Chapter 11: The Crosses Of Light and Darkness
Mario stood up, and saw his brother and Diddy Kong waking up. "Ugh. Is everyone okay?" he asked. "Yeah, I seem to be in one piece," Luigi said as he fixed his hat. "Whoa! That was wicked!" Diddy Kong exclaimed. Mario noticed his surroundings to be familiar. "The Comet Observatory? But what are we doing here?" Mario asked. "How did we get here? We were underneath the Kongo Isles a minute ago," Luigi said.
Link stood up, and shook his head. Kirby then followed and they looked at each other. The Hyrule gang all stood up as well. "Well, that was something," Snake said. "Honestly, that couldn't feel more humiliating," Revali said. "Hey, has anyone seen my spear?" Bandana Dee asked. The duck barked as he had it in his mouth. "Hey! Give that back!" Bandana Dee exclaimed. Zelda observed her surroundings. "Oh my! This place looks incredible!" Zelda said. "Glad you like it Princess. Let's just find out where we are," Impa said.
Yoshi jumped up as Princess Peach, Daisy, Toad and Toadette followed. "This looks awfully like the Comet Observatory," Peach said. "Yoshi is scared. What happened to Yoshi and friends?" Yoshi asked. "I'm not sure Yoshi, but we're gonna find out," Daisy said. "Let's go check in with Rosalina. I'm betting she knows why we're here," Toad said. "Alright. Hopefully she has an explanation," Peach said.
Fox, Samus and the gang all stood there as three more Convergence Crystals stood in front of them. "1. 2. 3. 4. What'd you do? Multiply ours?" Fox asked. "No, I simply brought them here, although it looks like the other four's links have been disconnected. Something is blocking them from communicating with the ones we brought," Rosalina said. "What exactly did you do?" Samus asked. "Hello! Rosalina? Are you there?!" Mario called out. Mario popped out of the corner and immediately team Star Fox and Samus pointed their blasters at him. "Whoa!" Mario yelled as he raised his hands up. "Whoa! Whoa! Let's all calm down here!" Shulk exclaimed. "AH!" Luigi screamed as he fainted in fear. "Oh no you don't!" Diddy Kong yelled as he shot a peanut at Falco's forehead. "Ow! What?! Is that a peanut?!" Falco yelled.
Snake came out of another corner, armed and ready, followed by Revali who had his bow out. "Nobody make any move, or you're gonna get a bullet in the head," Snake said. "Yeah! Violence always solves everything!" Bandana Dee yelled. "I don't believe that is true," Zelda said. The Duck Hunt dog growled. "Meh. I ain't doing nothin' but sleeping," King Dedede said. "Shut up!" Snake exclaimed. "Now hold on there!" Peach yelled as she jumped besides Mario. "Peach?" Mario questioned. "Nobody is hurting my plumber," Peach said. "And Yoshi here too!" Yoshi yelled in delight as he danced around.
"Enough!" Rosalina yelled. "Ugh. What's happening now?" Luigi asked as he regained consciousness. "That's what I'm still wondering," Slippy said. "Perhaps an interrogation is needed," Snake said. "Must we always resort to violence?" Dunban asked. "I don't know Violence always seems to work for me," Bandana Dee said. "How is that thing talking without a mouth?" Toad asked. "Poyo!" Kirby yelled. "It seems in the process of summoning the Convergence Crystals, I also have brought you all, which I am assuming is from danger which would make tensions like this," Rosalina said. "Yeah. We were fighting K. Rool and Koopalings in an underground cavern beneath the Kongo Isles," Diddy Kong said. "Really? We were being chased by Petey Piranha on Yoshi's Island," Toadette said. "We encountered a dragon-like creature who spoke with a raspy voice," Zelda said. Samus gasped a little. "Well before that, we fought a furry called Wolf," Snake said. "Wolf you say?" Fox asked. "Yeah. Do you know him?" Snake asked. "Unfortunately. Let's just say we're not friends, but I suppose an enemy of my enemy is a friend," Fox said as he lowered his blaster and ordered the rest of his team to lower theirs.
"Well before that, we had a fight with some guy named Ganondorf who teamed up with Bowser," Mario said. "Ganondorf you say?" Zelda asked, "Master Kohga had mentioned him when he brought that creature with him." "Yeah. That guy is working with Bowser and the Wario Bros," Mario said. "And we can assume Petey Piranha and K. Rool," Daisy said. "And then there's M. Bison and Dr. Eggman," Samus said. "A bison and a man made of eggs?" Impa asked. "No. Well one of them does look like a giant egg with a mustache," Falco said. "I suppose it is no coincidence this all occurred nearly at the same time. Like a coordinated attack," Rosalina said.
"So, floating space lady. You seem to know a lot about these strange crystals," Snake said. "You called them the Convergence Crystals," Zelda said. "Yes. These are only four of eight, and I am assuming the other four already fell to sinister forces," Rosalina said. "If I gotta say, this all seems very confusing," Reyn said. "Of course it would be confusing to Reyn-time," Riki said. "Oi! What's that supposed to mean?" Reyn asked. "Now, now. Let's not fight. Let's listen," Melia said. "Melia's right. Rosalina? What are the Convergence Crystals?" Fiora asked. "I know as much information as I know, from an ally who traveled the stars in search of more knowledge of the power of the crystals," Rosalina said. "How do we know this ally is an ally?" Revali asked. "For, he had his own Convergence Crystal and was attempting to get it away from sinister forces. I know now he failed, or at least lost the crystal," Rosalina said. "Hm. Maybe we can merge our research with the knowledge you know. It should give us a clearer picture anyway," Shulk said. "It may be the case," Rosalina said. "Maybe I can give aid. Research is one of my favorite pastimes," Zelda said. "I'll help too! I've had my fair share of tombs, treasure, and adventure!" Toad said. "And I'm there with my Toad-y!" Toadette said.
While they got working on the research, everyone got to talking to each other. "So, you're like a soldier?" Sharla asked. "Soldier and spy ma'am," Snake said. "Ah, so you've fought in wars I assume," Dunban said. "Fought in them and prevented some of them," Snake said. "Although I'm still trying to figure out, what is a spy?" Impa asked. "Someone who sneaks around facilities or pretends to be friendly so that they could get information," Snake said.
"That Princess there. You two have a thing for each other, don't you?" Falco asked. "Peach? Oh yeah. She's cool," Mario said. "Ah, so you don't happen to know a few tips about, let's say, a bird seeking to get together with a badass mercenary?" Falco asked. The Duck Hunt duck walked past them. "Are you talking about the duck?" Mario asked. "Oh forget what I said," Falco said. Mario asked Link, "Do you have any idea what he's talking about?" Link raised his hands in confusion. "I suppose most boys are really clueless," Daisy said as she watched the conversation. "They sure are," Fiora said. "Yeah," Melia said. "Hey ladies! What are we talking about?" Bandana Dee asked.
"This is ridiculous," Revali said. "You're tellin' me! I still don't even have my castle back!" King Dedede complained. "Yoshi thinks it's sweet," Yoshi said. "I didn't ask for your opinion," Revali said. "Oi! No need to be rude to the lad!" Reyn complained. "Whatever. I'm beyond this… bonding," Revali said. "Bird brains have a punchable face," Riki said. "You're tellin' me Riki," Reyn said.
The research group had returned, and together they pieced part of the puzzle to this mystery. "It seems we don't have a complete story yet, but…" Toad said. "It seems we have parts of its beginning and parts of its end," Shulk said. "Well, get to it," King Dedede said.
They placed the research down on the floor, and projected it through holograms. Long ago, two celestial beings fought in a great war that purged many great worlds. These beings sought to change the balance between light and darkness. Galeem, Lord of Light, and Dharkon, Lord of Darkness sought to engulf the entire universe in light or darkness. Their fight would go on for centuries, until eight great warriors united the worlds to face off against this threat. Then, as all seemed lost, eight gems from beyond their universe fell into the warrior's respected worlds. Using these gems, the warriors took the fight back to the great celestial beings. During the conflict, the celestial beings struck the gems, and their combined powers formed two artifacts. The Cross of the Light, and the Cross of the Dark. With these artifacts, the eight converging crystals formed Ruina Orbem. The Smash Orb. With the united might of the eight warriors, they used the Smash Orb to defeat both celestial beings.
"Whoa, that's intense," Diddy Kong said. "Wait, there is more," Zelda said.
Peace was brought to the universe and balance was kept, until. For when every story ends, another begins. Sinister forces arose, seeking to control the Smash Orb for their own purposes. With more conflicts, the worlds began to question who should wield the orb. Who should have the power? Chaos broke. Wars were fought. Lives were lost. The eight warriors knew that this kind of power only brought greed and destruction, and so they chose to tear apart the Smash Orb and hide the eight gems from beyond in their worlds, away from anybody who would use them for power. The crosses on the other hand, were sent off to unknown regions, lost forever. It was only the path of the eight that could reveal their location.
"Really? I feel like there are a lot of plot holes in that story," Bandana Dee said as Link nodded in agreement. "As we said, it's only bits and pieces of the full story," Zelda said. "So, I think we can safely assume that these enemies want to find all eight crystals to get ultimate power," Samus said. "Samus is right. It seems they've already begun their full on invasions," Dunban said, "It's a clever tactic. Cover as much ground and gain control of the battlefield." The Duck Hunt dog barked. "And they've already taken our friends. Mipha, Daruk and Urbosa," Zelda said. "And Donkey Kong," Diddy Kong said. "And the other Waddle-Dees," Bandana Dee said. "And my castle!" King Dedede cried.
"Hm. Alright, that calls it," Mario said. Mario climbed on top of one of the little observatories. "Alright, everyone! Listen up!" Mario said. "I know that we all barely know each other," Mario said. "More like we just met each other a couple minutes ago," Impa said. "Yeah. But it's obvious. There is something bigger than the rest of us out there. The enemy is already ten steps ahead of us. We've already lost so much," Mario said. "That sounds reassuring," Revali said sarcastically. "Can I please finish?" Mario asked, "Look. A lot of our enemies are working together, so I think it calls for a team up." "Are you suggesting an alliance?" Melia asked. "We're already tactically behind. Our chances are slim to none," Snake said. "Ah, but we've faced impossible odds before, and I bet many of you have also," Dunban said. "He's right. If we find those crosses before the villains do, then maybe we can stand a chance against them. And I'm betting there are other heroes out there who we can recruit," Mario said.
Everyone looked at each other. Mario was sweating as he hoped they would agree to join the fight. Link, Zelda, Fox, Samus, Kirby, Yoshi, Shulk and Luigi were the first ones to step up. "Bro, you know I'm always with you," Luigi said. "Yoshi in too!" Yoshi said with delight. Everyone else eventually stepped in. "Yeah! I guess! I'm doing this so I can get my castle back!" King Dedede reassured. "I always fight with his highness, and I just love violence," Bandana Dee said. "Wherever Shulk goes, we go," Reyn said. "I suppose I've faced worse missions before," Snake said. The Duck Hunt dog barked and the duck quacked. "Where our captain goes, we follow," Falco said. "Then, I suppose it is time we get to work," Rosalina said.
Rosalina waved her wand and in doing so, caused the Convergence Crystals to float and form in mid air half an orb with crosses missing in its center. All of sudden, her galactic map of galaxies increased, revealing many more galaxies unexplored. "So, where do we start," Mario said.