Thank you to my beautiful fiance Leah for beta reading :)

~Chapter Three: Disturbing the Peace~

To say Mario's day hadn't gone as planned was an understatement. It was just supposed to be a practice match with Kirby. That was it. Then with no warning whatsoever, it had turned into a day of dread and fear. First with a cannonball to the face and then unceremoniously being turned into a statue over and over again.

Ignoring the throbbing in his head, and cringing at the thought of the nasty bruise that was going to take a while to heal, he glanced around at his fellow Smashers who were getting ready to face their opponent for the second time. The first time up against Tabuu hadn't gone well and if it hadn't been for King Dedede putting badges on Ness and Luigi they'd still be trapped within the labyrinth area of Subspace - what they as a collective had called this strange dimensional rift.

Then there was Master Hand who had been captured by Tabuu. While he had managed to escape his chains he was gravely wounded. Peach was using her gift of white magic to attempt healing his wounds. But it was clear more medical intervention would be needed as soon as they got back to the mansion. From the way a few of the Smashers looked, Mario knew it was going to be a rough few weeks in the infirmary.

He sighed and wandered over to Luigi who sat on the ground with his head down. Mario knelt down next to him and placed a comforting hand on his brothers shoulder. "Are you okay Lu?"

Luigi lay his head on Mario's shoulder and Mario brought him into a side hug. "You're okay Lu. As long as we're together, nothing is going to hurt us."

Luigi buried his head into Mario's chest and Mario held his brother a little closer, knowing that Luigi needed comfort at that moment. He looked up at Peach approaching them, Zelda taking over for her. She sunk down next to the brothers, clearly shaken.

"Peach?" Mario softly asked. "Are you alright?"

Peach took a shaky breath in. "I will be," she looked over to Zelda. "It's just hard. She's not the same Zelda but so many things remind me of her. I miss her."

Mario brought Peach into the hug with Luigi and the three sat there for a moment in the comfort of each others presence. Mario heard tiny whimpers coming from both Luigi and Peach and his heart sunk at the fact both of them were holding back sobs. He swallowed down the lump forming in his throat and looked up at Bowser who was standing away from everyone else, arms folded. Even Ganondorf had formed a shaky alliance with Link for the time being, why couldn't Bowser do the same thing? Why was he forcing himself to be alone?

Movement caught Mario's eye and he turned to see that Peach and Zelda's magic had been enough to revive Master Hand. He coughed before shakily calling the Smashers over to him.

"I will not be able to accompany you into this battle," he weakly stated. "And I see many of you are wounded. I am sorry this has happened to you, my children. But please, for the sake of everyone, you must stop Tabuu. I believe in you."

"Do you want one of us to stay here with you Master Hand?" Peach asked.

"All of your abilities will be needed in the fight," Master Hand explained. "I will be fine, just go quickly. Tabuu's power grows stronger with each passing second."

"Understood," Samus said, cocking her arm cannon. "Mario, lead us into the fray. We need your guidance if we're going to win."

Mario took a deep breath, steeling himself. He clenched his hand into a fist and nodded at his brethren. "Let's a-go!"

/~/

The Dragoon crashed into the ground, causing Sonic to fly off it and tumble, gracefully faceplanting and laying in the dirt for several seconds. After a moment Sonic sighed as he pushed himself up, holding his head as he glanced around at his surroundings. Upon seeing the nightmarish purple void surrounding him, he sighed once more . "Yippy... skippy..."

Wasting no time Sonic took off running, looking for any sort of clue that would lead him to something or someone. He began to notice the mismatched scenery around him as he ran: a castle under siege, a world made of fluffy clouds, an abandoned factory. It wasn't the only thing that was off, everything around him felt cold and dead like the outside of the mansion did.

Sonic skidded to a stop in a long hallway with nothing but a long, winding staircase leading up to a large door. With no way left to go he shrugged and ascended the stairs, pushing open the door and scanning over the area.

"Crazy Hand?"

No, this wasn't Crazy Hand. Sonic approached the large right hand splayed out on the ground, alive but clearly spent. "Master Hand..."

"Sonic..." Master Hand called out, a hint of relief in his voice. "You made it... I'm glad..."

"Hey, take it easy," Sonic murmured, kneeling down next to Master Hand. "What happened, where are the others?"

"An entity called Tabuu infiltrated this world and pulled us all in here," Master Hand explained. "Your brethren are getting ready to face against him again but they will need help. Things didn't end well last time and I fear worse will happen this time." Master Hand weakly pointed towards a pulsating portal. "Please, help them. Help Mario..."

Master Hand fell silent and Sonic stood, facing the portal. Taking a deep breath to steel himself he dashed inside.

/~/

Mario stood with the Smashers behind him, glaring at Tabuu who floated above them staring with blank eyes. Mario's hand clenched into a fist as he desperately tried to think of some sort of strategy that would help them. Crippling Tabuu's wings seemed to be a viable option, but how? Pit and Link's arrows maybe? Could they even reach that high?

"Foolish mortals," Tabuu's voice echoed in the Smasher's minds. "It seems you have learned no lessons. For that, I doom you all to a life as statues!"

Tabuu spread his wings again and Mario tensed. The portal was too far away, they couldn't make it back in time. His heart sunk; had he really failed his friends? Was this the way they were going to die?

The sound of shattering glass caught Mario off guard and it took him a moment to realize both of Tabuu's wings had been broken in a blue blur. His blood ran cold, surely not.

But it was. Sonic stood on a stalagmite, tutting and wagging his finger at Tabuu. He the turned to the group of Smashers, hand falling to his hip as he locked eyes with Mario.

"Cocky little bastard, isn't he?" Samus said. Mario remained silent, watching as Sonic leapt down to the ground and made his way over to Mario.

"You're welcome." Sonic pointedly greeted. Mario bit his tongue as he held back the insults he wanted to hurl back. They had an opening, they needed to work with it.

"Magic users, focus on his core and try to bring him down to the ground. Pit and Meta Knight, fly up and distract him. As soon as he's closer to the ground, that's when swordfighters and brawlers go in."

"Sooo... where do I fit into this fine plan of yours?" Sonic asked. Mario rolled his eyes.

"Just stay out of our way." he muttered. Sonic raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah? Well, Master Hand told me to help you specifically, an' I dunno 'bout you but I wouldn't want to ignore a request from the literal deity who watches over this place, right?"

Stars above help him. Mario pinched the bridge of his nose, wondering if this was karma for the cookies he stole from Spike in the first grade. Seemed like too harsh of a punishment from the universe but...

"We'll use your speed to our advantage," Mario decided. "You were fast enough to cripple Tabuu's wings, so you'll be fast enough that he won't see you coming. Look for any opening you can and focus on his blind spots. Understand?"

Sonic smirked, standing in a salute. "Aye aye, oh great leader of ours!"

With that Sonic dashed into the fray, Mario watching his retreating form before heavily sighing and meeting up with Luigi and Peach. Igniting his hands in fire, he glared at Tabuu who mirrored the look right back. He needed to focus on what was important right now and worry about the nuisance later.

He just hoped the nuisance wouldn't get them all killed.