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...

20. Crystal, Chi, and KOR

Return

… I actually like that title…

Disclaimer: I finally own something! It is this piece of cake right here in front of me! … Oh, you're asking about the rights to Smash Brothers? Nope, don't have that…

---

"Chester!" Ridere ran forward and grabbed the undead boy by the shoulders. It had been only seconds ago that he had collapsed from the loss of energy, energy released from the great lightning bolt he forced out of his body. "Chester! Speak to me! Speak to me!"

Chester began coughing, his blackened shoulders shaking as he did. "H-H-Hey… Ridere… are you d-dead… too?"

Ridere grinned. "Well… no. It's thanks to you that we're all still alive…" He patted the undead boy on the back. "You did good, buddy… you did good…"

Chester gave him a shaky grin. "T-Thanks…"

Pichu looked up. "Chester! You gave that giant monkey a HUGE booboo! Tell him that you're sorry!"

"What? No way! Are you insane, Pichu?"

"RRAWWWWWWWWWR!" the giant Donkey Kong's roar ripped through the air as he beat his chest with his fists again. His fur was severely burnt, his body horribly weakened, but he was still strong enough to stay alive. The giant monkey slammed his fist into the ground, creating a shockwave that knocked every guardian off their feet.

"EAT BAZOOKIE, BITCH!" Pikana shouted as she blasted away again with Bazookie. When the bullets proved to be next to useless in getting past the powerful arms of the Kong, Pikana switched to a combination of Chainy and Thunder. Chester shakily got up and rushed forward to help her, but Ridere grabbed him and held him back.

"Stop! You've already done enough, Chester," the boy said, "Stay here and rest, alright?"

"But Ridere!" Chester protested, "Pikana needs help!"

Ridere grinned and shook her head. "She has plenty of help, don't worry… if you end up hurting yourself again, you might end up dying and then I won't have anyone to shoot at when I get bored!" Even as the boy spoke, Psyche leaped down from the Sky Claw and tore right through the Alloys, spinning the gold and blue bow she was holding beneath her. She landed lightly and managed to deflect a few more blows before being knocked right out of the vicinity by a single swipe from the giant's paws.

Right after she was hit, her eyes shifted from brown to blue and she fought back with renewed vigor and strength. Next to Psyche, two other guardians, Wrath and Sam, fought back to back. Pikana teamed up with those who owned guns to blast away. All the while, the three ships were still trying to break through the barrier, the powerful green energy holding up against even multiple blasts from Aly's rocket launchers.

"Behind you!" Psyche yelled as Pit swung his bow behind him and dispatched a couple more Alloys. He had already tried firing several of his arrows up at the barrier earlier to no avail. Whatever it was made of, it was some very powerful stuff and he couldn't help but feel weak and insignificant at being unable to penetrate the shield. He stabbed the palm of the giant Donkey Kong as it came down on him before rolling away, narrowly missing being pinned underneath the great ape's fingers.

"There's got to be a way we can get past that thing!" he snarled as he shot another arrow at the green dome surrounding the summit. It bounced right off and instead managed to hit the window of Aly's Arwing. He cursed under his breath as Aly then opened fired at him, thinking that he was an enemy of some kind.

Psyche frowned as she looked up as well. "Maybe… have you tried reading from the diary?" She paused. "… You can read… right…?"

Pit hit the ground hard after he was whacked aside by one of the Metal Mario Brothers. "Ow…" He groaned and got up. "Yeah… I can…"

"Then maybe the answer's in the diary!" Psyche said excitedly. "C'mon! We have to get out of here!"

That set something off in him. "I'm not leaving this battlefield for anything!" Pit spat. "Unlike you, I actually can survive for more than five minutes in a battle!" Much to his annoyance, he heard her sniffle. "Oh, grow up, won't you?"

"YOU GROW UP!" she screamed, "You're the most insensitive, stupidest, biggest jerk ever! You think you understand me, but you don't! I'm not one of your old Centurions, Pit! I can't fly, I can't fight as well as you used to, and I definitely don't go around criticizing the person who's been doing everything to protect you! And unlike you, I actually care about how other people feel! I don't care if she's dangerous…" She sounded ready to cry. "Heather is my friend… we should never have abandoned her like that… she could be anywhere right now… all alone… cold… hungry…"

Pit was suddenly hit with a wave of memories, all of them cruel and filled with pain and suffering. Blinded by all of this, he swung to his right and nearly lopped off Wrath's head. He saw the Chains of Light as they lashed across the shoulders of multiple slaves, slaves screaming as their children and loved ones were ripped apart limb from limb right in front of them, slaves sobbing in misery as they were told that they would never see their loved ones again, the blood all over the ground and her body as Psyche escaped, leaving her best friend behind to die…

And then, the memories changed. No longer were they her memories. No, they were his. They were all from his past… his deep, dark past…

---

(flashback)

He was in a cell, watching as rats crawled all over him. He was freezing, cold, and hungry, but there was nothing he could do about it. He was only a mere boy back then, but a young warrior nonetheless. But without a weapon, he was weak and insubstantial…

"Lady Palutena…" he was sobbing, "My Lady… Lady Palutena…" He shivered, fearing the horrors Medusa had planned for him. He was one of the last angels, the sole survivor of his little village in Skyworld. Medusa had captured and tortured every one of his fellow villagers, warping them beyond anything he had ever seen. They were not angels, but demons. She had already taken his cell mate…

… and he was next…

"Lady Palutena…"

Then, he was standing in the middle of the Courtyard of the SkyPalace, watching the Centurions as they trained and trained. He was taller now, more muscular as well. It had only been a year since Medusa's defeat, but he felt like he had aged a hundred. He smiled as the newly inducted Centurions flew in patterns above him, satisfied with their work.

But… there was something wrong. One Centurion was out of line. He tried to keep up with the others, but his wings, oddly shaped to the point of deformity, could not carry him so fast. He fell, slamming into the ground and nearly ruining the archery training of the angels down below. Pit made a move to go help, but a few Centurions had already picked the guy up. He leaned back into his relax position…

And that's when it started…

"Pathetic one! You are nothing compared to us!" one of the Centurions spat, punching the faller in the face. "You think that with your deformed wings you can join us? Bah! I'm surprised that you've ever gotten your flying license with those things!"

"I bet the tester took pity on you!" another laughed. "But we are not like that, young one… oh no! We don't show pity or mercy to ones too pathetic to fight!" He grabbed the Centurion and slammed him to the ground, ignoring the latter's cry of pain. Blood gushed from the newbie's nose, but he didn't care. His buddy then grabbed him and punched him in the face again.

Pit had had enough. "Hey! What's going on?" The Centurions froze at the sound of his voice and straightened at his approach. The Centurion with the deformed wings fell to the ground got up, his nose still gushing forth blood. His expression went from fear to sheer terror at the sight of the Captain of Palutena's army in front of him.

"Cap'n!" one of the Centurions said, "We were just teaching the riffraff a lesson!"

"You guys…" Pit's face darkened. "It's not right to treat others like that… especially of they aren't as 'privileged' as you…"

"But Commander!" the other one protested, "He nearly destroyed our archery sets with his clumsy flying! Surely that deserves some sort of punishment!"

"He can't help it," Pit said quietly, "It isn't his fault his wings are like that…"

"He is weak and insubstantial! He shouldn't even be on the Centurion force!"

Pit had had enough. He reached down and grabbed the Centurion by the helmet, lifting the fat angel up. He ignored the protests and kicking legs to glare at him.

"I'll have you know that I was once 'weak and insubstantial'," he spat, "And what did I do? I didn't let it bother me! I trained, trained, and trained! All I did was go through some random quest and suddenly, I'm here! But that's not the point. My point is that you shouldn't call him weak because of something he can't help…" He threw the Centurion on the ground. "You never know… he might impress you one day…" Pit's expression hardened. "But for now… get out. You're on kitchen duty for the rest of the day…"

(end flashback)

---

Pit fell to his knees in shock. His head was still spinning, his breath came to him in tight, ice cold pants. He had all but forgotten about that memory ever since he had been placed in his glass prison.

"I've been such a lousy hypocrite…"

The battle was still going. It was as if the memories never hit him. Every guardian was still fighting their hardest against everything from the giant DK to the Metal Mario Brothers. It was inevitable that sooner or later, they would fall.

They needed to get past that barrier…

Pit reached into the hidden pocket of Psyche's rags and pulled out the tiny leather-bound book. It was mostly unremarkable, save the great stain of red upon its outside cover. There was no way that anyone would even think that such an unremarkable thing like this could hold the secrets to either saving Smashville or dooming it forever.

It was exactly what Master Hand would've done.

Ridere saw this and ran over. "Psyche! What are you doing?" He swung his bazooka behind him and slammed it into the Alloys as they tried to catch him from behind. They fell to the ground in a flurry of scraps and wires. "This is a battlefield! You can't just be standing there!"
Pit grabbed Ridere by the shoulder. "Ridere… I need to head somewhere where I won't be attacked… can you and the others cover from here?"

If Ridere noticed any change in the voice of the young guardian, he gave no inclination he did. The ebony haired boy only nodded. "Yeah, I can take it from here… just be safe, alright?"

Pit nodded. "Thanks, Ri- BEHIND YOU!"

"Huh?" Ridere turned around and was immediately locked in the powerful arms of one of the male Wire Frames. For a moment, he felt his shoulder being pulled right out of its socket as he was slammed to the ground. Pit tried to help him, but the angel was cut off by another shockwave as the giant DK slammed its fists into the ground once again. Ridere was yanked right off the ground, his feet dangling in midair. From the gurgling in his throat, Pit could tell that he was choking.

"Ridere!" he ran forward spinning Palutena's Bow in his hand. But before he could even reach the boy and his captor, a figure had already rushed at them and slammed a long weapon into the Wire Frame's glowing red center. A fountain of ice sprang forth and rained down upon him as the Wire Frame was forced to let go of the boy and fell to the ground, dead.

Ridere coughed and got up. "T-Thank- whoa!" His cheeks turned red as Nask's arms engulfed him and pulled him into a tight hug. "Uh…" It was awkward being hugged by someone he didn't know and the fact that Pit was still standing there didn't help.

"Oh, thank Ashera you made it out of there alright…" Nask whispered. She released him and let him fall to the ground. "Don't ever put yourself in danger like that again, alright?"

Ridere got up and grinned, despite the unease he felt at Nask's hug. "Will do!" He cheerfully twirled his bazooka in his hand and dashed to where Metal Mario was in hand to hand combat with MS. "LEEROOOYYYYYYYYYY JENKINSSSSSSS!"

Pit took of as well, headed towards the farthest corner of the area where there was not a single Alloy or Wire Frame to be seen. A few Alloys got in his way, but they fell easily under a few swipes of his bow. He hacked and he slashed at each of their glowing white centers until they gave way and the Alloy was turned off. Arrows flew at him from up above, just barely missing him. Instead, they found their mark in the cores of the Wire Frames as they came at Pit to try and stop him.

BAM!

"KEHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Pikana cackled as she flew by. The Pokemon rolled around, firing off Bazookie at everything that moved. Pit was forced to pull out his mirror shield to deflect a few as he ran. He pulled out the book as soon as he reached the spot, the shadows of the trees hiding him from any wary enemies.

"I can't read it," Psyche complained, "This isn't fair!"

Pit resisted the urge to shout at her again. "I'll… I'll teach you to read if you can just… you know, stay quiet for a bit…" He opened the book, its yellow pages almost tearing upon contact with his fingers. He tried to handle this ancient tome gently, but he couldn't stop himself from smearing some of the ink as he turned the pages.

I, Master Right Hand, hereby write this now as a record for one of the greatest burdens I have had to undertake in the many years I have been alive. With the defeat of the last of my Smashers, I have no choice but to turn to an ancient prophecy created long ago by the grandest of all deities in each of the Smashers' worlds.

Peace had finally returned after the first Subspace War, but it was only natural that this peace didn't last. They thought they had defeated Tabuu once and for all, but I knew he couldn't possibly have been killed…

That wouldn't help the guardians. This page only talked about how Master Hand eventually reached his conclusion that Tabuu was indeed still alive and well. Though Pit turned the page so he wouldn't have to look at it anymore, he couldn't help but feel a sharp pang in his heart. Master Hand knew that Tabuu was still alive, even after Marth had pierced the blue man through and through with his sword. He had kept it a secret, even though he could've easily prepared them for the next time Tabuu attacked. Instead of training them like he should have…

… He sent them all on a vacation…

Subspace, the most tainted of all substances, would not allow its Master to die. When Tabuu first touched Subspace he was tainted, corrupted by the immense power the darkness granted to him. He became a truly horrible being, a creature beyond any human understanding in all the known universes. It was the Smashers' charge to keep these humans safe and they did so in the most admirable way. However… in doing this, they were forced to touch Subspace as well. And just like Tabuu, they themselves were tainted…

Pit nearly dropped the book at this. Tainted? Him? His fellow Smashers? Them, off all people, tainted? That was impossible. If they were tainted, surely there would've been some sort of noticeable change, right?

But change had happened, Pit realized. The change had been happening over the course of a century and perhaps even more. He remembered how confident he had been as he fought through the army of Primids in his final battle against Tabuu, how his cockiness had caused his ultimate downfall. He remembered the resentment he felt for his guardian at the moment he merged with her, even though many of her qualities were things she could not help.

But the others? What had changed about them? Pit frowned has his thoughts circulated, bringing up memories of strange happenings among his fellow Smashers that many of them couldn't figure out why it happened. He remembered how Ike suddenly became sensitive to anything involving fire, how Link's voice, once heard almost everywhere in the mansion, had faded into near nothingness in the past years, how Ness couldn't even tolerate a few shed tears anymore…

"Well?" Psyche asked, her impatience clear in her voice. "Did you find anything?"

Pit swallowed and took a deep breath. "… I found something… but it doesn't relate to the barrier…" He tried to hide his thoughts from her, which didn't work. Psyche managed to read his thoughts, but she decided not to bother him about it.

Yet…

It is inevitable that my Smashers would lose. I knew it from the moment I saw Mario and company walk out of the door of my mansion that I knew this was not a fight we would ever win, not here, not now. I knew that we would have to wait possibly another century or two before the true battle can be fought and before the final task can be carried out. I trust that the Smashers will do everything they can for their guardians and their guardians will do everything they can for their Smashers.

However, I do not have a doubt that some of them will not make it through this fight alive. Tabuu is a being too powerful for their understanding. It is likely, very likely, that every single one of the Smashers and their guardians will die. I've foreseen it and I know that unless 35 people can somehow get together and get along, there will be no way that the Smashers will be able to stay alive.

So he knew… he knew what was going to happen in the very end. He knew that it was inevitable that both Smashers and guardians fall. Pit felt his world come crashing down all around him. He was drowning, struggling for air in the coldest lake in all the known universes. It didn't matter if the guardians could fight or not anymore…

They were merely walking into their own deaths…

Pit frowned at the next page. It was a drawing, nothing more. He saw four pieces, shards, of a much larger sphere. In the center of the picture was a small round piece that looked like it could be a gem of some sort or the pommel of a sword. The other four pieces were split apart from this center and if they were put together, Pit had no doubt that they would fit together perfectly like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. The pieces looked vaguely familiar somehow, like a memory from a long, long past. However, the drawing carried no inscription or indication of what this strange drawing was and thus Pit reluctantly turned the page. He felt a warm energy radiate from the book as he did this, as if the diary of his lost leader was trying to tell him something.

There was only one way to ensure that the guardians would have even the smallest chance of helping the Smashers retrieve their bodies. Tabuu may have thought we used up our small supply of Smashballs, but he is wrong. I managed to secure one just before he attacked and took Pit's soul as well. It is the last of its kind, a final light in the future of impending darkness. There are many things I can do with such an object, but I now lack the power to use it properly. I must leave it up to the guardians to find a way to use the Smashball and use it well.

The final Smashball was shattered by me into five different pieces, four of them scattered all around the known universes. The fifth and final one was captured by Tabuu not long after I broke the Smashball, for he hoped to synthetically create ones of his own. Though it is true that there is no doubt he will someday manage to make some, there is no way a tainted being such as he will be able to forge a true Smashball out of pure energy and light. Before I left the Smashers, I scattered the four remaining pieces all around the known worlds in hopes that the guardians will be resourceful and brave enough to prove they are worthy to have these pieces.

"The drawing…" Pit murmured as he remembered it. "The drawing of the five pieces…" Knowing that there had to be more, he quickly turned to the next page, which revealed only a few lines of what looked like a poem:

O Heroes, your time draws near

The return of the Hands shall dispel all fear.

The shield of light shall shatter and quake

And evil will soon fall in its wake.

But though you struggle to stay alive

You need the lost shards five.

The first descends upon land laid waste

To reach it, guardians, you must make haste!

The second falls into castle so tall

Where the Usurper resides within the Great Hall.

The third piece rides upon the pure one's back

To reach it, a sacrifice is needed from attack.

The fourth piece remains in the home it always knew

The place it was forged, power shall imbue.

The final piece lies upon the blade made of steel

Retrieve it and once and for all, the door shall unseal.

Pit bit his lip at the riddle, hating himself for not studying them more. He usually left the puzzle solving to the great minds like Princess Zelda and Mewtwo, caring only for being able to defeat the enemy once the riddle was solved. Not only that, but there was no time to cop out and search for the five pieces. He doubted that they even had one!

Pit's hands shook as he let the book fall to the ground, unable to believe this was happening. Master Hand had failed them. He had given them this riddle for a reason and it was to find the shards. But simply reading the riddle wasn't enough. There were millions of tall castles all over the known worlds and billions of swords in this world as well. It would take forever to search these shards out…

That was something they didn't have.

"We're going to lose…" Pit mumbled as the diary hung loosely in his hands. "There's no way we'll be able to win without those Smashball shards… and we need all five to top it off…"

"…" Psyche didn't know what to say.

"Erm… Hey Psyche?" a kind voice asked. "You shouldn't be sitting here, you know… it's pretty dangerous!"

Pit looked up and found himself face to face with Mah. The girl gave a slight start when she noticed Pit's blue eyes, but she quickly composed herself and smiled. For a moment, Yoshi flickered in her eyes, but Pit could tell that she stayed in control.

"How come you're not fighting?" she asked. "I mean, I know that it's tiring and all, but-"

"I'm… looking for something…" Pit interrupted quickly. He showed her the sketch of the five shards in the diary. "These are supposed to be the keys to finally smashing that barrier…"

Mah's eyes lit up. "Great! Where are they?"

"That's the thing… I don't know… and the book doesn't say…" Pit admitted. "If we don't find those things in the next five minutes or so, we're all toast…"

Mah stayed quiet for a moment. "… Perhaps… can you describe what you're looking for, Pit?"

Pit hesitated at the request. After all, was there any true way to put a Smashball into words? How could he describe the feel of the energy pulsing upon his palm, the glorious swirling of rainbow colors that danced across its surface? How could he describe the warmth and power of the sacred sphere and they way that no matter how he felt, he always felt at peace when holding the ball?

"… It's… it's…" he paused. "… Rainbow colored… and… shard- like…"

Mah slowly blinked. "… You mean… like that…?" She pointed to the little girl, Beeh, as she ran by. Beeh was throwing Pikmin at the giant Donkey Kong, sweating slightly as she yanked more and more little men out of the ground. But what truly caught Pit's eye was the thing hanging around her neck. It was a rather simple necklace, its string made out of twine. But what really caught his attention was the thing hanging on the necklace…

A single Smashball shard.

Pit was too stunned to speak. Mah saw his expression and let out a small giggle. She then pointed at Nask, whose long red hair was caked in sweat as she nimbly dodged the giant fists of the great ape. Pit watched as the girl reached into what seemed like a hidden pocket in her armor and pulled out a familiar object. The colors flashed in the sun, nearly blinding the angel. But he knew exactly what it was…

"You're looking for five, right?" Mah asked him. "Well, I've seen at least four…"

"W-Where…?" Pit managed to stutter, unable to tear his eyes away from the shard Nask was holding. Mah directed his attention to Wrath, who was carefully weaving his sword in and out of the bodies of the numerous Alloys around him. Pit saw nothing remarkable about him, but when Mah pointed most specifically t the pommel of his sword, the angel looked closer. He could just barely make out the slight flash of rainbow before it disappeared into the glowing white core of a Wire Frame.

"Three…"

Mah grinned. "Yup! And the fourth…" she pointed up towards the summit of Mount Smash. "Is up there… I saw one of the people helping us take it out when Master Hand spoke to us all…" Her smile widened. "I don't know if they're trustable or not, but… they helped us… surely they have to be remotely friendly, right…?"

Pit couldn't help but smile. "Yeah… I… thanks…" He looked up, watching as more arrows rained down from above and found their mark in the glowing red cores of the Wire Frames. "… You… you didn't happen to see a fifth shard, did you…?" It took him a great effort to hide his disappointment when Mah shook her head.

"Sorry, Pit… but I'll keep an eye out, if you want…" Mah was now staring at Beeh, the girl with the necklace. Her expression was a mix between wistful and just plain confused. There was something about it that made something inside Pit twinge guiltily at the way he had been treating his own guardian for so long…

After all, she was only human…

"You look at that girl a lot, now," Pit remarked as Mah winced as the girl was nearly hit by giant DK's palm. Yoshi's guardian blinked a bit before she turned to him.

"… It's just that… she seems… familiar, somehow…" she said quietly. "Like… like she's connected to me in some way that I either don't know of or I no longer remember…"

Pit raised an eyebrow. "You… know her…? But… she said she comes from the Pokemon world, doesn't she…?"

Mah nodded. "That's the thing… I know she comes from a completely different, world, but… somehow… I just can't shake the feeling that she's a lot more to me than just a fellow guardian…" Her bottom lip trembled slightly as she spoke again. "… A long time ago… before all of this happened… I had a family… a loving family…"

"From what Psyche told me… that's pretty rare in slave times…" Pit murmured.

Mah nodded. "It is… we were miserable, but happy… then Mom died… she was executed… because she was accused of stealing Smashballs for herself… but that's not true…" Mah shook her head. "I know the real reason she was killed… they say that Tabuu made advances on her… I don't know what that means, but she refused whatever he was trying to do to her and got killed because of that…" Mah's voice was completely bitter. Her lip trembled some more as she continued her tale. "So… then my dad knew it was time for us to escape… once every three months, some slaves get together to steal one of Tabuu's ships and sail away in the dead of night… we were among the slaves that chose to sail away…"

"But… you didn't escape until later…" Pit muttered. "Someone told me that…"

"I know…" Mah whispered. "Just when we were about to get on… everything went wrong… Some Primids followed us and caught us all… by the time they got me… my dad was already on the boat… it was either I go on or… or…" Mah's voice cracked. "My sister… it was either me or my sister…"

"…" Pit remained quiet.

"I… I gave my sister to my dad… she was only a baby, so she wouldn't remember me when she grew up… I gave up my sister… and went back as a slave…" Despite all the sadness she felt, Mah smiled as her tale began to come to a close. "But despite everything, I'm happy that at least I was able to help my little sister escape… it's just that…" She gestured to Beeh who was once again using the Pikmin lasso to try to get on the giant apes head. "She reminds me so much of the sister I was forced to give up, and-"

BAM!

In almost no time at all, there was a huge boulder in front of them. Pit and Mah both jumped, but it was Mah who prepared an egg and ran back into battle. Pit only sat down and started to think, his thoughts quickly turning from hopeful to miserable as he realized that though they had four shards, there was still a fifth one.

The fifth one whose whereabouts were unknown.

This was hopeless, he realized. It was hopeless even fighting. Even if they were able to somehow find time to search out the fifth, it could be anywhere. What was more, Tabuu was already gathering his forces for the final battle, and he could feel it. Pit's shoulders slumped as an empty feeling settled in his stomach, refusing to budge no matter how hard he tried to push it away.

"Pit…" Psyche whispered, "Pit… it can't be hopeless… it can't…"

The angel remained silent, staring at the book as its pages turned uselessly in the breeze. All around him, the noises of the battlefield were worlds away, another universe, another dream. Pit could only sit there and dwell, dwell on everything Master Hand had kept secret from them all this time.

The hand had known they were not going to win… he had known that Tabuu would come back. He knew that the guardians were not going to be as strong as the Smashers and he knew that it was inevitable that they would lose this battle. He was sending them all to their deaths….

And all this time, the Smashers had been his pawns…

That was what they were. Pawns on a chessboard. They would attack in droves, but one by one, they would fall. A long time ago, Pit never questioned why Master and Crazy Hand both left them without stating a reason. But now he understood. They weren't leaving for the Smashers' own good.

They were abandoning them.

---

"Do ya see anything, Crystal?" the boy asked as he looked up from his cooking. His chocolate brown hair swayed as he did. "I'm bored!"

The girl looked down at him, her jet black hair almost getting caught in the nearest branch. "Chi, when I see something, I'll tell you…" She was slightly annoyed from being constantly interrupted in her silent watch of Smashville.

After all, you wouldn't want to be caught off guard when those Primids attacked…

Crystal turned back to her view, brown eyes watchful and alight. Her golden gauntlets flickered slightly in the fading light as she watched, emphasizing her jeans, black shirt, and black hoodie.

Chi groaned and poked a stick into the fire, watching as the flames flickered feebly before dying out. His bright red shirt with a dragon on it was covered with ash from the numerous times he had tried and failed to keep the fire going. His red jogging pants and sneakers also bore the marks of such a trial.

"Is the food ready yet, Chi? I'm staaaaaarved!" someone moaned from the other side of the clearing. Chi frowned at the person before throwing a rock at him.

"If you're so hungry, help me cook, KOR!"

KOR shook his head and held up a hand. It was a truly grotesque thing, the nails being curved into horrifying claws. The hand was also brittle and almost rotted looking, as if it had almost died. Chi shuddered at the sight of it and turned back to his work, scowling.

"KOR, are you flashing your claws again?" Crystal asked with a sigh. She slid down from the tree and walked over. "Haven't I told you those things are too freaky?"

KOR shrugged. "Not my fault. Besides, I like these things! I can kick Primid ass with them!" He flipped his own black hood over his head before settling down on a log. "Alright, it's got to be done by now, Chi…"

"Nope," Chi groaned. "Fire died again…"

"… I don't mind eating raw fish, actually…" KOR said thoughtfully.

"Ew!" Crystal stuck out her tongue. "KOR, that's disgusting!"

"Me no think so! Me think KOR tough guy!"

"AHHHHH!" Crystal jumped and looked around her, wondering who said that. The two boys stared at her strangely before poking at the fire again and trying to relight it. Crystal was just about to settle down when the voice spoke again.

"Me Donkey Kong! Me strong! Me bash Tabuu lots!"

Crystal backed up, still scanning the area. She hated being caught off guard by something and this was one of those times. While Donkey Kong proceeded to wreaking the room of her mind in search of bananas, she could only continue backing up and continue looking around.

Meanwhile, her behavior had not gone unnoticed by KOR. "Hey Crystal, you okay?" KOR asked, looking up concernedly. "I mean, sure raw fish is kinda gross, but you don't have to get all weird on us…"

"I agree, that chick's nuts!"

"Popo! Don't be so rude!"

Now it was KOR's turn to jump. When he jumped, he accidentally set off the M60 machine gun on his back and caused it to detonate, spraying bullets everywhere. But much to everyone's surprise, it was not bullets that rained out of the weapon, but ice. Shards of ice that pierced everything around them like true bullets, but left a single ring of ice cold whiteness where they hit.

"Oh my!" Nana was worried for her and Popo's guardian as well as the other two. "Please, kindly stop! We don't wanna hurt anyone!"

"No, keep going!" Popo cackled as he watched Chi and Crystal running about. "This is awesome!"

After some time, KOR managed to calm down. Nana breathed a sigh of relief while Popo groaned at the thought of no more ice bullet party. Meanwhile, Crystal was listening to Donkey Kong with a disbelieving look on her face. Chi, on the other hand, was chatting animatedly to Diddy. Unlike the others, he had remained calm when Diddy spoke up in his head. He found that he liked the little monkey and that unlike Donkey, Diddy could actually hold a conversation that didn't have anything to do with bananas.

"Oh yeah, my buddy Donkey and I get along great!" Diddy said cheerfully. "Of course, there's always the occasion where we don't get along well, but we usually get along pretty fine. Hey, have you ever climbed a tree and then swung on a vine? Man, those are fun! You should really try it someday! You know, if we can just get up MountSmash quickly enough…"

Nana looked up at the sky after she (and Popo) explained what they knew to KOR. Being the more intelligent of the two, Nana could tell that time was running short on them and that if they wanted to make it to Mount Smash, they had to do so quickly.

"You should really get going, KOR," she said, "After all, we wouldn't want to miss anything if there are people already there…"

"Aw… but we haven't even beaten up any Primids yet…" Popo whined.

KOR stood up. "Uh… hey, are you guys going to head to Mount Smash too?" He pointed at his temple. "Nana says we should get up there and fast…."

"But can we stop for chili dogs along the way?" Popo asked hopefully. He got slapped by Nana.

"There aren't any chili dog stands for… for… for light years around!" Nana said indigantly.

"Donkey Kong need bananas! Crystal get Donkey Kong up MountSmash!" the giant ape hooted.

Crystal hesitated, but nodded. "It looks like I'm going to have to head to Mount Smash too…" She looked up at the trees above her, her stomach squirming slightly at the thoughts currently occupying her mind…

I don't belong here…

I shouldn't be here…

I belong in my own world…

I belong where my family is…

This is a dream…

A nightmare…

Sooner or later, I'll have to wake up…

It had happened so fast. One moment, she had been staring at the TV screen. The next, she had been pulled through, yanked right out of her world dropped right into this one. She was never one to believe in other worlds, or other creatures, but there was just something strange about this one that she couldn't place.

And she didn't like it at all.

"Me sense Crystal sad…" Donkey Kong said as Chi and KOR cheerfully prattled on about what they were going to do about Primids, if they dared show up. "What going on in head?"

Crystal looked down at her gauntlets, a single teardrop sliding down her cheek. "I… I don't know…"

"Crystal need cheering. Donkey Kong make better! Donkey Kong listen to Crystal!" the ape said enthusiastically. He waited for his guardian to speak.

Crystal shook her head. "You wouldn't understand… you're just a figment of my imagination… you're not real… you can't be real…"

Now the primate was confused. "What Crystal saying? Donkey Kong real! Donkey Kong know he real! Donkey Kong prove he real after Crystal help Donkey Kong get body back!"

Crystal was still shaking her head. "You're not real… where I come from, you're not real… and I'm not here… I'm still sitting on the couch watching TV…" Her voice cracked as she spoke. "You're not real… none of this is real… I'm at home… I'm at home…"

Donkey Kong scratched his head. "Me say Crystal go crazy! Donkey Kong real!"

"YOU'RE NOOOOOT!" Crystal screamed. Chi and KOR jumped a foot in the air at her sudden scream, their eyes wide with concern. Crystal composed herself immediately when she noticed their staring, forcing a smile on her face.

KOR shifted awkwardly. "Uh… how about we get the Hell outta here…?"

Chi stood up and grinned. "So what are we waiting for?"

"Our dinner…" Crystal muttered, but Chi didn't hear her.

"Let's go!"

Crystal shook her head. "Wait…" She froze for a moment and concentrated. She seemed to be listening to something, but neither of the other two knew what. Crystal frowned as she looked out towards the path winding through the forest. Now it was easy for the other two to tell what she was so concerned about. There were other people here and they sounded like they were arguing. Whether they were friends or foes, Chi and KOR didn't know. But one thing was for sure…

They had to get out of here.

"What should we do?" Chi whispered. Crystal shook her head to show that she had no idea what to do.

KOR took his M60 off his back. "What else can we do? We shoot our way out…"

He waited for the two to agree with him. While Chi only looked down and kicked the dirt, Crystal continued to stare at KOR. KOR stared back at her, imploring her to think of a better idea. Eventually, he saw the light dawn in her eyes. Slowly but surely, she nodded.

It was time…

---

Kai leaped upon the nearest branch, closing his eyes and trying to sense any sort of aura nearby. After Teal had left, it was decided that even though they felt bad about leaving Teal behind to search for Heather alone, they had to get to Mount Smash. In the distance, they could see fire, lightning, and even what looked like the arms of a giant furred creature at the very base of the mounting. Once they could've sworn they saw an explosion, but it faded quickly and the noise resumed again.

"Kai, see anything?" Nao asked as he leaned against the tree Kai was on top of. Much to his disappointment, the Lucario shook his head.

"I can't sense any aura around here… except in the direction of MountSmash…" he muttered sadly, "We don't have much choice but to simply head over there and-"

"Foolish boy," Ganondorf snarled, "Have you not looked in the proper direction? Look to your right and tell me what you see!"

Kai did as he was told, but saw nothing. "Ganondorf, I only see the trees and bushes. I see no form of aura anywhere."

"Your aura skills are broken, then," the Gerudo snarled, "Look there! Don't you see the dual colored aura?"

Kai frowned. "… No, I can't…"

"I can see it, Kai," Nao said as he looked in the direction Ganondorf was telling Kai took look. "Yeah, I can see about two right now…"

"Keep out of my thoughts, Nao!" Kai snarled. Ganondorf was laughing at how hilarious it was that his guardian had been so easily penetrated by Mewtwo's powers.

Fyre walked up besides Nao. "What are you two arguing about this time?"

"Probably whether or not we should head to MountSmash or go after that Teal guy," Bowser muttered irritably. Ever since he had been released, all he could think about was his son. What happened to Bowser Jr.? Did he escape? Did Tabuu get to him? Was he alright?

All of these questions were dancing in the Koopa's head. He felt empty, hollow as a shell, without his son's constant presence by him. Before Tabuu attacked and the Smashers were forced to go to battle, Bowser had actually planned a long vacation in his castle so he could spend more time with his kids. Being part of the third group of Smashers to fall, it tore his soul in two knowing that the day he fell was the day he was to see his son again.

"Junior…" Bowser blew his nose. "Forgive me… I have failed you as a father…"

Fyre heard this. "… Bowser…" He scratched the back of his head. "I don't know you well, but… you're not a failure of a father… whatever happened to your son couldn't have been your fault…"

"That is none of your business!" Bowser growled harshly. It wasn't like him to show he was this weak. Sure, he had his breakdowns every now and then, but there was no way he was going to show any weakness to something as small and pathetic as a human.

His resentment of all humans came from Mario, the man who had defeated him so many times. All he wanted was a mother for his kids, a mother that would help guide them to lead better lives than him. It was only natural that Princess Peach, the purest source of light in all the Mushroom Kingdom, would be the perfect mother. But to be foiled again and again by the plumber in red…

… It was often all too much for him…

Fyre frowned at the harsh quality of the Koopa's voice. "Bowser… it's alright to lose once in a while… you're not weak… I mean, sometimes it's only natural that you lose to Mario one way or another, but-"

"You don't understand!" Bowser snapped. "No one does! Doesn't anyone understand that I do what I do so I can have a mother for my kids! So that my kids don't see me as the failure that I am? What kind of father am I if I don't even stay home long enough to take care of them? Instead, I'm off chasing after princesses and getting my ass kicked by a fat plumber and his cowardly little brother…"

"You're not a failure, Bowser," Fyre said. "If anything, it's because that you're doing all of that for your kids that makes you a great one…" Fyre looked up at the sky. "… I met my dad only once in my life… I only spent a single day with him, but…" A sigh escaped his lips. "But… it was just from that day that I knew if he actually stuck around long enough to raise me…" His voice hardened. "I would've killed him by now…"

Bowser was completely aghast. What was with this kid? Bowser had thought Fyre to be nothing more than a stupid goody two shoes when they first met. But at his words, the Koopa was now looking at his guardian through new eyes…

"From the moment I met him I knew there was going to be trouble…" Fyre continued. "He had abandoned me at birth… that was the first hint I got that that guy was no good… but despite everything, I didn't listen to whatever anyone said… I found him at last… and spent an entire day with him…" His tone became bitterer and bitterer with every word he spoke. "We couldn't speak much because we aren't allowed to talk while making those synthetic Smashballs… unless you really want some good old fashioned whippings across the back… we were sitting next to some other slave. He ran out of material to build his Smashball, so he had to get up and get more. He was already more than halfway done with his while Dad's was still at the starting stages… law dictates that every slave must make at least ten synthetic Smashballs before the day's end or they'll get whipped… anyways, while the guy was gone, Dad made sure he didn't see… and when he was absolutely sure that the guy's back was turned…" Fyre slammed his foot down on the nearest stick, cracking it in two with a deafening snap! "He stole the Smashball!"

Fyre's voice rang around the clearing, causing every guardian in it to turn. The guy with pink hair, Nao, was staring at him intently, as if trying to read his mind. Fyre gave him a small scowl, to which Nao immediately turned away. But there was a small smirk playing at his lips, as if he knew what was going on.

"He stole the Smashball…" Fyre lowered his voice to a whisper. "And let the guy get whipped… when I tried standing up for the guy, I got whipped as well… worse than he did… the whole time, my dad was watching… just watching… the entire time I was being whipped beyond anything in my life, he was just watching. And when I showed up for what little dinner we slaves get, do you know what he was doing?" Fyre didn't even wait for Bowser's answer. "He was eating it… my own dad… starving me… it was like I was nothing to him…" His voice turned hollow. "Because I am nothing to him…"

"…" Bowser remained silent. There was nothing he could say. For a boy to go through something like that was harsh, very harsh indeed. Fyre was so distracted that he nearly missed it when Kai finally spoke.

"We should head east and then north," Kai said, jumping down from the branch. "It shall take us both to MountSmash and towards the direction you claim the new guardians are in."

"No!" Ganondorf argued. "We should head north, then east! The guardians over there should simply have to keep up with us!"

"If you claim there are guardians over there, then we should help them and keep them from misusing their powers," Kai snapped back.

"I say we all just go attack Tabuu now and then let the other guys catch up to us!" Nao said cheerfully.

Kage shook her head. "No, because then we all know we'll just be beaten…" She picked up a branch on the ground.

Doggie walked over as well. "And don't suggest we split up because then that'll just be suicide!"

"Well, any other bright ideas?" Fyre demanded. He was growing impatient and longed to be in the heat of the battle. Bowser, on the other hand, only wanted to go and search out his son.

"We head for MountSmash!" Ganondorf announced.

"We go in the direction where you claim the guardians are!" Kai said at the same time. Unfortunately for Ganondorf, since no one but Kai, Nao, and Mewtwo could hear him, they went in Kai's direction, led by Nao. Kai and Nao both switched off their sensory vision for the moment, not wanting to waste too much energy in searching out guardians.

"Indeed… I can sense the presence of some guardians here…" Mewtwo muttered as he closed his eyes. "But I cannot exactly pinpoint where… I will need a quiet place to go focus my power…"

"Focus shmocus!" Nao huffed. "I just want something to eat!"

"Foolish boy…" Ganondorf muttered, "Thinking of food in the middle of a war…"

"Heard that!" Nao said offended. "And don't tell me that you don't get hungry either, Ganondork!"

"That is very immature of you, Nao…" Mewtwo said flatly.

"I'm surrounded by idiots…" Bowser groaned. Fyre rolled his eyes.

They were about to walk on when suddenly, Doggie froze. She was passing by a small shadow of trees when she could've sworn she saw and heard something. But when she looked back, there was nothing there except the overhanging canopy of leaves. Doggie knew that there had to be something there, though, because there was an unusual scent in the air. It smelt of gunpowder and fire and… bananas?

"What's wrong, my guardian?" Dedede asked. "Did ya lose somethin'? 'Cause I know how hard it is to find sometin' after ya lose it! Like once, I lost mah hammer and I couldn't find it anywhere! I checked and checked and checked, but…"

"Sh!" Doggie said sharply. The other guardians paused and looked at her as she got to the ground and sniffed it. That smell was there again, but it was stronger now. Not only that, but she could just barely pick up the sounds of something, or someone breathing…

She could also hear their footsteps. They were getting closer, but they were being slow and deliberate. There was no time to run or hide. It was only a matter of time…

"DAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"HOLY MOTHER OF SHIT!" Dedede yelled as Doggie rolled to the side. Something wearing a black hooded shirt, grey pants, and rotting tennis shoes flew out from the dark shadows of the trees and started shooting at them, the bullets rocketing in every direction. The guardians in the clearing all screamed and gathered around Nao as he held up his arms and created a psychic force field around him.

Meanwhile, Kai and Doggie were both left out of the shield. Kai remained hidden in the leaves while Doggie, unable to get through the portal without temporarily endangering her fellow guardians with the huge rain of bullets, could only dodge as the person went wild.

"We're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die…" Dedede moaned.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" the hooded one cackled as he landed on his feet, removed the M60 machine gun that was on his back, and started shooting away with both that and the minigun he had shot them with only moments before. Doggie screamed and ran behind the tree, the bullets just barely missing her.

Doggie grabbed onto something and from out of nowhere, a Waddle Dee flew out to meet the person in the black hoodie. Caught by surprise, he dropped his M60 and proceeded to try to pry the writhing thing off of his face. Doggie smirked, satisfied with her handiwork.

But such a feeling would not last. Chains flew from the same shadows of the trees the hooded one had been hiding in and out stepped a girl with long black hair, the chains attached to her gauntlets. Doggie's wrists were caught by these chains, and though she struggled to break free, the chains held firm.

Kai saw this and immediately broke through Nao's invisible shield to try to help her. Taking care not to hit anyone, he concentrated his aura powers so that a scythe appeared in his hands. With a shout that rivaled that of the hooded one when he leaped out from the bushes, Kai swung his scythe around and sent it crashing down upon the chains. Aura flared up like a huge bonfire upon contact with the chains and they shattered, causing metal to fly everywhere.

But their attackers refused to give up. While another set of chains burst out of the girl's gauntlets, the hooded one continued to blast away, cackling as his ice bullets slammed into every tree in the area. Nao eventually let his shield down so that the others could get through, but immediately put it back up again as ice cold bullets rained his way.

Fyre rushed towards the girl with chains, hoping that his fiery breath would subdue her somehow, long enough for them to dispatch the hooded one. But just as a tongue of flame was about to release itself from his mouth, he stepped on something and slipped to the ground. The young man only caught a glimpse of the banana peel before he was grabbed from behind and slammed to the ground. He was just about to get up again before he was peppered by something as well. He watched as the things hitting him hit the ground.

… Peanuts?

"This is pathetic!" Bowser moaned. "It's bad enough that I get beaten up by a couple of plumbers, but peanuts! Seriously?"

"Ugh…" Fyre rolled out of the way of the peanuts and grabbed the shooter by the ankle, a boy wearing a red shirt. He slammed his face to the ground before Kai ran forward and beat him into submission with a swift combination of punches and kicks.

"Nao, now is the time to use your newly found power," Mewtwo instructed. Nao frowned as he looked at their attackers. There was just something about them that he couldn't really place his finger on. But before he could act on this strange feeling of doubt, he was peppered yet again by the ice bullets and was forced to this time use his telekinetic powers to grab the bullets from midair and redirect them right back to the hooded shooter. The shooter just barely dodged the bullets, but the white marks they left from where they grazed his jacket shone white in the faint gray light.

"We have to get out of here!" Ganondorf growled angrily as Kai jumped over the chains as they came his way. "We can't keep fighting forever, Kai!"

"We're trying, Ganondorf!" Kai said as he swung his scythe at the girl, only to miss and get his ankle caught in the chains. "Whoa!"

Ganondorf groaned as he slumped against a wall in Kai's mind. Sooner or later, one of the two groups was going to give out and collapse. But when that would happen he didn't know. If the other group didn't collapse soon, then Smashville was doomed. If their group collapsed, then Smashville was completely screwed over.

"First I can't even get my revenge on those two stupid Hylians, then I get my ass owned by the same two Hylians, and now this…" the King of Evil muttered as he shook his head. "The goddesses hate me…"

"Ganondorf, the goddesses do not hate you," Kai said flatly as he tried swinging his scythe again. Though he missed the girl, he managed to shatter the chains and jump up before he was entangled in another set. He watched as Kage whirled on him and out from her eyes shot twin beams of red light. The chains melted and Kai got away again.

"We can't keep this up!" Ganondorf said angrily. "These pathetic humans… why? Why must we be cursed with such a delay?"

The bullets were flying even faster now. They simply zoomed past the guardians and hit the ground. Luckily, no one was hit too badly, but quite a few grazed them. There was already bloodshed in this fight, which was something that all of them had hoped to avoid. Ganondorf watched in dismay as his guardian lost more and more blood, fretting over what would happen to him if yet another guardian died on his hands.

Din would never forgive him…

Kai was on the ground, his life's blood pouring from multiple gashes on his body where he had been shot and chained. His breath came to him in short, labored pants and his vision was blurred from all the blood and sweat running down from his temple. He watched as the hooded figure stood over him and raised his two guns, prepared to squeeze the trigger. Kai closed his eyes for the last time…

"KAI!"

Rat- tat- tat- tat- tat- tat-!

It was over. He was being shot at right here and right now. He could already feel the bullets slamming into him, ripping the flesh right off his muscle…

"Mother Ocean!"

WHOOSH!

Kai knew that voice. Hesitantly, he opened his eyes and gawked. There was a huge wall of water in front of him, spanning the entire area. It stayed aloft for only a few seconds more before it dispersed and disappeared into the ground. But what truly caught Kai's eye was the all too familiar figure standing right in front of him, the figure whose wall of impenetrable water saved his life.

"T-Teal…" Kai gasped, shakily getting to his knees. Though Teal's wall managed to save him from being shot, he was still very weak from loss of blood. Teal turned around and grabbed Kai as he was about to collapse again.

"Kindness Rain…" he whispered. At his words, a light drizzle appeared above the clearing. With every drop of rain that touched the guardians, their wounds closed up a little. It wasn't long before everyone was fully healed, albeit still exhausted, and the rain stopped.

But there was still a problem to be had. The ones who attacked them, though still frozen in surprise at Teal's sudden appearance, were still strong and energized enough to continue fighting. If they didn't stop to reason soon, who knows what would happen.

Snap! Crack! Snap!

Teal grinned at Kai. "I'd like you and Nao to meet someone…" A figure was emerging out of the bushes. "Someone very dear to me…"

And then she stepped out, her staff gleaming in the sun. Every single guardian in the vicinity except Teal sharply drew in breath when she emerged. Whether it was her imposing features or the way she carried herself that caused all the guardians to freeze in fright, they would never know. But what they did know was that this woman was someone who had gone through great trials, who had battled nature and herself throughout all the years she was alive. They knew that no matter what, they should never do anything that would make her angry. There was just something about the air around her that told them if they decided to piss her off, they would regret it.

"Everyone… this is Heather Wolfon… the Scion of Rage…" Teal said quietly. One by one, each guardian lowered their weapons or fists. Fyre swallowed the tongue of flame that was just about to come out of his mouth. Kage managed to keep her laser vision under check.

Heather stepped into the clearing and looked around. "… Tell me… why are you fighting amongst yourselves…? You're all guardians, aren't you?"

Kai got to his feet. "Uh… sorry, Miss, but… we aren't fighting amongst ourselves… we were trying to defend ourselves from them…" He gestured to where their three attackers were standing, their respective weapons out and ready in case anyone should try to attack them. He watched as Heather glanced at them, her expression solemn.

"That's what I meant…" she paused for a moment and looked at Teal.

"Kai," Heather repeated. "You are fighting against fellow guardians, you know…"

"Fellow guardians, Miss?" Kai asked. He was extremely confused at this new turn of events. "I'm sorry, but these three simply cannot be guardians…"

"Says who?" the girl asked, looking offended. "Who says that we aren't guardians?"

Kai hesitated. "Forgive me, but it's impossible for you three to be guardians… I didn't see your double colored aura, so-"

"Kai…" Heather's voice had just the tiniest hint of amusement. "Did you check their aura before getting into this fight?"

"Well, no… it happened so suddenly, and-"realization donned on the Lucario. Closing his eyes, he activated his aura sensing ability and searched around. He could see the dual colored aura of Teal and Nao quite easily. Teal's was a soft light blue with light yellow swimming in it that was Lucas. Nao's was the exact opposite, a fiery orange with a bit of deep purple in it for Mewtwo. But that wasn't what Kai was looking for and he kept searching.

Aha! There it was! The three people they were battling earlier did have dual colored auras. The hooded one's was a cheerful yellow with bits of blue and pink mixed within. The King of Gerudos saw that this blue and pink aura could belong to no other people but Nana and Popo, the two Iceclimbers. The girl's was a soft pure white, interrupted by rather large bits of brown. Ganondorf recognized these bits of brown as from Donkey Kong's cloud. Finally, the boy in the red shirt was shown to have a peppy red aura, with bits of brown and a darker sort of red mixed within.

"Diddy Kong…" the villain muttered as he cracked his knuckles. It had been more than once that he had fallen victim to the little monkey grabbing his head.

Kai turned off his vision and opened his eyes, his expression apologetic. "Forgive me, I didn't know… I'm-"

The girl shook her head. "It's fine… we're at fault too…" She smiled. "We should've let you guys actually speak first…"

Next to her, the hooded one grumbled. "Great… I just wasted a whole crapload of bullets…"

Kai cleared his throat and decided to take charge of the rather awkward situation. "Forgive me… but I suppose we should simply put this fight behind us?"

"Sounds like a good idea…" the girl said with a rather unsure smile. "Um… we kinda have to go somewhere right now, and-"

"That's not a problem," Heather said. "Teal… I believe that it's time we get up Mount Smash."

Teal nodded. "Right… but… how? We don't have any planes with us and it'll certainly take quite a while if we try climbing it."

"That will not be a problem, Guardian of Lucas," a familiar voice spoke. Heather's staff glowed with a powerful red light, energy radiating from the orb on top of it. Kai and the others watched in fear and awe as the light from the orb extended outwards and engulfed all of them in a great bubble of light. They soon found themselves being lifted up into the air, watching in surprise as the great landscape of Smashville soared beneath them. They all turned to Heather and Teal, who were also watching as they soared above the great forest, watching as miles upon miles of trees disappeared beneath them.

Kai leaned against the bubble, a small sigh escaping his lips as a great mountain loomed before him. "Our journey is drawing to a close… I can feel it…"

"Indeed…" Ganondorf agreed. "It is time for the Guardians of Smashville to arise…"

---

Wrath fell to his knees, his sword spiraling right out of his hand. His lungs felt like they were going to explode at any minute, his vision was clouded with sweat and blood. They had been fighting for so long, trying their best to hang on, but to no avail. It was all that he could do to even stay conscious, let alone strike.

"Wrath… get up!" Meta Knight ordered. He had fallen once before and succumbed to Tabuu's power because of his own exhaustion, but he would not allow himself to go the same way again. "A true warrior fights until his sword is pried from his cold, dead hands!"

Wrath coughed, blood spewing forth from his mouth. "F-F-Funny… Da- I mean, Tabuu once told me the same thing…" Another hacking cough came at him as she struggled desperately to his feet. "I-If I didn't know any better… I-I'd say you're just like him, Pops…"

"I… I am nothing like Tabuu…" Meta Knight whispered harshly. "I am not and never will be…" It was possibly the biggest insult he had ever been given. He was nothing like Tabuu!

Wrath coughed again and managed to drag himself over to the edge of the summit, far away from the giant paws of the giant DK. A few Alloys and Wire Frames came his way, but he managed to dispatch them. He was exhausted and drained, both from the intense fighting he was doing and from allowing the Star Warrior to take over. Already Wrath could feel the effects of the great energy drain taking hold of him, causing his vision to cloud and his body to shake like jell-o.

"Pops…" Wrath continued coughing. "You're just like my dad, whether you like it or not…" He hoisted himself up, using his sword to steady himself. The wind was howling around him, but neither he nor the other guardians cared. They were fighting for their lives, for their pride. It was one thing to survive armies upon armies of Primids, but another thing entirely to have to prove yourself a worthy warrior, to have to show that out of all the humans born and raised in Smashville, you were one of the 40 that was strong enough to bear the spirit of one of the greatest fighters in the universe.

And Wrath was one of them.

"HYAH!" he lashed out like a tiger against his foes, bringing a crushing blow upon an Alloy about to sneak up on Ridere. The boy in turn whirled around and threw a thin knife- a butterfly knife- right into the glowing white core of an Alloy about to sneak up on Wrath. The two grinned at each other before going their separate ways.

"Wrath, you must think a moment about where your loyalties lie…" his Smasher said quietly as Wrath once again collapsed to rest. "You must remember that you, of all people, are turning your back on your own father…"

"He was never my dad, Pops," Wrath spat. "And trust me, if I looked anything like that guy, I would've shot myself years ago…" Wrath's sword was covered in blood, but he did not know where it came from. Feeling a surge of revulsion at the sight of it, he wiped it on his shirt and watched as one of the newcomers, Miles, ran circles around the giant ape.

"He may not be your father, but he was the man who raised you, Wrath…" Meta Knight took a deep breath. "In many ways… you owe him your life…"

"Just whose side are you on, Pops?" Wrath demanded. "One moment, you're telling me to go nuke the guy! The next, you're telling me I should go back and join him!" He slammed his fist into the rocks in front of him. "Make up your mind, dammit!"

"Wrath!" Meta Knight was taken aback, but he tried not to show it. "Wrath, be reasonable! I am merely trying to give you guidance on your choices… I see your memories, Wrath… your hopes… your dreams… but you lack a reason to fight… you only fight in this war because you are told so, not because you have a personal honor you must protect…"

"I told ya, Pops, if I wanna be a good warrior, I'll come train with you when you get the Hell outta my head," Wrath said bluntly. A flash of lightning blasted its way down and struck only a few inches in front of the Guardian of Meta Knight, surprising him right out of his skin. His sword pulsed with warmth at power at the moment the lightning came down, forming what seemed to be an invisible barrier around its master.

But something was wrong. Almost at the moment his sword glowed, another blast of lightning came down at him, this one more powerful and even brighter than the first. It struck right where the giant DK was, but only seemed to leave its mark upon the guardians fighting the ape. The primate roared its triumph as it grabbed onto the stunned guardians and lifted them into the air, right over its gaping maw.

"NO!" Wrath ran forward to help, but three things had already happened. The first thing was that a tiny figure leaped upon the ape's arm from his other side and jammed the golden bow she was holding into his eye. As Donkey Kong roared and reeled with pain, he dropped the others. Wrath ended up being pinned under Mah as she landed on him.

The second thing was that the Metal Mario Brothers looked up from their fighting with their guardian counterparts to see the giant ape reeling under the sharp point of the bow. He blindly swiped at them and though MS and Green, as they called themselves, dodged the giant paw, the Metal Mario Brothers weren't nearly as lucky. Wrath watched as they flew to the side, MS and Green using this chance to follow them and pin them down. Red fire flared up and green lightning crackled around them as they wrestled their metal counterparts to the dust.

Though all of this greatly helped the guardians, it was the third thing that truly turned the tide of the battle. From out of nowhere leaped nine others, leaping up from above and striking down on the Alloys and Wire Frames like tigers. Wrath didn't recognize any of them, but there was something about their giveaway eye color that said they were here to help. Aura flared up as the Lucario struck, the pink haired guy levitated and blasted away with jet black spheres, the hooded guy pulled out two guns that would rival Aly's and shot his way into the fray…

"Where… where are these warriors coming from?" Meta Knight asked. "The element of surprise is a powerful one… and they were able to take full advantage of it…"

Wrath looked up from where the others had leaped, but only saw the ledge of a great cliff jutting out just below the summit. He could see a figure on top of it, the figure's cape billowing around them in the wind. Wrath took a step back and shielded his eyes as a great light flooded the area, illuminating all within reach.

There stood Heather, her brown hair whipping around her as the wind howled and shrieked. Her black cloak flew out behind her like a pair of wings, emphasizing her athletic figure and her toned muscles. Her staff was raised high in the air, a rainbow halo of light protruding outward from it and casting a multicolored glow on every possible surface. Wrath felt his sword glow white hot in his hand, causing him to drop it where it vibrated on the ground.

Not far away, he heard two high pitched screams of pain as two of the female guardians, Nask and Beeh, threw something on the ground. Another scream high above them told both Wrath and Meta Knight that something had happened up on the summit where the arrow shooters were.

Meta Knight's eyes widened when suddenly, a blast of rainbow light shot right out of the pommel of Wrath's sword, where a familiar looking rainbow stone was set. That same type of light also emitted from the summit above, the place where Nask was nursing a burnt hand, and the very spot where Beeh had thrown down what looked like the necklace she had been wearing only moments before. Every single one of these blasts were shot upward towards Heather's staff, which was also glowing with an unearthly rainbow light.

"Guardians of Smashville!" she said in ringing tones. "Know that our time is near! The five shards of the Great Smashball have been united at last! Know that it is time for our great leaders, Master and Crazy Hand to return!" As she said this, the pommel of Wrath's sword began to sputter and shake.

Soon enough, it was pulled right from the inset where it floated in front of him, pulsing with power and energy. He watched as it flew up towards Heather's staff, followed by Nask's, Beeh's, and the piece upon the summit. Like a magnet, they flew towards her until out from her staff emerged a fifth piece, the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle Pit had been working so hard to solve. Every guardian dropped their weapons and watched as the pieces fitted themselves together, every crack matching perfectly in line with the others.

But it didn't stop there. Wrath's eyes nearly popped out of his head when the Great Smashball slowly descended and radiated its glorious light on two guardians in particular: MS and Green. Their hands began glowing with the same powerful light as they were hit. They both exchanged looks, a mischievous gleam in both of their eyes, together, they rose up their arms and took aim at the great barrier before them and allowed the power to build in their palms. Wrath could only watch with his mouth agape as green lightning crackled and red fire flew through the air. The two combined their powers into a single blast that was directed right at the barrier.

CRACK!

A thin line appeared on it as the lightning and fire hit, but the shield still held strong. MS and Green directed all of their energies into their powers and tried again, this time creating much, much more than a mere crack. Several cracks formed around the first and it wasn't long until the first hole appeared. Wrath watched as it grew wider and wider, a bubble of hope swelling up in him at last…

BAM!

---

"FUCK YEAH!" Fox cheered as the barrier cracked all around him. Aly shot her remaining rockets into the air in celebration as tiny green shards flew past her, bouncing off the wings of her Arwing like glass.

"We did it! We did it!" his guardian screamed happily. "I'll celebrate by not shooting Mars today!"

"That's a relief!" Eric sighed as his voice crackled over the radio. A devious look came to Aly's eye at the sound of his voice.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Didn't I say I wouldn't shoot Mars today? I said nothing about you!"

"But Aly…"

"No 'buts'!" the pilot said cheerfully. "I expect you tomorrow at 2 AM sharp for target practice!"

"But you don't show up 'til noon!"

"Deal with it!" Aly laughed as she cut her connection. Taking the wheel, Fox's guardian swerved the Arwing downwards and landed lightly on the patched earth. She could see the four strangers backing up as she landed. Aly couldn't help but grin at the scene below.

Fox studied each of the four with a critical eye. "Hey Aly, notice anything about them?"

Aly took one look at the four people and nodded cheerfully. "Yeah! They look like they can all be great target practice!"

"No! don't you see those guys' ears?" Fox gestured to the two clad in green tunics and chain mail. "And… those two little boys?" He pointed to the two kids in the sparkly shirts.

Aly's eyes widened as she got out of her plane. "… FOX IS A PEDO!" Of course, every guardian in the area turned towards her at that.

"Aly, I'm… you… they… I AM NOT A PEDO!" Fox sputtered. "All I did was call them little boys, and-"

"PEDO!" Aly shouted as she ran around in circles. "PEDO! PEDO! PEDO!"

"Alright everyone, let's just calm down…" Mah said uneasily as she grabbed Aly to calm her down. "I mean, alright, we have a pedo in our midst..."

"NOT A PEDO!"

"That doesn't mean we should start getting all wild here," the girl concluded.

"Fox is a pedo! He tried to touch the little boys!" Aly sniffled.

At this, the two kids in the sparkly shirts gasped at the same time. "Oh noez!"

"Keep him away from us!" the one with the earring shouted.

"We're too young and pretty to be molested!" the other one gasped.

Having had enough of the random bickering, one of the pointy eared guys stepped forward. He was brunette with sharp features, but kind blue eyes. Being the nearest to him, Cameron was pushed forward so he could shake his hand. The two locked eyes and a sort of understanding passed between them as they shook.

The Hylian was the first to speak. "Well… I guess a 'hello' is in order." He grinned. "Name's Cimar. I guess you can call me the Guardian of Zelda. My companions are Rinku, Guardian of Link," he gestured to the Hylian still clutching his bow. "Picho, Guardian of Ness," he pointed to the twin who was bouncing a ball of fire up and down on his palm. "And Pichn, Guardian of Kirby." The other twin grinned evilly at them all.

Before anyone else could say a word, the Sky Claw and the Wolfen finally landed, emptying out its passengers as it did so. Aly watched as familiar face, such as Beeh and Miles hopped down and cheered, happy to be free of the barrier at last. Others, like the Lucario, were solemn as they got down. Aly's grin could only widen as each guardian, covered in blood though they were, got off one by one. Everyone was alive! Everyone was safe!

Except…

Eric and Mars, the last to get off of their respective planes closed the hatches to their Arwings, their faces a mixture of melancholy and triumph. True, they were proud of the work they had done today, but there was something wrong and Aly didn't know what. There was a tension in the air, fueled by the fact that some of the guardians, most specifically Miles, Fyre, and Sakura, seemed sad as well.

"What happened…?" Fox asked as he looked around. Some of the guardians were still cheering while others had caught onto the mood and seemed to realize something that he and Aly hadn't. Frowning, the vulpine counted each guardian…

… And found that three were missing.

Eric's face was lined in misery as he turned to face the now silent group of guardians. "… Mars and I… we would've been up here earlier, except…" His voice cracked slightly and he looked at his teammate for support. Fox felt his panic rise at the thought of what happened.

After all, 35 guardians were needed for the final battle…

Mars swallowed as he continued from where Eric left off. "And… even though we looked… and looked… and looked… we couldn't find MS, Green, or Heather… whatever happened to them… they're missing now… and neither of us were able to find them…"

"We scanned the entire battlefield," Eric continued. "There were Alloys and such everywhere, but no MS or Green… we checked where Heather was last seen, but the only thing there was a scorch mark where she was once standing…" He faced his fellow guardians. "I… I'm sorry…"

A shudder ran through the group of guardians as this news sank in. MS and Green, the Mario Brothers team had vanished. Heather, one of the most feared of them all was gone as well. The guardians suddenly felt small, insubstantial, as if a huge part of them had just been ripped off by one of Tabuu's Chains of Light. There was a bit of rustling amongst some of them and it wasn't long until a certain guardian dressed all in blue ran forward. Aly recognized him as one of the guys that had helped them out. From the cockpit of her Arwing, she was able to see his mastery with water and couldn't help but wonder if he knew how to use an actual gun.

His face was lined with worry and disbelief as he approached. When he did get to the front, his expression suddenly turned a bit shy. "Y-You guys… you guys are kidding, right…? Heather… she can't be… she wouldn't be…"

Mars' face darkened. "Teal… that's your name, right?"

The guardian nodded, staying silent. "…"

The pilot shook his head. "I know that you have some sort of… connection… with Heather, but… dude, she's gone. Whatever happened to her, we couldn't find her anywhere… she was in the perfect position to get whacked by one of those giant paws or get struck by lightning, after all…"

Teal shook his head. "… She's… she's not dead… she can't be dead…" His hands were shaking. "She's too strong for that…"

Mars looked at him, his expression apologetic. "I'm sorry, man, but-"

"Overkill, Mars," Eric said quietly. The pilot shut up after that. Aly watched as Teal seemed to crush on the inside at the thought of Heather being dead. Truth be told, she felt the same thing…

"Just how close are those two really?" Fox asked. His tone was filled with wonder and misery all at once. "As close as Heather was to Psyche, maybe…?"

"That's pretty close…" Aly whispered. She was tempted to take out her gun and make some noise, but something told her that wouldn't be at all appropriate.

Rinku stepped forward. "… You're telling us… three of us are dead…? And we haven't even gone to kick Tabuu's ass yet…?"

"Not dead…" Eric said sadly. "But missing… we presume they are dead, but…"

"But we can't be?" a voice laughed behind them. It was a familiar sounding one, full of humor and grace. The guardians turned to the source of the noise.

There stood Green, looking as strong and healthy as ever. There was a long cut on his cheek, but it was nothing that wouldn't be healed over time. No, what truly mattered was the fact that he was alive and standing before them. It didn't take long for the guardians to notice something else about him.

He was floating!

Aly watched as Green stepped onto the summit and grinned at them. "Seriously people, you really need to learn to look more carefully. We're all fine." Green's second grin was met by silence. None of the guardians could believe their eyes. The pilots were ready to pull out their guns and shoot at Green to make sure he wasn't a ghost.

Then a blur shot forward from the back of the crowd and latched onto Green, locking him in a choke hold. "YOU MOTHERFUCKING IDIOT! YOU HAD ME WORRIED! YOU HAD SONIC WORRIED! GOD DAMMIT, GREEN!" Miles was almost sobbing. "Don't ever do that again!"

Green laughed. "Alright, alright! Sorry Miles!" He fell over, laughing. "I'll be good! Promise!"

"Damn right you will!" Miles shouted. "If you scare us all like that again, I swear to whoever is up there that I will kill you!"

"What, no hugs for me?" MS walked towards them faking a hurt look. "I thought you liked me better than Green!"

"MS!" Miles shouted before tackling Mario's guardian. By this time, the others had thrown off their initial shock and surged forward, pounding the two heroes on the back. It was through them that they had defeated the barrier and reached Mount Smash at last, it was through them that they knew Tabuu's end was near.

Who would've thought?

The guardians all shouted in joy as they grabbed Green and MS into tight hugs, as they pounded each other on the back and danced around. Picho and Pichn had found fireworks sitting around somewhere and were releasing them into the sky. Pikana happily chased Wrath around the summit with Bazookie aimed right at his head. Tabuu's foster son, however, wasn't amused.

But in the midst of the celebration, two guardians in particular were unable to shake the empty feeling still within them. Happy though they were that MS and Green were safe, neither of the two could truly be happy until they found out what happened to Heather. Aly noticed this and stopped blasting her guns long enough to walk over to them.

"Uh… Hey! Shouldn't you two be… partying or something?" she asked. Teal and Psyche both looked at her with sad eyes. Psyche looked like she had been crying.

"Aly…" Fox said warningly.

"I know, I know… be more sensitive…" Aly rolled her eyes. "Um… listen, I know Heather being… dead… and all shocked you two, but-"

"She's not dead," Teal said. "I know her too well…" He put on a smile.

Aly scratched the back of her head. "I know you don't wanna believe it, but let's just face the facts here… She's dead, Teal… dead… D- E- A-"

"She's… not… dead…" Teal's smile was bright, too bright. "She's just a bit… troubled, that's all… I'm sure she'll show up soon…"

Aly shook her head. "You can't keep telling yourself that, Teal… I mean, sure she's a strong person, I guess, but even Heather won't be able to li-"

"She's not dead…" Psyche whispered. "Heather… she just can't be dead…"

Aly shifted awkwardly. "Listen…"

BAM!

All the guardians stopped partying long enough to look around. The sound had seemed to come out of nowhere. It was soon followed by two more sounds exactly like it. Cimar and Rinku's Hylian ears twitched slightly with every little noise. One by one, all eyes turned towards the door of the Mount Smash base. The noises were definitely coming from there…

Aly pulled out two of her guns and took aim at the base. Her two teammates followed suit, then the others raised their respective weapons. One second passed… two… three…

"YAHOOOOOOOOOOO!"

A cloud of pure white gas emerged from the window and zoomed past them, turning cartwheels in the air. It was followed by a jet black cloud, which annoyed everyone with its continual beeps. Aly fired at it as it passed her, but ended up hitting Eric instead. The mechanic glared at her.

Finally, a pink cloud zoomed by, sparkling in the light. "Bye bye! I'll see you all soooooon!" It stopped and seemed to wave for a moment before flying away, laughing. The guardians could only stand there and stare as the cloud flew off.

It had been a truly strange sight indeed to watch as the souls of three Smashers left their glass prisons at last. For a moment, the sky was painted in shades of pink, white, and black as the souls turned and took one last look of their old base before they left. It was a wondrous sight.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" a voice asked. "The way they simply can paint the sky like that…" Everyone immediately whirled around to face the speaker.

There stood Heather, fully armored, alive, and mostly healthy. She smiled solemnly at all the stunned faces around her. Teal's and Psyche's eyes were about to pop out of their heads. Aly dropped her gun.

"Y-Y-You're…" she stammered, pinching herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

Heather smiled sadly at her in response. "Yes… I'm alive…" A breeze blew by, tousling her brown locks. She looked up into the sky and seemed to listen for a moment before speaking again. "… There's someone I'd like you all to meet…"

At once the air seemed to surge with an ancient and powerful energy as something approached. It first appeared as the smallest speck of light floating right above their heads, but the light soon split in two. The two lights grew larger and larger, filling the very air of the summit with pure energy and warmth before they shaped themselves into two powerful looking beings. Though many of the guardians did not know who they were, their Smashers could only stare open mouthed at what had appeared before them.

The Hands…

At the moment Master Hand showed himself, MS's eye color changed. It faded to Mario's familiar bright blue. Without a word, the plumber knelt before the great hand and bowed his head. His brother followed suit, taking over for Green. One by one, each guardian's eye color changed and they knelt before their long lost leader, paying the respects they thought they would never pay again.

Pit was the last one to kneel. What he had learned earlier that day was something he could never forgive either of the hands for. His heart was caked in bitterness as he finally got down on one knee, his anger reached boiling point as he continued to stare at the lost Hands.

The leaders who had abandoned them all…

Master Hand, in all his glory, looked at each guardian one by one. When he spoke, his voice rang with power and pride.

"Guardians… my Smashers…" he seemed close to crying. Crazy seemed about to say something, but his brother cut him off.

"You have all done well! I am as proud as you as any father would ever be! The time is near, guardians! You have proven yourselves worthy of bearing the flag of Smashville's new age…" he raised his voice to the heavens.

"Guardians arise!"

---

It's almost over…

Now I'm sad… :(

Seeya next chapter, though!