Thanks for all the reviews- sorry I couldn't reply to them last chapter! Fanfiction's email notification system was down and I didn't even realize I got so many reviews for 3 and 4 until I got eight emails all at once. So... Sorceress of Shadows: Actually, this entire story is already pre-written, but you inspired me to possibly kill off a few. Not going to say anything to spoil it, though. And NOW I'm using your summary, as I only just saw it. Credit goes to you!

Chapter 4

33 Smashers remaining…

Wario wasn't the only one. During the fight, others had passed out with nose bleeds that were only found after panicked screams began echoing around the Smash Mansion once Wario was discovered.

Donkey Kong, Luigi, Mr. Game and Watch, Peach, Sonic, and Snake were all being taken to other room that weas being converted into makeshift sick bays by Olimar- everybody else was too afraid to even touch them.

Ten sick in four days. Pokemon, the only race not to have lost any to this mysterious disease, were none too confident that one of them wouldn't fall ill and were just as frightened as the others. Dr. Mario and Olimar had their hands full with patients and the other Smashers were really just sitting ducks until Samus or one of the Star Fox team reported back, who had flown out without protest once the other seven had gotten sick.

Everyone was saying that it was only a matter of time until everyone was either sick or this disease started killing.

Samus stared at the picture her ship was showing her of the ground below in complete horror.

This planet was supposed to be deserted of intelligent life. In all the years the Smash Mansion had been there, no one or thing had approached the Smashers. But the images on her ship's monitor made it very clear that no natural phenomenon was responsible for this disease.

A team of eight or so people was making their way towards the Smash Mansion through a range of low mountains, moving boulders aside and heavy logs into the air like it was nothing at all. They were dressed as warriors but things were moving out of their way seemingly on their command.

She's seen a lot of very high tech stuff in the Chozo civilizations that she'd grown up in, but nothing like this. Rocks that had been lying there for probably hundreds of years were lifting up and just moving for these people- and even her databanks, with combined knowledge from Space Pirate and Chozo and the Galactic Federation's knowledge didn't recognize them. If they weren't behind the disease, then she had no idea what was.

Samus opened up a link to the Smash Mansion, sighing with relief when Marth showed up on the computer screen. "Hey, Marth? I ran into some warriors out here- I don't know who or what they are, but I think they're the source of the disease. But I don't want to approach them without backup; they look pretty powerful."

Marth stared at her in confusion, asking, "Samus, didn't you go north east?" When she nodded, he responded with, "Then that's impossible."

Two hours previously

Fox, Falco, and Wolf flew in a tight formation southwest from the Smash Mansion, searching on the ground for any signs of a world ravaged by the same disease that was attacking them now. It looked like Earth, though- similar flora and fauna, virtually identical land features… nothing akin to the worlds the Star Fox team had flown over countless times to save the galaxy from Andross- more like the landscape around Corneria than anything else.

Everything was normal… until Wolf pulled his ship up sharply and shouted in alarm, directing everybody's attention to the geyser that had suddenly shot up out of the ground about two miles away. It retreated back towards the ground several seconds later, leaving the Star Fox team stunned.

After a few seconds passed in silence, Falco asked slowly, "Well? We going to check it out or what?"

"Well, it could have been caused a natural phenomenon… but since we don't have any other leads, lets go. But land so we can approach on foot; we'd be more visible from the air and I don't want to wind up as a flying target for whatever that water was."

The other two obliged, and soon, Fox, Falco, and Wolf were approaching the source of the water. And before too long they were able to see three people trapped on the other side of a river moving too fast and clearly too deep for them to cross- one raised his hands and the river rose as well, creating another geyser.

The cause of the disease.

When Samus heard that the Star Fox team had also found a team of people using elemental energy, she was shocked.

Eight people were in the mountains north of the Smash Mansion, three were south of it- were there others? And according to Marth, the people spotted by Star Fox were headed in the Smasher's direction, just like the eight she was following were.

"So, what should I do? Do you want me to attack them now, before they get closer to the mansion, or-"

Marth shook his head. "No, no. You're outnumbered, and-"

"-And we don't know what these people are capable of," Ike said as he walked behind Marth, nodding at Samus. "We've got a problem. ROB just got sick."

Marth rolled his eyes while Samus just laughed. "Ike, ROB's a robot. He can't get sick."

"Well, he's not sick like a human would be, but his system overheated and he shut down; we tried shocking him but he's still in sleep mode. Dr. Mario even agreed that this has to be the virus."

A heavy silence hung after his words as Samus and Marth realized he wasn't kidding. This disease was really targeting everything- it was only a matter of time until it killed someone… and anybody could be next.

"So what do you want me to do? Whoever these people are with their elemental energy, they're like nothing I've ever seen. The Chozo used powerful technology to do something similar but these people, they just wave their hands and nature is in their hands. And since ROB's down, maybe they can control technology too. If they can, they could theoretically incapacitate me in seconds."

"Keep following them, for now." All three looked at Link, who had just walked in Samus's line of sight. "Now that ROB's sick and these strange warriors are headed our way, we don't have much of a choice. If many more get sick, we'll be outnumbered, and we still don't how to fight them… we're probably going to leave and see what happens when these people get to the mansion and it's empty."