"So this 'Galeem' basically enslaved us all and thanks to pinkie over here, we have been able to fight back," Brian repeated in the morning for what everyone told him. "And I was a 'Champion' of hers?"
"Pretty much the gist," Steven said.
"Ha! Me! A champion! I bet I was pretty powerful," the bully host bragged which the others ignored and rolled their eyes in annoyance.
"Anyways," Matt brought up, "We need to cover more ground. Kyle took flight this morning and saw the fissure was still active."
"The beating we gave mohawk didn't calm it?" Phil said.
"Hey!" Brian roared, insulting by the mouse host's comment.
"Apparently not," Mason replied as others ignored the outburst.
"So, how is Galeem even powering this fissure?" Peyton wondered.
"Hard to say," the host of Mario said, "Right now, we need to cover more ground. We are going to have to split into two groups. Victor, you said there was another direction when you got out of the village?"
"Yes," the male Villager host confirmed.
"Half of us will-a check that route while another half will check what's beyond Ribbon Road," Matt declared.
"Still don't see why we are calling it that," Jordan muttered.
"Yeah, yeah," Brian dismissed, "Least talking, more punching!" The bully took off, heading straight for Ribbon Road.
"... Well, at least we know which route he's taking," Violet said.
Yen, Kyle, Peyton, Violet, Irene, Steven, Jordan, and Phil chased after the host of Bowser who had beaten the snot out of a few puppets: Panther Caroso, Nyna, and Caroline.
"That wasn't even a challenge!" Brian huffed, "You guys must have been lost without me."
"Brian, maybe you could be more polite as we offer our help?" Irene suggested.
"I'll spare you the trouble. He's not exactly going to change," Violet mentioned.
Peyton was admiring the landscape as she found it quite peaceful due to the heart aesthetic the pond had. Her musings were cut short when a black Falco puppet kicked Brian in the face.
"Oh, you think you're fast do you?!" Brian roared and unleashed his Fire Breath to cook the puppet alive.
A giant Zelda unleashed Din's Fire, causing the hosts to scatter before retaliating, Phil sending an Electro Ball which paraylzed her briefly.
Yen was hit from an invisible force, plopping onto the bridge across the Heart Pool. The same force struck Jordan, Kyle, Violet, and Irene, uncloaking itself to be a purple Sonic puppet with the support of a King K. Rool and Pichu puppet.
A duo of Mario and Peach appeared, prompting Peyton and Steven to combat them on equal footing. The Mario puppet rushed in which made Steven match him with Hero Spin leaving the princesses to fast off against each other.
Yen recovered and was about to rush into the fight until several lasers halted his advance. The dinosaur host analyzed the position of his potential attacker and used Egg Throw to make them appear.
The projectiles caused the attacker to reveal himself: a teenage male with brown hair in a green jumpsuit, green vest, red combat gloves and boots. Around his waist was a series of gadgets. The odd thing about him was the fact he had pointed ears and a brown tail like a fox.
Finn, the host of Fox McCloud, rolled to meet Yen, blaster aimed directly at him.
Yen put his hands up, "Uh… Finn? Please don't fire."
"You don't get to make the calls," Finn said in Galeem's devoted voice. "Since we lost a champion, we decided to make this a fair fight."
"And having me at gunpoint is 'fair'?"
"Considering this body's ranking in the tournaments," Finn's lips curled into a smile, "I'll make it worth your while."
A stray Chakram intercepted Finn's path, so he dodged it, allowing Yen to blitz into the vulpine host. The blaster was knocked out of the possessed host's hands but Finn managed to score a roundhouse kick into Yen's gut.
The Chinese managed to recover and threw out his tongue, only for Finn to zip away with Fox Illusion, recover his blaster and fire. Yen curled into his egg before using Egg Roll, planning to bulldoze into the host of Fox. He was met with Fire Fox, the two charging moves clashing for dominance until Yen won the stalemate. Fluttering lightly in the air, Yen dropped with Yoshi Bomb, slamming Finn into the ground and jumped back.
Finn pulled himself up and snarled, pulling out two blasters and fired them nonstop. Yen closed in but was hit with a tail sweep, then a scorpion kick, and then a flip kick. Now in the air, Finn leapt and landed five mid-air roundhouse kicks before using a drill stomp. Crashing down, a recovered Yen extended his tongue, managing to wrap around the right leg. With a mighty tug, the host of Yoshi began to spin the possessed host all over the place, into a cliff, the bridge, and eventually the ground. Aching all over, Finn steadily rose but got hit with a headbutt, courtesy of Yen. The impact managed to knock out the vulpine host.
The other hosts managed to take care of the puppets, freeing Expresso the Ostrich, Team Chaotix, the Great Fairy, and a sport version of Mario, specifically tennis.
"That's what you get when you mess with the King of Awesomeness!" Brian bragged as he laughed triumphantly. The other hosts rolled their eyes at the cockiness the bully had before waiting for the vulpine host to recover.
A few minutes later, Finn shook his head. "Argh… What happened?"
"A light show gone wrong," Jordan answered as Yen helped the host of McCloud to his feet.
Dusting off his jacket, Finn surveyed what had become of the World of Trophies, "Saving the world again?" Nods were all he needed to confirm before pulling out his blaster, "Well then, what are we waiting for?"
Taking the path they missed earlier, Matt's group soon came across another odd sight in the new world.
"Why does Galeem have a racing circuit of all things?" Lewis questioned. A race track could be seen as well as some cheering could be heard.
"I'm getting the feeling she likes competitions," Victor assumed.
"Well, there seems to be a race going on right now," Mason said as he was able to identify eleven vehicles on the track.
The group traversed down the pathway and made it to the bleachers where they saw four pink Inkling puppets, a Bayonetta puppet, three Wii Fit Trainers, and a purple Wario. They seemed to be cheering for a certain vehicle to win.
On the track, the cars could be made out better and their drivers: a Wolf puppet driving some green F-Zero vehicle, a black Captain Falcon on a motorcycle of all things, three sets of Wario driving their Wario Bikes, a black armored Mega Man driving a black F-Zero vehicle, a purple gi Ken in a blue F-Zero, and the most notable one was the Blue Falcon.
The Blue Falcon was being maneuvered by a teenage male in a slight blue shade jumpsuit, golden gloves and boots, a yellow scarf, and a red helmet with a golden falcon embroidered on it that covered his brown hair.
Carlos, the host of Captain Falcon, is an expert driver as he skillfully drove and crossed the finish line. Confetti went off and a trio of puppets consisting of Ness, Fox, and Sonic began to scrub down the iconic vehicle of the host.
"And it's over! The Blue Falcon wins!" another Fox puppet said as it hovered with a Rocket Belt and then descended. The other 'racers' soon came to a halt, huffing about their losses.
"Totally unfair!" the Wolf puppet snarled.
"All is fair in this race!" Carlos gloated, the spirit in his mind speaking for him.
"Oh, please," Matt scoffed.
The racers turned to see the Italian, arms crossed and a cocky expression on his face. "I can school you, Falcon. No dice."
"Ha! You think you can best me? The greatest driver on the roster?" Carlos remarked, "You got nothing on me!"
"Wanna bet?" Matt raised an eyebrow, "Let's have a go. Me and Victor against you. We win, you give up our friend. You win, you get us."
"Are you sure about this?" Stephanie whispered. She had been told the plan as the race was going on: Matt and Victor would race Carlos on the track as an alternative instead of fighting. Plus with the amount of puppets currently, they were outnumbered and could be overpowered if they had certain traits.
"Relax," Matt told the transgender, "I have a feeling that when it comes down to a fight, we'll win. So are you game?"
"Heck yeah!" the racer exclaimed, "And I can get a promotion after turning you in!"
"That's… another benefit to it," Victor sweatdropped.
Matt and Victor pulled out their kart figurines, Matt's into Mario's Standard Kart and Victor's into Villager's Standard Kart. Carlos patted his Blue Falcon and hopped into the cockpit. They headed over to the starting line, engines revving except the pinkette.
The hovering vulpine waved its flag, "Five laps! First to cross wins! On your mark… Get set… Go!"
The vehicles blasted off, all with one goal in mind: to win.
From the stands, Lewis, Mason, Perri, and Stephanie cheered for their friends to win while the puppets chatted Carlos name. The host of Sheik began to keep a close eye on the hovering Fox puppet, thinking it was up to no-good.
For the beginning of the race, Matt had a steady lead, drifting with boosts thanks to his Standard Vehicle. Carlos was behind, grinding his teeth in frustration. Victor was currently in last place due to his inexperience with the kart. But still he tried.
Just before Matt reached the second lap, Carlos managed to steal first place. The Italian was able to smash through an Item Block -which were on the track now for some reason- and got a Mushroom. He applied and gave him enough boost to pass by the racer.
Victor had an item as well but was reversing it for the time being.
The puppets began cheering with all their might in hope that Carlos would win. The hosts were relieved how well the race was going.
On the third lap, Carlos was passed by Victor, now in third place. The possessed racer gave a small signal to the hovering Fox, who nodded.
Sneakily, the vulpine pulled out its blaster, charging it to the max only for a needle to nick its hand.
Stephanie had thrown it, instantly as the puppets began to glare at the interference.
"Hey, what was that for?!" the red Bayonetta spoke out.
"That fox was about to blast one of the racers!" Stephanie shot back.
"Oh, please," the purple Wario dismissed, "You would say that to ensure your competitors would win!"
"Oh, that's rich, coming from spirit possessed by the cheater," Lewis retorted as he began to manifest aura, knowing a fight would probably break out.
"Maybe that's why he agreed to race! It's a hoax! He would have never challenged the winner if he knew he couldn't win!" the Ken puppet theorized.
"Hey! My cousin is not a cheater!" Daniel defended his cousin.
"It was fair at first until the fox pulled out its blaster!" Perri said, generating sparks. Mason placed his hand on the handle of the Falchion, ready to fight.
The puppets rose from their seats, beginning to circle them. Then the Bayonetta puppet lunged in with a kick. Stephanie blocked it with a roundhouse, pulling out her nunchucks to combat the umbran witch.
Lewis threw two Aura Spheres, hitting Captain Falcon and Mega Man, and landed a Flash Cannon into the purple Wario.
Perri weaved through various ink globs from the Inkling puppets. Using Quick Attack, the girl wrestler closed in and landed a quartet of Rock Smash, Mega Kick, Brick Break, and Iron Tail onto the magenta cephalopod-humans.
Daniel stomped on the heads of the three racing Warios. Mason slashed at the Wii Fit Trainers defending the Ken puppet with ease before lunging with Dancing Blade.
While the fight in the stands was occurring, Matt was on the fourth lap and dropped a banana peel on the track. In a comedic fashion, the Blue Falcon began to swivel from the 'accident' which made the driver growl.
"If you don't wanna play by my rules, fine. We'll settle this the old fashion way," the hotshot racer said to himself. Pressing a button, a floating platform began to descend, something Matt took notice of.
Carlos zoomed by, yelling, "Let's change it up! How about we duke it out!"
Matt yelled back, "Why not!" He ejected from his seat as the kart returned to his hand and landed on the platform. The Blue Falcon hovered to the platform's level and hopped out as it reverted back to its figurine.
"Come on!" Carlos taunted with a 'bring it on' gesture.
Matt pounded his fist together and rushed in with a slide kick. Carlos avoided the dash by jumping over and landing a downard Falcon Kick, getting the Italian on the ground. The host of Mario managed to get free and used Super Jump Punch on the racer. Carlos backflipped and pulled out his pistol, firing energy shots that Matt avoided in quick session before using Cape Flip on one. The shot sailed behind the racer and Carlos rushed in with a flurry of jabs.
Matt was sent flying with a straight forward punch. Carlos cockily wiped his nose before going for Raptor Boost. The Italian managed to shield himself before using the Hammer Suit and threw a multitude of hammers towards the racer. Carlos cartwheeled away before Victor shot a peeble from his slingshot.
"Is this a one-on-one or can anyone join?" The kid quipped.
"Glad you asked," Carlos said before whistling. Instantly the puppet pit crew of Sonic, Ness, and Fox appeared and dealt with Kyle separately.
Victor muttered to himself, "I just had to say something." He donned his boxing gloves and went to town.
"Now, where were we?" Carlos said, cracking his knuckles. He was met with a hammer as Matt ran in with the Hammer Suit still intact. The Italian drew two hammers and struck several places. Hitting the knee, Carlos managed to grab the arm of the Italian before throwing him away.
Matt hit the floor and bunkered down into the helmet of the Hammer Suit, a surprising feat for someone of his stature. Carlos began to pummel the helmet nonstop which led to the Italian tripping him up. Matt un-bunked himself but was nailed in the gut by a recovered Carlos. The racer landed a one-two jab into a knee before using Raptor Boost again and landed a Falcon Dive on the Italian.
Matt landed on his back, nearly writhing in pain before Carlos had his foot on top of the defeated host. Carlos drew his pistol before aiming it directly at his pistol at Matt.
"Looks like you wouldn't be getting that first place trophy," Carlos mocked.
"Really, now?" Matt dully noted.
"Yep. Cause you wanna know who's in first place now?"
"Enlighten me."
Carlos' grew a sneer, "Me! I'm in first place now baby!"
"That's all I need to hear," Matt said before shouting, "Victor, now!"
The kid hurled the secret weapon he had been saving: a Blue Shell.
The homing shell targeted the racer and he was struck, the explosion catching Matt but he managed to recover just as Victor floated with his Balloon hat, having dealt with the puppets. Matt descended with his Cape much softer than Carlos who hit the asphalt hard.
Flipping him over, the two hosts saw that Carlos was unconscious and his visor no longer red signaling his freedom from Galeem.
"Good thing the Blue Shell always hits first place… usually," Matt remarked.
Carlos clutched his head before seeing the three hosts around him. "... Save the world?"
Nods all-around and Carlos hopped up, "Well then, what are we waiting for?" flashing a thumbs up.
The four hosts ran off the track and saw their friends finished up with the spirits. "No problems here?" Matt asked.
"The brawl was... tedious but we managed to prevail," Mason informed before seeing Carlos, "And I assume that your journey went well."
"Yep. Now I saw another piece of land we haven't been to yet," the Italian said before getting in a thinking position, "It seemed like a plateau of some sort."
Carlos popped his knuckles, "Well, let's not keep that lightbulb waiting! Let's get going!" The racer ran off before everyone followed in suite.
Freed Hosts: Matt/Mario, Kyle/Kirby, Mason/Marth, Stephanie/Sheik, Victor/Male Villager, Violet/Female Villager, Jordan/Jigglypuff, Yen/Yoshi, Steven/Mii Swordfighter, Irene/Isabelle, Daniel/Doctor Mario, Lewis/Lucario, Phil/Pikachu, Perri/Libre, Peyton/Peach, Brian/Bowser, Finn/Fox McCloud, Carlos/Captain Falcon