The three watched as Snake and Deacon laid sprawled on the ground after their long and grueling battle.
"Oh god! I hope they're alright!" Peach said.
"Let's check on them!" Alex suggested.
"Right. Peach and I will check on Snake, you check on Deacon." Bayonetta said to Alex.
"Got it."
The three rushed to the fighter's sides. Peach and Bayonetta went to Snake's aid. Bayonetta held Snake's upper body up to help him sit.
"Snake? Can you hear me? Snake…" Bayonetta called out to him, as he seemed unconscious.
"Hey." Snake opened his eye and said roughly. "Sorry if I scared you. Don't worry, I'm still kicking." He chuckled a bit before groaning in pain.
"You're alive but you're very hurt. We need to get you healed up!" Peach demanded.
Meanwhile Alex went over to Deacon's side. He lightly shook Deacon's shoulder.
"Deacon? You all right man?"
To his surprise, Deacon rose off his back and sat down with relative ease.
"I'm fine. I'm actually quite worried about him." Deacon said and looked over to Snake. "I hit him a lot, and I hit him very hard. In fact, his strategy involved allowing himself to get hit. I wonder if the trade-off was more than he bargained for."
"What do you mean about his strategy?" Alex asked.
"You didn't notice? Towards the end of the fight he dropped his guard and let himself get hit by my powerful blows to bait me into dropping my own guard."
"That sounds more like a gambit than a strategy."
"Perhaps you're right. But while it was risky and one could even argue that it was stupid, it was also very clever…and above all else, it worked."
"Don't worry about me. I'm all right." Snake claimed to the Peach and Bayo.
"Snake! Stop lying dammit! You've got broken ribs." Peach said. Snake looked surprised upon hearing this.
"I do?" He asked and tried to get up, only to feel a jolt of pain go through his body. "Shit! I do! I didn't notice that."
"Yes, this is a problem that needs to be dealt with fast." Deacon said and walked over to them. "You obviously have important matters to intend to after this, so you don't have any time for broken ribs to heal."
"That's true, but I'm sure Snake is going to be as stubborn as a bull and insist we keep going even with his broken rib." Bayonetta replied.
"I agree. That's why I'm not allowing you to walk off this mountain until that wound is healed. So here take this."
Deacon pulled out a jar with a red fairy caught inside. The other four looked in awe at the bottle as Deacon put it in Bayonetta's hands.
"The Hylian miracle medicine!" Peach smiled.
"I've heard stories about that...that it can heal even the largest of injuries in a matter of seconds. Is it true?" Alex asked.
"See for yourself." Bayonetta smirked and opened the bottle, allowing the fairy to circle around Snake. In mere moments, Snake stood up with his wounds healed and energy restored.
"Yep. It's the real deal. Thanks, Deacon." Snake said.
"Nevermind that. You came here for the right ask questions and get answers, and you earned that right. Let me hear what you have to say, Snake."
"All right, we'll start from the most important. Recently, Zelda and Link got attacked by Blood Falcon, who was acting as a hitman. From what we gathered we know that he was hired by a group with "The Harbingers" in their name. We don't think that's their full name. Do you know who they are?"
"You must be talking about The Harbingers of the Natural Order."
"So that's their full name?"
"Yes. Interesting name don't you think?"
"Well what's their goal?" Peach asked.
"They are the opposite of your group. They want everything that the UR doesn't want. An unfettered world with no rules. A wasteland where might makes right. They want to undermine everything that you and you friends have been working hard to make."
"So…a world full of conflict. Not the first time I've had to deal with those types of people." Snake said. "Can you tell me who's running the show?"
"Someone who wanted his name and legacy to be forgotten so that he could pull strings in the shadows at his leisure. He's called Deathborn."
"Deathborn?" Alex thought.
"Never heard the name before." Peach said.
"Me either." Bayo replied.
Snake however, was somewhat familiar with the name.
"I've heard of him before." Snake said.
"Really?" Peach asked.
"Yeah, but I don't know much. I heard about him while I was being briefed on all the fighters before I came to the third Tournament. He was one of Falcon's enemies."
"That's correct." Deacon said. "Just because he's not well known like Ganondorf, that doesn't make him any less of a threat. Even Black Shadow, Falcon's arch nemesis, feared Deathborn."
"What do you know about him?" Snake asked.
"I know he isn't truly human. He's more of a monster in a man's body. I even say a "man's body" very loosely because he looks more mechanical than anything."
"What? Like a cyborg?"
"That's as good of a description for him as any. He's died three times you know? And each time he came back by exchanging his body parts for mechanical ones."
"Wouldn't be the first time I've had to deal with someone that cheats death."
"Maybe so. But I assure you he will be the most dangerous case. He's very good at making people "disappear"; make sure that you or your friends aren't the next." Deacon warned.
"I'll try to be careful then." Snake replied. "Is he the one dispersing all those feral Miis across the wasteland?"
"Indeed he is. How he took control of them I do not know."
"Do you know where he's going to attack next?"
"I'm afraid not. He's making sure that's kept under wraps." Deacon said. "However, if you want my prediction, he'll probably attack one of the smaller settlements. Not any areas of importance."
"What? Why? That doesn't make any sense." Peach questioned.
"I think that's the point, Peach. Everything about how this guy operates his group doesn't make sense. Before he put a hit on Link and Zelda, he had Blood Falcon killing random people of no threat." Snake replied. "Bayo, call the others and tell them to reinforce security on the smaller settlements."
"Got it." She nodded and went to get the radio.
"Anything else you wish to know?" Deacon asked Snake.
"Yeah…what are you?"
"Hmm? You'll need to be more specific."
"What is it that makes you different from all the other Darknuts? How is it that you know all of this?"
"Oh…" Deacon sounded surprised by the question. He was never asked it obviously, but he never thought much about it. "Truthfully…I don't know. I don't have any memory of being a Darknut. My first memory was of me waking up in the middle of nowhere. I knew my name, various information about Smash Brothers, its fighters, and what's happened in the Wasteland. And for some reason, I had the urge to climb up to this mountain and make it my home. When I meditate up here, I'm able to learn what's going on out there as it's happening."
Snake rubbed his chin, thinking about Deacon's explanation.
He's like a database that's constantly updating information.
"Deacon. Have you ever gotten the feeling that you might have been…invented?" Snake questioned further.
"Yes. It's certainly not outside the realm of possibility." Deacon nodded.
"Seems like you've got your own answers to look for. Maybe we'll find them for you during our journey." Peach said.
"I would certainly appreciate it." Deacon chuckled.
"Well we need to get going. Thank you, Deacon." Snake shook the Darknut's hand.
"Farewell. I will be wishing you luck on your journey."
Snake and his friends made their way down the mountain and reorganized when they made it to the bottom.
"So where do we go from here?" Bayonetta asked.
"I say we head back to base. What do you think, Snake?" Alex suggested.
"Sure, but we have to find a place to camp for the night. We need to get some rest first."
"No arguments here. I am beat." Peach agreed.
And so, they journeyed forward to find a place to rest.
Back at the U.R. headquarters, several of the members were eating at a table discussing the information they received from Bayonetta's radio call.
"So, he managed to beat a Darknut with his bare hands." Wolf chuckled.
"That's what Bayonetta said." Fox replied.
"Well more importantly, we finally have an idea of who we're fighting." Lucina said.
"Emphasis on the "idea" part, because I don't think any of us know a damn about this Deathborn guy." Ike said as he poured himself a drink.
"That's the way he wants it, seeing how we only found a clue about his organization by sheer luck." Link responded. "Not to mention we had to get Snake to beat a legendary Darknut just to learn his name."
"It seems that our best bet of learning anything more is to capture whoever he sends to attack one of our settlements." Zelda said.
"Yeah. I made sure to tighten security on the smaller settlements." Link responded.
"Good. Let's hope this plan works."
"Master Deathborn?" An underling cried out.
"What is it?" The leader of the Harbingers stepped forward.
"We found him. The remains of Ganondorf's."
Though it could not be seen through the mask he wore, Deathborn smiled. "Show me." he said to the subordinate.
"Yes sir! Follow me!"
The man lead Deathborn to the laboratory in their base. Laid out on a table was the corpse of Ganondorf. His face was a mess, with half of it blown off. He was also missing his right arm, and most of his armor was either gone or severely damaged.
"We could easily revive him. We have all the technology needed to do it." One of his men said.
"He would be a powerful ally!"
"Yes he certainly would…" Deathborn said. "Everyone please step away from the table."
The others were surprised by the sudden order. "Uh…yes sir."
Deathborn extended his arm out, his hand pointed towards the body. He charged a ball of energy from his palm and shot the corpse with it, disintegrating what was left of the King of Evil.
"MASTER DEATHBORN?!" the others panicked.
"That bastard was never a team player. If Bowser was still alive, he'd tell you the same thing. If we revived him, I'm positive that he would just kill everyone in this base." Deathborn explained.
"Okay then…but why did you have us look for the body? Why not just leave his corpse to rot?" One of his men asked.
"Because if we left it, some idiot would come along and attempt to revive him. I don't want Ganondorf alive. His agenda conflicts with ours, and he's a threat to the natural order. Understand?"
"Yes sir." They all said in unison.
"Good." Deathborn nodded and left the room, leaving his subordinates to take in what just happened.
Luigi and Link stationed themselves at a small settlement, on the lookout for any suspicious characters that might be a Harbingers assassin. After hours of Luigi looking through binoculars, he finally spotted someone that might fit the bill.
"Link! I see someone!" Luigi said urgently.
"Really? What does he look like?"
"Well he's got a hat on, obscuring most of his face. He's also wearing a longcoat. He definitely has something to hide." Luigi deduced.
"Sounds like it. How do you want to do this?" Link asked.
"I'll go up to meet him along with some soldiers, try to talk him down. If he makes any sudden moves, you be ready to attack him from behind." Luigi planned.
"Got it."
Luigi met up with a group of guards that would accompany him.
"Squad leader, is your team ready?" he asked.
"Yes sir! We're all equipped with non-lethal weapons as instructed." The squad leader confirmed.
"Very good. Now let's get ready to welcome our visitor."
They had a plan and they would stick to it. No matter how dangerous this assassin may be, lethal force was restricted. He is to be taken alive.
Luigi and the soldiers blocked the entrance to the settlement. The man in the long coat walked up to them and stopped.
"Hello there! Welcome to our little settlement. What brings you here stranger?" Luigi questioned.
"Just looking for a place to rest is all." The man answered in a very monotone voice.
"Well you've come to the right place. We'll go ahead and take your coat for you."
"No thank you. But I appreciate it the offer."
Luigi smiled. "Oh, I think you misunderstood me. That wasn't a request."
The mystery man gawked at Luigi. "Excuse me?"
"I'm afraid you're not getting in here unless you let us take your coat. It's a security matter. If you've got nothing to hide then it shouldn't be a problem, right?" Luigi looked at him sternly, and the guards began to form around him.
The man looked frantically around him, a frustrated growl came out of his mouth. "All right. If you want to see what's under my coat…" The man threw his long coat off and to the shock of Luigi and the soldiers, revealed a bomb strapped to his chest. "I'LL SHOW YOU!"
But as he went to press the detonator, a boomerang hit the back of his head with great impact. As he was about to collapse unconscious, Luigi and the soldiers caught his body from hitting the ground to ensure nothing hit the detonator to make the bomb go off.
"I've got the detonator sir!" A soldier said after taking it safely from the attacker's hands.
"Great work soldier! Now hold onto it until we get this bomb off of him." Luigi ordered and he and the others went to work.
"Great job everyone! Flawless work!" Link stepped in and complimented.
"That was one hell of a throw!" Luigi chuckled. "Even after seven years you're still a crack shot."
"I've still been practicing. I don't want to get rusty." Link laughed. "Now let's get this guy ready for questioning."
"Looks like this is good place to take shelter." Snake said as they walked into a cave.
"It's always caves with you, Snake. You can never settle for an inn or a motel. Anything with a little more class." Bayonetta said jokingly.
The good mood was quickly shattered as a projectile exploded in front of them. They jumped back and readied for a fight.
"Shit! What the hell was that?!" Alex shouted.
"That's your only warning! Come any further and I will kill all of you!" A rough voice coming from deeper in the cave threatened. "You may have taken one of the boys, but I will not let you take the other boy!"
"What are you talking about?! We're not here to hurt or take anyone!" Peach replied.
"Play innocent all you want! You will not get me to drop my guard!"
"She's telling the truth! We're not your enemy! In fact, we may be able to help you!" Snake offered.
No response came from the person in the cave. It was silent for the next ten seconds.
"Hello?" Snake said trying to get a response.
"I know that voice…" The voice finally returned.
Snake's eyes widened, as he came to a realization of his own. "And…I know that voice."
"And I know that aura."
Aura?! Can it really be...
"Snake?"
"Lucario?"
Did anybody expect Deathborn? Does anybody even know Deathborn? Anyway, there's our story's villain.