CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

The First of Returning Nightmares

A deafening roar was all that it took to wake up Saya's group and get them on their feet. Saya herself looked all about the plain in an attempt to find out just what had caused the noise, her eyes settling on the anthropomorphic fox and falcon that hadn't been there when she had fallen asleep.

"Uh…who are you?"

"Sorry." said Krystal. "These are two of my teammates that I was talking about. Fox and Falco."

Lucas rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked around the field for any sign of the roar's source, disregarding the dread of a possible giant monster when he and the rest of the group heard a loud droning sound high above them along with a huge shadow blocking out the sunlight. They looked up to see, of all things, a massive and somewhat sinister-looking aircraft at least a thousand feet above them.

"Jeez, where'd they dig up that rusty hunk a' junk?" Falco scoffed.

"It is kinda rusty…" said Link. "…whoa, WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"

Another massive shadow swept across the ground, but this time the group was able to look up quickly enough to see what the shadow belonged to, and it wasn't pretty.

All of them thought the exact same thing: "Is that a dragon?!"

Up on the Halberd, Meta Knight and his three companions were thinking the same things as the massive creature surged over them, leaving a near-demonic roar in its wake.

"I do not like the sound of this…" the small knight muttered.

"No sense waiting around for the thing to start picking us off." said X. "Let's get out there and blast that sucker outta the sky."

"I do not believe firing on it will be enough to destroy it. But then again, I also do not believe it alone will be enough to bring down this vessel."

He chose the wrong time to say that the second the creature lunged down at the great ship and slashed at it with its talons, not only leaving visible and massive scratches but violently jostling the ship at the same time. The passengers were all knocked off their feet, each one just as surprised as the last.

"You were saying?" X sighed.
"Alright, so I was wrong. The beast is much stronger than I thought."

"PUYO-PO!" Kirby shouted.

"What?"

"He said INCOMING!"

The creature came swooping toward them from the front, allowing them to get a close-up look at it. It was violet-skinned, it had massive wings and abnormally long tail, and as it opened its mouth, the four saw a buildup of fire.

"BRACE YOURSELVES!" Meta Knight shouted.

The Halberd held as the intense ball of flame blasted against its bow, but with the creature's tail stabbing at the top over and over again, it shook and shook until Meta Knight heard the discouraging sound of sirens echoing throughout the vessel. As he checked the monitor in front of him, he realized in horror just what had happened.

"Damn! Not when we're right over a city!"

"What's wrong?!" said Zero.
"The starboard engine is malfunctioning! We're going down!"

The right-side rocket thruster finally sputtered and died, and with it out, the massive Halberd began tilting and steadily descending toward the city slowly and even somewhat ominously. With gravity working against them, the four were slammed against a wall with no way of escape.

"It's your ship, Meta Knight!" X shouted. "DO SOMETHING!"
"DO YOU NOT THINK I WOULD IF I COULD?! WE MUST REACH THE ENGINE ROOM!"

Their panic wasn't even close to the panic of city people. Seeing the Halberd slowly coming toward them with the full intention of crushing them underneath it was nightmare-inducing. It may as well have been the moon itself falling from the sky with an evil grin on its face. Saya and her allies were no different.

"My God! The ship!" Krystal cried.

"Saya!"

The call brought relief to the group upon seeing Ness' group running toward them. After a quick moment of careful inspection, Samus saw just what the problem was.

"That ship's right thruster's gone out! It's lost stability!"

"What do we do?" asked Lucas. "…and what took you guys so long to find us, anyway?"

Morrigan glided forward and showed off the bruises on her body. Oddly enough, she was smirking.

"She was too busy hitting me in the face."

"Morrigan…" muttered Vergil.

"Hm? …oh, Vergil! You're finally awake! Good to see you decided to join this little band."

Vergil smirked and stepped toward the succubus and in one swift motion had lightly pulled her into a passionate kiss, leaving everyone else to stare at the two speechless. What really got to them was how much Morrigan was getting into it. Even for a succubus, she seemed a bit too promiscuous for her own good.

When at last they parted, she let out a contented sigh. Vergil simply smiled.

"Does that make us even?" he asked.
"Not quite. You'll have to go a little bit further." She said cheekily. "But it's a good start. Can't fault you for that, right?"

"Um, he-LLOOOOOO?!" Mac half-shouted. "Big giant plane thing falling from the sky over here!"

Vergil nodded and unsheathed his blade, the single slash generating a portal.

"Samus!" he called. "You seem to know what you're doing. You come with me."

"Just the two of you?!" Saya asked. "It's too dangerous! I'm going, too!"

"And if Saya goes, I'm going, too!" added Lucas.

Samus and Vergil sighed. They had no intention of letting these two go risking their lives even if it was for something this colossal, but then again, they were stubborn enough to go up there even if they forbade it. Besides, what did Saya have to worry about?

"Alright." Samus said sternly. "But stay close. The rest of you stay behind and make sure everyone in the city gets out okay!"

With that, the four jumped through the portal and it closed behind them…just as those left on the ground spun around at the sound of someone snapping their fingers in annoyance.

"Oh, poo." Hades sighed. "Just missed the ones actually worth a damn."

"Oh, great!" Batsu scoffed. "More of Mr. Creepshow's friends…and how 'bout that? They're just as creepy."

Much to their disbelief, there stood not just Hades, but Ghirahim and Juri as well. Referring to the last of the three, she was a total mess. The Feng Shui Engine in her eye had been put back together, but there was still a deep scar running over it. Her hair hung loosely around her, her clothes were torn, and most of all, she looked absolutely furious.

"That little bitch." she growled. "She's gonna pay for what she did to me."

"You're-a gonna have to save her for later." said Mario, cracking his knuckles and readying his hammer. "Now, you gotta deal with us."

Ghirahim sneered and drew his two blades before suddenly meshing them together. In their place was now a massive broadsword that was almost as big as he was.

"We will do more than 'deal' with you." he said, anchoring the sword on his shoulder. "We will send you straight to the depths of Hell."
"Pardon, but isn't that my job?" said Hades. "You know, me? The God of the Underworld? The one who actually calls the shots when it comes to damned souls? Or does my opinion suddenly not matter anymore?"

"Oh, shut up!"

"Daddy, don't hit Mommy. Daddy, don't hit Mommy."

"Uh, yeah, baddies fighting amongst each other." Falco drawled, his arms spread out in a mocking manner as he and Fox activated their Arwings. "We're just gonna, I dunno, jump in our awesome spacecrafts and blow you guys to smithereens if you don't mind."

"Oh, Falco." Krystal chuckled. "Please don't ever change."

Hades scoffed as the two Arwings (Krystal hopping in the back seat of Fox's) rose into the air and began to target him in all his titanic glory.

"Oh dearie me. Two little metal birds have come to blast me into smithereens…seriously, though. I blasted an Italian plumber into orbit. You can't imagine what I'll do to you, my little pretties."
"What are you, a witch?" Fox mocked. "I've heard better than that from drunken frat boys."
"Well, I've also seen better 'explicit material' than the things they come up with on the Internet concerning you and that lovely blue vixen with you."

Uuuuuuuuuuhhh…

"Ah…w-what we do in our private time is our business and no one else's!"

"Apparently not."

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHH!

"Oooookay, can we actually…I dunno…" Batsu started before knitting his eyebrows and cracking his knuckles and neck. "FIGHT!"

And they fought. As those who passed through Vergil's gate landed on the Halberd, though, they had less of an exhilarating experience as they almost immediately lost their footing and went slamming against a wall.

"This is gonna be way harder than I thought…" Lucas groaned.

"Either way, we can't give up now!" Samus barked. "We've got to find a way to get that thruster back on, or everyone down there's as good as dead!"

Samus cast her Grapple Beam and clung to the nearest rafter, pulling herself to her feet and offering her hand to her allies to help them to her feet. Before any of them had time to question where the engine room might be, the door at their feet suddenly burst open and X came pulling himself up, stopping when Samus reflexively pointed her arm cannon at him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, don't shoot!" he exclaimed. "We're all on the same side here…I think."

"Who are you?!" Samus demanded.
"Mega Man model X. We're just trying to HEY! Kirby, stop pulling on me!"

Kirby didn't stop, eventually booting his blue bombing ally upward so he could finally climb up, resulting in X landing right on top of Samus.

"It was his fault, I swear…ow." X groaned.

"Whoever is at fault doesn't concern me. Get off!"

With Zero and X through the door, Meta Knight floated upward and looked about at the intruders in an intrigued manner, his eyes eventually settling on Saya.

"Saya Kusanagi." he said, offering forth his gloved hand. "Greetings. I am Meta Knight."

Saya stared at Meta Knight in confusion for a moment before taking the small knight's hand and shaking it.

"I suppose you're the captain of this ship?" demanded Vergil. "You want to maybe explain why you're dropping your ship down on a city full of innocent people?"

"It is not by our hand." Meta Knight retorted. "We were attacked."

"By what?"
"It is difficult to explain, but…it resembled a dragon. A violet-skinned dragon with a rather long spear-like tail."

It was then that Saya heard a voice in Samus' head. It was the voice of a child whimpering in fear as a great beast unleashed a terrible reptilian roar.

"Time for you to disappear! YOU'RE ABOUT TO DIE!"

The girl screamed, and the sound faded. One look in Samus' eyes was all Saya needed to know that just like she had feared before the failed attempt at felling Ganondorf, the axe was going to drop in the worst way possible for her. Now, it was just a matter of when.

This matter was naturally rendered moot when the Halberd began angling even further, nearly sending X and Zero tumbling back down through the doorway.

"There is no time to waste!" Meta Knight shouted. "We must reach the engine room immediately! Follow me!"

Summoning whatever strength they had, the group ran up the tilting floor in pursuit of the gliding Meta Knight, pumping their legs as hard as they could to keep from losing their balance. They pulled themselves through doors and onto railings that required pinpoint accuracy to stay standing on, not helped by the Halberd continuing to be hit over and over again by whatever it was that was out there.

"Phew…is it just me or is it getting really hot all of a sudden?" X panted.

"We are nearing the engine room." replied Meta Knight. "The offline thruster must be causing it to overheat."

"Is that bad?"

"If by bad, you mean it may short-circuit the other two thrusters or even cause the entire engine room to explode thus causing the Halberd to literally fall from the sky like a bloody meteor."

"…whatever happened to a simple 'yes'?"

And sure enough, there were no words to describe the blistering heat of the engine room as they finally entered it. Samus could feel it even through her suit of armour. Even Vergil was sweating.

"Okay, so you mind telling us what we need to do before we melt?" Saya breathed. "I mean, I'm at no risk or anything, but good God! I don't think Arizona in the middle of summertime is this hot!"

"We must activate the cooling system!" Meta Knight barked. "There are three switches that must be activated simultaneously! Saya! You will take the left switch, and X! You will take the right! I shall take this one! You in the Power Suit! Are you capable of firing electricity?!"
"One of my trademark skills!" Samus replied.
"Then on my mark, you will fire into the power reserve on the left, but be very careful! You could risk being pulled into it when it starts up!"

"Got it!"

"PLACES, EVERYONE!"

Meta Knight glided toward the switch closest to them, X's rocket boots jettisoned him toward the switch on the right side of the room, and Saya reached the left switch with a brilliant and gravity-defying long jump. Samus meanwhile positioned herself in front of the large battery-like device before her and aimed true.

"Activate Wave Beam!" she ordered, the grooves in her arm cannon shifting to a light violet hue as she charged up a shot.

"On my mark!" Meta Knight called. "Ready?"

"Ready!" X and Saya called.

"PULL!"

They pulled in perfect synchronization, a loud drone echoing throughout the room as the heat faded and Samus unleashed a burst of electricity. Within seconds, it sprang to life with gears turning, pistons pumping, and energy running through the wires on the walls and ceiling. Samus was quick to jump out of the way as that great deal of suction started up as Meta Knight had warned her, but it had a greater range than anyone had expected.

"Aaaah!" Lucas cried as he was suddenly sucked off of the ground and toward the deadly turbine.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Saya cried.

Without a second thought, she lunged forward and seized his wrist with one hand and grabbed a raised pipe with her other hand, pulling him away with all her might. All her might wasn't nearly enough, but she didn't care. All she was concerned with was keeping her friend away from certain death.

"Can't let…go…CRAP!"

The sweat on her hand was all that was necessary for her to slip off of the pipe, but someone in particular had no intention of letting that happen. That person's identity was what surprised the young pair as Saya's wrist was seized by none other than Vergil, straining his face to keep a strong grip on Saya at all costs. With the two out of harm's reach for all the time that was needed, Meta Knight jetted over to a nearby control panel and quickly punched in a combination, a hatch sliding down over the turbine and dropping Saya and Lucas harmlessly onto the floor.

"ZERO!" X barked into the communicator. "We got the thruster back on! Pull us up!"

"Got it!"

The right thruster burned to life, and Zero pulled up on the steering control with all his strength. The mighty battleship creaked and groaned, its shadow upon the city underneath threatening to be the last thing the innocent civilians ever saw as it keep getting bigger and bigger.

"COME ON, YOU BIG PIECE A' TIN!" Zero bellowed as though the ship would listen. "PULL UP!"

At last, the creaking and groaning finally stopped as the Halberd levelled up and came to a slow and steady halt in mid-air. Everyone, Zero in particular, sighed in relief and wiped their brows, thrilled to be alive and able to stop an unmeasurable amount of deaths. Saya and Lucas in particular need to catch their breathes as they realized they'd been very close to being shredded apart.

"Man…thanks, Vergil." panted Lucas. "We owe you one."

Vergil grunted in response. Typical of him, but what wasn't was the look he gave Saya. It looked like he was visually scolding her for doing something so foolish. Granted, he shouldn't have expected her not to do something about it, but at least it gave her the impression that he was starting to care about what was going, and that was good enough for her.

"I guess Hell's starting to freeze over…

If your guess for how long the peace would last was along the lines of "about three seconds", you're correct. Zero took one look upward and gritted his teeth in shock as the great beast that had attacked before swooped in again, violently shaking the ship once again but thankfully not doing nearly as much damage as before.

"Guys!" he yelled into his communicator. "Get back up here! Lizard boy's back!"

The rest of the group was back at the bridge in only a few moments, each as eager to see the beast as the other. The only one who didn't feel the same was Samus. That description of the monster brought back so many horrible memories, and she couldn't bear to think that that…thing had come back.

"Good God…if he could raze K-2L to the ground in under an hour, I can't imagine what he'll do here."

Everyone looked out the window at the cloudy morning sky, expecting the creature to come back for another strike. They saw nothing, but in their silence, they heard the discomforting sound of metallic creaking above them, and when one of them was about to open their mouths, it hit. The creature's arm came crashing through the window and seized the closest one to the window, who just so happened to be Saya.

"No no NO!" Lucas cried.

"You're not taking her, you freak!" Samus hollered, casting the Grapple Beam and yanking herself out onto the deck.

The second Samus touched down on the deck, she cast the Grapple Beam again, yanking Saya out of the creature's grasp just as it was about to fly underneath the Halberd.

"Are you alright?!" the bounty hunter cried.

"Samus, it's…it's him!"

"Who?"

"Do you remember when I said that Jedah was going to use your fear and hatred of a certain being against you? That being is here! He's come for us!"

Samus furrowed her brow and readied her cannon. She knew it. Somehow she knew this would happen. Jedah always seemed to be one step ahead of them, and now he had demonstrated this in the worst way possible.

"Get your scaly ass out here right now! I know you're there!" she hollered.

The great monster obeyed her command, surging upward and landing on the deck before roaring menacingly at the two young women before him. He glared at Samus with his enormous and maniacal yellow eyes, gritting his fangs and flexing his claws as she cracked her neck in preparation.

"You just don't know how to stay dead, do you?!"

Ridley's answer was another roar before spreading his wings and charging headlong at Samus, who could only pop off a few shots at his mouth before the space dragon closed the distance. He slammed into her and launched off her of the deck, sending her into a freefall with the great beast flying down after her. But did she notice or care?

No. She cast her Grapple Beam again, latching it onto Ridley and pulling herself above him. Not nearly enough to get back onto the Halberd, but that wasn't what she was aiming for. Ridley turned his head back toward and opened his mouth, preparing to douse the seemingly helpless Samus in flames when she fired a single charged shot. He choked on it and let his body go limp, Samus plowing into his chest as they finally collided with the ground, leaving a fairly decent-sized crater in the ground on contact. Samus unfortunately knew that this wasn't nearly enough to slay her reptilian nemesis, and this was sadly proven right when Ridley looked up at her and snarled…

…and spoke.

"Feisty, aren't you?"

"By now, you should know."

And it seemed he also knew what to do about it when he seized Samus in his clawed hand and her into the air, slamming her against a nearby building and violently dragging her along the wall. Every second had her head banging against the wall over and over again, very nearly beating her into a concussion by the time the onslaught was finished. Ridley took the time to take a good look at the beaten and battered bounty hunter and smiled before finally throwing her back down the ground. Samus let out an audible cry of pain the second she hit the ground, her Power Suit dissipating and exposing the soft human within.

Samus gritted her teeth as she tried to stand, the dizziness from Ridley's attack weighing her down and Ridley himself steadily approaching her, flexing his spear-like tail and preparing to shoot it forward…

…when a burst of green-hued energy smashed into the side of his head.

"HEY! DON'T YOU KNOW HOW TO TREAT A LADY?!"

Ridley growled under his breath and turned toward the source of the voice, surprised to see X standing nearby with his arm cannon prepped to fire off another and more powerful shot the second the great beast made a move. Ridley's response to X was to roar and unleash a gigantic storm of flames, X boosting out of the way just in time thanks to the thrusters in his feet.

"Looks like someone's gotta teach you a lesson in subtlety!" X shouted. "Let's go, you freaker!"

Ridley lunged, X strafing out of the way and firing a strong shot to his eye and just barely missing and the shot deflecting off of his strong hide. As Ridley's tail swung back toward him, X grabbed on as tight as he could and held on for dear life as the tail swung about in a fruitless attempt to shake him loose. With one clean yank, he launched himself forward and grappled the back of Ridley's head, Ridley himself roaring in annoyance and spinning about in the air to try and shake the cyborg off.

"X!" Samus weakly called. "His weak spot is his mouth! Fire a blast in there!"

"Easier said than done!"

Ridley bucked his head forward, launching X in front of him and clamping his jaws down on the cyborg's arm. X repeatedly punched Ridley's snout, finally getting him to let go with he shoved two fingers into his eye. The beast roared in agony and released X, launching himself into the air again and ripping up large pieces of concrete as he went.

"I'll crush you!" Ridley roared.

"Man, I would love to see you try." X mocked. "Of course, I'd also love to see you roll over and accept my awesomeness, but that doesn't look like it's gonna happen."

It didn't. Ridley tossed the debris at his robotic opponent, who jumped from piece to piece and steadily launched himself higher and higher until he was bearing down on the dragon with a charged shot ready to go.

"Hey, chuckles! Open wide!"

Ridley indeed opened wide, but not how X had hoped as he was doused in a wave of fire, not really harming him so much as temporarily blinding him and unfortunately giving Ridley enough time to counterattack. The great beast knocked the defenseless cyborg against the side of a nearby building where he pinned him to it with his hand, prepping his tail for impalement…just as his arm was riddled with bullets, pain shooting

"Oh, perfect. We fight a giant mutated whale and now a damn dragon?"

"Chris!" Samus cried in relief. "Jill!"

Sure enough, the two BSAA agents had rolled up in an armoured vehicle just in time to stop Ridley from potentially deactivating X, Jill armed with a large machine gun and Chris ready to fire away with a heavy duty rocket launcher.

"Thanks, guys!" X called. "Keep watchin' my back, will ya?"

"Can do!" Chris called. "Just need one clear shot!"

Ridley roared angrily and prepared to fire down on his human attackers when the thrusters in X's feet launched him up where he stuck Ridley in the jaw as hard as he could, yanking himself upward and onto his back afterward.

"Okay, before I was joking, but now I'm serious. Open up!"

With one hand, X yanked Ridley's mouth open. Chris aimed true and fired at Ridley's mouth, only for the reptilian monster to duck underneath the rocket and buck his head forward, dropping X into his open hand and clenching him tightly.

"You wanna piece a' me, freaker?! YOU WANT A PIECE?!" X shouted mockingly.

Alas, he wasn't prepared for Ridley's next move, finding himself in a near panic when he found his torso grabbed by one hand and his legs grabbed by another. None of the bullets Chris or Jill fired could prevent what happened next, and X had a terrible feeling of what that might be when his middle section started to strain and could swear he heard the awful sound of creaking.

"No! I WANT TWO!"

First X felt his legs leave his body, then saw the loose hanging wires from his torso, and finally felt himself crashing against the ground in a heap with his dismembered legs landing a few feet from him. It wasn't really the fact that his legs were gone that kept him pinned down in shock. More the fact that Ridley had beaten him so easily.

"Damn…must be losing my edge…"

Now that X was dealt with, Ridley turned toward Chris and Jill. His fury knew no limits at this point. All he wanted was to kill that pathetic little hunter. Why did these morsels have to make that so hard for him? And what was that rushing sound? ANOTHER intruder?!

Samus, X, Chris, and Jill were just as confused as Ridley was until they looked toward the source of the sound as it grew louder. On the horizon and coming fast was a strange blue blur. None of them had any idea what was coming, but Ridley at the very least knew that it was sure to be another annoyance.

Little did they all know.

A split second glance of this strange blur revealed it was a strange vehicle resembling a jet, hovering just a few inches above the ground and going at what seemed like a thousand miles per hour. Suddenly, it stopped, the cockpit opened and the driver came shooting out high into the air with his fist reeled back…and spurting flames?

Needless to say, Ridley was too stunned by this out of the blue hero to stop what happened next. What happened next, you ask? …epic in the making.

"FALCON PUNCH!"

Ridley went crashing to the ground as someone who could only be described as the manliest of manly men brought his flaming fist slamming against his skull. Everyone watched in wonder as this new Messiah of theirs landed on his two feet and struck a superhero-like pose.

…Captain Falcon, everybody!

"Woo, boy, you're quite the ugly one, aren't you?" he shouted mockingly at Ridley.

Ridley growled under his breath and let out a menacingly roar, Falcon simply smirking and sinking into another stance before wiggling his finger.

"Alright, then. Show me your moves!"

Ridley unleashed another massive roar and lunged at Falcon, who bent his knees and shot forward, his leg flaming and his foot stretched out.

"FALCON KICK!"

Falcon's foot slammed into Ridley's snout and launched him backwards into a large building, cracking his back and bringing him crashing to the ground just as Samus finally regained the strength to stand up and reactivate her Power Suit.

"Just in time!" Falcon called out. "He's all yours, Aran!"

"Oh, it's you." Samus groaned. "Y'know, I'm still unhappy with you for stealing the bounty on that intergalactic crime lord."

"Let's set the small rivalry aside for now. Bigger fish to fry and all."

Samus glared at the collapsed yet recovering Ridley and gritted her teeth before she broke into a run.

"ACTIVATE SUPER MISSILE!"

She stomped down on Ridley's lower jaw and wrenched his upper jaw up with her free hand, sticking her arm cannon into his maw and angrily firing again and again and again.

"DIE, YOU DIRTY ROTTEN SON OF A BITCH! DIE!"

Ridley shrieked over and over again as Samus kept firing, Samus herself wanting to spend every single missile she had putting this monster down but finally stopping after what must have been the seventh or eighth missile as the great beast finally dropped and stopped moving. But what happened next confused even her. Ridley's entire body faded to a dark violet hue before spreading out flat against the ground like a shadow before finally disappearing altogether.

"What the hell?!" Samus growled. "Where'd he go…I mean, not that I'm not glad I killed him, but…"

It seemed the other group had dealt with the three villains giving them trouble on the ground as they and those that had been aboard the Halberd were now gathering around her. Krystal in particular was the first one to speak after she had placed her hand on the spot Ridley had been and shrouded herself in deep thought for a moment.

"Samus…Saya mentioned to us that Jedah and S.I.N. and all them were going to use the fear of a certain number of her allies against them, right? This was how they planned on doing it: by resurrecting some of the beasts that stirred up those feelings."

"So this one was a fake?" Samus asked. "…well, that explains it, then. The real Ridley could take way more shots than that one did."

"And it gets worse. There's five more like him. All shadows of enemies some of us have defeated previously, all of whom we feared or despised with every fiber of our being. Poltergeists, if you will."

"Great…anyway, thanks for your help, Falcon. Don't know how you ended up here, but I'm glad you did."

Falcon gave a satisfied half-smile and a two-fingered salute.

"Glad to help. You seem to know what you're doing here. Mind if I tag along?"

"Gladly. That punch looks like it can knock down a building if you hit it right."

"Hey." X called weakly. "Speaking of getting hit…"

Samus herself couldn't believe she had forgotten about X so quickly as she and Zero both scrambled to him, crouching by him and staring in disbelief and horro and just what Ridley had done to him.

"What the hell were you thinking, you nut?!" Zero growled. "He could have deactivated you!"

"Could've, but he didn't." X replied with a light smirk.

"So…you're gonna be okay?" asked Samus.
"Of course. I'm a bot, remember?"

He tilted his head upward and grimaced at his dismembered legs. Even if it hadn't been painful, it was still a disturbing and less than encouraging sight to see cables hanging out of him.

"Still, though…that sucks."

The three shared a laugh, X flushing bright red when Samus grew a salacious grin and leaned closer to him as her helmet disappeared.

"I owe you one, buddy."
"Uhh…you're welcome?"
"I most certainly am."

She closed the distance, planting a light kiss on the robot's cheek. To her delighted surprise, the texture and warmth perfectly replicated real skin, and to X's moderate delight, she remained there for several seconds, smiling when she finally pulled back.

"Shucks, folks. I'm speechless…uhh, you guys can fix me, right?"

"Hey, I was glued back together real easy." Zero answered. "Who says I can't do the same for you?"

With the battle over and the confirmation that none of their troops were too badly harmed, Tetra breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, now that that's all…wait. Where's Saya?"

The group looked all about but saw neither hide nor hair of the girl, and to make matters worse, Felicia came bounding up to them a second later with her face twisted in frantic worry.

"Guys!"
"Yes, Felicia." Morrigan sighed. "We know Saya's gone."

"That's not it! Juri took Pikachu and Ness when we weren't looking!"

"…oh…well, leave it to me to sound like a heartless bimbo again. Feel like punching me again, Sammy?"

"Don't push it." Samus growled. "Dammit. Saya must have fallen off the Halberd when Ridley charged me…"

Tetra pinched the bridge of her nose and growled in disgust.

"They just keep making this thing difficult for us, don't they? Anyone got any ideas?"
"Well, I'm not leaving Pikachu hanging!" Felicia said defiantly. "Not a chance in hell!"

"I didn't say anything about that. Alright, gang. I didn't want it to have to come to this, but it looks like we're gonna have to split up again."

Tetra turned to the enormous group and began delivering orders.

"Mario, Morrigan, Chris, and Link. You're coming with me. We're gonna track down that Hades guy. Mewtwo, Mac and Jill, you're gonna go find Saya."

Lucas gritted his teeth and was about to step forward and offer his services when Tetra threw him a stern look.

"Listen, I know you really fancy her and all, but you're putting yourself in too much risk. There's no telling what's gonna be out there."

"You really think I care?! I can't just…"

"Lucas. You can and you will. The last thing we need is for you to get captured and have those creeps use you to lure Saya into a trap."

Lucas turned his head from her, her harsh words stinging but making a disturbingly good amount of sense when it reminded him of what had happened before. The whole purge of their allies…it had all been because he had been captured and she had been tricked into coming to save him.

He didn't like the pain in his gut that it gave him, but he stood back. Tetra nodded.

"Anyone have any idea where Juri might have run off to?"
"We spotted her on the way in. She was headed northeast from here." replied Chris. "Seems the only interest point within walking distance is an abandoned power plant given the head-start she's had."

Kirby hopped up and down and summoned a small star on his stubby arm.

"Puyo puyo!" he chirped.

"He says that his Warp Star should reach that location in a sufficient time frame." translated Meta Knight.

"Excellent." replied Tetra. "Felicia, Batsu, and Ammy will go with Kirby. The rest of you stay here until we get everyone back. Then we'll finally get this assault underway. Savvy?"

Everyone nodded before they split off into their separate groups, Amaterasu dashing in front of Batsu and crouching before him.

"What's up?" Batsu asked.

"On my back. I believe I possess enough speed to keep up with Kirby."
"You serious? Aren't I gonna break your back on something?"
"Come now, Batsu Ichimonji. You break me? You clearly have no idea what I'm capable of."

Batsu sighed and shrugged before doing as the celestial wolf said. Kirby meanwhile summoned his large Warp Star and hopped onto it, Felicia climbing aboard and clinging to the pink puffball with all her might.

"Um, Kirby?" she started. "I probably should have asked this before, but…how fast does this thing go?"

She received her answer the second Amaterasu and the Warp Star shot off at the speed of sound, and even those from miles away could hear Felicia's resounding scream.

"EEYAAAAAAAAGH, I WASN'T READYYYY!"

Ugh, sorry this one took so freakin' long. Part of the problem with this story is that I'm making a lot of it up as I go along, but now that I've actually gotten all the events down, it should be smooth sailing from here...y'know, unless I procrastinate or something. We know by now that I'm no stranger to it.

The manliest of manly men? Well, I actually didn't make up that description for good old Captain Falcon. That was made up by a Youtuber by the name of rabbidluigi in his list of Top 40 Super Smash Bros. Characters. Perhaps you've heard of him. He's one member of a huge collection of "gaming countdowners" that includes folks like The Autarch, KB Madhouse, the Green Scorpion, and of course the Fiery Joker a.k.a. joshscorcher. Check his videos out if you've got the time. He's got some great stuff.

During the process of writing this chapter, I got the idea for another story (big shocker, I know) after reconnecting with a beloved game from my childhood. The problem is that it's not exactly something you'd see a male college student playing, and whether it's more dignified than being a brony is questionable...please don't kill me.

What is it? You really want to know? Here's a hint: it's an online game that starts with the letter N...feel free to call me a dork when you get the answer.

SOUNDTRACK SO FAR

Saya, Ness, and Lucas- "Pollyanna" from Earthbound (SSBM)

Marth to the rescue- "Together We Ride" from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (SSBM)

X and Zero versus Kirby and Meta Knight- "Meta Knight's Revenge" from Kirby Super Star (SSBB)

Link versus Morrigan- Morrigan's theme from Marvel versus Capcom 3

Link versus Dante- "Never Surrender" from DmC: Devil May Cry

Krystal and Trish versus the Moblin horde- "Lock and Load" from Devil May Cry 1

Krystal versus Mewtwo- "Poké Floats" from Super Smash Bros. Melee

Saya versus Ghirahim- Ghirahim's battle theme from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Frank versus Ghirahim- "On a Mission" from Dead Rising

Courthouse caving in- "No Redemption" from DmC: Devil May Cry

Samus escapes- Metroid Prime main theme

Chun-Li versus Samus- Chun-Li's theme from Street Fighter IV

Standoff on Mount Fuji- "Douchuumen" from The Mysterious Murasame Castle (go on Youtube and look for a version by a group called ysk1210)

Saya and Lucas- "Love" from Mother 3

"LET'S ROCK!"- "Devils Never Cry" from Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening

The Devil Trigger- "How Old is Your Soul?" from DmC: Devil May Cry

Ryu and Ken versus Juri- Ryu's theme from Street Fighter IV

Jedah's assault on the airship- Airship theme from Super Mario Bros. 3 (SSBB)

S.I.N. versus B.S.A.A.- "Ride on Sea" from Resident Evil: Revelations (or Biohazard: Revelations if you live in Japan)

Ike to the rescue- "Eternal Bond" from Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn

Saya's sorrow- "Kinder Days" from Sin and Punishment: Star Successor (known as Successor of the Skies in Europe and Australia)

An army of twenty-one- Main menu theme from Super Smash Bros. Melee

Dante versus Dante- "Empty" from DmC: Devil May Cry

Saya's rage- Tabuu's theme from Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Tetra's pirates- "The Great Sea" from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

The Lagiacrus- "Sea and Land Tremble" from Monster Hunter 3

The Ancient Mother- "Shenandoah" from Endless Ocean

Vergil versus Lilith- "Super Ultra Violet" from Devil May Cry 1

Moblin attack on Tokyo- "Taiyo High School Rooftop" from Rival Schools: United by Fate

Mac and Batsu to the rescue- "Minor Circuit" from Punch-Out! Wii

Star Fox reunited- Star Fox: Command's ending theme

Amaterasu's "little game"- "Humoresque of a Little Dog" from Earthbound (SSBB)

Halberd going down- "Crisis" from Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

Samus versus Ridley- Ridley's theme (any variation you choose but my pick is the one from Other M)

X versus Ridley- "Dr. Wily's Castle" from Mega Man 2 (look for the version by SongeLeReveur)

Captain Falcon to the rescue- "Mute City" from F-Zero (SSBB)