Chapter 39
Fall of the Pig King

BGM: Master Porky's Theme (Mother 3)

Riding inside the King Statue, Porky took steps forward, with each step striking the pavement loudly and making the ground shake slightly. In response, the Nikke fired from their weapons, letting loose projectiles on the surface of the statue made of stone.

Yet despite the damage done to it, the King Statue remained mostly unharmed. The most that happened was merely a couple of insignificant-looking cracks appearing on it.

The statue extended its arm that was holding a slingshot and swung it at them like a whip. With the exception of Pepper, the others managed to dodge it by jumping back, while the nurse Nikke was knocked aside in mailbox.

The statue extended its other arm, and both arms together flailed around like whips, striking the pavement up ahead nonstop, trying to hit someone. The hardness of the hands managed to leave behind imprints and cracks on the pavement.

The Nikke backed away while still firing at him. The statue eventually lifted one foot and brought it down hard, unleashing a shockwave that blew them all back and ended their firepower.

As Poli was groaning in pain from hitting her butt against the pavement, Cody ran past her and towards the statue. "Mister Mayor! Watch out!" she called out to him.

Seeing Cody approaching, Porky had the statue stretched its arm towards him to attack him. Cody pulled back his fist and then threw it, colliding with the statue's hand with such a force that the arm wobbled and vibrated. The vibration went all the way to the rest of the body, causing it to shake. Inside, Porky was rocked left and right on his seat, much to his surprise. "What a strong punch he has!"

After the statue pulled back its fist, Cody got into a fighting stance and said, "I haven't have a good fight ever since becoming mayor, so I'm thankful that you showed up to give me the opportunity to let loose. I'm going to enjoy teaching a brat like you a lesson for causing disturbance in the public."

"Hmph! Don't get so full of yourself! You should've remained behind your desk and click on pens instead!" Porky said to him.

The statue flailed its arms at Cody, who swiftly dodged them while closing in on it. He got underneath it and punched straight up, hitting the statue in between the legs. The force of the punch was strong enough to shake the whole thing, and inside, Porky bounced up from his seat and hit his head against the top.

As Cody continued to run around the statue and hitting it as well as dodging and countering its attacks, the others watched from up ahead. "The mayor is strong! He's holding his own against Porky!" said Bay in surprise.

"Cody has always been very strong. Even when up against those with special powers, he doesn't lose easily and in fact wins most of his fights," said Ryu. "Such strength and determination in combat are what makes him a dangerous foe, and I admire that in him!"

"We still have to help him regardless! He can't take down that thing alone!" said Poli.

"How is that statue so tough? We blasted it with our guns, and it didn't break apart. Stone statues aren't supposed to be that hard!" said Rosanna.

Overhearing this from his hiding place behind a car nearby, Monotoli poked his head up from his hiding place and said to her, "That statue is made from a special cement invented by my company. This cement is almost as hard as steel and therefore won't break easily, but that doesn't mean it won't break. If you can hit it hard enough, it should break, especially if you focus on the same spot over and over."

"I see… Thanks for the info!" said Rosanna. "Then let's aim for its belly until we tear it apart. The kid's gotta be inside that spot!"

"Your thought is as good as mine," said Ein, taking aim at the belly of the King Statue.

After Cody moved away from the King Statue, the Nikke concentrated their firepower in one particular spot on the body—the belly. They fired nonstop against it as the statue continued to move forward, and they didn't stop until all of them except Ein and Zwei ran out of bullets. By that point, a crack was seen on the belly of the statue.

"I think it's working!" pointed out Poli. "C'mon, let's get more bu…"

Before she could finish speaking, Captain Strong stepped forward with a bazooka in his hands and said, "Get out of the way!" Taking aim, he fired a shell at the cracked spot on the statue, blasting it with enough force to make it take some steps back. The crack also grew larger.

Chun-Li came forward next. She ran towards the crack and performed a high speed flying jump kick, landing her foot against that spot hard and sending shrapnel everywhere. She landed from her jump kick, only to jump up again and attacked with a flurry of kicks against that spot. "Lightning Kick!"

She managed to make the crack even larger before gravity pulled her back down onto the ground, and when the statue tried to kick her, she backed out of the way.

Little Mac came forward next. He rushed at the statue and leaped towards it with one fist pulled back to unleash a powerful punch at the damaged spot to damage it even farther. When he landed, the hands swung at him from both sides, and he held up his hands to hold them back, and he had to keep this up to keep them from crushing him.

As he was doing this, Ryu and Ken stepped forward to attack the arms, kicking them out of the way and saving Little Mac. The two martial artists then jumped up and together used Hadoken, striking the damaged spot.

This time, the combined force of the two fireballs managed to blast a hole on the belly of the robot, and a shocked Porky was seen sitting inside it. "Oh no!" he gasped.

"Time to finish this! PSI Flash!" shouted Ness as he created and fired a green energy ball that flew inside the hole.

KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

BGM Ends

The King Statue was annihilated by the green energy ball exploding inside it. Debris fell over the place, and Porky eventually fell down, landing on his back with a charred body. He sat up while coughing, and he saw before him all the good guys pointing their weapons at him and glaring at him with eyes that could kill, if it were possible. Trembling in fear, he raised his arms and said, "I… I give up…"

Dr. Andonut and Mary were at the police station. They had just been interrogate by the police about their actions involving Shadaloo. However, after their insistence that they were kidnapped and made to do things against their will and the police's investigation revealing that they were indeed telling the truth, they were declared not guilty and pardoned for their actions.

They were still in the police station when they saw the news on a TV about Porky being defeated by the good guys. "Thanks goodness they got him! Knowing Porky, he could've sneaked away and plot something like revenge on us for ruining everything!" said Dr. Andonut with relief.

"Those people really are strong!" said Mary.

They turned their heads and were surprised that the same people they saw on TV had just arrived at the police station. Ness looked excited when he saw Dr. Andonut and went up to him enthusiastically. "Doctor Andonut! You're just the person I want to meet! We may need your help!"

"My help? I'll be glad to do so! After all, you took down Shadaloo and saved us!" Dr. Andonut said to him. "What can I do for you?"

"But first off, there's something unbelievable I have to tell you," Ness said to him. "We are from another universe."

Dr. Andonut stared at him in silence with a question mark and an exclamation mark over his head.

Shadaloo was defeated, and their crimes were finally put to an end. However, our heroes are nowhere near finding out how to to return to their own worlds. Under Ness's suggestion, they confronted Dr. Andonut for possible answers and help on what they can do. Can the scientist really help them with their situation, if he is anything like the Andonut Ness knows?

"Hmmm… How peculiar…" thought Crown. She was on the balcony of her castle when she noticed the rainbow coloring in the sky, and she was still there when the sky ripped open and poured out bright light that engulfed her before she could do anything.

And just like that, she was now standing out in an open field not unlike the one surrounding her castle, and standing around her were six people unfamiliar to her.

They are the Nikke Centi, Exia, Guillotine, and Nihilister.

The fifth one is a youthful man with blonde hair wearing a blue shirt and light brown pants. His notable feature are his pointy ears.

The sixth person is a silver-haired woman wearing some kind of silver armor.

Nihilister looked around and said, "What the hell? What is this place?!" She then looked around her own body, saying, "And my body… It's completely healed! How did this happen?!"

"Huh, this is new…" thought Centi, scratching her head as she looked around. "This is the surface, right? How'd I get here?"

Exia looked around with her usual bored expression, and then she pinched her own cheek. "Hmmm… I'm still seeing this… Either it's a very real dream or it's some kind of simulation…" she said.

"What manner of sorcery is this? I was within my room, and now I am here! I sense something foul at work!" said Guillotine. She looked around and noticed something in the distance that the others noticed as well—a large castle.

"Look, what a majestic castle! I thought it was mines at first, but upon closer inspection, it looks different," said Crown.

"Yeah, Hyrule Castle is indeed very majestic when it's in a good shape. I never get bored at the sight of it," said the blonde man with pointy ears as he beheld the castle, but then a confused look appeared on his face. "Wait a minute… Hyrule Castle is in a good condition?! When did that happen?!"

Guillotine looked at the blonde man and noticed his pointy ears. Looking at the castle again, she started making connections that made her realize something. "Can't it be… Is this a fantasy world? Have I been transported to an alternate universe taking place in a fantasy medieval setting?" said Guillotine as she trembled at coming up with this revelation. She then asked man, "Are you by perchance an elf?"

The man looked at her with a confused look and replied, "What's an elf? I'm a Hylian."

"That is what you are, an elf! They have pointy ears, or perhaps elves are called something else here, such as the Hylian you mentioned," said Guillotine.

"I'm very sure this is just a simulation. There's no way this whole transporting to another world thing is real," said Exia, looking and sounding a bit nervous. "Just give a second to hack into the computer, and we'll be out of here."

"But you don't have a computer with you," Centi reminded her.

A shocked look appeared on Exia's face as she realized this. "Oh right… And my gaming device isn't used for hacking… But there's got to be some way to end this simulation, right…?"

"You have a Purah Pad as well?" the blonde man asked Exia, and then he took out a computer tablet and compared it to Exia's gaming device.

Exia looked at the Purah Pad out of curiosity and said, "What's this device? I've never seen it before..."

"What a neat blend of old and new aesthetics! Whoever made this must have some great artistic taste!" said Centi, looking at the Purah Pad.

"Yeah, Purah and Robbie are both geniuses inventing things! They can make you anything in a jiffy!" said the blonde man.

"Ooooh! I would love to meet them!" said Centi with interest.

"Would you guys get serious?!" shouted Nihilister in frustration, grabbing everyone's attention. "We're out in the middle of nowhere, and all of you are talking about simulation this simulation that! I should just burn all of you to death right now!"

"Someone's in a bad mood…" Guillotine said to her.

"Shut up, brat!" Nihilister said to her.

"I know you," Exia said to Heretic. "You're Nihilister, a Heretic that Counter encountered up on the surface and later invaded the Ark, but was defeated by a Pilgrim named Dorothy. This also means we may be in trouble if you really are powerful…"

"Ha! Someone did her homework! Right, you should be scared! I can easily waste all of you in an instant if I want to!" boasted Nihilister.

"Not on my watch! As a king, it is my duty to protect the weak, regardless of whether or not they are part of my kingdom," Crown said to her.

Nihilister glared at her and said, "You want to fight me and see?"

"If I have to, I will," Crown said to her fearlessly.

"Can we please not fight…?" the silver-haired woman told them. "I think we're all very confused about where we are right now, so it would be better if we help each other figure things out instead of fighting…"

"Right, we should try to figure out what is happening, since we all seem to be in this together," said the blonde man. "Let's start by introducing each other first. I'm Link."

"I'm Corrin," said the silver-haired woman.

The rest of the Nikke then introduced themselves, with Guillotine using her "full name" of Guillotine de Mephisto. After they were all done, Guillotine said, "My right eye is throbbing… It's telling me that we are currently in a different world that may very well be related to Big O. If so, then I sense adventure awaiting us!" Pointing her gun at Hyrule Castle, "Behold, the castle over there is evident that we are in a foreign world! What sort of people live there? What quest will we get from there? This is a land of opportunities and fantasies! I'm not going to let this go to waste! Simulation or not, I am going to do things to the fullest here!"

"Ugh… You and your fantasies…" grumbled Exia as she played her game. "But I must admit, our current setting reminds me of Final Quest. And then there are those TV shows about people transported to fantasy medieval worlds… If this really isn't a simulation, then I guess it's true that we are transported to another world, as much as I hate to say it…"

"Maybe it has something to with the light that came down onto us suddenly," suggested Centi. "I was blinded by its sudden appearance, and when I could see again, I was here with you all."

"Right, I remember light pouring down onto me as well, and then you people showed up," said Link. "I don't think I was transported anywhere, because this place is clearly Hyrule Field."

"You know this place?" Corrin asked him.

Link nodded. "Yes, this is Hyrule, my homeland. The only thing odd is that Hyrule Castle is in a good condition when it was previously ruined. Guess I'll be heading there to see what happened…"

"I am interested in that castle as well, as I also own one," said Crown. "I wonder how it compares to mine."

"You called yourself a king previously, right?" Corrin asked her. "Shouldn't it be queen, since you're a woman?"

Crown shook her head. "No, I am a king, as I have the highest authority in my kingdom. Queens are not allowed to have the highest authority and rule over kingdoms, only kings."

"That sounds sexist…" commented Corrin, to which Link nodded in agreement.

"I remember you now. I've heard about a cuckoo crazy Nikke who thinks she's royalty just because she owns a castle. You must be her," said Nihilister.

"In any case, let's head over to Hyrule Castle first," suggested Link. "We can talk about what to do on the way there, and hopefully we can find answers there too."

When Link turned around, he noticed something in the distance. It resembled two domes stacked on top of each other and has six long tentacle-like legs. The others noticed this as well. "What's that?" asked Centi.

The thing turned to them, watching them with its single eye glowing with pink light. It then scurried to them at a fast speed, seemingly with a malicious intent. When the it came close enough for them to get a better look, Link cried out, "Guardian!"

Centi, on the other hand, cried out, "Rapture!"

The two stared at each other after hearing what each other said. "What…?"

TO BE CONTINUED

The chapter title is based on Mother 3's subtitle when it was supposed to be released for the N64.

And the next world is a fusion between Zelda and Fire Emblem! Guillotine looks like she'll feel at home here. And in case people are thinking that it was a missed opportunity to not let Maiden be in this world, don't worry, because I'm making her feel at home in another world that is very similar to this one.

And Centi is here because of a certain gameplay mechanic from Tears of the Kingdom that I think she will love very much.