Zelda: Previously, on Smash: Emissary...

"I can fix my own ship. Every good pilot should know how," Samus replied.

"Rrrgh! The whole damn control system's fried," Samus cursed. "I don't know what happened to this ship, but nothing short of a complete reconstruction of the entire system will fix this… This could take days to repair."

"On your own, maybe. But I can help, if you'll let me," X offered.

"You aren't much for people, are you?" X questioned.

"Took you this long to figure it out?" Samus replied. "I hunt on my own for a reason. I don't do people anymore. Haven't for a long time."

"Why not?" X asked.

"It's not something I want to talk about," Samus answered coldly.

"You humiliate me for years, thwart me at every turn, and now you harm my son," He snarled at his arch-nemesis. "I will enjoy burning you to a crisp before I swallow you whole."

"The Mushroom Kingdom will be mine to rule, and with Tabuu's help, your name will be forgotten to time while my new kingdom will be everlasting."

"T-Tabuu…?"

"You have no idea how outclassed you are now. Things just got a whole lot bigger."

"Why is that? Is it because of this 'Tabuu'? Need someone else to help you? What kind of king is that?" Mario asked.

Sonic? He heard a young female voice say, somewhat distorted as if through a digital filter. Sonic, is that you? Sonic frantically looked around until, propped by itself in a dusty corner, was a stone cog with markings carved into its design.

"S-Sage?! Sage, is it really you?" Sonic exclaimed.

Anyone? Is anyone there?!

"It's just a piece of machinery," Link said.

"It's a piece of machinery from my world," Sonic corrected. "This shouldn't be here.

"Well, it seems we are due to pay Purah a visit."

Smash: Emissary

Chapter 5: F-Abel

The Arwing slowly descended towards the main courtyard before Peach's castle, and landed smoothly in the center of it, allowing the Mario brothers, Kirby, and the esteemed Princess Peach off the wings of the fighter before Fox himself popped the hatch of the cockpit open and climbed out. He dropped onto the well kept grass and joined his companions on the nearby stone path leading up to the main gates of the castle.

"Well, I'd consider this an absolute victory!" Luigi smiled. "Princess Peach is safe, the ship was destroyed, and Bowser was left plummeting in defeat!"

"Your new confidence doesn't suit you, little bro," Mario said somewhat coldly, still feeling the tension between him and Peach while his brother was brimming with positivity. It was off putting to the elder of the two. Luigi had always been nervous, timid, frightened of everything. Whatever had changed in him recently, it had given him this strength and outlook that made him better as both a hero and a person. Any other time, he'd be proud of his younger brother, but right now, he didn't want any of it.

"I'd say he wears it like a proud badge," Peach said, giving Luigi a smile. "Even if this was just another feeble attempt at taking the kingdom away. This new alliance Daisy and I are forming to unite all the other kingdoms as one will put an end to that soon enough, though." Peach then started up the path for the castle, but Mario's voice stopped her.

"I don't think it is that simple, Peach," he said.

Peach stopped and turned back around. The statement caught everyone else's eyes as well. "What do you mean?" Peach asked inquisitively.

"Bowser said a name: Tabuu. I think it's whoever's helping him and maybe even that Dedede guy," Mario answered. "He could even be the reason our worlds are colliding like they are."

"I've heard of some pretty powerful beings in my service, but never of a 'Tabuu'," Fox said. "And if he's controlling how our worlds interact, what's to say we're the only ones affected?"

"You're saying there could be more people at risk?" Peach questioned.

Fox nodded. "Think about it; I have no relation to this Mushroom Planet at all. But that Dedede guy that was with Bowser on the galleon was also on Corneria with an enemy of mine. Dedede comes from Kirby's world, and worked with both Wolf and Bowser. What's to say there aren't more bad guys working together with them and this 'Tabuu' fighting on even more worlds? I mean, with how it looks, it can't just be the three of ours, can it?"

"An interesting theory," Peach said, "But we don't have the means to act on it. Not yet. I'll have the Toads search our library for anything referencing this 'Tabuu', though. If we can come up with anything, it just might help in narrowing down our new enemy. Until then, we can only assume we are all that stands between our worlds and the enemies against them. Feel free to make yourselves at home while I freshen up." Peach started for the stairs up to the castle again when Mario stopped her yet again.

"Peach, wait," He said. Peach stopped for the second time to face her hero. "Can we talk?" Peach seemed to recognize what this was about, and turned to the others.

She asked, "Could you give us a moment? The Toads will guide you to your accommodations inside." The others nodded, and followed a pair of Toads waiting at the top of the stairs through the castle's gates, leaving just the princess and the plumber in the courtyard.

"How long are we gonna go on like this, Peach?" Mario asked.

"As long as I need to reconsider our standing," Peach answered evenly.

"But-" Mario started, but Peach cut him off.

"At the end of our last venture, you competed with Bowser for my hand like I was a trophy, like it was a competition. Meanwhile you should have known there was no competition to begin with. Have the years taught you nothing?" Peach questioned, her tone becoming heavier with each spoken word.

"You know that's not what I meant when I did that," Mario said, slightly looking down. "Yeah, in hindsight, it was dumb. A dumb move from a dumb guy. But you know I never meant to upset you. I'd never want to hurt you."

"I know," Peach agreed, her tone slightly softening. "I'm not saying you are a bad person, Mario. You're still the kind-hearted hero we've known all this time. Today is proof of that. I will be forever grateful for all you've done and all you will do to ensure peace is kept. That will never change. But the feeling of being objectified, even if insincere, isn't something that goes away easily. You will always be welcome in this castle, you will always be appreciated for your work and sacrifice. But until I feel ready to return as we were, you and I are friends, and nothing more."

"I-..." Mario started, but the words died in his mouth. Instead he just let out a heavy sigh. "I understand…"

"Thank you," Peach said. "Come in when you're ready. I'll have a meal prepared for us before we decide our next move." She then glided up the stairs and entered the castle as well. Mario didn't move, rooted to the spot as he stayed there, letting his thoughts run amuck in his head, leaving him all the more sour and regretful.

Samus sat down in the pilot's seat of her ship, taking a moment to have a break in between the work being done to her vessel. They had gotten basic power back to the ship, but it wasn't ready for takeoff yet. Samus guessed it wouldn't be for a while longer. But what was the point of takeoff if she couldn't figure out a way back to her own world? If she truly was stranded in another universe, what was she to do? She sighed and wiped the sweat from her brow, deciding the job in front of her was more important at the moment. She was about to continue her work when X, with the small Pichu perched on his shoulder, entered the cockpit.

"Hey," he said to get her attention. Samus wheeled her chair around to face the robot. "Doctor Cain says he wants to see us both. He says it's important." Samus didn't want to talk to the elderly scientist. She just wanted to fix her ship. But they, X and Cain, had been kind and courteous enough to give her a place to be until a way home for her was resolved, even giving her this space to repair her ship. She owed them similar kindness in return. She gave X a nod and slowly stood from her seat. She grabbed her helmet from the main control terminal and slid it back over her head, the green visor lighting up as it clicked into place, then followed X out of the ship and through the building back to the lab of Doctor Cain.

Upon entering, Samus saw a new reploid at the doctor's side, seemingly checking the man's life support systems. It was a woman with long golden-blonde hair and blue eyes, almost not unlike Samus herself, though her own features were now hidden behind her helmet. The female reploid had a base black bodysuit under her armored pieces, or at least seemed to, given her robotic origin and that being their actual look. The armored pieces' main color was a brownish-red with a secondary color of hot pink, and finally white highlights to top the color palette off. Worn on her head was a one-sided white headset with an antenna coming upwards from the headphone.

"Doctor. Alia. You needed us?" X said. Cain and the reploid, Alia, turned around to face the three as they entered.

"Ah, yes. I have a task I was hoping you two could carry out," Cain smiled before gesturing to the large screen on the wall, showing a map of Abel City, a pulsing red dot positioned in a nearby district. "A surge of energy not unlike the one that drew us to Samus's crash site has appeared in another part of the city. If you two-"

"Pichu!" The small creature cut in.

Cain let out a hearty laugh. "Yes, of course. If you three could figure out what created that signature, and find anything that may come from it, we could be one step closer to not only understanding this ordeal, but getting Miss Aran home sooner."

"Sounds good to me," Samus replied. Alia approached Samus with a small computer chip in her hand.

"This chip will immediately give your suit access to every radio frequency in Abel City, and allow us to patch in directly to you like we do with X," She told Samus, holding her hand out to the bounty hunter. Samus plucked the chip from her hand and slid it into a slot on her helmet. Her HUD quickly lit up with dozens of radio frequencies before they flicked away and a single one remained, which quickly shrunk and positioned itself in the top-right of her visor. Alia clicked a button on her headset and began to speak into the mic. "This way, we can keep in touch in real time in case whatever caused the surge is a threat, or if any Mavericks find their way onto the scene as well." Samus heard Alia's voice through both her normal hearing and the radio transmission in her helmet.

"Mavericks?" Samus questioned.

"Reploids who have become aggressive and violent," X clarified. "They still pop up here and there. Our job is to thwart them."

"So we have to inspect a multiversal disturbance, with which anything could happen, all the while looking out for evil robots? Sure, why not?" Samus said exasperatedly.

"It indeed sounds thrilling," Cain chuckled, then coughed hoarsely. Alia quickly took his side.

"You should get going," She said. "I'll contact you when I have him in bed." X gave a nod and both he and Samus, with Pichu hopping over to Samus's shoulder, began for the exit.

Samus said, "I don't know if this is wrong to ask, but-"

"You want to know what's wrong with him?" X finished for her. She was caught off guard, but nodded her head. "Just age catching up with him. He's old, older than I think he ever expected to be. Humans like you and him have a time to go, regardless of how you live your life. It's… sad. As a machine, I could have an indefinite natural life, but yet it's one that I put on the line to protect my city."

"You're not ready for him to go, are you?" Samus asked gently.

X hesitated to answer, but slowly shook his head. "It seems almost unfair that I do what I do but somehow he would go before me. He's basically my father. I don't… I don't want to see him pass."

"You never do," Samus said, as if speaking from experience.

"What about you? Do you have a family?" X asked.

"Not anymore," Samus answered, before heading outside without another word.

"Hmmm…" The small woman inspected the gear that was placed on the table in front of her, hopping up onto the table next to it. Purah was the closest thing to a scientist Hyrule had, so bringing the gear to her was the only option the trio of Link, Zelda and Sonic had. She was small, with a head almost as big as the rest of her body. She had white hair with bangs in the front and the rest in the back tied up in a bun. A red streak ran down the front-left side of her hair. She wore an off-white skirt outfit, red glasses, and a golden set of goggles of some kind propped up atop her head. "Yep, definitely beyond ancient…"

Sonic sighed at the obvious deduction. "I know it's ancient. What I'm asking is if you can access what's left on the gear."

"A cog like this isn't normally a container of information. I wouldn't even know where to begin," Purah replied, never taking her eyes off the stone piece.

"What is it you're trying to get off of the gear again?" Zelda asked.

"When I passed by it, I could hear the voice of a friend I thought was gone. She's kinda made of this digital Cyberspace stuff I had to deal with. She could have stored herself in a piece of Ancients technology, or left a message in the gear. If there's a chance she's alive, I gotta find out how to get her out."

"So this gear, it isn't just a piece of stone?" Zelda questioned.

Sonic shook his head. "It's technology used by the ancients back on Mobius. These gears are what allowed me to enter this weird Cyberspace realm, where everything was this digital world. That's the best way I can explain it at least."

"Well, in terms of extracting the information, I don't know if it's possible," Purah said. "But perhaps we can scan the data to figure out what's stuck in there."

"How would we do that?" Zelda asked.

Purah tapped her foot in thought, her soles rapping on the tabletop, before turning to the silent Link standing to the side. "Linky, mind giving me your Sheikah Slate?" Link nodded and pulled the tablet-like device off his belt before handing it to the scientist. Purah plucked it from the Hylian's hands and trotted back over to the gear. She switched the device on, and after a blue eye-like symbol filled the screen, it quickly faded away and filled with the image of the tabletop, as if it was a camera of some kind. Purah tooled with the device in thought, leaving the others to just wait quietly.

Sonic tapped his foot rapidly and impatiently, before rudely asking, "Can you do this any faster?"

"I'm going as fast as I can, pal. Unless you don't want to find out what is stored in this?" Purah replied with a raised eyebrow. Sonic sighed and shut his mouth, but was still clearly impatient. Purah turned her attention back to the Sheikah Slate. "Hmm… I can't unlock the data on the gear itself. But maybe I can transfer the data into the Slate and translate it from there."

"This person, they must mean a great deal to you," Zelda remarked.

"Yes and no. She was… lost in this battle, and I thought she was gone. It came back to bite me when Egghead attacked me with Ganon and Wolf. Seems like he blames me for her death," Sonic replied.

"Then he might be grateful if it turns out she's alive. What's her name?" Zelda asked.

"Sage," Sonic answered.

"I hope this Sage is alright. If she risked herself to save others, she is the kind of person I'd like to meet."

"Oh, you two'd probably get along pretty well," Sonic smiled, some of his chipperness coming back to him.

"Woah!" Purah cried out. Everyone's heads spun around instantly to see a feed of blue energy quickly begin to shoot up from the gear into the Sheikah Slate.

"What's happening?" Zelda asked.

"I don't know!" Purah replied. The energy kept shooting into the slate, building up to a point where it sparked and blasted out of Purah's hands, sending the small scientist off the table and the device flying across the room, bouncing off a wall and landing at the feet of Link. Sonic sped to catch Purah before she hit the ground. The Blue Blur was across the room in an instant, catching Purah and carefully getting her back to her feet.

Link picked the Sheikah Slate up off the floor and looked at it curiously. The energy had ceased, and the Slate seemed to be completely offline at first. Then it's screen flickered to life, showing a symbol Link didn't recognize. Quickly after, a young female voice came from the Slate.

"Sonic? Father? Can anyone hear me?" Sonic's ears perked up. The Mobian hedgehog dashed over next to Link.

"Sage! It's me! Can you hear me?"

"Yes! Yes I can! Where am I? What's going on?" Sage's voice asked.

"That's… a bit of a loaded question," Sonic responded.

"I can at least assure you you're among friends," Zelda said, taking Link's other side.

The screen flickered a bit, then the face of a young girl with white bangs with blue streaks and blue eyes appeared on the screen. "This technology… it's so different… it isn't Ancient or Mobian in origin."

"See, that's where the hard to explain part comes in. We're kinda… stuck in another universe," Sonic said.

"... I see…" Sage simply replied. "And we have no method of returning to Mobius?"

"Not currently, but we believe there's something larger going on," Zelda answered.

"And Egghead's involved."

"Father?" Sage seemed to perk up at the mention of Eggman.

Sonic nodded. "He thought you were dead. We all did. And he blamed me for it."

"He's in anguish… Whatever he's helping to do, he's doing it out of anger, in mourning."

"What happened to you out there? I thought you were gone with the titan," Sonic questioned.

"That battle is the last thing in my memory. I cannot recall anything past the defeat of The End. It's like I was simply there, then here."

"Information does seem to come rarely to us in our current situation," Zelda said. "For all we know, the enemy could be in Hyrule right now."

"Hyrule could also be perfectly safe," Link added. "That is the problem. We don't know anything."

"This device… it has geographical data about all the surrounding lands. Perhaps I can run a scan to see if any irregular signatures stand out aside from Sonic and I. This can determine whether other 'visitors' are in this 'Hyrule'."

"Sounds simple enough," Sonic said.

"I would need an open area to send a signal out," Sage said.

"The center of Hyrule Fields is a perfect spot then," Zelda suggested. "Let's be on our way."

"No time to waste! Gotta go fast!" Sonic exclaimed. He grabbed the wrists of both Link and Zelda before blasting out Purah's door. In just a few moments, Sonic stopped in the middle of the lush green Hyrule fields at the center of the kingdom. "C'mon, let's get that scan thing goin."

The Hylians, meanwhile, were left disoriented. Sudden movement at that speed was too much for them. They both dropped to their knees as they panted heavily, their hearts racing from the panic pulsing in their bodies.

"Never… do that… again…" Link groaned nauseously, holding his stomach with one arm while supporting himself with the other. Zelda wasn't any better off.

"Perhaps a warning… would be helpful," She added.

"Right, sorry guys. My bad," Sonic nervously chuckled.

"I am ready to commence the scan when you are," Sage said.

Link unsteadily returned to his full height and raised the Sheikah slate upwards. A blue light came from the pad, shooting upwards. Once it hit the clouds, it dispersed into a series of waves that spread outwards over the immediate area of the kingdom, quickly fading away. After a few moments, the light completely disappeared, and Link brought the Slate back down.

"What just happened?" Zelda asked.

"I dispersed part of what remained of my Cyberspace energy to empower this device with enough charge to disperse a signal wave that will feedback when it comes in contact with anything extra-universal. If it doesn't belong in your world, we'll know," Sage answered.

"Well that's… useful," Zelda noted, before an audible ping sounded from the Sheikah Slate. "What's that?"

"A signal," Sage said, "Coming from the abandoned castle to the North." Link and Zelda's heads shot up to meet eyes.

"What's the deal with the castle?" Sonic asked.

"It's… it's…" Zelda started, memories coming to the surface. She was struggling to put the words together.

"It's home," Link finished for her. "It's where it began and where it ended. The Calamity."

"Calamity?" Sonic raised an eyebrow.

"A century-long dread that destroyed our friends and ruled our kingdom. We've only just been rid of it," Zelda said.

"Oh.. man, I'm sorry," Sonic frowned. "I-I didn't know."

"It's quite alright," Zelda assured the Mobian. "What was the signal, Sage?"

"Unknown. But it's a mass of technological signals starkly different from anything else within range."

"Well, I guess that means we know where we're headed now," Sonic said.

"Yes, but perhaps walking there will leave us less disoriented," Zelda said. "I understand you prefer speed, but perhaps the element of surprise and a slower pace could aid us, especially if they are unaware of us coming."

"Ugh, alright," Sonic sighed. "Let's get going then." The hedgehog started to walk ahead, while Link hooked the Sheikah Slate back onto his belt. He then saw Zelda spacing out somewhat, looking blankly forward.

"Are you alright?" Link asked his monarch.

"Dwelling won't make it better. What about you?" Zelda asked. She genuinely wondered about Link's emotions regarding the Calamity. Despite their reunion, Link still cared for her and her feelings, never slowing enough to regard his own. Before, she let this go, as it helped him become the strongest, most devoted knight of their kingdom. Now he was the last, and of all Hyrule's defenders, only the two of them remained. Still he never wavered. It was no longer endearing, however. Just worrying.

"I'm fine," Link simply said, and began to follow Sonic. Zelda quickly grabbed his wrist, stopping him dead. He looked back at her concerningly. "What's wrong?"

"Link, if you feel a burden, you don't have to carry it alone. Not anymore. Not after all this," Zelda assured her faithful knight. Link glanced away for just a moment.

"Another time. For now, we have a mission," Link evenly said.

"Y-Yes, of course…" Zelda relented, letting go of Link's wrist. The two followed Sonic forward, towards the abandoned and aging Hyrule Castle far ahead of them.

X, Pichu and Samus were nearing the coordinates given by Alia , wondering what the disturbance could have been.

"We're getting close now. I wonder what this disturbance must be," X said, echoing Samus's own thoughts.

"I wouldn't bet on it being friendly. Keep your guard up," Samus warned.

Then suddenly, a vehicle of some kind blasted by them on the street, moving by as nothing but a blue blur, with an engine roaring like a tornado. "Was that our target?!" X exclaimed.

"It must have been. I couldn't get a good look at the vehicle though."

"If his vehicle is that fast, why hasn't he left the quadrant?" X wondered aloud. Suddenly, the vehicle skidded to a stop in front of them sideways, blocking the path of the entire street. It was a one-man blue hovercraft with engines on either side and vertical wings standing towards the back. The number 07 was plastered on the grill, as well as on the exterior side of both wings. On top of both engines in white text read, Blue Falcon.

The cockpit windshield popped up and flipped open. From the interior hopped out a man in a blue jumpsuit, who also wore a yellow scarf, a white pauldron with golden highlight on his right shoulder, yellow gloves, golden boots, and a red helmet adorned with a golden bird spreading its wings on the forehead. The helmet also had a black visor that just covered the eyes, with white digital ones on the visor in their place, the only exposed part of his face being his nose downwards. Holstered on a brown belt with a metal circular buckle at his waist was also a handgun of some sort.

Samus and X both aimed their arm cannons at the newcomer, preferring to be safe over sorry.

"Woah, easy there! What's with the guns?" The man asked.

"Who are you?" X questioned.

The man gestured to his vehicle as if that was an answer, and when X and Samus didn't budge, he said, "Seriously? Nothing?"

"Does it look like we know you?" Samus replied, keeping her aim right at the man.

"Captain Falcon? Best racer on the F-Zero track? Renowned bounty hunter?" The man, Falcon, said.

"I'm in the bounty hunting business, and I've never heard of you," Samus replied.

"Hey, multiverse stuff, remember?" X reminded her.

"Hold on, what?" Falcon raised an eyebrow. "Where am I?"

"Abel City. Sound familiar?" X asked.

Falcon shook his head. "No. Is this Earth?"

"It is."

"Then something's wrong…"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Samus asked Falcon.

"I'm… not sure. A flash of light? I think I was on the track, then I was here," he answered. "It's kinda fuzzy."

"Just like I felt…" Samus thought aloud.

"Ok, look, can someone just explain what's going on? I really gotta get back to my race."

"I don't think that'll be happening anytime soon," X said, finally lowering his weapon and changing its form back to a normal hand.

"And why is that?" Falcon asked.

"We believe you may have been pulled through a dimensional rift. You would've been brought from your Earth to mine," X answered.

"Ok… how?" Falcon asked.

"That's what we're still trying to figure out," X replied. "I'm X, and this is Samus. If you'll come with us, we'll share all we know and give you a place to stay until we figure this out."

"Are you sure the lady shares the sentiment?" Falcon raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Samus, who still kept her arm cannon trained on the racer. X glared at her.

"Hey, let's take it easy. He clearly doesn't mean any harm." Samus silently lowered her weapon, but kept her eyes trained on Falcon. She didn't trust him. She barely trusted X. She just wanted to get home, and things kept getting more complicated by the minute. "Look, Samus is in the same position you are. We're trying to solve this, and if you're displaced, you're welcome to join us until this is resolved."

"Well, with such a kind offer, how could I say no?" Falcon responded.

"Here." X approached Falcon and then a holographic map of Abel City projected from his arm. "I can guide us, but if you'll drive us all back to these coordinates, we can get right to work."

"Alright then. It might get a tad cramped, but it shouldn't be too much work."

Samus sighed and shook her head.

"Absolute failures!" Tabuu exclaimed. He glared down at the returned Bowser and Dedede standing before him. Meanwhile, Wolf, Junior, Eggman and Ganondorf, the latter two summoned from their operation in Hyrule, watched on. "You had one simple goal: steal your princess. Front here, you could've easily returned to subspace and been out of their reach. Instead, you wanted to repeat your cycle. You chose to stay and gloat, and thus failed. And not only did you fail, you let them in on too much."

"It's not our fault the plumber showed up with new friends!" Bowser replied.

Tabuu paused. "What new friends?"

"My rival, Kirby," Dedede answered. "As well as an animal pilot like Wolf."

"Fox," Wolf growled. "Are you toying with us, Tabuu?! Bring us together and give the good guys support too?"

"No. Their coming together is not my doing. It seems the barriers are weaker than I thought," Tabuu said.

"Barriers? What barriers?" Eggman questioned.

"The ones between realities, what separates worlds like Mobius from ones like Corneria, or Earth. Until recently, they were solid, unable to be crossed except on rare occasions. But something happened out there, on another world, and now those barriers have been not only weakened, but broken. This is how I was able to reach beyond the Subspace, and bring you together. Before the collapse, I could see or do nothing beyond this prison. Then the collapse occurred, and while I still could not leave this godforsaken hole, I could reach out, I could see out. I could also see what was coming. I'm not the only power reaching out to the infinite universes now open to us. If I want to survive, I must consolidate enough power to provide competition."

"And you're using us for that? As tools?" Ganon raised an eyebrow.

"In a manner of speaking. You will still be given what is promised, and should we succeed, become commanders of the first multiversal army."

"And what army is that?" Bowser questioned.

"One locked away with me, but doesn't share my restrictions," Tabuu said. He waved his hand and a rift opened before them all, allowing them a view through into the world to see an army of machines, each boxy in form with white paint jobs, two beady black eyes, pincers for arms, and platforms instead of legs.

"The remnants of a world I conquered long ago. I used them for my original conquest before they were locked away with me. It's time for the next phase. Now that you know that combined we truly can grant your wishes, it's time to make the first play. Robotnik, Ganon; you two will return to Hyrule and use both Badniks and my troops to invade Hyrule. Wolf and Dedede, you will do the same to the Mushroom kingdom, and wipe those nuisances from existence."

"Mario is mine to kill!" Bowser exclaimed.

"You're lucky you still have usefulness, otherwise I would have killed you already for your failure," Tabuu threatened.

"Hey, you don't talk to my pops like that!" Junior snapped. Tabuu's head snapped to face the young Koopa prince.

"Junior, don't-!" Bowser started.

"Pops is a king! The rightful king of the Mushroom kingdom! He did his job, and he did it right! If you didn't see those other chumps coming, then you're not so powerful after all!"

"Junior, that's enough!"

"No, Bowser, the boy is right," Tabuu said. "Let me show how powerful I am, even imprisoned." Tabuu put his hand forward, and from his palm shot a beam of light that completely consumed Junior. Once the light receded, the son of Bowser was frozen, his form turned to a solid bronze-like metal, like he was turned into a statue. All the villains stared in shock, surprised by the sudden attack that instantly transformed the mouthy turtle.

"Junior!" The King Koopa cried out. The statue of Junior floated up into Tabuu's palm, and hovered there.

"He is alive. But know this: you will remain sidelined for this upcoming battle, Bowser. And next time you step out of line, or fail so miserably again, I will destroy him. Consider this your new incentive. And for the rest of you, consider this your warning. I can still give you what you were promised, but my patience is not infinite. I have been imprisoned here for far too long. I will not let this opportunity pass me by because of any of you mortals. You have your missions. Now, go."