How many days have passed by since I've been here? A few days? A couple weeks? I forgot what month it was anymore, but that really didn't matter. Whether it was summer or winter, I wasn't able to feel it.

The pocket watch Priscilla gave me, the only indication of time I had, reminded me that I've been asleep for six hours. It was around midnight now. We found shelter in the trolley train after Dr. Mario and I left the city temporarily. Old posters and advertisements were peeling off the walls. One caught my eye: "Paula Pizza: family owned restaurant", the grinning round man next to the woman (probably Paula) reminded me of Wario and how we found him at the pizza shop.

I almost wanted to smile, remembering how the greasy pizza tasted like. But also remembering there was nothing to look forward to, the sounds of my friends talking to one another, the warm lamps illuminating the streets, people of all ages brushing through the shops, and despite being kept in a cave, the people still lived here or did once before. Who knows how long ago that was?

The abandoned station we came back to was quiet as it was before, although the station itself too has aged since I've last visited it. I sat upright. A numb warmness huddled around me from my cloak. My eyelids were still heavy and the dim lighting wasn't helping me wake up. Dr. Mario was curled up and lying on his side on the seats across from me. He was wrapped in a blanket we found in the trolley before we decided to sleep here.

My stomach growled. Remembering that I needed to eat was probably one of the worst things I've remembered. How in the world am I going to find food? And if I do find something, I doubt it's half as edible. I'd die of starvation before I could find food, every day.

I rummaged through my bag to forget about my stomach. The four ink balls huddled together in my smaller pocket. My watch, Snake's Taser gun, the black notebook and the pen were all there. I had Dr. Mario sign his name in the page where I had the rest of my friends sign, in case I needed to take a poll if we were to get back together again.

I took the pen and wrote in Pichu's name right below it. Wherever everyone is, I just want them to be together. It probably was a good idea to let Roy, Young Link, and Pichu to have their ink balls… since all of their phantoms were strong (and horribly sadistic) and their special powers would come handy when it comes to battle.

"Are you okay?" A soft voice asked.

I looked up to see Dr. Mario half up, staring at me like I was a critical patient. I attempted a smile.

"You know, I'm not Roy or Link… but you can talk to me." He whispered.

It took me a bit to process what he said. "Thanks, doc. I-um… I just want everyone to be safe. And don't worry, I'll be talking to you a lot."

The corners of Dr. Mario's moustache lifted a bit when I said 'doc'. I made a mental note to make that his nickname.

"...So, since we're both up, do you mind telling me what you remember out of this ordeal?" I asked. The doctor hesitated for two seconds but then he met eyes with me. I wanted more information, despite any odds. Since I proved that to his phantom.

"Well…" He started, "Dr. Sutherland did rescue me when I was near death. I was running from something. I think it was The Mother but I couldn't really see what it looked like. I just remember getting wringed by chains and barbwire until I was literally tearing apart."

There was a brief pause as Dr. Mario warily rubbed his arms. "I think… The Mother, it manipulates you into thinking things you never even thought of before. And it also takes away what you had and replaces it with emptiness."

"By emptiness, do you mean…?"

"Like you've never even known it was there. You told me you remembered you needed to eat, right? The Mother took away your need to consume for some time. But now… we've earned it back."

I frowned. "…It would've been nice if I didn't need to eat, it's convenient."

"True, but it's what makes us alive, and not just another entity in this cave. …Do you get what I'm getting at?" The doctor continued to rub his arms as if he was afraid of someone listening on our conversation.

"Remembering these things prevents us from becoming phantoms." I guessed.

"Close. Actually that might be correct, for all I know." Dr. Mario paused. He then picked his blanket up and sat next to me. He hugged his knees. The trolley wasn't as cold, but Dr. Mario was shaking.

"The Mother is trying to cut us off from the world above. Trying to make us forget it… trying to make the world forget we ever existed. Remembering and forgetting. It sounds like something out of a fantasy but, it explains the ghost towns."

The doctor explained ghost towns started to emerge (or disappear, by literal means) around the time we disappeared. Everything around that time seemed so odd. I could almost recall how worried some of us were, including me, watching the television before dinner concerning the third town that lost its population.

And the sunset that very evening, something was out of place, like a puzzle piece was missing. I watched the sky with Roy. Or was it Link? It was with someone, and he said the sky was getting dark faster than usual. It felt like the end of the world, gradually erasing my memories, my identity, even some factors that made me "human", so to speak. I started out as a presence, an entity, maybe even a ghost in this cave, and I'm picking up things as I go.

"It's interesting how The Mother works…" The doctor continued. "She's like dark energy."

"It was dark…" I muttered in reply.

"Well, dark energy as in outer space." Dr. Mario chuckled. "It's a substance in space where no one has ever actually seen it or taken samples of it, but it's proven it exists. The universe is getting bigger and bigger. Dark energy is what makes the universe expand faster."

When I stayed quiet (probably with the most stupid looking expression ever), Dr. Mario laughed and patted my shoulders. I may have lived closer to space than everyone else, but I was never the one for astronomy.

"I could give you a lecture about it, if you'd like." He suggested.

"Uh, no that's okay."

His laugh finally seceded to a smile. "If you want one, let me know. It'll be good to let your mind wander off every once in a while."

"True." I nodded.

Neither of us could sleep afterwards, and the talking ceased also. The two of us just sat in silence, time ticking by as I tried to settle everything together. Dr. Mario fiddled with his stethoscope slowly, his blinks getting heavier and heavier.

An hour of dozing off passed by and I finally stood up. Dr. Mario blinked twice and smiled, "Ready to go?"

"Staying here any longer only makes me sad."

"My condolences."

I looked down. "I just… I wish I could have helped them escape. You know, let the people be back under the sunlight again."

There wasn't an immediate reply. Dr. Mario's eyes wandered. His head was doing calculations again and it took him a while to make the words come together. "Maybe this was meant to be. At least for the people who couldn't fight back."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Our group has the potential to fight back against The Mother." He paused. "For the civilians, I mean, what can they do against the monsters and phantoms?"

"But still, I wish I could've helped—"

"Pit." Dr. Mario cut me off. "It's going to difficult saving every soul trapped in here."

I shivered when he called me by my name. Dr. Mario was right. Nobody can really save everyone. It was frustrating how powerless I felt compared to The Mother. It's prodding me around in a box full of toys while I try to figure out its maze and try to escape it. He even showed me an illusion of the city in the past, just to make me have hope that I could have saved these people, when in reality they were already dead.

And who knows what he did to the rest of my friends. Probably in his hands, out of my reach since he apparently seems to enjoy this game we have between us. But I still had to try. This isn't my first time I've fought against gods, for that matter.

"… Um, sorry." The doctor apologized.

I guessed I was quiet for too long. "Not your fault doc, I'm just thinking too hard."

He smiled. But his lips were pursed shut.

We had to go back into the city, since as I recall the last time I've actually explored, we were at a dead-end except for the trap door that lead us into Polis 1. Dark, looming buildings welcomed us once more, leaning over one another in exhaustion. The demolition stopped but sometimes I could hear a distant roar of something crumbling down.

Dr. Mario wobbled his way down the unstable path. I was in close pursuit, looking for any paths out the city. The canal that flowed through the station was a darker shade of green than what I remembered.

Water no longer lapped at the docks and was still as ice. Only Dr. Mario's occasional humming seemed to populate the city. Some canoes were stacked up top one another. Dust and dirt accumulated inside the boat, but otherwise it was still in operational condition.

As I was dusting off one of the larger canoes, Dr. Mario rummaged through my pockets and pulled out an ink ball. Black substance shrouded the doctor into his phantom self.

"I think I found a tunnel through the canal." He explained.

"A tunnel?"

"We could use that canoe to get out of here. But I just want to listen in with my 'phantom powers' make sure it's not a dead-end." He quoted the words mockingly.

I tied a rope to the boat and dragged it with me as we followed the dock. Water rippled from the boat being pulled along, gently caressing the walls. Dr. Mario continued to hum a light tune as we walked along the creaking wood. Sometimes we had to skip over a couple of debris left from the ruins but other than that, it was a quiet stroll.

Soon, a dark gaping tunnel materialized before us (somehow, I've never noticed it before), signifying the end of the canal that ran through the city. The lamps tacked into the walls were dead for the most part. I'd see some flickering deep in the passageway every once in a while, but I couldn't tell if the light was from candles or light bulbs.

Dr. Mario closed his eyes and concentrated. Every time he fiddled his fingers together, small quivers went down his body as if he was taking in all of the noise. I started having bad thoughts when Dr. Mario was still taken over by his phantom, he'd listen in our conversations like this.

"I hear metal. Like, rusty metal grinding together. And, hmm, I can hear water. But the water is sloshing around the metal so it's not a natural movement. Ah, and steam. I was wondering what that hissing noise was."

"It sounds like a factory of some sort."

"But there's no one to operate it." Dr. Mario mused. "I wonder if it's a trap."

"Ah, well, trap or not, we don't have any other choice. Besides, this whole cave is like a big trap anyway."

I pulled out one of the oars and handed it to Dr. Mario. He had a hurt expression on his face, or however sensitive looking you can get with a pitch black shell and murderous set of red eyes. But seeing him frown like that made me feel sorry. In the end I couldn't help but blurt out my excuses.

"I tend to make sarcastic comments like that a lot so, you'll just have to get used to it."

Dr. Mario dropped his shoulders. "…Kids these days."

If he had pupils right now, he would be rolling them at me.

Starting off the boat was a bit awkward since neither of us had the experience, but we got the hang of it after we left the dock. I sat down in the back row while Dr. Mario stood in the front, listening in on any sound. The boat creaked obnoxiously once, making the doctor flinch like crazy, but he shook off and 'ignored' the excess noise he didn't need. Another one of his convenient 'phantom powers'.

When we rowed to the mouth of the tunnel, I saw the flickering lights turned out to be electric lamps. The walls hummed but I still couldn't hear the enough of the factory the doctor heard.

"Hey, doc." I called. I seemed to cut off his concentration since the buzzing around him stopped when I called him.

"Yes?"

"Try snapping. Phantoms can turn the lights off and on as they please."

Dr. Mario stared at his hand and nodded. In one quick movement, he snapped his fingers, the sound reverberating in the tunnel. The light bulbs fluttered hesitantly, and the first set of lamps around us sparked back to life. The rest followed in consecutive order. The doctor dropped his jaw and marveled the phenomenon.

"These phantoms have things too favorable here." He chuckled.

The first series of noises I heard were beeping. Which was weird considering Dr. Mario hasn't heard that when he was scouring the place with his power. As we rowed closer and closer to the said factory, Dr. Mario nodded, catching on the beeping noise I heard.

At first I thought it was some sort of error noise but the beeping was inconsistent, and almost sounded frantic. The doctor explained it like it might be a Morse code from the sequence of long notes and short notes, but to me it sounded nothing short of a machine malfunctioning.

"Besides, doc, do you know Morse code?" I asked.

Dr. Mario pursed his lips (he may have blushed too) and shook his head. His face lit up as we came to the end of the tunnel.

"Ah, it was a factory after all."

A shower of light welcomed us as we came to the end of the tunnel. Warm fluorescent light illuminated the machinery like a staged play. For the first few seconds after we came out of the long passageway, Dr. Mario and I sat there in our canoe marveling the scenery.

The good doctor was somewhat right. If there was one word to describe the messy network of ducts, hissing machines and creaking cogwheels, it was a "factory". A small, makeshift dock that was minimized at much as possible perched at a small corner. The dock was so tiny compared to the gargantuan workshop, so I guessed that not a lot of people went in and out. And besides, if a lot of people and things were going by, I'd build a trolley or something.

A consistent rhythm was keeping the factory in motion. Deep thumping noises like a giant heart pumped into the walls. Water sloshed back and forth in the cylindrical towers. I could only tell because water spewed from the cracks of the structure when it would swirl around inside the tubes. I don't have any knowledge in human machinery but I guessed that this whole place kept Polis 1 in motion when the city was still alive.

Dr. Mario helped me out of the canoe but his eyes were still fascinated by the factory. "It looks like it hasn't been in maintenance for a while, but it's moving. Do you think my 'special phantom powers' turned on the factory?"

"You heard the factory moving before you snapped those lights back to life." I reminded him.

"Oh, right."

Dr. Mario stood outside listening into any odd sounds, especially the beeping noise both of us heard from the tunnel. It was still there, but difficult to rule out the source. I found a building near the dock so I volunteered to scavenge in there in the meantime.

Dirt crunched when I pushed the door open. The lights on the ceiling flickered across the white tiled floor, but not as strongly lit as the factory outside. When the door shut, it was complete silence save the thumping outside. A bulletin board tacked up to the wall caught my eye.

Most of the paper was old and ripped off, but there was a single, full piece of paper on top of all the other ones. It was near mint. For some reason, the paper was pinned to the board backwards. I took off the pin and turned the paper over. It read: "Big Room crystal levels: 115."

"The Big Room…" I said to myself. It sounded familiar. The number 115 didn't ring a bell though. It had no value to the number so I couldn't tell if it was temperature or some sort of crystal measuring method.

I folded the paper up to stash it in my notebook.

I rummaged through counters, drawers, and cubbies without much success. I found some blueprints and maintenance schedules of the factory, along with some archives about "crystalline glass engineering" and "the future of clockwork" which to me, didn't make any sense at all. I guessed this wasn't a very popular tourist location. I would've loved to visit here back in its peak time though.

The rooms in the back consisted of small lounges and cubicles. They were pretty empty and all that was left behind were a couple notebooks and chairs. In one cubicle, there was a drawing of a family of five, a mother, father, and three kids, all lined up. It wasn't exactly a child's drawing, in fact, I had to stare at it pretty good to realize that it wasn't a black and white photo. I placed the paper back down where the dust fitted the paper perfectly, which was the center of the desk. There was really nothing else in the cubicle except for the drawing and I kind of didn't want to know why.

As I was about to step out of the room, I felt a warm sigh. The sudden, but soft noise left me a feeling of safety instead of fear. I probably should have been scared since I sworn I was alone. Somehow I wasn't scared.

I peeked into the next room. This one was a lounge that had panoramic windows that overlook a large portion of the factory. Several old sofas were scattered across the room. The snack machine was still humming, waiting for someone to throw coins in its slot.

Someone, or something, perhaps, was lying on one of the big sofas turned away from me. He snored lightly and I noticed he was the one that I heard in the cubicle next door. His blue feathers were puffed up in content of sleep. My hands were getting a bit chilly and I couldn't help placing a hand on his fluffy arms.

His eyes fluttered thrice and looked up at me with a scowl. "Huh? What… hey, your hands are cold, do you mind?"

I rolled my eyes. "I do mind. I get cold easily unlike you, Falco."

The second Falco heard my voice, he shot up blinking like strobe lights. He patted his cheeks, saw me again, and proceeded to hug me very very tightly. I didn't mind because he was warm from his nap.

"You alright Pit? Nothing's wrong? Wh-What happened, where are we?"

"You know my name too?" I squeaked from Falco's grip. He let me go, but only to keep a tight hold on my shoulders as if he was preventing me from running away.

"What do you mean I know your name, I haven't forgot that much… Oh."

The power in his arms drained and he toppled back onto the sofa. I sat next to him. I could almost see the different thoughts crossing Falco's mind. I counted the thumps that pumped through the factory outside while Falco scratched his feathers and thought. After a great deal of mumbling and itching and caressing his beak thoughtfully, he turned to me.

"So, the guys you met so far… they didn't know your name? Doesn't that sound weird though?"

I scooted closer to Falco. "What is?"

"Alright, wait, so I'm guessing you've had a long ways of travelling and fighting getting here. You met some of the guys along the way, and… is this a city?"

"It's a factory, but it's only a mile's way from Polis 1."

"We're back into the cities, right."

My mind was getting jumbled. I grabbed Falco's arm before he could relay any more thoughts. "Hold up, what do you mean back to the cities? Am I going in the wrong direction, or what?"

Falco blinked. "…I see what's going on. Let me think again." He muttered.

But as we tried to untangle our knots, Dr. Mario (with his megaphone voice) called for help: "Piiiiit, could you please lend me a hand ASAP? I feel bad for the poor fellows!"

"Whoa! What was that?!" Falco jumped out of his feathers from the sudden voice.

"Just follow me." I didn't give the time to explain since it would be easier for him to understand if he saw it. Dr. Mario didn't sound like he was in grave danger but it was best if we went to him quicker.

On our way out, Falco patted my blue cloak. "Hey, nice cape, by the way."

"Thanks. Roy, um, stole it for me in Polis 1."

"Sweet, sweet. Roy always knew how to sneak around, huh." Falco laughed, amused with my word choice.

The beeping Dr. Mario and I heard earlier was incredibly loud once we came back outside. Falco pointed to a corner of the mess of pipes. I spotted Dr. Mario waving back to us down below. He was in a corner of the factory up several flights of stairs.

Dr. Mario cupped his hands to make a megaphone again. "It's R.O.B. and Mr. Game and Watch. They're stuck so I'm trying my best to let them loose! But, um, some assistance would help!"

"R.O.B. and Game and Watch?" Falco scoffed. "How did those two goofballs get all the way up there? Oh well."

He jumped, or maybe flew was a better word, with incredible drive even though he barely even seemed to put any foot on it. In a matter of seconds, he bounded up the hissing pipes to where Dr. Mario was struggling to let the two friends loose.

It's been a while since I've used my wings, but I managed to catch up. Upon closer inspection, R.O.B. and Mr. Game and Watch, the eccentric best friends, were so twisted up in the pipe system in awkward positions and I had a hard time how they got into this situation in the first place.

Both of them were panicked and flailing their limbs everywhere, but making no progress in getting free. R.O.B. was stuck between two pipes at his waist (waist piece?) and his arms were tangled in stringent wires. Mr. Game and Watch, which I thought we could get him out quicker, considering he's two-dimensional, was clammed shut between two other pipes. There was no way these two would've gotten tangled up themselves, but nonetheless they were stuck.

I did know the first step in solving the problem: calming them down.

I came up to R.O.B., careful not to trip on the pipes. The robot beeped in short, loud frequencies that sounded very much like a human scream. I patted his face and brought it to my chest. At first he was confused, but when the white light dispersed onto him, he made an effort to wrap his arm pieces around my back in a hug.

"Shh, it's okay. We'll get you two out." I assured. R.O.B. squeaked and nodded meekly. He settled down for that matter and stared up at me with his large, circular lenses.

I considered consulting Mr. Game and Watch like R.O.B. but he had his legs wiggling from where we stood so I guessed it was awkward for me to hug his butt while I gave him the white light. I just patted the guy's feet and told him everything will be okay. He too made a worried beep and became slack.

Falco crossed his arms. "Well, now that they're tolerable, what do we do leader?"

"Hmm." I eyed the two pipes that scissored R.O.B. at his waist. They weren't clamping him down like Mr. Game and Watch's situation. He was stuck because his backbone piece was thinner than his chest piece and base piece. If there was a point where the pipes opened up a bit, we could drag him there and he would have some leeway to squeeze through.

The problem with moving him was that his arms were tangled in wires. I had an idea. I asked Falco to keep encouraging Mr. Game in Watch to hang in there while I pulled the doctor to the wires. R.O.B. made a curious "boop?" sound.

Without even giving another thought, Dr. Mario nodded and grabbed the wires with firm hands. I was glad I didn't even need to explain my idea to him.

"I will try my best not to tickle you, R.O.B." Dr. Mario winked.

The doctor concentrated on his hands, sending intense vibrations down to the point where he held the wires. R.O.B. made an amused chortling noise, tickled by the excess vibrations. The point of concentration, however, made insufferable whirring noises until they finally gave break. I could barely imagine what it would be like to experience those waves for an extended period of time. I barely made it with a couple seconds worth last time.

When we finally untangled R.O.B.'s arms from the wire Dr. Mario cut off, R.O.B. made a very delighted squeal that even made Mr. Game and Watch, still with his rear toward us, beep agreeably and flail his legs in the same happy matter.

"Hey Pit!" Falco called, "I found a control panel."

"A what…? Doc, wait here with R.O.B. please." I asked. The doctor nodded and patted R.O.B.'s headpiece for reassurance.

After tripping over a few wires to reach him, Falco pointed out the several levers and bolts with labels that correspond to what they do. However, all it was to me was a jumble of vocabulary. Falco must have seen the look in my eyes because he patted my shoulder encouragingly.

"Don't worry. I have no idea either. But we have to try something."

I scratched the back of my neck. The first task I had to do was stop whatever is flowing through the pipes. That way I could cut the pipes without worrying about a flood. The problem with that is, which crank is the right one, and if stopping the water is a safe decision or not. Up near the top where the gadgets were connected by wires, there was a screen. It was flickering and ready to give out but I could read the blocky letters: "CRYSTAL LEVELS: 115".

Something sparked in the back of my head. I pulled out my notebook to see the newest piece of information.

Falco hummed curiously. "'Big Room crystal levels: 115'…where did you find this?"

"Back in the offices. It was on a bulletin board but…" I shook my head. I could think about the meaning of it later. The numbers were rising fast and by the time I looked up again, the 'crystal levels' were well over 200.

Should I lower the levels until they're 115? What happens when this number gets too high or too low? I looked up again. The levels were 335 and rising. Nothing was really any different save the regular thumping reverberating the entire factory.

Dr. Mario raised his head. He winced from something and grasped his ears but Falco and I didn't hear anything. After 'ignoring' that noise with his phantom's hearing sensory, he managed to scramble towards us. I had to catch up with him so he didn't trip on the pipes and fall flat on his face.

"…Oh, good gracious! Ah, how did that not ring into your soul?" Dr. Mario sputtered.

"What did you hear?" I asked, making my voice soft for his sake.

"A piercing noise!" He grunted, struggling to describe the sound he heard. "Have you ever heard nails on a chalkboard, or maybe like, glass breaking on concrete? It's like that, but it had a rhythm."

Falco pursed his beak (or so it looked like it), "So what doc, you heard music?"

"You can say that. R.O.B. and Mr. Game and Watch must have heard it before. They seem afraid of the sound I heard."

I looked back. R.O.B. met my eyes and made a suppressed whine. I still couldn't hear the piercing noise they're complaining about but the dreaded look was enough to get my attention. The crystal levels were near 400 now, but I still couldn't figure out what those numbers actually meant.

The thumping stopped. The reverberating noise that kept the factory moving stopped. I expected some warning alarms or beeps prior to everything shutting down, but now all noise and movement ceased. R.O.B. and Mr. Game and Watch made nervous chattering noises. It was almost infuriating to not understand their language. What was going on?

Falco nudged me. "Do you hear that? It's like a clock."

I stood still and listened. The ticking was faint, but it was there. Perhaps it has always been there in the background of the factory. I wouldn't have taken note of a clock ticking, if it hadn't crescendo-ed with every second. Dr. Mario cringed with every tick.

"Doc, just ignore it." I suggested. He didn't answer me back but he snapped his head back to the pipes where our friends were trapped. R.O.B. winced and made a worried buzz.

"We need to get them out—"

A crane at the base of the factory creaked to life. Its neck swung around toward the canal near the canoe Dr. Mario and I used. There was no one in the driver seat from where I could see, but that wasn't the most mysterious phenomenon. Something black and rope-like broke the surface of the water and wrapped around the crane like a snake. The crane groaned under the weight of the black rope.

R.O.B. was beeping agitatedly behind us, but he wasn't paying attention to the fishing execution of the black rope and the crane. He was flailing his arms at the sight of his friend, who was surprisingly quiet and immobile in this situation.

Falco patted the poor robot's headpiece. "What's going on, man? Hey, where can we get a translator around here? I can't understand a single beep he's trying to say."

I stole another look at the canal. The crane was still struggling to pull whatever is underwater at the moment. While Falco tried to console our terrified friend, Dr. Mario batted his bright red eyes and muttered to himself, until he reached his answer and grabbed my arms.

"That's it!" He cried.

"That's what? Help me out here, what's happening?"

"This is a crystal factory." He emphasized. "It-it has nothing to do with Polis 1. Well maybe, if they excavated crystals from the city but-"

"What, wait, what does that have to do with… with this?" I cut him off and pointed to the canal, which the crane was now pulling up a mess of cables. The ticking was clearer now, and even louder if that was possible.

"I don't know what it is, but it's probably going to do something bad to R.O.B. and Mr. Game and Watch soon." Dr. Mario looked back to the pipes where Mr. Game and Watch was clamped shut.

But he wasn't there.

R.O.B.'s eyes sparked a cherry-red flash. He stopped beeping once his lenses started oscillating different colors and twitching to the ticking noise that now rang into our ears.

A yellow cord whipped at us, successfully slapping me away from Dr. Mario. I fell on my haunches and skidded away before I could register the sore pain. Its real target, however, wasn't me. The cord wrapped around R.O.B.'s head, torso, arms, any part of his body to force him out of the pipes. His base piece strained and cracked from the pipes he was trapped between, but the yellow cord kept on jerking him with sheer force.

"What the hell!" Falco shouted. "Let him go, you stringy monstrosity!"

Another cord grabbed a hold of Dr. Mario's leg, yanking him down to the ground. I grabbed his hand but the cord had a much greater advantage over me. We were dragged to the edge of the railing like a fish being reeled in little by little. I swallowed my breath from the drop below us but I couldn't risk letting Dr. Mario go.

"No, no, let me go! You have to save R.O.B.!" He screamed.

"And let you get taken away?" I gritted my teeth. "Well, that's not going to happen!"

Dr. Mario placed his other hand over mine. His speech was calm. "Please! You have to trust me on this. I know what this monster wants and I know what will make it not want me. But for that to happen, I need you to let me go, Pit."

"But…" I stuttered. My arms were going to rip right from the joints but I couldn't find the courage to let the doctor go. Behind me, Falco pulled out his firearm and shot at the yellow cords that wrenched on poor R.O.B. without much success.

Dr. Mario gripped his hold on me, sending down enough vibrations to make me flinch and let go.

"No! Doctor!" I scrabbled to catch his hand again, but the cord claimed him too quick for me to make an attempt. The two seconds before he plunged into the canal felt like time had stopped. Somehow, he was smiling back at me. Did he really know what was going on?

"Pit! Some help here!" Falco yelled, bringing me back to attention. I ripped my eyes off where Dr. Mario disappeared into the water.

The shots Falco fired blew off some of the cords but a majority of them were still wrapped tightly around our friend. The pipes that clamped him were bending slightly, but the damage being done on R.O.B.'s base piece was more severe. His body was cracking, threatening to sever apart.

"Keep firing!" I shouted to him as I brought my bow above me.

The momentum shuddered down the shaft of the arrow, enveloping the tip with the swirling element. I kneeled and aimed at the cluster of cables. As soon as I let go, an impulsive, turbulent discharge surrounded the arrow, making me wince. Fire enclosed and tore through the cords, significantly exploding the wiring inside. The remaining few curled and slinked away as if it can feel the pain. Some still dared to reach out for R.O.B.

"Damn! Your arrows are pretty amazing, I'll give you that." Falco complimented, stomping away the twitching cords.

"Thanks." I replied quickly.

Below us, I heard Dr. Mario struggling against the cables that dragged him down. We both looked over the railing. He was still in his phantom form, buzzing his vibrations to jerk off some attacking cords. The good news was he was conscious enough to fight. But we couldn't waste much more time.

Falco and I turned to each other. He gave me a knowing nod. "I'll go help the good doctor. Come when you're ready, alright?"

"I will." I gave him a stiff smile.

Falco dove off of the railing without giving a second thought. I ran over to pull the dead yellow cords off R.O.B., who was slumped over making squeaky noises. He was smoking from all of the damage. The pipes that held him in place were bent awkwardly from all the pulling the cords have done. I managed to pull him free.

"R.O.B, can you hear me?" I called.

R.O.B.'s lenses fluttered. He made an elongated whine that sounded like a relieved sigh. The base piece sparked from the cracks and it was a miracle he made it in one piece, literally. I just hoped my white light could fix machine parts also.

I set his head down carefully. He wasn't in a good condition at all, but seeing him settled for now, I turned to leave. Nevertheless he grabbed for my bag at the right moment and pulled me back down on my butt again. My robotic friend looked terribly apologetic, however, at the same time, he patted my bag and tried to reach inside.

"What are you doing…?"

He palmed my notebook. I assumed he was referring to my newest clue, the "Big Room crystal levels: 115" note. Then, he touched at Priscilla's watch. He got a hold of it with feeble hands and put it to his chest.

"I'm sorry, I-I don't under-"

R.O.B. beeped worriedly and pushed the watch to my chest. He slid it across until he found my heart and made a tapping motion, with the clock, against my chest like a heartbeat.

"The, um, the clock is the heart?"

R.O.B. blinked and nodded. He sounded happy because now, he picked up Snake's Taser gun and one of the dead yellow cords. His hands were still shaky but he was pretty good at these charades.

He waved the Taser gun in one hand, while keeping the cord down with the other. Once he flipped the switch of the weapon, he gestured the snapping electricity made the cord "notice" the item, wrapping it around, and dragging it down.

"Um, electric things make the cord attracted to it." I guessed.

R.O.B. nodded again. He then gestured his power button on his behind. He pulled my hand to that one spot he couldn't reach.

"You're right." I agreed. "I'll turn you off for now so the cords will leave you alone. But the next time you're turned on again, is when we've defeated this monster, alright? …See you soon buddy."

R.O.B. squeaked in approval. I tapped at his power button and his system immediately shut off. I laid him down away from sight so the cords don't make a snatch at him again. I looked above. The control panel that showed the crystal levels was destroyed from the cords and was no longer working. Whatever the 115 meant, I can't set it with the control panel anymore. Somehow, I had to do it manually.

I leaned over the railing. The crane was still pulling on the mess of cords but a vast majority of it was now above the water. Some cords nipped at Dr. Mario and Falco, who were standing near the docks. There was no sign where Mr. Game and Watch had gone. The obvious target for now was the cord that connected the crane and the lump of whatever was emerging from the water.

I took off my cloak, and my bag that had the Taser gun and the pocket watch for that matter, if the cords were attracted to anything that was electric or a machine. Now that I was completely technology free, I stood up on the railing and carefully placed my aim to the crane.

Light manifested my hands. An arrow formulated from the cyan light but I waited for the second momentum. My fire arrows seemed to do the job for the cords. I assumed fire was no longer considered a "technology" that man created. As I was about to let go of my arrow, a dark screen manifested out of thin air and blocked my vision. The fire infested arrow shattered as it came in contact.

'Glitching' probably was a more appropriate word. The air around me crackled, resembling a television screen. From the rip in spacetime, Mr. Game and Watch had his mighty hammer up high above my head before I could react.

The thing that saved me was that his "Judgment" was a 3, denoting by the card that he held above his head. This means it didn't hurt as much. Rather than a dull smash, the hit made something more like a dry slapping noise. Mr. Game and Watch cried a disappointed 'beep' before fading away. I tried to register why he just hit—well, slap—me across my head, but my questions were answered when the ground started to tremor.

I toppled over the railing, barely managing to catch myself in midair before I could plunge into the water. Falco was thrown off of the crane, which started to move more aggressively as it hauled the mess of cables out of the water.

Something other than the cables started to emerge. Something darker, and more of a definite shape. It was containing something. Cords and wires of all shapes and sizes coiled around the cage tightly as if they were smothering what was inside for security. I could only get a glimpse of its core when the cables moved around enough to show an open spot. It was a humanlike form, but lacking any detail other than it wore a black crown on its head. Was this the underlying entity that held the factory in order? Or was the factory still in function long after people were gone, because it was trying to keep this alive?

"Pit!" Dr. Mario screamed. "Shield your ears, now!"

I was startled at utmost, but I didn't argue the (ex) phantom of sound. Nevertheless the second I cupped my ears, the mannequin with the black crown twitched and shrieked the most discordant, tearing uproar I've ever heard. The glass door to the offices below shattered inwards from the noise. Water sprayed every corner of the factory. I only noticed that was weird because the fire emergency sprinklers in the ceiling broke and rained down on us.

Throughout that time, Mr. Game and Watch appeared here and there, looking as confused as I was until he ultimately plunged into the water.

"Mr. Game and Watch!" I tried calling, but all of my voice was erased from the horrible wail. I landed near the docks from the running sprinklers weighing me down. At ground level, everything was chaos. Cords snapped around wrenching and twisting off pieces of the factory and bringing it back to the mannequin.

"Mr. Game and Watch! Where are—" I stopped.

I could hear myself.

The noise abruptly stopped just as fast as the lights of the factory flickered off. My eyesight danced around and I had to feel the wall before I fell into the canal also. I had to rely on my hearing to get an idea where Mr. Game and Watch fell, but after all of that screaming my ears were ringing as if I was inside some set of speakers.

Eventually my friend found me first. Mr. Game and Watch tapped my toes and I helped him out of the waterway. As I lifted him up he felt my head where he swung his hammer at me. I assured him it wasn't a big deal. Water still showered down and I heard confused mutters coming from Falco and Dr. Mario.

"Guys?" I called out.

"Right here kid. You okay?" Falco responded.

"I'm good." I sighed. "Dr. Mario, are you there?"

"Yes. I-um, I suppose I'm fine too."

I took out my bow and used its fires as a torch for them to navigate. It was hard to see what the mannequin and cords were doing but they were awfully quiet now. I grabbed a hold of my two friends as they came to me. I hugged their drenched selves.

"How is R.O.B.?" Dr. Mario whispered.

I smiled at him showing his doctor-like self. "I turned him off. He said electric things and any kind of technology draws the mannequin and its royal apprentices. He also said there's a clock on its chest and that's its heart that we need to strike."

"What, you understand R.O.B.-nese now?" Falco scoffed.

"Well he—uh, gestured. He's great at charades." I shrugged.

Dr. Mario still couldn't wipe the look of concern on his face. "So perhaps that was why Mr. Game and Watch has been behaving oddly. You seemed unlike yourself there, friend." He patted Mr. Game and Watch's round nose.

I looked down at my two-dimensional pal. If the monster was controlling him, there isn't really a way to turn him "off" like R.O.B., so to speak. Plus he was able to escape out of those pipes that clamped him down while he was being controlled. Tying him somewhere won't advantage us in anyway.

He hopped out of my arms to the nearest machine with a keyboard. The rest of us kept our attention to the general direction of the monster, which was still strangely silent, as we followed him.

The device was almost broken due to the running sprinklers drenching the technology, but luckily for us it was just visible enough to see what was typed onto the screen. Mr. Game and Watch used careful movements to type out the one word he wanted us to know.

On the black screen, with ghostly green letters he typed out: "OSCILLATOR".

"Oscillator…?" Dr. Mario mused.

Behind us, the moving crane that supported the monster made a satisfying 'crack' as the entire apparatus tore off from the very root of where it was standing, as if someone dug up a plant from the ground. The long shaft swung around, forcing the group of us to do a hasty limbo dance before it smashed into the monitor, demolishing the screen into a pile of glass and hunched metal. Bits of glass showered down with the water still running from the sprinklers.

Mr. Game and Watch made alarming panicked beeps. I pulled him closer to me for safety. Blinding fluorescent light oscillated on and off like strobe lights in a concert. The factory came back to life, along with the monster. It was suspended in the air, whipping around the cords and its newly acquired crane, which we had to duck more than a number of times before we could understand what was going on.

The cords unraveled like a flower, then gently descending until the mannequin with the black crown stood in the middle. From far away, the cords looked like its skirt twirling with its every movement. It wasn't very chic with the crane swinging around smashing the surrounding walls, though.

"Pit!" Dr. Mario called. Even though he was literally screaming, I had to lean toward him to hear anything at all. "That monster, its name is the Oscillator!"

"How do you know that?" I screamed back.

Dr. Mario ducked another piece of glass, which liberally shattered against the building behind us. "Oscillators… just control things! Through a fixed electronic signal! That is why it needs electricity such as Mr. Game and Watch and I!"

"Hey doc! Can't you deaf this out for us? My ears are gonna implode!" Falco shouted. He held his ears painfully.

"I'd have done that if the Oscillator doesn't catch my presence! When I use my 'phantom powers' it will immediately react! Would you like me to give you a demonstration?"

Falco stared hard at Dr. Mario, and then cursed as he curled up tighter.

Mr. Game and Watch shuddered in my arms. At first I thought it was from all of the ruckus the Oscillator was causing, but I saw the fear in his eyes. His hands were clenched on my toga. He was terrified.

I pulled him to my chest. The hope light burst from inside me but it was hard to tell from the fluorescent strobe lights that surrounded the Oscillator. The noise died down by a fraction, just enough for Mr. Game and Watch to recognize what was going on.

I was breathless. "It-it's going to be okay. We're beating him, uh her, together. I'll help you. I just need you to help me too."

The clenching fists Mr. Game and Watch had on my toga relaxed. He was reluctant, but I got a nod out of him. And that was more than I needed. When my light died down, a cord whipped at us. I dodged it with ample time. The Oscillator was screaming on top of the shattering glass. I thought the Green Bird was pretentious with its screaming but it was nothing compared to this monstrosity.

"What do we do leader?" Falco screeched in my ears.

I brought out my holy bow. It was already charged with the swirling fiery element.

"We shut this princess up!"

Author's Note: Well, I took preposterous amount of time with this. My only excuse is that I've had my mind on other things and it took me time to collect my ideas. If anything is confusing and there's any explanation I can do, don't hesitate to let me know! Otherwise I'm still going on with this story and hopefully the next chapter won't take as long as I did with this one.