"No, this is the pizza man," Lucario could almost hear the male on the other end roll his eyes, "Of course it's me! Where the Hell are you! Aly and I are getting shot at like there's no tomorrow!"

"Mars, I have two girls here-"

"Whoa, wait, what? You have to girls with you… and you're not sharing them!"

"Hey! It's not like that! Look, one of them needs some serious medical attention, and-"

"Alright, alright. Just bring them over here and as soon as we can get to a safe spot, I'll see what I can do."

"You're a lifesaver, Mars," Eric breathed a sigh of relief.

"And you're an idiot. NOW GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE!"

"Hey, Mars! I was supposed to say that!" this time, a girl's voice came over the radio. "Eric, this is Aly. GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE!"

Eric put down the radio with a small groan. Sometimes, he wondered why he joined the team in the first place. He began walking back towards Heather and Psyche.

"They seem like humans you would get along well with," Lucario said conversationally.

Eric jumped about a foot in the air at the sound of his voice. Quick as a flash, his gun was out and pointed at some invisible thing behind him. Heather frowned in confusion as he did this, but she said nothing. She remembered that she had this same reaction when Wolf came to her. Could it be…?

He fingered the trigger. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

"That would be quite impossible, seeing as I'm trapped in your head and whatnot…" Lucario answered, "And kindly put that gun away. You look like a fool pointing it at nothing."

Eric shook his head and turned back to Heather, who was limping over with Psyche's unconscious body. He looked the two women over once before giving a nod and pressing one of the buttons in the cockpit of the plane.

The back of the Wolfen opened up, similar to how the trunk of a car moved. An entire back chamber was revealed, filled to almost bursting with cherry red suitcases. Wolf's jaw dropped in disbelief.

"Sorry 'bout the mess," Eric apologized, "The boss doesn't exactly travel lightly. I had to have this thing specially modified just to fit her stuff."

Heather nod in appreciation. "Thanks…" Wincing slightly as she put weight on her still injured leg, she dragged Psyche in. She slammed down the door after her.

Meanwhile, Eric cheerfully leaped into the cockpit and began starting it up. "Put on your seatbelts everyone! This is going to be a bumpy ride!"

"What seatbelts?" Heather asked from behind him. Eric held back a grin.

"Just try not to get squished by the boss's stuff! I'm pretty sure she keeps her extra weights in one of those things!"

The engine roared to life as he spoke and it was not long before they hovered off the ground. Wolf remembered this feeling all too well and for a moment, he was sorely tempted to push the pathetic human pilot aside and show him how a real Star Wolf commander could fly.

"Amazing…" Lucario commented as they soared above the clouds, "I can see a great many things from this height…"

Eric nodded. "It's pretty hard not to spot anything from this height. Then again, we're also at a more serious risk to thunderstorms and stuff…" He shot a glance at Heather's metal limbs. "… But maybe I should take her lower…"

"ERIC! GET THAT WOLFEN OF YOURS HERE NOW!" Aly's voice was back and sounded even more annoyed than before, "I'm going to run out of ammo at this rate!"

Lucario glanced at Eric's radar. The two dots that represented his teammates were way too far away. It would take forever to get over there at the speed they were going. All he needed to do was find a spot where he could concentrate and manipulate the girl's aura and cleanse it of Shadow Bugs. Then again, two other young humans needed their help as well…

"Hold on to your hats!" Eric began flipping switches. "Because we're about to go to… Ludicrous Speed!"

"Ludicrous Speed?" Heather had a bad feeling about this. "Wolf…?"

The former pilot laughed and rubbed his hands together in response. "I don't know what that is, Heather, but it sounds fun… and fast…"

Heather took one look at the suitcases and quickly shuffled to the nearest corner, being careful not to expose an inch of Psyche's body to the heavy things. Wolf, on the other hand, licked his lips in delight at the thought of this new speed. How fast would it be? How exciting? How long will it take to finally activate? He counted the seconds…

"Three… two… o-"

BOOM!

Everything was transformed into a humongous blur. The Wolfen zipped through time and space at such a speed that it would've put Sonic the Hedgehog to shame. The flesh and blood denizens atop the ship had the sudden sensation of their flesh about to be torn away from their muscles and bones.

Heather felt her hair pull back and stand up straight as the Wolfen shot off, her heart pounding in her ears. She managed to block the red suitcases as they rolled every which way, but was unable to stop herself from being pinned against the wall by the oncoming wind. Wolf howled his happiness as the ship shattered the sound barrier.

Lucario, on the other hand, did his best to remain calm about the situation. Of course, the Pokemon couldn't stop his stomach from feeling very queasy as the colors flashed by. He ended up throwing up later, much to his Guardian's chagrin. Shakily, Eric struggled against the howling wind and managed to press the stop button.

The Wolfen slowed immediately, thrusting Heather and Psyche forward. Heather shakily got up, her blood still pounding in her ears, her hair completely disheveled. A single drop of blood slid down the corner of her mouth, but she wiped it away. Thankfully, her unconscious companion was only mildly battered.

"N-Never… do that… again…" she gasped.

"Are you kidding!" Wolf asked her excitedly, "We have to do that again!"

"There you are!" Mars' voice crackled over the radio.

Wolf first thought when the young man's ship came to view was that he was staring at Falco's Arwing. Out of habit, he reached for his blaster before realizing he would only be harming Heather if he started blasting at the thing. Another look showed him the face of a rather arrogant looking raven haired adolescent. He grinned at his fellow pilot through the cockpit of his Arwing.

"You took at least five whole minutes getting here!" Mars shouted, grinning all the while, "Get here faster next time!"

Eric picked up his own radio and spoke into it. "Listen you; I didn't install that Ludicrous Speed button for nothing! Just because you have the fastest ship doesn't mean-"

"There you are!" Wolf watched as a model of Fox's Arwing pulled up on the other side of Eric's Wolfen. A girl grinned out from the cockpit, her face mostly covered by the dark pilot's helmet she wore. "You took forever! And you might have to work on my Arwing later… I need more guns!"

Lucario gave a small chuckle as Eric groaned. "I assume that you just finished adding more lasers and such to her arsenal?"

"More than that," he replied, "I gave her at least five more handguns to use and stuck a bunch of rocket launchers on that thing of hers! She's got it all!"

"Wait, I have rocket launchers? Sweeeeeeeet…" an explosion nearby told Lucario that she had just fired them off.

"Watch it!" Mars yelled indignantly.

Heather held back a chuckle. These three sure were lively.

"So what was all of this about getting shot a-"

"INCOMING!" Mars had only a split second to yell that before a blast recognizable as a jet black arrow found its way to Eric's ship, causing it to rock uneasily.

"Whoa!" the pilot grabbed his controllers and pulled them towards him, trying to steady his plane. "What was that?"

"Just shut up and start shooting!" Aly ordered, "Those Primids are shooting at us! It's… it's like they sense something weird about us!"

Eric gulped, his thoughts turning to Lucario. "Yeah… weird…" he pressed a few buttons. "I'm activating my shields. There's no way I'm taking another blow like that again!"

"Says the guy with the best defenses!" Aly laughed before zooming off. Wolf watched as she left, fighting off the temptation to shoot her.

"I'll help you fight, if it means getting everyone out alive," Heather offered, snatching up her staff.

Eric nodded his thanks. "I'll open up the top for you. Just try not to fall out, okay? We've got enough things to take care of right now!"

---

Meanwhile, Mars was holding out quite well on his own. Biting his tongue between his teeth, he was able to fire his lasers in quick succession and took down most of the front line. He then swooped down like a hawk and took out even more Primids with the wings of his Arwing, speeding off right when the others were prepared to counter attack.

"Stop being a coward and fight like a man!" Falco told him. He hated the hit and run technique.

Only moments before, the two were united as Smasher and Guardian. Unfortunately, their bond was much like Pit's and Psyche. Except Mars held small respect for Falco, seeing as he was piloting an Arwing modeled after the bird's. In the back, Aly's suitcases slipped and slid around as Mars came back again for another attack.

"What are those things?" he asked as the Primids pulled out more Subspace cannons and started shooting black arrows at him, "They look like they should be shooting actual lasers at us, not arrows!"

"Don't get too cocky with those things, Mars," Falco told him, "They were able to pick off us Smashers pretty easily using those things…"

Mars snorted. "What? The greatest fighters in all the known universes taking down by itty bitty arrows? Please!" He dived down yet again.

"Says the guy who uses the 'Hit- and- Run' tactic!" Falco shot back, "And don't get me started on the cowards who use it!"

"Says who?" his guardian snorted, "The Great and Mighty Falco?"

"It's the Awesome and Mighty Falco, thank you very much," the bird retorted, "Lemme show you how a real pilot fights."

Mars used one hand to reach into his pocket and pull out a golden coin. He flipped it into the air and caught it, but his tail wing was hit. He hated it when that happened.

"Well, there goes Eric's hard work!" he said cheerfully, "Looks like another six hours on it tonight for him!" He flicked the coin in the air. "Call it, Falco!"

"Heads!"

Mars caught the coin and smirked. "Tails! So no, I'm not letting you pilot this thing."

"Oh yeah? Well why don't I do this?"

Falco roughly pushed Mars' soul out of the way, allowing himself to take over. The few moments of pure pain passed quickly and it was not long until the bird's fingers closed upon the familiar controllers. For a moment, Falco reveled at the thought of having opposable thumbs again. Then, narrowing his eyes in concentration, he took off right at the Primid army.

"WOOOOOOHOOOOO!"

He zoomed close to them, so close in fact that he was able to stare right in their eyes. He let lose a rain of bullets, not letting a single one escape. He dodged nimbly to avoid the black arrows as they came for him, still shooting all the while.

"Hey! You're wasting ammo!" Mars sounded pretty annoyed. "Stop being an Aly!"

Falco rolled his eyes. "Unlike Aly, I'm actually aiming at these things."

"Sure… watch out!"

"Oh shit!" Falco swerved sharply to his left, just in time to avoid a black arrow aimed for his engine. He managed to bowl over Primids as he went. Falco blew a raspberry at the Primids behind him.

Mars rolled his eyes. "And I thought you were a professional pilot. Aren't you supposed to be… I don't know… mature?"

"Maturity's overrated," Falco muttered, "But this is fun!" He swerved to the left again, impaling a number of his enemies on the wings of Mars' Arwing.

"Don't mess up the paint job!" his guardian groaned, "Eric's already going to be pissed about the tail wing!"

"Shadow Bugs are easy to get off. Just wash, rinse, and repeat."

"How is that supposed to help!"

"It doesn't."

Before Mars could answer, the former Star Fox member was up in the sky again, this time firing round after round of bright blue lasers at the unwitting foes below.

---

In Aly's Arwing, Fox winced every time his guardian fired yet another hundred rounds of lasers at the Primids below. At this rate, the girl would easily run out of ammo. For the thousandth time, he opened his mouth, only to close it when Aly created a gaping hole in the Primid lines. He didn't know if he should be proud or yell at her for missing more than she was hitting.

"Now that's what I call ammo!" she yelled happily as another ten missiles were let loose. Fox estimated that only three actually found their way to the Primid lines.

Aly cheerfully twirled her radio round her finger. "Hey Mars! Got any plans, Mr. Tactician?"

To Fox's surprise, Falco's voice answered her. "Uh… you mean besides not shooting at those things like there's no tomorrow?"

Aly blinked slightly at the sound of this new voice. From what Fox had told her, this had to be Falco, his former teammate. That meant that Mars, her teammate and the tactician of the group was his guardian.

How ironic…

"Primids of Subspace… EAT MY BULLETS!" Aly fired off another round of them, kicking up dust as the shells touched the earth.

Fox vibrated slightly in Aly's mind as the recoil hit her from loosing so many bullets at the same time. "A-Alyyyyyyy…" He steadied himself. "Aly!"

His guardian stopped shooting long enough to listen. "Yeah?"

"Erm… do you mind if I… take over from here? You know, to avoid causing any more damage?"

Aly raised an incredulous eyebrow. "Damage? What damage?"

Fox pointed to the multiple dents in the back where her luggage was, the bent up left wing, and the multiple scratches on the paintwork. In addition, there was a small fire burning near the tail wing, the engines were spurting out black smoke, and the window was slightly cracked.

"Ehehehe…" Aly laughed nervously, "Um… sure… I guess…"

At the moment Fox regained control of her body he grabbed onto the controllers and swerved the Arwing out of harm's way. He caught on short glance of Mars' Arwing as it zoomed around in the heart of the Primids lines and Eric's Wolfen just simply floating there. He had no time to think of what to do as an explosion caught him from behind.

He shot a look at the diagram of the ship on his screen. The tail wing had been hit and part of it had broken off. In addition, he had less than 10% of his ammo left.

Definitely not good.

Fox fumbled a bit with his radio before being able to speak into it. "Falco, I have a situation here! I've got less than 10% ammo left!"

"And I have an annoying guardian! We all have problems!" Falco shot back.

"Put that ammo to good use, then!" Aly shouted, "Bang! Bang! Bang!"

"And what happens if we need it for emergencies?"

"Then we leave and let Mars and Eric do the shooting," Aly shrugged, "Just as long as we can take a few more Primids while we're at it!"

"Okay, no!" Fox shook his head in disbelief, "We're going to help them as much as we can without using too much ammo!"

"But that's no fun!" Aly whined.

"It is for me!" Fox replied cheerfully before flooring it.

The engine sputtered to life and he zipped across the skies, bypassing Eric's Wolfen in seconds. "Here we come!"

---

"Nask! Marth! … Whoever you are!" someone was shaking him. "Speak to me! Say something!"

His legs were burning, he could feel the flesh upon them peeling off ever so slowly. The voice sounded so far away…

"Marth! Marth!" that person wouldn't stop shaking him, "Marth, it's me! Ike! Say something, anything!"

Ike…? That name rung a bell somewhere.

"Marth? Marth! Marth! Get up, Marth!" that voice rang loud and clear.

"N-Nask…? I-Ike…?" he began to cough, spasms taking control of his body. He felt someone prop him up against something rough and woody. Marth's eyelids flickered slightly as he coughed some more.

"Thank Ashunera you're alive!" Ike gasped. Behind him, Pikachu's signature battle cry rang out.

"I-Ike? What's… happening…?" another cough overtook him. The mercenary eyed him with concern and groaned.

"The situation's getting even worse," he replied, "Half of the clearing's been burned down and that dragon doesn't seem to want to stop. We've tried everything against it- her, but it's not gotten any better." As if to confirm this, a roar shook the clearing, followed by at least ten cracks as the trees were knocked down like dominoes.

Ike grabbed Marth and shoved him out of the way just as a tree came for them. He had only a second to dodge again as fire sped towards the two men. In Ike's mind, Cam bit his lip in frustration. He could feel whatever remaining energy he had left leaving him. Once his energy supply was exhausted, his life was forfeit.

His eyes darted desperately towards the dragon, who was clawing about as a figure, Samus, was shooting at it. Though she was once one of the best shots in Smash Brothers, her aim was waaaayyyy off. This was partially because she didn't really know how to use her guardian's gun. She fired again, aiming for the dragon's eye, only to send her shot accidentally towards the stone around its neck. Quick as a flash, a claw came up and deflected the blast.

Cam's eyes widened. "That's it!"

Ike blinked. "What's it?"

"Ike, let me take over," Cameron ordered, "I know what to do."

"Are you kidding me!" Ike shouted, "No way! I'm not letting you put yourself in danger like that!"

"Ike, listen. You see that stone? That thing's protecting it like crazy! That stone has to be some source of power or something."

Ike watched as Pikachu rolled aside with a slightly singed tail. A tail, he knew, that was singed from just narrowly avoiding a blast of fire. If he had stayed still for just another second…

He didn't even want to think of it.

Pikachu began nursing his burnt tail. "This is too much! She's too strong!"

Ike bit his lip. This wasn't looking too good.

Fwoosh!

He could feel the sudden warmth in the air. Definitely not good!

"Ike, we can't juts keep dodging!" Cameron insisted, "We'll have to stand and fight sooner or later!"

"Easy for you to say… You weren't the one that lost everything… all because of some Ashunera damned fireball…"

"Ike… all you ever talk about now is Mia… you've had at least a hundred years to get over her… isn't that enough?"

The once strong mercenary held back tears. "… it's never enough… she was so young, so pure… I was going to spend the rest of my life with her if I could…"

"I-Ike," Marth coughed again, "Y-You can't spend the rest of your life pining for her… and at the same time, we can't spend the rest of this war fighting for out guardians… it's time that we…" another cough, "it's time that we… we…" Coughs rattled his body, rendering the former prince unable to speak.

Pikachu placed one little paw on the prince's arm. "That we let our guardians develop their fighting skills…" he gave a small laugh. "We can't let them rot, after all."

The air suddenly grew even warmer. Pikachu's faced paled at the sight of an oncoming onslaught of fire. It was huge, too huge to dodge.

Ike felt this as well. He only needed to glance over his shoulder to see it. "Get behind me!"

"Oh no! I'm not letting you take the fireball," Cameron snarled, "Not when it's both mine and your life on the line!"

"If you have any better ideas, say them!"

"I do have an idea," his guardian replied emphatically. "Please, just trust me on this!"

Ike shook his head. He would not loose another loved one to the dreaded flames. He saw Marth's look of horror, Pikachu's tears, but ignored them. It was already painful enough knowing that he and his guardian would not live to see the end of Tabuu. He braced himself, ready for action.

"Ike!" Cameron was almost begging now, "Ike, please!"

The mercenary shook his head. "I'm sorry, Cam… but-"

"Yune DAMMIT, IKE!" Cameron's rage fed his strength as he shoved Ike's mind out of the way. The mercenary only felt a sudden sharp pull as he was yanked right out of the real world and back into the desert of Cameron's mind.

Cameron blinked and found himself back in his own, familiar body. He could feel the injuries Ike had sustained and the many times he was burned. A familiar weapon bounced against his thigh. He grinned as Sigmund the Rapier was drawn and back in his hand.

"C-Cam?" this voice was feminine. Cameron glanced over his shoulder at Nask, who no longer possessed Marth's deep blue eyes. She looked weakened, but unlike Marth, there was a faint flush to her cheeks.

Cameron acknowledged her with a nod before he faced the great wall of fire, Sigmund out and ready. It was only seconds away now, but he made sure that Nask and the Pikachu girl was safe behind him. The flames, he realized, were even taller than him.

Oh well…

"What are you doing?" Nask asked at the same time the Pikachu blinked and a crazed spark replaced his look of fear.

Cameron gave no answer, only held out Sigmund and braced himself when he was hit. The Legendary Weapon of Tellius glowed red hot as soon as the flames hit, but it held and sliced right through the fire ball like it was paper. Nask grabbed the Pikachu as the fireball was split in half and shielded it with her own body.

Cam's arms were shaking like crazy. The impact of the fireball alone should've been enough to knock him off his feet. But the thought of two fellow guardians behind him spurred him on. Sigmund's hilt glowed red hot, hot enough to burn right through his leather gloves. But Cameron only winced as the burning metal touched his skin.

"Cam…"

"Shut up, Ike!"

"Cameron…"

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?"

"Cam, it's over."

"What…?"

He heard Nask get up behind him as she let the Pikachu free. "It's over, Cam… you did it…"

"I did it…?"

"Who are you people!" Pikana demanded.

Nask flinched in surprise at the sight of the talking Pikachu. "Uh…"

"I mean, you guys just appeared and squished those things while I was just about to rip them apart!" Pikana ranted, "And then Arceus blessed me again with Bazookie, but I barely got to use it against them Primids because I had to blast half of Bazookie's ammo at Traca! She just had to go dragon right when I got blessed again! And don't get me started on-"

"Whoa, hold up!" Cameron told her, "You're telling me- telling us- you know that dragon!"

"And that she's not a dragon!" Nask asked incredulously.

"Hm… a manakete…" Marth mused, "I remember when I traveled with a couple of them… fascinating creatures they were… they used their stones as sources of power to transform, and-"

"She uses her stone to transform?" Nask questioned aloud.

Cameron's attention snapped to her. "Marth knows what she is?"

Nask shrugged. "He said something about a rock used to transform… I guess she's a manakete…"

Another roar shook the clearing. This time, Samus dropped in, blinking rapidly. When she opened her eyes the next time, Golfer's normal eye color replaced them. He stood up, mumbling irritably to himself.

"I take it you two are Marth's and Ike's?" he asked, nodding towards Cameron and Nask while Traca's roars shook the clearing again, "That girl's a bit distracted right now, so we're safe for a bit… or at least until she gets that rock out of her nostril…"

Cameron held out his hand. "I'm-"

Golfer's face paled. "Oh shit…"

Cameron turned around just in time to see a small gray rock fall to the grass. All four guardians covered their ears to drown out the following roar.

"We need to get that stone!" Nask shouted over the noise, "Marth said she'll be really vulnerable after that!"

"None of us will get close enough," Golfer shook his head, "Her eyesight's sharper than anything in that form. Unless she's distracted, she'll easily swat us aside when we try going for the thing."

"Well…" Cam winced as another ten trees were felled. "We can blind her, right?"

"It won't be easy…"

"But it's all we got!" Pikana said determinedly, "And I don't know about you guys, but I actually want to get out of here with more than one of my limbs intact!" She twirled her bazooka in one hand. "I'll be distraction. I'm the fastest!"

"And I'll shoot at her stone while she's blind," Golfer said indifferently, "But what I want to know is who's going to actually get up there and blind her? They'll be in the most dangerous position and if she catches you up there, you're dead." He shrugged. "Simple as that."

Cam looked around their small circle, his face set in determined lines. "… I'll do it…"

Nask stepped forward. "I'll do it two. There are two eyes… we can blind them both…"

"Nask… are you sure…?" he asked, "I mean… you're hurt… and… stuff…"

Nask gave him a small, sad smile. "I may be hurt… but I don't want to run while someone's life is in danger… I don't want to be that coward again…"

Cameron grinned in spite of himself. "You never were that coward… trust me…" He held out his hand and shook hers in one firm shake. He raised an eyebrow when he realized what arm this was. "Hey! It's healed!"

Nask shrugged. "I'm a fast healer…"

"Uh… sorry to break this up…" Marth gave a sheepish laugh, "BUT WE'RE ALL GOING TO BE FRIED!"

The four guardians leaped out of the way just in time. Pikana pulled out her Bazookie, preparing it for action. Golfer scrambled up a tree that was close to Traca, but not close enough for her to spot him. He shifted his weight slightly, and leveled his plasma ray.

"HEY UGLY!" Pikana screamed, laughing manically, "EAT BAZOOKIE!"

"Pikana, that's-" Pikachu had no time to finish his sentence when Traca's tail thrashed out and almost knocked his guardian away. "Nevermind…"

Cameron and Nask looked at each other. Nask nodded once before breaking out in a sprint, her Naginata grasped tightly in her hand. Cameron watched as she nimbly dodged Traca's claws and to his surprise, she gave a great leap before siddling right up the dragon's right arm.

"Hey! You got a head start!" he shouted angrily.

"Cam, now's not the time…" Ike said uneasily.

Grumbling to himself, Cameron held his breath and took off running. Fireballs wizzed by him, coming frighteningly close at times. Occasionally, he would almost trip over Pikana as she hopped about. He leaped as high as he could when a claw came too close, flicked Sigmund in his wrist to deflect blasts of fire. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Nask hanging desperately for dear life by her Naginata as Traca thrashed about. She had managed to stab the blade through the thick dragon hide, not harming the dragon, yet at the same time effectively saving her life.

Cameron was able to gain some level footing when he jumped on top of Traca's claw, but only had a second to stab Sigmund down into the hard armor of her scales before she wiped her claws at Pikana. For a moment, he was tempted to jump off and run to help her, but he pushed the thought out of his head. He had a task to fulfill.

He began to climb, using the cracks and crevices between scales as footholds. He stabbed Sigmund into the scales as well to help his stability. Though the battle had been tough, the climb was tougher. He could see Traca's huge eyeball, clear as diamond, trained right on Pikana and nothing else. Taking a deep breath, he quickly began climbing the few yards that were left, sweating heavily as the air grew hotter and hotter around him.

"Al… most…. There…"

"Easy, Cam… easy now…"

"Whoa!" Cameron was jarred suddenly, right at the moment he was about to stab Sigmund in one last time. He lost his footing and began to slip down, a huge drop to the ground. He knew he would definitely break something on impact. He managed to cling onto a scale, but this one happened to be peeling off. He cursed reptiles and their need to molt.

The scale couldn't take his weight any more. Bit by bit, the jet black thing slipped lower and lower. One inch, two inches, three…

"No!"

Snap!

"Cameron!"

"Huh?" Cameron's blood still pounded in his ears as he realized that he was still hanging in the air. To his relief, all his bones seemed to be intact. In his mind, he could hear Ike's fearful pants loud and clear.

Then he realized that someone was grasping his forearm. Looking up, he saw Nask, her face flushed with the effort of holding his weight. Seeing his chance, he planted his feet on the surface of Traca's scales and with her help, managed to pull himself up onto her head.

Nask collapsed on the ground, panting with the effort it took for her to pull the other guardian up. "I'm… never… doing that… again…"

She took Cameron's slap on her back without a complaint. She watched as he made sure his weapon was nice and sharp before he spoke.

"You okay, Nask?"

She gave him a shaky grin. "N-Never… better…"

Nask reached for her Naginata and used it to help her stand up. Traca's head was a lot less stable than her arms as she moved it back and forth, trailing Pikana's movements. The two only had one shot at their task.

Nask dashed over to the left eye and managed to find small footholds for her feet. "Ready Cam?"

"Ready!" Cameron shouted back.

"Are you ready, Nask?" Marth asked, "Remember, you have one shot… make this count…"

"One!" Cameron shouted.

"Two!" Nask answered.

"THREE!"

Nask stabbed downwards with the blade of her weapon, feeling a raw energy emitting from her pocket. The wedge, she realized, was responding to her distress. She watched with fascination as her Naginata began to glow and tremble, her hands growing cold has ice. With a cry of surprise, she let loose the energy that was building in her hands and out from the point where the blade had just touched the eye, a great wall of ice shot out, encasing the pupil as jet black blood flowed down Traca's face.

The dragon roared in rage as her sight was suddenly cut from her. She tossed her head, trying to get rid of the unending pain she felt in both eyes. Cameron and Nask tightened their hold on their weapons as she thrashed about, hanging on for their lives.

"Golfer!" Pikana yelled, now frantically dodging everything, "Shoot! Shoot now!"

Gritting his teeth, the bounty hunter leveled his gun. He scowled as one of Traca's thrashing arms got in his way. He hated distractions.

"Relax…" Samus advised, "Relax, take aim, and don't doubt yourself."

"I'm going to do this…" he told her, "One shot and it'll all be over…"

"You only have one chance, Golfer, make it count!"

He fingered the trigger. "I will…"

He aimed, his finger squeezed the trigger, a small green blast shot out of the gun. It seemed to fly in slow motion as it approached, drawing everyone's attention to it. Pikana stopped dodging to watch it, silently cheering it on. Cameron and Nask craned their necks down to watch the bullet's progress. It was inevitable that this would be a successful shot, so inevitable. The vulnerable necklace Traca wore was there, right there. It was only a foot away now… so close…

"What!" Golfer slammed his fist into the branch, "So close!"

Pikana punched a nearby tree, creating a gaping hole. "Blocked!"

"Blocked!" Nask and Cameron yelled at the same time.

Ike banged his head on a wall in Cameron's mind. Marth kicked the dirt. Pikachu felt his fear for Pikana's safety growing. Samus wanted to kick someone for their failure.

At the sound of their voices, Traca reared her bloodied head in the direction of Pikana, tasting the air with her forked tongue. Pikana's breath stopped in fear as she realized that there was no where she could run to safety. She wouldn't be fast enough to avoid any of Traca's attacks now. Her energy supply had been depleted in all of her dodges.

She could only back up as the dragon reared her head and breathed in. Cameron and Nask, unable to let go, watched helplessly as the Pokemon shrunk back.

Fwoosh!

"Gotcha!" someone yelled. Pikana had the sudden sensation of being grabbed up in strong yet gentle arms and being rolled about until she was deposited safely on the grass. She looked about for her savior, but only caught a glimpse of his jet black hair before his sword was out and he was running straight towards Traca.

Up in the tree, Golfer was still beating himself up for missing. Samus, on the other hand, stopped comforting him long enough to watch as a boy she had never seen before nimbly dodged Traca's thrashing arms and leaped up, the sun dancing on his pale features. His sword grasped in his right hand, he brought downwards and swiped it right through the string that held Traca's amber stone. He landed lightly on the ground while the stone tumbled to earth.

By this time, Pikana could see him very clearly now. "Who… who is that guy?"

Pikachu only had to take one look at the boy's crimson eyes before he sighed in relief. He remembered how when he had last visited his fellow Smashers, a certain Star Warrior had just been freed. He had been sharing his tales about his guardian when the Pokemon came in.

"Thank Arceus," he breathed, unable to believe their good luck.

"Who is he!"

Pikachu grinned. "He is Wrath, Guardian of Meta Knight…"

---

Tabuu hated this. He hated all of it. It was bad enough when he found out he had lost so many troops to those pathetic guardians. But his own son! Well, his foster son, but his own son!

This was not good.

He heard footsteps behind him. Turning around, he found himself face to face with a rather short Smasher who was never without his rounded helmet. The blue man scowled as he approached. From the expression on the Smasher's face, he did not bear good news.

Then again, was there ever good news in these times?

"What is it, Captain Olimar?" he growled, "Have you found him yet?"

The little man shook his head. Tabuu's frown only deepened. In a fit of rage, he send a powerful blast from his hand into the courtyard down below. A few Primids were tossed up in the air.

"Where is he!"

It had only been a few hours ago since he had discovered Wrath was gone. His window was open, his floor torn up. His closet was empty and his sword was gone. There was absolutely no other logical explanation for his leaving, but even Tabuu didn't want to believe it.

He was a guardian.

Tabuu's anger and hate at the group of teens that had caused him so much trouble had since then grown deeper than the depths of Subspace itself. He had sent his troops everywhere looking for Wrath.

They never came back.

He had heard reports of two Arwings and a Wolfen making trouble near the beach. He would have to deal with them later. For now, it was high time he should find the guardians and destroy them.

Of course, he only needed to destroy one. They needed exactly thirty five if they wanted to succeed. But just in case, it was best if all thirty five were gone.

Even the boy he had raised, Wrath.

He knew there was something special about the kid when his mother, a slave, gave birth to him and died. Tabuu had noticed how he didn't look a thing like the other pathetic humans that worked as his slaves. He was plump, happy, strong, and intelligent.

… maybe too intelligent…

Tabuu was so wrapped up in his thoughts, that he almost didn't notice as a voice suddenly began to sing. It was very faint, as if the person was singing from another world. But he was just barely able to make out the words.

EGO voco Procer Pacis…

A bright pink comet soared across the sky, turning cartwheels in the air. Tabuu wrenched his head up in surprise.

EGO voco Caput Olimar…

This streak was a soft yellow. Tabuu could only gape in fear and surprise.

EGO voco Pokemon Instructus…

A red and white line lit the sky for a moment before disappearing over the horizon. Tabuu slammed his fists on the balcony and whirled around at Captain Olimar, his teeth clenched in anger.

"What are you doing just standing there! Didn't you see those colored lines in the sky! Get off your useless but and put together an army, quickly! Follow those three streaks!"

He was so busy ordering about that he completely missed the fourth and final streak as it few across the skies. This one was forest green, with just a little bit of blue mixed within.

EGO voco Toon Link!

Woot! Done!

Thanks again to SkywardBlayderJulz for her wonderful beta reading skills and Wrath Draconian for her awesome art. It's up on my website!

Remember, visit my website if you lost track on what the guardians are doing.

I would like to give special thanks to:

*FutureCam

*Naskara- Dragoon

*ShadowWolf 2.X

*KimotoDragoon

*MrGreenMan12

*Ridere93

For putting together the Guardians Arise soundtrack! We were really bored in a chatroom one day and well, it was a lot of fun in the end. Every guardian's going to get a main theme and a battle theme and we've got a ton of other songs thrown in there as well. I'll post it when it's completed! :D

Bye bye!