Ugh, I do NOT know why this chapter took me so long, and I apologize. Life has been tiring, with school ramping up and yesterday I had prom, but I guess it gave me some motivation! Anyways, enjoy!
-Joost

Shattering the Stars
Chapter 20: The World We Knew

The morning was greeted by a stunned silence for the crusaders. Each of them got out of bed, sighed, and gathered in the living room without any words. For a couple of seconds, they all exchanged bewildered glances before Amy finally decided to break the ice.

"So… Uh…" Amy struggled to address what was on everybody's mind. It seemed to loom over her consciousness like a raincloud, something both she and her friends dreaded.

"Yeah…" Mario mumbled, looking at his brother. Luigi shared the same look of concern as they swapped their stare over to Amy and Crystal. Link did the same, as the men simply thought that the Inkling and Octoling shouldn't join them on this kind of perilous crusade.

"I guess we've got a lot of work to do, huh?" Amy smiled weakly, trying to retain some of her natural confidence as she inwardly pleaded for something to save her. Crystal, despite sitting right beside Amy, didn't look at her as she usually did. In fact, she barely moved a muscle. She instead just stared blankly at the floor, something dwelling on her mind that she hoped no one would ask about.

"I'm not the kind of guy to dismiss what a god says, but uh… I think she got the wrong teens…" Mario scratched the back of his head, trying to appear dismissive of Amy and Crystal. His ruse was only seen through by Luigi, who knew when his brother was unsure of anything.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" Amy sprang up and pointed at Mario furiously. "Who says that… whoever that was, got it wrong?"

"Sorry, just…" Mario gestured to Amy and by extension, Crystal, grimacing, "You guys are kids, y'know?"

Amy felt insulted. She greatly despised whenever somebody judged her not based on her defined skills, but her appearance and age. A brief flashback to her last battle with Scyther took over for a second as she marched up to face the red plumber, but Link's stronger voice commanded more authority.

"Not to be rude, but-" Link started, his tone bold. Everybody looked at him. "We don't even know how old you guys are, and I don't think many of us are comfortable with putting your lives in danger all to stop the man we're after." The man in green then sighed, thinking about home. "In a few months, I'm going to be a parent, but I can already sense the instincts that come with it."

Amy was dumbfounded. Unseen rage consumed her original views of the travelers before her, and she balled her fists, wanting to throw a punch at something, anything. However, she couldn't bring herself to. Then, Crystal finally broke out of her own trance, got up, and tapped Amy on the shoulder.

"A-Amy? Can we go for a walk?" Crystal asked, her voice barely audible to the very person she was talking to.

Amy's eyes widened as her angered face morphed into worry, taking Crystal's hand and holding it gently. "O-Of course," she said, forcing a smile. She turned to walk out, but Mario sprang up from the couch and decided to join them.

"I'll- uh… I'll go with them to make sure they're okay," Mario said.

"Want me to come with, bro?" Luigi asked, about to get up.

"Nah, don't trouble yourself, Weege. I shouldn't be long," Mario was a bit dismissive of his brother, leaving without looking back. Another awkward bout of nothingness came until Link remembered something.

"Luigi, we need to get moving, soon. Didn't that Freddy boy say that he had our gear? Like the Ultra Sword and my things?" Link, secretly, was a little glad that Freddy took his sword and shield. He needed a break from them, seeing them and such. Even though he had balanced his life out, using his weapons so suddenly again made him uneasy.

"Yeah, I think so," Luigi faintly remembered Freddy mentioning the Ultra Sword. It was funny to him, that the boy who seemed so young had already proven himself capable of giving them some answers, no matter who baffling. It still sent his mind astray when he thought about the video games the blue Inkling had shown him and the group.

"Alright, you stay here, wait for Tael and Kirby to wake up. I'll go find Freddy and gather our stuff. Then we'll discuss what to do next," Link was quite confident that he could find Freddy.

"You got it…" Luigi replied. He wasn't much worried about where he and the others would go next, instead wondered why his brother was acting so strange before he left. "Wave Energy…" The mustachioed man mumbled.

"What?" Link caught Luigi's words.

"Just something about it, its like… I can sense it now," Luigi opened his palm and generated a few sparks with Thunderhand. He could feel the beat of his blood flow through his veins, the waves working their magic to help him concentrate on his gift and give it form.

Link pondered if he would be able to feel it once he got his gear back. Perhaps if he used the Lens of Truth or an elemental arrow, he'd get something more out of them than he did before. That bird, Empyrea, he thought, made his aware of something he never even considered important to his success as a hero, or even as a man. Just how much did Wave Energy guide him?

As Link walked out and to the elevator, his mind kept working on the mystery of the waves.

Amy and Crystal moseyed through Inkopolis Square without direction, Mario right behind them. While he did intend on speaking to them, they seemed to be troubled with something that he didn't want to interrupt. The two girls just went wherever their feet took them, occasionally stopping to stand in front of a shop window. They held hands the whole time.

"Th-That looks nice, doesn't it?" Amy pointed to the pair of shoes on the other side of the window, hoping to get some sort of reaction out of Crystal. The Octoling just stared at the footwear before nodding insincerely.

Amy sighed and kept going, walking with Crystal through the square in silence.

"Chosen…" Crystal mouthed, no sound coming from her mouth. Amy didn't notice it the first time, but that wasn't Crystal's intention. "Chosen…" She moved her lips robotically, not mimicking how those men, Erdrick or Eight, said it, but another man. "Chosen…"

"What?" Amy finally saw Crystal's mouth move but was perplexed by the lack of words. Her girlfriend didn't respond. Amy put her hand on Crystal's shoulder and shook her gently. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"N-Nothing…" Crystal rubbed her shoulder and turned her head away, unable to look Amy in the eye. She knew her sanitized eye was flaring up because of the new burning sensation.

"Hey, no, I know that look," Amy walked in front of Crystal, faced her, and took her by the hands, "Look at me." Crystal reluctantly did so, and Amy's heart sank. "U-Uh… C'mon, let's go here," Amy found a nearby alley and hurried in, wanting a bit of privacy.

"Guys!" Mario got a glimpse of Crystal's burdened eyes and kept his own mouth shut. Whatever was going on, it wasn't his place to know.

Once the pair were far enough in the alley to be comfortable, Amy got close enough to her close friend that she was all Crystal saw. Both of their sanitized eyes glimmered in the shadow of the buildings while the two held hands. They embraced for a bit until Amy found the words to speak.

"What's going on?" Amy asked, cupping Crystal's cheek.

"It's all this… Me being a part of this, the reason those guys are here," Crystal looked at the ground, picturing moments from her past. They were fuzzy. "It feels like being a part of Octavio's army all over again…" Suddenly, Amy didn't know what to say. Crystal didn't blame her in the slightest. "Being 'chosen' for something we don't even know that's happening, it just… r-reminds me of being a soldier… a-and nothing more…"

Amy's normal brash smirk couldn't find its place here. It was no time to break into the old 'look on the bright side' routine. Even to her, there was no bright side to this situation. Shatterhand, Empyrea, Wave Energy, the realms, they had to take this seriously. They didn't even know if the others would allow them to join, but they both planned to do their best to convince them.

"I hate this…" Crystal said solemnly.

The tweeting of birds overhead and bustling sounds of the square were drowned out as the Inkling and Octoling thought about everything they had been through. The fights, the nightmares, the sheer madness that encompassed their lives and never let go.

It didn't hurt, it just ached.

"Please know, Crystal…" Amy said, her head also down, staring at the ground. Her arms were shaking wildly. "I love you… More than anything. More than my stupid 'parents'," She scowled once she said that last word, "More than my Dualies, more than myself…"

"Remember that," She finished, not knowing what else to say.

They stood together in a stillness that could be perceived as time almost stopping, nothing else in the world important while they confided in each other. That was, until it was unexpectedly broken by a deep voice somehow coming from above.

"There you guys are…" An Octoling said as he jumped down and landed on the pavement. He stood up, his height dwarfing the other two as he slowly approached them.

"Sketchy… Not now, we're in the middle of something, alright?" Amy placed herself in front of Crystal and kept her arm out to defend her companion, not in the mood for whatever the other Octoling was here for.

The boy was tall, freakishly tall for what he was. Sketchy was over six feet in height, a few inches taller than Link, and he certainly looked at least physically stronger than him as well. It was odd that he had such a toned body, but that's not why people found him frightening. It was his stare, cold and unfeeling, much like the dark recesses of his life.

"Calm down," He said, trying to sound calming the best he could, "I'm not here looking for trouble-"

"Oh yeah? Then why's it always follow you, huh?" Amy put some distance between her and Crystal just in case. "Leave us alone, we're… busy…"

"Busy? Busy doing what, staring at a wall?" Sketchy was sarcastic. "Look, I'm here to ask about Violet…" He didn't dare make eye contact with the girls. His voice got a little louder, causing the red plumber at the opening of the alleyway to take notice.

Mario, even though he was hardly able to see Sketchy amongst all the shadows, found himself tensing up. Something about the silhouette he saw bridged the chasm between his desire to stay out of whatever was going on and to help. All he had to do was make the decision on whether or not to cross.

"Ugh, Violet doesn't want anything to do with you, I thought she made that obvious!" Amy knew that Sketchy had… something towards her friend. A part of her was curious if it was genuine feelings for some sick kind of game. Her previous thoughts about Octavio flooded back for a second.

"So you're mad at me for trying to change? Isn't that what you wanted when we first fought?" Sketchy's eyes blazed with anger that he often tried to hold back. "Let's just say… I've convinced her on some parts…" He said mysteriously.

"Huh? What do you mean? You haven't talked to her in days!"

"That's what you think," Sketchy smirked a little, "I have my ways, even from all the way back in that little idiot's mind."

Before Amy could snap back with her own comment, Mario's distinct Brooklyn accent distracted both her and Sketchy. It sounded far thicker than it had before, even when he was brawling with Link, as if something had unlocked.

"Hey! Guys? What's goin' on down there?" Mario treaded into the alleyway.

"Who-" Sketchy blinked, "Who is that?!"

"Just go away…" Crystal whispered, just loud enough for Sketchy to hear. Instantly he grew irked, a scowl spreading across his normally blank face.

"What was that? I wasn't talking to you; I was only here for Violet!" He turned to Amy, "Where is she?!"

Finally, Crystal had enough. Her sanitized eye stung as she failed to fight back to urge to pull out her Octobrush and take a swing at Sketchy. He narrowly dodged, some of Crystal's ink splattering onto his leg. Amy was just as shocked as he was, but her own instincts made her get out her Dualies, fingers on the triggers. They were certainly itching to fire.

As soon as Mario saw the outline of the gun in his eyes, no matter how strange it looked, he broke into a run. His boots slapped against the concrete and embers burst from his hands, dim but clear as a lit match. He was glad he still had his Firebrand.

"Stay out of this, whoever you are!" Sketchy yelled, jumping back to avoid another swing from Crystal's Octobrush. While a crazed look dominated his irises, he whipped out a strange, handheld device that sported a threatening needle. It was crudely put together, a vial containing some off-color liquid.

However, before Mario could make it to intercept Sketchy, Amy and Crystal jumped into action. Ink from the Octobrush landed along the ground, making a clear path for Amy to swim close and fire her Dualies. The sweet patter of fire from the weapons was music to the Inkling's ears, but they weren't followed up by the splash of ink from a splat.

Sketchy had managed to dodge, carefully holding the massive syringe. He grasped the trigger and leaped forward, aiming for Amy's eye, the spot where he knew an injection would be most effective.

"No!" Crystal appeared from behind Amy, swinging her brush as hard as she could. It only hit Sketchy once, but it was devastating. He was swatted away and crashed into a collection of trash cans, their metal lids flying into the air and clattering to the ground, resonating like cymbals from a drum set.

Sketchy scrambled to his feet and held up his needle gun. For a second, he regretted not using any conventional weapons. Amy and Crystal's skills with their ink were a bit better than he remembered, the pulse of waves running through the liquid like a heartbeat.

Rage powered Sketchy's movements, and he used his free hand to grab one of the fallen garbage can lids. He used it as a shield, dashing around Crystal's ink trail and blocking Amy's Dualie shots in an attempt to get to a possible blind spot. Once he found a good place, he threw the lid at Amy, and it clonked her on the head.

"Ah!" Amy fell over, eyes squinted in pain. Her ears rang and Sketchy was about to close in for the equivalent of an unwanted doctor's visit when Mario tapped him on the shoulder.

"Huh?" Sketchy turned around and looked down at the comparably short mustachioed man.

"Hey," Mario said, smiling casually before rearing his fist back. Flames blazed passionately and the red-capped hero uppercutted Sketchy square in the jaw.

The force of the hit sent Sketchy upwards, over Amy and Crystal, and all the way on the other side of the alley. When the dust settled, the Octoling held his face, both a bruise and scorch marks along his cheek.

"Who… Who ARE you?!" Sketchy yelled, getting back up and going into another fighting stance. He had never seen a man like Mario before. Of what little he knew about the abilities of his peers, pyromancy was impossible. How could he, a simpleton, command fire?

Silence was golden, Mario saying nothing as he helped Amy up.

"Are you okay, Amy?" Crystal asked, looking at where Sketchy had hit her girlfriend.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine!" Amy ignored the sore spot on her head and went back on alert. She, Crystal, and Mario stared down Sketchy with annoyance, their eyes glowing with the colors of sanitization and the beauty of flames.

The stares of the heroes was like a razor through honey, it being one of the few things to strike a tinge of fear into Sketchy's soul. He discarded the emotion as he did with others, running up to the group, needle gun in hand. This time his sights were on the foreign man with the mustache, wanting to get him back for the burn marks along his face.

Amy and Crystal looked at Mario, somewhat amazed that he was on their side without much reluctance. He just gave them a nod, already forming a plan to counter Sketchy's next attack with their aid. He walked forward and lifted his arm to block his face, letting the needle pierce his glove and just barely get under his skin.

Sketchy was only able to inject a miniscule amount of the liquid from the syringe into Mario's vulnerable hand, Crystal taking charge and knocking the needle gun out of Sketchy's grip. It landed across from him on the pavement, the impact making a new crack on the vial's already damaged glass, distracting the weapon's owner. Then Amy followed up with a point-blank barrage from her combined Dualies, nearly splatting him.

"GAH!" Sketchy fell back down, his movement slowed by the amount of enemy ink covering his body. "My gun!" He scurried away to tend to his weapon, having needed to tape over previous cracks to the syringe in the past. "Do- Do you know how much time I've poured into this thing?!"

It was clear that he cared quite a lot about his needle gun. Mario correctly guessed that Sketchy was the one that crafted the weapon due to how haphazardly it seemed to be put together.

"Obviously, way too much," Mario removed his glove and looked at his hand. He flexed his fist, expelling what little Sketchy managed to inject into his bloodstream. The Octoling scowled, knowing his virus was unable to do its job now.

This time, Sketchy put away his weapon and lunged for Mario, wanting to use his bare fists to grant his twisted form of justice. He growled like an animal.

Mario, thinking fast, swiped his fist through Crystal's Octobrush, lathering his other, gloved hand with her ink. Then, he jumped up, reeled his arm back, and performed one of his best finishing moves. A swift, powerful dunk, Mario giving it everything his body could muster.

The ink along the glove finally splatted Sketchy, sending him away and back home to later respawn. Mario landed on the ground, huffing. It had been a while since he had finished with a dunk, his effort being a bit more than he expected. He exhausted himself, his arm a bit sore from the force he had hit Sketchy with.

"Woah…" Amy and Crystal said as Mario stood back up. They didn't know that a non-ink user could do that. No other mammal to their knowledge, not even Judd, could use ink.

Mario looked back at Amy and Crystal, analyzing them. Then, after a moment, he smiled warmly. "You guys…" His gaze became soft, "We make a really good team…"

Amy, Crystal, and Mario arrived back at the apartment wearing new smiles.

"How'd you know that doing that with your glove would work to splat him?" Crystal asked.

"I had no clue! I was just thinking on my feet!" Mario replied bashfully, "How does your ink work exactly? Is it the different colors that makes it hurt other people?"

"Well, it has to do with teams, y'know?' Amy explained. She held up three fingers, mimicking herself, Crystal, and the plumber. "Since you were fighting with us, it must've made you able to use our ink too!" She was just ballparking her estimate, but to her and Crystal, it made sense. Maybe that's why Judd and Lil' Judd couldn't use ink. They weren't exactly a part of any team, only referees.

"Guys?" Freddy interrupted the conversation. The three saw him holding a bag. Luigi and Link were right behind him, carrying some of the latter's gear. "Where were you?"

"Oh, uh…" Amy didn't know how to explain the whole confrontation with Sketchy. In fact, it occurred to her and Crystal that Freddy might not even know about the dream they and the other crusaders had.

"We'll tell you later, Freds!" Crystal waved off the question, not wanting to think about why she had asked to go for a walk earlier, "But we saw Sketchy today, and we beat him!"

"Ugh…" A loud groan came from the other room, belonging to Violet.

"Wait, wait," Freddy drew closer and made sure to whisper, "You fought Sketchy again? Did any of you get injected with that gun of his?"

"I did, but it wasn't much," Mario took off his left glove and showed Freddy the wound. Surprisingly, it didn't show any signs of healing, nor did it bleed. It was just… there. A little hole in his hand.

"Oh, phew. You should be fine," Freddy was relieved.

"Okay?" Mario raised an eyebrow, but if Freddy seemed so sure, he wouldn't bother asking why.

"But yeah, he was looking for Violet. He put up a good fight, but we handled it…" Amy looked to Mario, "…with some help."

"Woah…" Freddy mirrored Amy and Crystal's previous reactions to Mario's assistance, and then smiled. The idea that they all as a group could work together without problem gave the boy a spark of hope.

"Heh, well, anyways, hey Luigi! Link!" Mario called out to the two green men.

"Yeah?" They both said.

"Gather everyone up, we need to talk."

Soon enough, everyone was assembled in the living room. Link, Tael, Kirby, Mario, Luigi, Amy, Crystal, Freddy, and Violet. Mario took center stage and gave a thumbs up to the Inklings and Octoling before turning to his companions.

"I was wrong to say that these guys weren't able to join us," Mario put it bluntly. He waited for Link's usual confusion before continuing, "They are very, very capable of working together with us to stop Shatterhand, I'm sure of it."

"Hang on, bro, this morning you were sure of-"

"I know what I said, Weege, but…" Mario glanced at Link, taking in the Terminian's hard stare. "I've been wrong about a lot during this journey so far," He told Link, "And from what happened today, I know for a fact that these teenagers are way more than any of us gave them credit for," He addressed the entire room.

Amy and Crystal felt the most honored by Mario's statement, but pride wasn't exclusive to them. Freddy was on cloud nine hearing the praise, and Violet felt better after having a previous encounter with Link while he and Luigi were gathering their things. She'd be the most comfortable keeping that to herself.

"Wait, what exactly happened, bro?" Luigi still didn't know where his brother disappeared to after he left to originally talk to Amy and Crystal about what was wrong.

"Well, some fellow was looking for her," Mario gestured towards Violet, "Got pretty aggressive. But me and these two," He did the same to Amy and Crystal, "We worked together to stop him. They were great!"

"Wow, that's awesome! So, do you think they have what it takes to stop Shatterhand?"

"Now wait a minute," Link stopped the brothers from continuing. "These four are teens, how can you be sure that they can help us stop him? We can't let them get entangled in all this. Shatterhand isn't on their radar, so let's keep it that way."

"Well, wouldn't it be best to have some help from people that Shatterhand isn't expecting? He doesn't know how to fight them, so they have an advantage!" Mario was confident in his reasoning, but just in case, he added one more thing, "Besides, if I remember correctly, weren't you only twelve when you beat that demon witch?"

Link's eyes widened and he looked away for a moment, keeping silent.

"Yes… And I was just eleven when I fought the demon king, Ganondorf…" Link hated remembering his past, but Mario was right to bring it up. Link, despite being worried about these teens being hurt or even killed, had gone up against dangers at an even younger age.

"Just because they're young, doesn't mean they're helpless. You of all people know that, Link," Mario said.

"He's right, Link," Tael said, hovering by his friend's shoulder. "He's got me convinced, come on," The fairy placed his hand on the hero's face and the two locked eyes.

"Fine…" Link huffed, feeling guilty.

Before Team Inkstrike could celebrate being inducted into the band of crusaders, there was a knock on the front door.

"Oh, I'll get it," Crystal walked over to the door and turned the knob, thinking nothing of who it could be. Then her face went pale, the sight of Sketchy standing on the other side sending everyone into alert.

"Wait!" Sketchy cried before anyone could act. He held his hands up, showing that he was unarmed. "I'm not here for a rematch, don't worry, I've learned my lesson!" Amy was the first to shield Violet, but not from Sketchy. She was defending Sketchy, as the purple Inkling was already fuming, a dark rage enveloping her face.

"I'm not even here for you… Violet," Sketchy couldn't look her in the eye, knowing she hated him.

"That better be true, asshole! I'd rather leave you in a dust bin than have you in my apartment!" Violet grit her teeth as she spoke, and Kirby looked at her weirdly. He still didn't understand curses.

"I know, I know, but I'm actually here for you… guys?" The man saw Mario, but was shocked to see Luigi, Link, Tael, and Kirby there as well. "Oh wow…"

"Us?" Link asked, fists up. If this guy was able to convince Mario that Amy and Crystal were capable of helping defeat Shatterhand, he must be an apt fighter.

"Yeah, you… All of you," Sketchy took one step in, his body language showing that he was actually nervous about being in the presence of so many fighters. "Look, I was desperate earlier, but I swear on my other half," His eye twitched at that specific mention, "I am not here to fight or anything. I… I can tell that you guys," He pointed to Mario, Luigi, Link, and Kirby, "You aren't supposed to be here, and I wanna help."

"Help? You think you can help us with why we're here?" Mario raised an eyebrow, keeping his guard up at the same time.

"Yes, because I have a gift that lets me look into other worlds."

Instantly, the crusaders were baffled.

Sketchy belongs to Squid_is_back on Twitter. Special thanks for the writing help!