Sammi, Untainted Heart

When he arrived, he had expected the return of the Subspace Army, or maybe a group of rogue Primids, at the very least. He had come with his flaming breath ready, his Guardian at his side, prepared to kick some butt and take names. He was ready for his redemption.

He was ready for his revenge.

What he didn't expect, however, was the sight before him. Kage and Eclipse, battling it out, clawing and biting and kicking at each other like a pair of savages fighting over their next meal.

"What the …?" he stared in slight awe at the sight before him. The two Guardians battling, the little girl who simply stood there and stared… it was like a scene from some horror movie.

Kage was moving gracefully, her body swaying hypnotically like a snake under a trance. When she struck, she struck quickly and accurately, the cane she always carried flicking outward like a snake's tongue. Her dark eyes were glazed over, a blank expression on her face.

Eclipse, meanwhile, was on the defensive. While Kage moved with the fluidity of a snake, Eclipse held his stance like a rock. His movements were quick as he blocked her every strike, but otherwise, he was still. Like the former Guardian of ROB, his face was also devoid of expression.

Bowser was no longer the foolish Koopa King he had been so long ago. His goals no longer consisted of kidnapping some naïve Queen only to be defeated by the plumbers clad in red and green. Nowadays, his time was devoted to penance and reflection. He knew mind-control when he saw it and there was no denying that this was it.

Without waiting for an order, he charged, much to Ganondorf's obvious dismay. The King of Evil cried out for Bowser to cease his charge, but there was no stopping the Koopa. His claws sank into Eclipse's shoulders as he tackled the former Guardian of Wario to the ground, hoping that at least some head trauma would help.

He cursed when he looked into Eclipse's eyes. Even after the slamming into the ground, they were still wide, still blank as could be. He lifted his claw and dealt a hard punch to the Guardian's head.

Still no reaction.

"Bowser, are you insane?" Fyre shouted as he ran up behind the Koopa King. "Are you trying to kill the guy?"

Bowser shrugged. "All the movies say that we gotta wake him up like this. Otherwise, it might cause some kind of weird plot hole or something."

"This isn't a movie you- WATCH OUT!"

Bowser rolled to the side just in time to avoid a blow from Kage's cane. As his claw came up to rip the thing away from her, the cripple danced back, graceful as a butterfly, undeterred by her missed attack. Without the weight of the Koopa King holding Eclipse down, he rose to his feet and trained his blank stare upon Bowser's Guardian. A powerful blast of dark magic from Ganondorf cancelled out the blast of energy from Eclipse's staff and it was not long before the assembled Guardians and Smashers raced onto the field.

Some ran at Kage, tackling her to the ground and ripping her cane from her hand. She struggled and hissed, spittle flying from her mouth as she fought to break free. Pikana grasped onto her and gave her a light shock, just enough to knock the girl out.

Others tackled Eclipse and ripped his own staff away. Eclipse was taken down with considerably less effort, as like before, he held his stance and did not struggle as he went down. His face remained a blank slate, completely oblivious to Squall's attempts to punch him awake.

That only left the girl. Bowser and a few others, including his Guardian, stared at her uneasily. The girl continued to stare straight ahead, perfectly still, unmoving as stone. When one of the Guardians, Sam, charged forward to tackle her, he was knocked back by some kind of shield. As he got up, however, he collapsed to the ground, a screamed ripped from his throat.

The child was obviously dangerous. Once Kage and Eclipse were taken care of, each Guardian and Smasher had charged forward to try to find any way to take her down. Those attacking from any side of her were blown back. Those throwing projectiles at her had said projectiles reflected.

All of them ended up in screaming heaps.

Bowser charged, coating himself with his own magic as he did so. Perhaps he would have to fight this strange shielding ability with sheer force. He roared, a tongue of flame licking the side of his mouth as he lunged, his claws honed and ready. A slight flash of pink appeared before him as his claws bit into the shield, blinding him and robbing him of all senses.

He saw the battlefield before him.

Primids everywhere.

Guardians and Smashers working together.

Giant blue man in the distance.

His son held a knife to his throat.

They were everywhere.

Mindless Subspace scum. No better than the servants of her master. They were weak as well. Just as weak as… as…

She searched for a name, but could find nothing. How odd.

No, they weren't mindless Subspace scum. They were mere puppets, forced to bend to the will of a horrible king. She felt pity for them, and found that she could love them just as much as she had loved…

She searched for a name, but could find nothing. How odd.

Blue eyes searched the battlefield, trying to squint through flying Primids, Guardians, and even a few Smashers. The sweet song of blades spilling blood filled her ears. She licked her lips as she tasted the blood that hit the earth, let out a gentle giggle as numerous Primids fell to the earth and died.

Where was her target?

Grey eyes searched the battlefield, trying to see beyond the violence around her. The horrible symphony of clashing blades filled her ears. She felt sick to her stomach as magic, blades, claws, arrows, and fists ripped apart numerous enemies, let out a loud shriek as a Primid's head flew past her ear.

Where was the one she had to save?

Maybe she should have some fun while she was here. She grabbed at a nearby Smasher, a tall man clad in green with a bulbous nose and a bushy mustache. How good it would feel to rip his handsome head clean off his body. But when she touched him, he turned into smoke. When she removed her hand, he came back.

Maybe she could help while she was here. She saw a Smasher, blood soaking her round pink body, and ran towards her. How hard could it be to bind that bloody wound? But when she reached out for her, the Smasher turned into smoke. When she removed her hand, the Pokemon came back.

"You can't touch them. They are hallucinations, belonging to the one you must get," a voice said. It belonged to a young lady with a face wrapped in bandages. Deep brown eyes peaked out between these bandages, as did tufts of brown hair. Dressed in gray garments with a small black box on her arm, the bandaged young woman looked every inch as out of place as the she did.

"Who the Hell are you?" she asked. "May I please know your name?"

"Sarah," she replied. "But that's not important. What's important is that you must wake him up before it's too late."

"I'm Daisy," she said. "I'm Sammi."

Sarah closed her eyes. "I know… now come on, he's over here."

She followed this strange person, this Sarah, through a thicket of flailing arms and legs. Any time she tried to touch the ones around her, they would fade to smoke and come back when she removed her hand.

She saw a young man dressed in pirate's garb dash up and rip a flying fish with a single eye apart. She saw a bronze-skinned young woman riding atop a strange dinosaur-like figure. She saw numerous men clad in green, firing arrows and waving swords around. She saw the crackle of electricity as many of those surrounding her attacked the army with everything they had.

"We're here," Sarah said. She turned to her. "Sammi, you need to get to him soon. If he doesn't wake up before his son dies, then all will be lost. He is needed for the Awakening."

She needed no more encouragement. Her neck-length brown hair streamed behind her as she ran forward to her target, a large creature that looked like a cross between a dragon and a turtle. He fought alongside a young man who breathed fire against a smaller version of himself who floated in a strange clown-like vehicle. Though dust and blood and strange purple creatures licked at her light blue blouse and dark blue jeans, she never got dirty as she dashed towards these people. To her, the fat turtle seemed more real than the other visions, more solid.

She watched as the smaller turtle leaped out of his vehicle and onto the larger turtle, a dagger in his chubby claw. The large turtle roared, bringing up his great paw to bat the smaller one away. The young man, meanwhile, grabbed onto the little one's back and pulled, trying to tug him off.

She skidded to a stop before this scene to watch it unfold. Her heart pounded in her chest. She was curious; she had to know what happened. She had to know why she had to save this strange creature.

"Some dad you were, Bowser!" the small turtle cried as he slashed at his father with the knife.

"Junior, don't you dare call me that!" Bowser roared, "You ungrateful little-"

"Ungrateful? Well, Bowser, considering all that I've done in the past for you, I'm surprised you have the nerve to call me ungrateful! Who was the one that came up with all the plans? The ways to kidnap Peach? The good ways to get ridda Mario?"

"Get off, you little runt!" the young man cried as he continued to tug at the smaller one's shell.

"Shut it, Fyre, Daddy and I are talking!" Junior snapped, swiping at the Guardian with his knife.

Fyre growled and let out a burst of flame, only to have it intercepted by a flying Primid head. Junior, meanwhile, jabbed the knife at his dad's neck, the blade biting into the meaty flesh at its base. Before Fyre could try again, numerous Primids tackled him, pinning him to the ground.

"You abandoned me, Bowser!" Junior screamed. "Your son!"

Bowser roared and ripped the body of his boy away from his face. "You are not my son! No son of mine would ever bow down to Tabuu! No son of mine would fail me as much as you have! No son of mine would ever allow his own father to sit in a jar for hundreds of years!" he threw the boy to the ground. "Fyre is my heir, you stupid boy! You are nothing!"

She saw the dark look on his face, the dropping of his jaw. Junior skidded along the ground, but righted himself, his face twisted in rage. He leaped back into his clown vehicle, eyes burning, and pressed a button. Two gun turrets burst out of the place.

Sammi watched in horror as he descended upon his father and his Guardian, rattling off bullets into friend and foe alike. Bowser's shell caught most of the attack, but Fyre was not as lucky. Though a few Primids were able to stop the bullet, he was immediately peppered, the powerful weapons tearing through his flesh like paper.

They were surrounded now, with Junior laughing maniacally as he continued to rain bullets down upon the battlefield. Primids, Feyish, Armights, and so many other enemies came at them in their moment of weakness. Back to back, Bowser and Fyre fought for their lives, using the enemies as meat shields for Junior's bullets and disposing of them once their corpses had bled out.

Sammi charged forward, hoping she could make it in time. But as she reached the Koopa King, she was batted away with a single meaty hand, sent flying away like so many other Primids. She skidded on the ground, but thankfully did not get hurt, as the dust was just as unreal as everything else.

Again, she tried to reach him, but Bowser turned on the Primids before her and released his flaming breath, scorching the very earth itself. She felt the heat of the flames all over her and managed to roll away just in time to avoid getting singed herself.

His claws were sharp, easily slicing through anything that came at him like paper. His tail thrashed and writhed, catching anyone that dared sneak up behind him. Dark magic poured out of his shell, paralyzing those foolish enough to try to charge him.

She had to win. She had to reach him. But every time she tried, she always had to run away again, to avoid the Koopa's rage.

Then, she saw Junior.

His father and Guardian were desperately fighting off powerful beings with giant scythes and round, tank-like bodies. Junior, now out of bullets, rushed up at his father while his back was turned. In his hand he held the dagger from before, its sharp edge gleaming in the dim light.

Time had run out.

She ran, leaping forward just as Junior reached his Father. The knife gleamed silver once, then descended, aimed at the pulsing jugular vein. Sensing the impending danger, Bowser turned around and clawed at his son's throat, his dark eyes seeing too late the horror that was about to be done.

She grabbed onto his arm and held there, surprising him out of his trance. His claw stopped just short of reaching his son. As his peppery breath streaked across her face, she saw through half-closed eyes the battlefield disappearing. Fyre, the Subspace Army, Junior, the other Guardians, everyone faded to dust. She was left in a white room, still clutching to the arm of the Koopa King as his hot breath blistered her being. She would have died, if not for her will to live which, in the mind, was strong.

"You need to wake up, Bowser," she whispered. "Please, wake up…"

The fire kept coming. The heat burned all the brighter. She felt her fingers burning away, her lips cracking under the intensity of the heat.

"It's all a dream," she said. "The Guardians need you. The Smashers need you. Fyre needs you!"

The flame died and guttered out. Sammi found herself gazing into dark eyes rimmed with red. These were the dark eyes of a king, of a villain, and of a father.

"And Junior?" he whispered.

She smiled and with one hand touched his face.

"He needs you too."

She opened her eyes and found herself back on the field, standing next to the Koopa King. All around her, Guardians and Smashers were slowly getting up, clutching their heads, mumbling things about spiders and snakes and clowns and death.

The atmosphere smelled of fear.

She was unharmed. No chapped lips, no blisters on her fingers, no dust on her shoes. When she touched a pebble in front of her, it did not fade. She could feel its coarse texture, smell its dust-covered surface.

Real. So real.

The Koopa King lumbered to his feet, breathing heavily. He turned to her and once again, she saw the eyes of a king, villain and father. He, in turn, regarded her with an almost vulnerable sense of familiarity.

"Your heart," he said quietly. "So pure… just like Peach…"

Peach. That name was both familiar and unfamiliar all at once. For a moment, she felt a deep, raw hunger within her. It would be easy, so easy, to rip out this pathetic creature's throat. To take his innards and strangle each and every Guardian with them. To burn the field, the Smash Mansion, and Smashville itself to the ground.

"My name's Bowser," he continued, offering her his claw. "What is yours?"

She gently touched his hand. "Sammi."

"You saved me, Sammi," he said.

She smiled. "No. You saved yourself. I'm just here to fill in the gaps." somehow, she knew that what she said was wrong. Very, very wrong.

"The gaps?" Bowser asked, raising a bushy red eyebrow. By now, the Guardians and Smashers were staring at the two with interest. A young man who she recognized as a much older Fyre began walking towards them.

"The gaps," she confirmed simply, removing her hand from his claw. She looked out at the assembled Guardians and Smashers and smiled. She hoped that they would be welcome to her.

Silently, a voice inside her counted down the days until all of them would lie dead at her feet.

"Wake up."

Yoshi felt himself float back to consciousness, to awareness. The first thing he noticed was the cold. It washed over him like a biting wind, chilling him to the bone. Every inch of the little dinosaur's body was covered in the cold. There was no doubt that, if Yoshi dared stick out his tongue, it would likely freeze then and there.

Though Yoshi squinted hard, it was much too dark for him to see where he was. The smell was unlike anything he had ever smelt before: a strange combination of chemicals that stunk so much that Yoshi's eyes watered. Underneath him, the dinosaur could feel the glaring touch of ice-cold steel.

Yoshi tried to sit up, but soon found that his wrists and ankles were bound by strong restraints. Any attempt to wriggle free from these restraints only caused them to rub against him, painfully reminding Yoshi that wherever he was, he was unsafe. Unprotected.

Vulnerable.

Where was Mah? A surge of worry welled up within the Smasher. If he was here, then was Mah here too? And what about Beeh? Fox?

"Mah!" Yoshi's attempted shout came out little more than a squeak. His throat was so parched that he could only manage that. "Mah! Beeh! Fox! Can you hear me?"

Only the croak of his own echo answered him.

"Mah… Beeh… Fox…"

The echoes taunted him, over and over, repeating the names of his friends. They echoed around, but no one answered. It was then that Yoshi realized how truly alone he was.

He began to cry. There was no stopping his tears. For the one hundred years he had been a cloud of gas, he had been unable to cry, because gas clouds had no tears to shed. During the seven years between now and the end of Tabuu's reign, he had been kept too busy to shed as many tears as he would have liked. But here, in this cold, dark, empty room, there was nothing else for him to do but cry.

The tears stung his cheeks. They slid down his face, white hot and merciless, punishing him for allowing his friends to be captured or worse, all because he was too stupid to see what was coming. Had he attacked Red or, even better, that strange being with him, perhaps Mah, Beeh, and Fox would have been spared. Perhaps they would have been safe.

Footsteps approached. Yoshi remained silent, listening intently as the person crunched towards him. His tears were beginning to freeze on his face. He did not care.

A bright light flashed before his eyes. For a moment, Yoshi was stunned, fighting the natural urge to close his eyes and escape the light. In spite of himself, the little dinosaur held his gaze, until his eyes adjusted to the brightness of the light and he beheld its source.

It was a single lantern, held by a gloved hand. The light of the lantern was not nearly as strong as Yoshi had thought it was, but it was at least bright enough to illuminate the features of the one holding it. As Yoshi's eyes travelled upwards, he saw the black of the person's jacket and the paleness of his skin. One look into the icy blue eyes, however, caused Yoshi to shiver involuntarily, bile welling up in his throat in disgust.

Red the Pokemon Master smiled. It was the kind of smile that did not reach his eyes. The dancing shadows on his face gave him a strange new look, gaunter and all-around eviler than what he had looked like in the sunlight. His eyes seemed to shift color: from blue to green to brown, in rapid succession. This scared Yoshi, but he refused to tear his eyes away. He would not show weakness before this… monster.

"Sleep well?" he asked. His voice sounded different; older, colder, and crueler. "With the amount of times you sniffled, I thought that you would catch a cold or something… you're not good to me dead, after all."

Yoshi pursed his lips and remained silent. He scrunched up his facial features into the best defiant expression he could possibly summon. This seemed to amuse Red, as his smirk widened at the sight.

"Your friends are safe," he remarked. Yoshi felt his spirits rise. "… but unless you cooperate with me, they won't be for long…" a cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

He leaned forward, until he was only a few centimeters away from Yoshi's face. "I simply want you to answer a few questions for me, Yoshi. You will do that, won't you?"

Yoshi said nothing. There was nothing for him to say. No doubt, these questions would have something to do with the secrets of the Smash Mansion and possibly even the Smashers and Guardians themselves. Yoshi did not speak much and mostly ate when he was at the Mansion, but he observed much as well. He knew the exact place where all the important papers were kept and could easily map out every secret passage to and from the Smash Mansion. As for the Smashers and Guardians, Yoshi was known to be a great confidant, who listened and always kept secrets.

Now, however, it would seem that his ability to keep his mouth shut would be put to the test. If he passed, he would save the Mansion from whatever Red was planning, but at the same time, he would also be sacrificing his friends. If he failed, he would save his friends, yes, but he would also be sacrificing his other friends who were still at the Mansion, unprepared for what might happen next.

Was it really worth it to sacrifice so many lives to save a few?

Red pulled back, so now he was merely standing over Yoshi's prone figure. "First question. How do I override the Smash Mansion's security systems?"

Yoshi glared. "I'll never tell!"

Red bit his lip. "Perhaps a shock or two will loosen your tongue."

Immediately, Yoshi's pain receptors roared to life, screaming for release. Yoshi cried out, unable to ignore the pain as shock after shock roared through him. The shock died down and he was left, shivering and still in pain, watching as Red rolled his eyes.

"The settings were on low. Any more defiance and I'll set them higher. Now… answer the question."

The Smash Mansion's security systems were overridden by two methods: fingerprint and tongue. The fingerprints were those of Master and Crazy Hand, of course. The tongues, on the other hand, were known only to the hands, Yoshi, and one of the Guardians. A little known fact was that just like fingerprints, no two tongues were the same. The tongue recognition system therefore ensured that even if Master and Crazy Hand were somehow incapacitated, the systems could still be overridden for any good reason. Only two people in the entire mansion possessed the tongues necessary to override the security systems and they were himself and one of the Guardians whose identity Yoshi did not know, handpicked by Master Hand as the best candidates to keep a secret.

Of course, there was no way he would tell Red any of this.

"Fingerprint recognition," Yoshi answered. "Master and Crazy Hand's prints."

Red nodded slightly as he absorbed the information. "Good… next question. Where are the Keys to the Smashballs kept?"

Smashballs were volatile things, easily breakable and supremely powerful. Normally used only in the usual tournament battles, Smashballs were otherwise locked up tight to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. The Smashballs were locked up using twelve keys, one for each of the Original 12. Normally, the keys were kept on the persons of the Original 12, but in the case of the ones who had perished, such as Samus and Captain Falcon, the keys were buried with them.

Yoshi had given his key to Mah seven years ago. It was a small egg-shaped pendant, a memento of his island. Mah treasured the necklace and wore it often, though Yoshi could not recall if she had been wearing it today.

"Don't even bother lying and trying to say that you've lost yours or you don't know where the others are kept," Red said, seeming to read Yoshi's mind. He reached into his pocket and pulled out something small, twirling it around his finger. "I snatched this off of Mah's neck the moment I saw it. You can't hide anything from me."

That's what he thought. "I only know where mine was kept. We twelve never discussed where we kept our keys."

"Liar!" Red shouted suddenly, slamming his fist on the table. "You lie!"

"I gain nothing from lying to you!" Yoshi shot back, desperately praying that his ruse was working. "The only information I have on the keys is that they are possibly held by the Original 12!"

For a few moments, Red simply glared at the Smasher, his chest heaving. The wild look in his eye and the flushed redness of his cheeks now made him look more comical than threatening. Yoshi felt his courage rise as, after taking several deep breaths, Red spoke again. "Yes… I… forgive me. I lost control of myself there." after a few more breaths, the Pokemon Master was composed again. He leaned in close, looking right into Yoshi's eyes. The dinosaur glared back, all fear gone, knowing that he could handle anything.

"Last question," Red whispered, his eyes narrowing. "… Do you know how to write and do sign language?"

That was an unusual question. Needless to say that it made Yoshi quite nervous. "Y-Yes?"

The smile was back. It didn't quite reach his eyes. "Good." Red left his field of vision. Yoshi heard him rummaging around somewhere in front of him. Taking deep breaths, the dinosaur steeled himself. It would do him no good to show weakness.

When Red returned, he was holding something in his hand. In the dim light of the lantern, Yoshi was able to make out the glint of a scalpel. His grin widening, Red began twirling it in his fingers.

"I'm glad, Yoshi… I really am. You see, there is something important I need to tell you about yourself. One that will change your life forever."

Yoshi frowned, his eyes never leaving the twirling scalpel. Suddenly, his throat was dry again. His heart was hammering in his chest. "What is it?"

"It's a rather funny thing, really," Red continued, as if Yoshi had never asked. "You aren't quite as… you as you thought you were. All of us are not quite as us as we think we are, actually. You can call it some sort of… complex. It's both a fascinating and irritating thing."

Yoshi's heart was racing now. He swallowed, trying to moisten his dry throat. In spite of himself, he was never able to take his eyes away from the scalpel. In the light of the lantern, it glinted menacingly, tauntingly turning about in Red's fingers.

"It certainly changed my view about you, you know," Red said. The scalpel stopped spinning. "… Would you like to know what I learned?"

Yoshi said nothing.

The blade pointed at his mouth. "I learned that my friend Yoshi, most honorable Smasher in the Mansion, was a cowardly, sniveling, liar!"

It descended.

Master Hand was alone. Dr. Mario had left his office not too long ago, to answer a call of distress from outside. Even now, the Hand could see thunder raging. Looking down to the lawn, he could just barely make out figures running, fighting, and even a flash of light blue, as some strange looking creature fought against whoever was down below.

He wished he could intervene. He wanted more than anything to fly down there now and, with a simple snap of his fingers, rid the world of its atrocities. He wished more than anything that he had the power to protect his Smashers, his Guardians, his children from the horrors of the rebuilt Smashville. But no matter how hard he wished, it would never come to pass.

When he was created, he was told that though he was blessed with great power, that power did not mean that he could simply shape a reality to his own will. He had his own rules to follow and his own self to protect. The Guardians and Smashers, mortal though some were, were strong. They knew how to fight. He could not have been any prouder of them.

With a great effort, Master Hand tore himself away from the window, the temptation to help the Guardians rising in him as he saw a bolt of lightning strike two of them dead on. Heaving a low sigh, the giant hand floated over to a bookshelf behind his desk. For a few moments, he simply floated there, as if waiting for something to happen.

A loud pop! sounded behind him. The hand didn't need to turn around to know that his brother had entered the room. After all, if the twitching shadow of a left hand wasn't a dead giveaway, his brother's greeting was.

"Brutha!" Crazy squealed. "Is we making ze readies?"

"I suppose so, Crazy," Master Hand answered. "We best be going… you know how Arceus gets if we're late."

"Eyez packing the important shiz, Brutha!" Crazy crowed happily. "Lotsa snackies and whackies and noisy poppies! Fun for Arceus and girls and friends!"

If Master Hand had a mouth, he would have smiled. There was a lot to be said about Crazy, but if there was one thing the giant hand couldn't deny his brother, it was that even in the midst of disaster, the slightly insane left hand always knew how to cheer him up. True, Crazy's antics were usually out-of-hand and sometimes downright inappropriate, but there was no denying the importance of Crazy's contributions to the Smashers and Guardians. No matter how downright illegal his pranks could get, there would never be a replacement for him.

They entered the portal and were immediately transported into what could only be described as a room between dimensions. It was a wide, open space, illuminated by numerous stars dancing all around them. All around the room were grand staircases, leading to doorways that opened up to the numerous worlds in the universe. Master and Crazy Hand, having just exited from the Smashville Door, floated to the center of the room, where already some of their colleagues awaited them.

One of them was a great white beast, with a large golden ring around its middle. As the Hands floated towards it, it turned to regard them with brilliant green eyes. Arceus, Creator of the Pokemon World, bowed his head slightly before turning to the three women standing before him.

Din, Nayru, and Farore. The Three Goddesses who created the Trifoce and the Land of Hyrule. Din, with her fiery eyes and long red hair, swathed in a long red dress, nodded her head as the Hands approached. Nayru, with her cloudy blue eyes, shimmering blue locks, and flowing blue dress, gave a deep curtsy. Farore, whose spring green locks emphasized her equally as bright green eyes, nearly tripped over the skirts of her own dress in order to run forward and embrace the hands.

"We are awaiting Ashunera," Arceus said, his voice booming around the room. "And then our meeting can begin."

"Ashunera?" Master Hand asked. "What about Palutena?"

"My sources say that Our Lady Palutena will not be able to attend," Nayru said quietly. "She is preoccupied."

"Or captured, more likely," Din said darkly.

"Sister, must you always jump to the most horrid of conclusions?" Nayru asked. "The Lady Palutena is not one to trifle with small matters. She is a strong woman, and-"

"Get your head out of the clouds, Sister!" Din snapped, glaring at her blue-clad sibling. "No longer do we live in a time of peace and wisdom! The enemies of justice will stop at nothing to meet their goals! Kidnapping a Goddess is nothing when compared to what they intend to do!"

"Calm yourselves, my sisters," Farore said. "We are causing much discomfort to the others."

Master Hand sighed. It was not unusual to find Din and Nayru bickering. Oftentimes, their bickering was what usually held up an important meeting. Nevertheless, as Din and Nayru quieted down, Master Hand found himself marveling- not for the first time- at Farore's ability to calm the two, despite being the youngest of the three.

A door above them opened. Turning towards it, the deities beheld the figure of a tall woman, clad in a long flowing dress of sky blue. As she descended the stairs, her aurora-colored locks flared out behind her, giving her the image of the sun come down to earth. Ashunera, Goddess of Dawn and patron goddess of the Continent of Tellius, gave the group a warm smile.

"All of us have been gathered," Arceus boomed. "Shall we begin?"

All around the room, the deities nodded their heads. Master and Crazy Hand bobbed to show their consent. Satisfied, Arceus floated to the center of the room and closed his eyes. There was a brief flash of light then, in the very center of the room, there floated what looked like a spider's web with droplets of dew branching out from its center.

"As all of you should know, this is the Universal Web," Arceus said. "A map, if you will, of the ties that binds each world together and, if you should choose to look close enough, the ties that bind each individual life form to another."

"There have been disturbances in the Web lately," Din said quietly, her fiery eyes scanning the many dewdrops of the web. "My sisters and I have sensed them. Hyrule, for example, has paid host to a powerful and ancient magic not seen for thousands of years."

"Tellius is also being strange," Ashunera remarked. "I have been unable to access the Tower of Guidance. Never before have I been blocked. Any attempt to locate the source of the interference comes up fruitless. Whoever is doing it is doing it efficiently and does not leave a trail for me to follow." she crossed her arms. "I am unsure if we are dealing with a truly dangerous enemy or simply a divine trickster. I hope to all things that it is the latter."

All eyes turned to Master Hand. Crazy, twitching quite a bit less now, gently nudged his brother to get him to speak. Clearing his "throat", Master Hand floated up to the web and zoomed in on it until the dewdrop holding an image of Smashville was completely visible.

"Smashville… I cannot say. We've always been a sort of hub for everything that's happening, from the Smash Tournament to the First Subspace War. And yet, as I look back on those events of seven years passed, I can't help but notice something…" here, he zoomed in some more, until now there were individuals visible. These people, obviously Guardians and Smashers, seemed to be battling great monstrosities in some places, but simply searching in others. All of them were connected via strands of blue light; some of these strands were faded with time, others pulsed with life. What remained consistent amongst these strands, however, was that they were everywhere, connecting every Smasher and every Guardian to each other, to the other citizens of Smashville and, most surprisingly, to nature itself.

"Stringies! Pretty stringies!" Crazy crowed. In spite of himself, Master Hand chuckled.

"That's right, Crazy… I've discovered over the past seven years that Smashville is more than just a mere place where the worlds collide; it is the City of Bonds, of the ties that bind us together. Hero or Villain, man or woman, it does not matter. The bonds you forge in Smashville are able to transcend time and place, and…" he hesitated. "I am almost willing to completely say that the ties between Smashvillians are stronger than any others in the known universe."

There was a pause. Then, a deep rumble as the deities began to discuss amongst themselves in sharp, yet hushed whispers. Master Hand floated patiently, Crazy fidgeting beside him, as his fellow beings conversed. There was no use rushing them, after all.

"Master Hand," Nayru said quietly. "Did the… cultist not mention something about the 'breaking of ties' in his prophecy?"

"Do you truly take stock in such mortal ramblings?" Din asked sharply before Master Hand could answer.

"The things mortals ramble on about, Sister, sometimes hold some grain of truth," Nayru said harshly.

Din opened her mouth to reply, but was silenced by a look from Ashunera. It was obvious that the Goddess of Dawn held no patience with her fellow deities' arguments. Ashunera then turned to Master Hand and nodded at him to answer.

"I'm afraid so," Master Hand said quietly, "It is very possible that the prophecy uttered by Kry'ar, the cultist in question, could be mere ramble… and yet, as I have learned over the past centuries, simple rambling does not normally bode a prophecy of ill that mentions precious things that only gods should know of."

"What do we know about this enemy?" Arceus asked. "Is another war upon us?"

Master Hand sighed. "Arceus, if I could answer that question, I would. But it is not so simple an answer…"

"Shall we hear a rendition of the prophecy?" Farore asked, green eyes inquisitive. When none of the deities refused, she spoke, her voice low and husky:

"The Guardians came forth as the legends say

With them they brought the light of new day

But did you know of the Breaking of Ties?

It is through this that the Fallen will rise.

Once they come Smashville shall cease in its mend

Pitting foe against foe and friend against friend.

The Devil will rise, the angel will fall

And fire shall burn until it takes all."

The deities listened quietly to her as she finished, quietly pondering the meaning of the strange rhyme. None of them noticed when a visible shudder went through the goddess, but all eyes were on her when suddenly, she sat straight up, as if possessed, and began twitching erratically.

"My Lady!" Master Hand cried, floating forward. "Are you alright?"

"Halt, Master Hand!" Din cried out. "She is the Goddess of Prophecy. There may be more information yet!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Farore threw back her head and laughed, a truly bone-chilling, maniacal sound. Then she lurched forwards, still laughing, eyes sparking menacingly. Her mouth opened wide and from it she uttered in a voice that spoke from the deepest depths of the Underworld itself.

"Foolish gods, your time has come!

A doom you've spelt, a sin condone!

A law once written cannot be unmade,

A law once broken deserves death's blade.

Beware, dear Gods, of the Breaking of Ties,

For no longer can your Guardians arise.

Beware once more, for love is a sin,

Releasing the beast long kept within.

Should Guardians rise up against all odds,

Beware, once more, the Twilight of Gods!"

With her last word uttered, Farore slumped forward, her hair a tangled mess. The deities around her froze, watching the goddess taking deep, uneven breaths. In spite of everything, she seemed to be finished. Master Hand felt the room grow colder.

"'A doom we've spelt, a sin condone?'" Din asked. "What could that possibly mean?"

Ashunera pursed her lips. "I… I have a feeling it speaks about that town we-"

"No!" Arceus boomed. "Goddess of Dawn, hold thy tongue! None but us know of its existence!" the great Pokemon shook his head. "We should have eliminated that place long ago, were it not for Lady Palutena's kind heart."

"We made a grave mistake when we created that place," Nayru said quietly. "There is no more denying that someone other than us knows of the place."

"But that's impossible!" Din seethed. "That place was created before time itself flowed in Hyrule! It was-"

"A mistake," Master Hand said emphatically. "A mistake that, in my honest opinion, cannot be eliminated!"

"Have you gone soft, Brother Hand," Arceus demanded. "You know full well that that place breaks one of our most sacred laws! We created it when we were all young and foolish, and when we finally cleared our heads long enough to understand what we had done, the weakest of us insisted that we continued to allow it to live!"

"Tabuu ransacked the place during the Guardian War," Ashunera pointed out. "Obviously, someone must have told him. A worm such as himself should be unable to penetrate it, what with all the protections we put up on it."

"A worm such as Tabuu should never have acquired the power to steal souls in the first place," Din snapped. "It is obvious to me that one of us here has turned traitor!" her fiery eyes glared around the room accusingly.

"My sister," Farore's weak voice finally said. "Do not turn against the gods now. More than ever, we must band together." she rose and for the first time, Master Hand could see how much of a toll her trance had taken on the Goddess of Courage. She shook as she moved, her every action soft and flighty, like a feather. "I saw much during my trance… but not enough to completely grasp what is happening. What is clear to me, however, that all of this comes down to bonds. The bonds between Guardian and Smasher, between Smasher and Smasher, between Guardian and Guardian, between all beings and the world they live in, and…" she coughed.

"… Bondz between Guardiansies, Smashies, and Godsies," Crazy Hand said quietly, speaking for the first time since entering the room. All the gods turned to him, doubt encasing their features. Master Hand, on the other hand, nodded at his brother. When Crazy was serious about something, he was rarely ever wrong.

"The Storm began in that place," Farore said quietly. "And it is there that the Awakening will also begin. Tabuu managed to pierce out defenses and reach the place thanks to help from a divine being, one greater than Subspace itself… and should our secret be released into the world, we will cease to be seen as gods and instead be seen as lesser than that. Mortal, even. Susceptible to the same foolish temptations and sins that plague our children so.

"Then what is it you suggest we do?" Master Hand asked.

Farore closed our eyes. "We must slay what cannot be slain."

Skyworld was in ruin. A once mighty city had fallen. As Pit walked amongst the broken world of marble, the emptiness inside him grew. There was a black hole within him, leaving him barren of any form of joy.

Something had broken in him the moment his Guardian disappeared amongst the clouds. The Miracle of Flight was lost to him. He had tried to spread his wings, to summon the magic needed to glide through the air to catch her. But without his goddess there to supply her own magic, he was nothing. He was weak. He was useless.

Where was Dark Pit? The Smasher could use some company right about now. In spite of his counterpart's rather derisive attitude, there was no denying his worth. He was good company and, in spite of everything, a good friend. He could help him find his Guardian…

Psyche. The mere thought of her name made him sick to the stomach. He had failed to protect her. He, the Captain of Palutena's Army, one of the greatest warriors in all the known worlds, had failed to prevent one girl from falling to her doom.

Of course, she was always more than just another girl.

He had turned his anger, his rage, against the Underworld Army. He had pulled out every weapon in his arsenal and struck, not caring who or what got hurt in the process. With every Underworldian fool that attempted to attack him, ten of its brethren fell. He had blasted, shredded, pounded, and ripped his way through his enemies, blindly destroying everything in his path until the final Handora fell under the might of his Sacred Bow. Afterwards, he had gazed around Skyworld, taking in the ground stained black with Underworld blood and littered with the army's corpses.

But he had not been satisfied.

He cursed himself, the sky, and the ground below. He cursed his Goddess for failing him and, above all, he cursed the Underworld Army. If they had not invaded, he would be eating lunch with Psyche in one of the many dining halls. Maybe taking a walk with her. Maybe swimming with her. Maybe even…

The flap of powerful wings interrupted his thoughts. Looking up, Pit saw what could only be described as a scene from a dream. Two Pegasi and one wyvern descended, each carrying two riders. He recognized the garb of Altean royalty on one of the wyvern riders, obviously that of Queen Nask. A flash of a red cap told him that Mario had come along and, on the two Pegasi, he could clearly see the golden hair of Peach and her Guardian, Sakura. Peach rode with MS and Luigi, while Sakura rode with Green and Miles. Pit covered his eyes to block the glint of the armor. Even in its darkest hour, Skyworld still shown with the brilliance of the sun itself.

As he covered his eyes, he at last caught sight of another person. This one was flying all on his own. Though the cloaked one was obviously male, Pit could not make out any features, as the hood of his dark blue cloak was pulled up. Pit didn't care much for what he looked like anyways, as his eyes were immediately drawn to the young woman the figure held in his arms. Psyche teetered uneasily, but her eyes lit up the moment she saw Pit.

The reunion between Guardian and Smasher was brief, but sweet nonetheless. The young man in blue gently placed her on the ground, where delicate feet immediately dashed over to the angel. Pit spoke no words, only laughed as he scooped his Guardian up in his arms and spun her around, breathing in the scent of her hair.

She smelled of the sun.

"You guys have no idea how much I owe you, all of you," Pit breathed as he finished celebrating and put Psyche down. Green and MS high-fived while Miles smiled and gave a small nod of his head. Nask, busy tending to her dragon's injuries, gave no acknowledgement that she had heard Pit, but a small smile creased her features. Mario and Peach exchanged looks, but it was Sakura that finally spoke.

"It's Blue Cloak Guy that deserves it," she said with a small smile. "He caught Psyche. We just kept the evil electric snakes away."

Pit turned to the blue-cloaked figure, words of gratitude already on the tip of his tongue. But the young man had already gone. The only thing that was left of him was a single red rosebud.

"Wow, talk about clichéd," Green commented as Pit bent down and picked it up. "If I was leaving a cheesy calling card, I'd leave a literal card! Or an apple! Or a dead skunk!"

"Dead skunk? What kind of calling card is that?" MS asked.

"Well obviously, the dead skunk indicates romance," Miles said, trying to hold back a laugh. "There is nothing that says 'I love you' more than the rotting, maggot-filled, stinking corpse of vermin!"

As the three traded jibes, Psyche walked over to Pit and smiled at the bud. "It's pretty. I haven't seen one in a long while, not since Lady Palutena planted those rose bushes out back." she hesitated. "Well… what was once out back…"

Pit handed the bud to her. "I'm pretty sure he wanted to let you have this." he felt a stab of envy as her thin fingers wrapped around the stem.

Suddenly, something behind her eyes flashed. Her pale hand trembled as her eyes widened, staring at nothing, her bottom lip quivering. Pit cried out and made a move to swipe the bud away, only for his Guardian to recover from her shock and pull her hand back, her grip tightening on the rose.

"Pit, I remember!" she said, "Taka! I remember cousin Takashi! I remember Taka's face!" her eyes were alight with wonder.

He froze. His Guardian had lost her memory while fighting the Second Subspace War long ago. Since then, she had been slowly recovering, slowly getting her memories back one by one. Never did he ever attempt to get her to remember her past as a slave in Tabuu's factories. Such a past was too painful, too wrought with tragedy. It was best, he had assumed, that she lived out her life as it was.

But Takashi... the reappearance of his name sent a bolt of doubt through Pit's mind. Takashi, Psyche's cousin, had been executed for leading a revolt against Tabuu a few years before Psyche was named a Guardian. A young man who, from what Pit could glimpse of Psyche's memories back when they shared a body, was even more hot-headed than she, yet loyal as could be. He was close to her as well, her and her childhood friend, Austin.

Did she remember Austin as well?

"Do you remember anything else?" he asked in a sharp whisper, glancing back at the newly arrived group. They were all staring at him and Psyche with interest.

Her brow scrunched up. "Yes, I do… there was one other guy. He was… a friend, I think…" she frowned. "No… he was more than that… a lot more than a friend…"

"His name?" Pit asked, his heart racing.

She hesitated. "I… I don't remember, Pitty…"

He breathed out. Despite everything, he could not help but feel relieved at that information. Then again, he also felt incredibly guilty for being so selfish. If she liked the guy, then she liked the guy. Why should he care?

"We should get you cleaned up," he said. Realizing that he was still whispering, he raised his voice. "All of you are welcome as guests of Skyworld… or whatever's left of it, anyways…"

There was silence. Pit noticed that during his and Psyche's conversation, the group had taken on a much more melancholy state of mind. Before he could ask, however, Nask stepped forward, her single eye cast downwards as she held out something in her hand.

It was a bloodied black feather.