The puppet fighter of Jigglypuff burst open, allowing the spirit of Miltank freedom. The spirit looped and zipped through the air, passing an approaching Mario. The plumber stood at a crossroad, his head turning to view his options.

To his left stood a massive tower looming over the landscape like a watchful eye. A good spot for viewing the surrounding land, so Mario decided a visit there would be needed.

But to his right was some kind of building. A small one, which meant it was either a dojo or a shop. And, unless he was mistaken, buildings such as those were usually guarded by a puppet fighter whose spirit owned the building.

Whatever purpose that building had, Mario needed to check it out and prep himself for the tower. Turning down the right path, he sprinted towards an upward hill-like slope. But just before he could reach the top, he slowed to a stop and peeked over the edge.

Sure enough, a puppet fighter of Lucina was on sentry duty. Soulless eyes scanned the area, and a hand rested on the hilt of its falchion, ready to draw at the slightest hint of suspicious movement.

Mario knew the puppet was going to expect company. So maybe… he could get the drop on it. The only question was: how?

He lowered his head in thought… and his eyes caught something off to the side. A small object resembling a sword hilt. Now, to anyone else, this would appear to be useless and significant. But to Mario… he immediately knew exactly what to do.

Shortly, the object flew through the air and smacked the surprised puppet in the face. Shooting up from hiding, Mario grabbed the object from the air and pressed down on a button.

And in a flash, a blade of blue, violet, and red colors snapped into existence. Mario twirled the Beam Sword in his grip, staring down the puppet as it unsheathed its own weapon. The warrior showed no hesitation, lashing out at Mario instantly.

Having wielded the Beam Sword ever since the first Super Smash brothers tournament, Mario expertly blocked, deflected, and countered the Lucina puppet's strikes with ease. When he saw a flustered expression on the imitator's face, all Mario could give it was a taunting smirk.

Giving the puppet a swift kick back, Mario attacked with his own swings. While he wasn't much of a swordsman as a certain green-clad hero, the plumber had watched his fights closely to better sharpen his skills. The Lucina puppet blocked a strike to its back, leaving its front open for Mario to smack it with the hilt.

He broke through the puppet's defense, slicing it across the chest in a quick motion. The false warrior grimaced in pain, collapsing to the ground and reverting to a trophy. The duel now won, Mario switched off the Beam Sword and tossed it over his shoulder. The trophy broke apart, its spirit host hovering before Mario.

"Wow! I haven't seen swordplay like that in… well, a long time!" the spirit congratulated. "Thanks for getting me outta there. Oh! Name's Anna, by the way! I'm a well-known merchant from where I come from. Maybe you've heard of me?"

Mario tapped his foot in thought… and just shrugged.

"Well, not your fault. I do travel around the world. So, you look like someone who could use some help. Follow me!"

The spirit flew through the doors to the building, leaving Mario to follow and push the doors open.

…

"Thanks for the SP! Uh, I mean, patronage!"

Cappy rolled his eyes while Mario closed the doors to the shop. "Sheesh. Sound like anyone familiar to you, Mario? Someone who, perchance, despises your guts, loves swimming around in cash, and has a slight gassy issue?"

Mario got the hint. Looking straight ahead, he noted that the tower was impossible to not miss. A structure that high had to be a good vantage point. Well, there was no use in just standing here!

"Here we go!" he cried, making a beeline for the tower's base. He managed to reach the path leading up to the tower… which was as far as he got without getting ambushed.

A puppet fighter wielding a hammer crashed down in front of Mario, knocking him off his feet. The ground cracked slightly at the force of the impact. Moaning, Mario shook his head and stood up, brushing dirt off his overalls.

And when he turned to his attacker… he just about jumped in place.

This puppet fighter was none other than his own brother, who had the hammer slung over his shoulder. The clone of Luigi stared at Mario, the hammer glinting in the sun as if Mario was a building set for demolition. The Luigi clone gripped the hammer in both hands… and charged.

Mario ducked underneath the first swing, hopped away from a smash, flipped away from a spinning swing, and fired up one hand…

SMACK! An upward swing sent him flying into the air. The Luigi puppet jumped after him, spinning around and walloping Mario back down to the ground. A small plumber-shaped crater was formed from where he landed.

Mario gasped, rolling away from the puppet. A second later, the hammer crashed into the ground again. Seeing his enemy was on his feet again, the puppet began to smash the ground over and over. Each impact created tremors and quakes that had Mario fighting to keep his balance.

The persistent earthquakes made him trip and fall, giving the puppet a chance to jump forward and pound Mario to a pulp. Mario quickly leaned back on his hands just as the puppet approached…

...and struck it in the chin with both feet. They were sent sailing into the air, the hammer leaving the puppet's glove and into Mario's own. The tables had turned.

A smack of the hammer sent the Luigi puppet crashing to the ground like a meteor. Mario touched down, a silhouette among the dust.

The cloud faded, revealing the Luigi puppet trapped up to its head in the ground. It wiggled and squirmed in a futile attempt to pop out. Mario approached with the hammer in hand… and he looked at the "L" on the imposter's cap. He scowled. Only one person was responsible for wearing that insignia with pride… well, what pride he had, at least.

Mario swung back the hammer, barely noticing the puppet squirming around faster. Then… he swung with all his might as if he was wielding a golf club instead of a hammer.

THWACK! The Luigi puppet, popping out of the dirt, sailed into the stratosphere. A twinkle of light followed while Mario dropped the hammer. And instead of coming back down to earth, all that did return was a spirit.

And if Mario was correct, this guy's name was Don. A brother to that annoying Resetti character. The plumber was just glad he didn't have to deal with two moles that exploded whenever a mistake was made or a cheat was played.

With the path to the tower clear, Mario approached it. The very sight reminded him of the tallest building in New Donk City, something a certain ape wanted to climb one day. And while the views from all those flagpoles were nice, the view from this tower was bound to be breathtaking.

Mario jumped onto the platforms that led to the top of the tower in a spiral-like pattern. Up and up he jumped, sometimes clearing two to three platforms in one leap. In no time flat, his boots touched the peak of the tower.

Overall, the place looked like something one would find near a temple or ruins. Eager to find out what he could see from here, Mario walked towards the far edge… but stopped when a blue sphere rolled into his path.

The sphere blew in a flash, engulfing the plumber. The figure responsible for the detonation hid behind a pillar, watching the smoke that followed. But, as the smoke cleared, all the figure saw was Mario with barely a scratch on him with arms up and a blue forcefield around him.

Mario dropped his guard, allowing his shield to vanish in a blink. Now on full alert, he looked around the tower for any sign of his attacker. But instead of visual confirmation, he heard the sound of something whizzing toward him from behind.

He whirled around and snatched the arrow from its path, snapping it in two with his glove. From the tower's pillar, a figure emerged with a sword and shield at the ready.

Link. Mario remembered seeing him as the first one to fall in Galeem's assault. The two of them have been fighting across tournaments, even in their very first encounter before the first one.

That meant Mario knew every trick in Link's book… but unfortunately, the same went for Link.

The warrior charged forward, swinging his sword with precise strikes. Mario ducked, dodged, and weaved each one until the shield hit him in the face. Instinctively, he somersaulted over another swing.

An overhead punch was blocked by the shield, prompting Link to shove the plumber back. Drawing a boomerang, he chucked it right at Mario. The hero of the Mushroom Kingdom rolled to the right as the projectile sailed past, arcing around for another chance.

Mario simply jumped over the boomerang, Link catching it in his hand. The hero of Hyrule switched tactics, tossing another Rune Bomb in Mario's direction. This time, the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom was ready. Acting like the explosive was nothing more than a soccer ball, Mario kicked it in the air and headbutted it back to Link.

The bomb knocked the Sheikah Slate from Link's hand right before his finger could press the detonator. The two landed on top of each other, the bomb pressing down…

...and sending Link sliding across the floor in another explosion. Redrawing his sword and shield, he rushed back in to attack Mario with gritted teeth.

The plumber was a nimble opponent. He took advantage of the area when he jumped off the Guidance Stone behind Link and kicked him into it. He jumped away from a pillar that Link's sword got lodged into. He kicked another Rune Bomb off another pillar and into Link's head. And for the finishing touch, a flip kick sent the hero of Hyrule crashing against the ceiling of the cone-shaped structure held up by the pillars. The force of both the strike and the impact was severe enough… to bring the whole thing toppling down.

Mario yelped and dove for cover, placing his hands on his head while everything was crashing down around him. Link, stunned by Mario's attack, had no time to react before he was buried. The structure was reduced to rubble, debris littered the tower's floor, and a large dust cloud began to loom overhead.

At an ordinary glance, it seemed like no one could have survived. The tower fell into silence…

...before a gloved fist broke through the rubble.

Mario emerged from underneath the debris, a series of coughs racking his throat. Pushing himself to his feet, he brushed off his overalls and adjusted his hat. Everything around him was pieces of the destroyed cone-shaped structure… and seemingly nothing else.

Cappy moaned from atop his head. "That… was… too close…" he gasped. "So… now what… do we do…?"

Mario waved away some dust that floated in front of his face. His first course of action now was simple, but it wouldn't be easy to accomplish in a space like this. He wrenched himself free from the rubble, looking around the tower and lifting up a large piece of debris.

His search resulted in nothing. Beneath all the fragments he lifted, there were either smaller chunks or a section of the floor. He let go of the piece he was currently holding up, letting it drop and kick up more dust that he had to wave away.

When Mario reopened his eyes and blinked them clear… sunlight glinted off of something beneath another stone fragment. His eyes went wide at the sight, and he rushed over. Gripping underneath the large piece of stone with both hands, he pushed with all his might.

"Hnnngh!"

He shoved the piece onto its side with a grunt, immediately looking down at what it was concealing: a trophy of Link in a battle-ready stance. Mario sighed in relief: for a second there he thought Link had fallen off the tower during the destruction. Not wishing to waste another moment, he touched the golden base with one palm… and shielded his eyes from the light.

Link sat up with a groan, one hand on his forehead. His eyes slowly opened, and he lowered his arm at the sight of the mustached man. With a smile on his face, Mario held out a hand.

And with a smile of his own, Link took it.

Mario pulled the warrior up, elated to see yet another friend free. He tipped his hat in a polite gesture… and the rubble around them flashed blue. To the heroes' confusion, the chunks and pieces began to mysteriously move again.

But instead of degrading or tumbling toward the ground, the pieces began to rise into the air. Broken pillars had pieces reattached to them, and rocky chunks reformed themselves. In Mario and Link's perspectives, it looked like the spire's destruction was happening in reverse. Before long, the spire's cone shape came back into existence… and the blue faded away.

The tower was now fully complete, giving the heroes a look around. But while Mario was amazed at the act of self-restoration, Link was hit with a wave of familiarity.

The Great Plateau Tower. One of the earliest structures he had visited after his century-long slumber. After inserting his Sheikah Slate into its Guidance Stone, Link had caused the tower to rise into the air, along with the other Sheikah Towers like it. If he was correct, this also activated the one hundred twenty Ancient Shrines.

Then, the same voice he had heard at his awakening told him about Calamity Ganon and the danger he posed. Although Link was unaware of it at the time, this voice was none other than Princess Zelda herself, seeking to contain the blight to the best of her ability.

Link snapped back into the present. For some reason, he felt… lightweight. As if something was missing. He swept his view across the tower, searching for whatever it was he lost.

"Yoohoo," Mario called from his right. Link looked to the other hero… and caught notice of both his bow and his boomerang in the plumber's arms. Link nodded to Mario in thanks, taking back his weapons and holstering them. Now, he was armed again… but something still didn't feel right. With a confused expression, he gave one last look around the tower… before his eyes fell on a cobalt shield with a bird and triple-triangle design. Beneath it laid the hilt of a sword.

Smiling in satisfaction, Link walked up to the gear and knelt down. He picked up his Hylian Shield and placed it on his back. He reached down for the sword… and stopped with a gasp.

Instead of the blue coloring on the blade and hilt, Link was faced with metallic coloring and steel on the sharp blade. The symbol it represented was clear: this wasn't the Master Sword.

"Aw…" Cappy groaned at the sight of it. "It's just an ordinary sword,"

Maybe to those from other universes like him or those who were unfamiliar with weapons. But Link easily identified this weapon to be a Knight's Broadsword: wielded by the Knights of Hyrule before the Second Great Calamity. Link knew this well, for he had learned that he was once a Knight and personal bodyguard to Zelda prior to his time in the Shrine of Resurrection.

Link took the sword, placing it in the holster on his back. It would have to do until he could find the Master Sword, which was no doubt, back in its altar resting place. But where could it be, in a world made from other worlds?

Mario gestured for Link to follow him before running off to the tower's edge. He grabbed ahold of one pillar and held a hand to his forehead as if he was a sailor at sea. The hero of Hyrule approached to join him, taking in the sight of the horizon.

In his world, both Hyrule Castle and Death Mountain could be easily identified from the Great Plateau Tower. But here was a different tale to tell.

"Whoa… look at that, Mario!" Cappy called out. "Isn't that where Kirby rescued us?" Mario focused his sight on the structure, nodding with a happy smile. "And that rock formation over there… that must be where he started out! Ah, that little guy's gone so far. I wonder what he's up to now?"

Link looked off to the left. Just nearby the tower was a lake with some kind of building Link couldn't make out on an island. That could be worth investigating…

"Hey, that's Marth and the Villager! They still have those stupid force fields protecting them… but I think I can see a path that leads behind Villager. What say we take care of him next?"

"Oh, yes!" Mario approved. Link could see a similar path leading to Marth… but he would have to cross the lake if he wanted to reach the other warrior.

"Holy hard hats!" Cappy yelped. "Is that a racetrack?! Hey, when this is all over, we gotta hold a MarioKart event there! Let's hit that place after we rescue Villager!"

Link turned to where Mario was looking, catching sight of the racetrack… along with a bright light that obscured the view of whatever was behind it.

"Ah, that light's really hurting my eyes," Cappy moaned. "I hope we find some way to take care of that!"

A sound like a rocket engine drew the attention of both heroes. Curious, they turned toward the source of the sound: the mountains. There, a large spaceship lifted itself from the snowy surface… and blasted off into the sky at full speed.

"Correct me if I'm wrong…" Cappy said. "But that's Fox's ship, right? Where do you think he's going?"

Mario and Link just shrugged.

"Anyway, we have our next plan of action ready to go! Link, you check out that lake while Mario and I get the Villager! After that, we're heading off for a day at the races!"

Link nodded in understanding, ready for his new quest to begin. The two heroes approached the edge of the building… and looked straight down.

"Oh. Right. Uh… anybody know a good way down from here?"

Mario shook his head. He could take the same platforms he used to get to the top of the tower, but…

Link elbowed him the arm to get his attention. Mario turned to the other hero with a confused expression… and his eyes lit up at the sight of what he was holding.

Link gripped the handles of his trusty Paraglider, a knowing look on his face. When Mario wasn't looking, he had noticed the tool off to the side: one more piece of gear he had nearly forgotten to acquire. At the moment Mario met his eyes, he knew exactly what idea Link was proposing.

He nodded in determination, with Link returning the gesture. Both heroes took a running start and jumped off the edge of the tower with all they had. As they began to freefall, Mario grabbed onto Link's feet…

...and the hero of Hyrule unfurled the Paraglider.

The tool caught the wind, allowing both heroes to glide on down towards the ground. Mario gave a slight "Wahoo!" as if he was using the glider function of his own racing kart. He pointed towards a path leading towards the racetrack, and Link nodded, steering in that direction.

A small puppet fighter of Palutena was guarding the road ahead, keeping a watchful eye out for any Smashers. Unfortunately, it didn't even think to look up.

Mario let go of Link, dropping to the puppet below and surprising it with a stomp. Alerted to the attack, a puppet fighter of Roy flew its Clown Car in Mario's direction as he bounded off the false goddess.

Now literally flying solo, Link leaned his body to the left, sending the Paraglider in that direction. The lake came into sight, but Link had no intention of landing right into the water. Instead, he aimed for two puppet fighters of Snake. One of the patrolling puppets glanced at the sky… and gave a "!" of alarm when he spotted the descending Link.

The other puppet took notice, readying an RPG and taking aim. The rocket launched and zoomed into the air, barely missing Link when he steered to avoid it. The other puppet armed itself with a missile launcher, this one armed with homing missiles to shoot Link down.

Weaving past the missiles that sped towards him, Link let go of the Paraglider once he was at a safe height, hitting the ground rolling. The Snake puppet fired another missile, causing Link to take immediate action. Coming out of his roll, he equipped his sword and shield…

...and used the shield to bash the missile aside. The projectile careened into a part of the plateau, exploding into a cloud of smoke. The Paraglider fluttered down to the ground behind the Snake puppets, who dropped their weapons and charged.

Link only banged his sword on his shield in a taunting manner, bracing for battle.

(A/N: This chapter was delayed after my computer froze and crashed, forcing me to do an emergency shutdown. Afterward, the story was sadly left inaccessible on Microsoft Word, meaning I had to start it all over on Google Docs (while my brother gave me a big "I told you so"). Rather than put the whole story on Google Docs, I instead put the whole World of Light arc on it. Let's hope things take a turn for the better this time.)