Frostwraith
The Demon King
Hi all! I've been writing my first fan fic for the last few days, so I thought I would be sharing with you what I already had done.
I appreciate all feedback and criticism, both positive and negative, but remember that this is my first fanfic and that English is not my native language so bear with me.
Now, let's get this started...
In their absence, the World of Trophies was quiet, only R.O.B. and a ressurrected Master Hand habitated the world, preparing for the next Super Smash Bros. event. They were busy, but they knew that such an important event required hard work. With his powers, and hearing R.O.B.'s plea, Master Hand eventually built new R.O.B.s to help the preparation of the fourth Super Smash Bros. event.
At they were renovating the Midair Stadium, Master Hand noticed a strange behavior in the R.O.B.s: they suddenly shaked their whole body and suddenly shut down. Master Hand felt a strange energy in him and wondered: "What could have been this?"[/COLLAPSE]
"Bwa ha ha! You will never save your precious princess again!", yelled the Koopa King. "You have fallen right into my trap! Bwa ha ha ha ha!"
"We'll see about that!", Mario responded.
Dodging Bowser's fireballs and hammers, Mario noticed a slight crack on the arena's floor, and attempted to lure Bowser into it. Overconfident, Bowser rushed to the plumber and stepped on the crack, activating his very own trap, falling to a pit. While falling, Bowser accidentally threw a key leading to where Peach was imprisoned. Mario grabbed the key and opened a nearby door.
"Mario?", asked the distressed damsel.
"Peach, you're safe! I defeated Bowser and came to save you."
"Thanks Mario, let's return to my castle, I will prepare a nice meal for you.", said the princess happily.
The Toads were waiting for them to return and were once again overjoyed to see their beloved princess return safely home.
Later, at night, Peach, Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and some Toads were feasting at dinner, until Mailtoad arrives with a strange letter addressed to Mario, Peach, Luigi and Yoshi. It read as following:
"Congratulations! You've been invited to the fourth Super Smash Bros. Event!
Don't miss this opportunity, never before seen fights are bound to happen and only one will be crowned as the mighty victor! Come at the Midair Stadium as soon as possible!
I will await you all,
Master Hand"
"Mama mia! It's time for another Super Smash Bros.! Time surely flies!", said Mario in amazement, but then he suspected something about the letter, something was wrong about it, even though he didn't exactly know what.[/COLLAPSE]
The Light Warrior successfully claimed the remaining part. With the weapon assembled, the Warrior took no hesitation and aimed at his dark opponent.
"Oh snap! Dark Pit... now it's up to you!", said the Dark Warrior as he was replaced by the angel.
Palutena watched the arena in amusement. Ever since Hades was defeated at the hands of her captain, she entretained herself watching Pit's performance in Light vs. Dark fighting rounds.
The Dark Team was losing, but Dark Pit knew that he'd still have chance to defeat his counterpart. The fight went on and the Light Team eventually claimed victory.
After the fight, Palutena came to deliver news to Pit.
"What is it, Lady Palutena?", said the curious angel.
"Here, this seems to be a message... I'll read it.", answered a smiling Palutena.
The strange piece of paper said the following: "Two little angels with the aid of mighty Palutena and lovely Viridi defeated the big bad Lord of the Underworld? Seems that they will do well in the arena. Will you come to the Midair Stadium and show your worth?"
A suspected Palutena commented: "Strange, it has no signature..."
"Well, we'll just go anyway!", said Pit. "What do you think, Pittoo?"
Dark Pit responded with an unimpressed "Maybe", showing complete indifference.
Palutena granted the Power of Flight to the angels and off they went to the World of Trophies...[/COLLAPSE]
"Hiii!", said the puffball, "Hope I'm not late or something..."
But he seemed the only one on a good mood, though. Besides them, the stadium was eerily empty, no people on the seats and the screen was turned off.
"It's strange, Pit... very strange...", said Mario to the angel.
"What exactly is going on here? Whenever a Super Smash Bros. event starts, this is usually full of people cheering and yet, it's empty. It's kind of creepy.", the angel commented.
"It sure is.", Kirby agreed.
"I believe this might be a trap.", said the observing Dark Pit.
"Hum... Who exactly are you? A newcomer?", asked a confused Kirby.
"Dark Pit. And I guess you could call me that.", answered the dark angel.
"A copy of him? You were invited just like Pit, right?", the pink ball observed.
"Yes, we recieved a letter inviting the both of us.", Pit confirmed.
"Save the introductions for later! We're under attack!", shouted Ike to his companions.
It was what was suspected: a trap. A small horde of R.O.B.s attacked the heroes, however they were easily defeated.
"It seems what most of us suspected, someone wanted to lure us here.", observed Captain Falcon.
"I don't know why, but I feel something terrible coming... a dark force, but it seems... familiar.", whispered Zelda.
"Where's Link, Princess Zelda?", asked Peach.
"I was ordered to go alone here, strangely. I don't know where he is.", answered Zelda.
"It doesn't make sense. Isn't Link supposed to have been invited, too?", questioned Captain Falcon.
"I don't know... wait, something is coming!", Zelda sensed.
"Halt, everyone!"
"Huh? Meta Knight?!", Kirby reacted.
"Leave this place if you value your lives! Kirby, hop aboard my ship, we are returning to Dream Land immediatly!", said the ever enigmatic masked knight.
"Why?", Kirby asked.
"It doesn't matter! This is an order not a request! Everyone, leave this place at once!"
Though Meta Knight didn't explain whatever reasons for leaving the stadium, the others wondered what were Meta Knight's reasons for such behavior. Zelda, upon returning to Hyrule Castle, noticed no trace of Link, who was supposed to wait for her in the castle. Zelda wondered what could've happened to him...[/COLLAPSE]
"Do you think the Underworld could be behind this?", wondered Pit.
"I have no idea, Pit, but it shouldn't be out of possibility.", Palutena responded.
"But how can it be possible? Didn't we defeat Hades not too long ago?", observed Dark Pit.
"You're right, but someone else might be pulling the strings. Whoever lured you into that trap wanted to know of his existance, so we must take caution. And you told me someone demanded you to leave. He might know something."
"Yes, Meta Knight. I've met him before... he's mysterious and it's hard to know his motives.", Pit noted.
"But he seemed trustworthy, anyway. He definitely knows something we don't.", Dark Pit defended.
"Anyway, we must prepare ourselves. Pit, you could help me organize the centurion army.", Palutena asked.
"Right, Lady Palutena!"
"Hmm... I think I might be looking for clues above ground. I may confirm whether or not the Underworld is involved in this.", prompted Dark Pit.
"Yes, it's a good idea.", Palutena agreed.
While Palutena and Pit were busy preparing the army, Dark Pit explored the surface. Everything seemed fine and he found nothing suspicious. As a precaution, Dark Pit brought with him his Silver Bow and kept vigilant on possible threats. Suddenly, a strange human figure appears before him, coming from nowhere.
"What the? Who are you?", asked the dark angel immediatly.
The figure remained in its place silent and immobile. The strange human was cloaked and only his eyes could be seen: they were golden and the little of visible skin could be described as pale, as if no blood ever circulated in that body.
Dark Pit, unwilling to waste time with that figure, turned his back on him, however, it was the worst mistake he could have made, the figure rushed to him and stabbed him with a sharp knife. Unable to move, the dark angel was in excruciating pain.
"Very good... he will serve very well for our plans! Heh heh heh...", evilly said a mysterious sorcerer donning long dark robes, light blue hair and a turban covering part of his face and walking toward the agonized angel, who had already fallen unconscious.
A few hours later, Dark Pit woke up in a dungeon, imprisioned in a tight prison cell. Wounded on his backside and no longer had his weapon, he was powerless to do anything. But he overheard a conversation.
"Very good, very good...", said a deep voice, "I knew I could count on you."
"It's my pleasure to serve you, Master.", said another voice, whom Dark Pit recognized as the sorcerer, "My morphs surely are quite useful, aren't they? They can perform tasks as efficiently as any human like me, except that they will never betray their master."
"It's genious. With powerful minions such as these, our plans will succeed.", said the deep voice, "You have shown much enthusiasm and a strong will to cooperate. I will reward your efforts once we our goals are accomplished... Nergal."
"I will not fail you ever, Master.", Nergal answered.
In pain, Dark Pit whispered to himself, "Nergal...", before collapsing again.[/COLLAPSE]
"What is it, Kamek? You have something to tell me?", Bowser asked.
"Well, my king, you seem to have a visitor.", responded the Magikoopa.
"Let him in.", the Koopa King demanded.
His visitor was none other than Nergal himself, with two of his bodyguard morphs, Ephidel and Limstella.
"You must be King Bowser.", said the Dark Druid.
"The one and only. Who are you and what brings you to my castle?", asked Bowser.
"It's a simple request actually. My Master has ordered me to recruit members to his order. He knows your desire to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom and is willing to help you achieve that goal.", Nergal answered.
"Hmm... who is that master you talk about?", the Koopa King wondered.
"I'm sure you know him already...", Nergal responded.
"Wait... you mean your master is...", Bowser quickly realized who was the one behind Nergal. "Very well, I will join his cause."
"Good, all you need to do for now is to take Peach to us. This is important.", Nergal ordered before leaving.
"Looks like our plans stay the same for now, my king.", Kamek stated.
"But we must hurry, then. Ready the airships!", ordered Bowser.
Mario, Luigi and Yoshi went to Yoshi's Island to get more Yoshis to help them search for any clues about the recent events, and so only Peach and her Toad retainers remained in Peach's Castle.
Peach was sitting in her throne, when Toadsworth quickly arrived to her room warning that Bowser had launched an attack against the castle. The Toads and Peach attempted to defend the castle by themselves, however, they were no match for Bowser's army, and Peach was once again kidnapped by the Koopa King.
Back in Bowser's Castle, Peach was locked in the dungeon and Bowser awaited orders from Nergal.
"Bwa ha ha! Peach is back into our hands and Mario was nowhere to be seen! We were quite lucky this time.", the Koopa King maniacally said.
"You did quite a good job, King of the Koopas.", suddenly said a man.
"Lord Nergal!", roared Bowser.
"Now, we shall take the princess to the Master's castle, where we already have a prisoner.", said the Dark Druid. "And you have the honor of going with me."
"Fine, if the princess is a tool in the Master's plan, then I'll be going.", stated Bowser.
"Limstella, my dear, please carry the princess with utmost careful.", Nergal ordered.
"As you wish, my Lord Nergal.", the morph responded.
"And what am I supposed to do now?", asked Bowser.
"Simple, actually. You will remain in your castle and await further orders, is that clear?", responded the Dark Druid.
"Fine."
Nergal's morphs carried an unconscious Peach across a portal opened by the Dark Druid himself and proceeded to lock Peach in another cell.
"Once again, you prove to be quite capable... such competence must be rewarded, indeed..."
"What is then my reward, Master?", the Dark Druid reacted.
"You get to turn one of the prisioners at your choice into a powerful minion of yours... do you have any objections?"
"Of course not, Master.", Nergal evilly responded.[/COLLAPSE]
"Lady Palutena?", called the angel.
"Yes, Pit?", Palutena responded.
"Would you mind sending a few centurions here? This is getting a little tedious. And I haven't found any clue of Pittoo's whereabouts."
"Very well.", the goddess agreed.
With the help of centurions, the search would be easier. They spent some time into searching for the dark angel until one centurion approached Pit with news.
"What?! Are you serious? Lady Palutena, please grant me flight.", asked Pit.
"All right, Pit, here you go!"
Pit followed the centurion and arrived to a more desolated area and he found near a tree, a very important clue: a Silver Bow.
"This is Pittoo's bow... could this mean... No!", Pit observed.
"This once again confirms what we thought, there's something evil coming. It's likely that Pittoo was kidnapped for some reason.", observed Palutena.
Mario, Luigi and some Yoshis returned to Peach's Castle after a long search for anything suspicious. Returning to the Mushroom Kingdom, a Toad retainer quickly informed them of Peach's kidnapping.
"What?! Not again!", Mario reacted.
"Please you must help the princess!", the Toad begged.
Before even entering the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario quickly went to Bowser's Castle, but he noticed something strange: he found no resistance from the Koopa forces, instead letting him into Bowser's Castle. Navigating through the maze-like castle halls and avoiding the treacherous paths of lava, Mario found his nemesis once again, sitting in his throne with the Koopalings, Bowser Jr. and his advisor Kamek.
"Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha! It seems that your precious princess is in another castle, Mario!", Bowser mockingly greeted Mario.
"What do you mean with that?", responded Mario.
"Search the castle as you like! You'll never find your princess here! She belongs to the Master now! Bwa ha ha ha ha!"
Despite Bowser's words, Mario explored the purposely unguarded castle, only to confirm what the Koopa King told him by finding no trace of Princess Peach. Mario eventually returned to the Mushroom Kingdom, pondering the next step to do.
Meanwhile in the dungeon, the dark angel woke up again, but thanks to the angels' quicker healing, he no longer felt the pain from the stabbing. Looking around, he could barely see a thing, save for a few faint lights from the dim torches. Observing carefully, he saw someone whom he met at the stadium in the cell right besides his.
"Pit? Is... that you?", wondered Peach, who was still dizzy.
"No, I'm not Pit. I'm Dark Pit. You're Princess Peach, right?"
"Yes... humm... where exactly are we? It's so dark..."
"Wish I knew. How did you end up here?"
"Bowser kidnapped me. Once he took me to his castle I saw a dark wizard, who launched a spell at me and put me to sleep. I remember... he had two bodyguards, they were pale and had golden eyes..."
"Doesn't seem different from me... I saw one of these as well who stabbed me and the next moment I awoke, I was here."
"Heh heh heh... so you've finally woken up, my pretties...", said a familiar voice to both.
"You must be Nergal!", Dark Pit reacted.
"How did you know my name, fool? Hah, doesn't matter! Ephidel, open the angel's cell!", Nergal ordered.
"As you wish.", responded Ephidel.
Ephidel and another morph quickly carried the angel to another room.
"You'll wait here patiently. Attempt to escape, and you're dead.", threatened Ephidel, the same man who stabbed the angel.
Dark Pit tried to look around, but it was too dark in that room to see anything. He overheard some steps approaching.
"Who's there?", asked Dark Pit.
None answered, but heard the door open, and a flame was lit in the room.
"So, it is you whom the Master wants, I can sense a powerful being inside that flesh.", said a mysterious humanoid.
"Who are you?!"
"You're quite the rebellious servant, but I will put you in your place. But allow me to introduce myself... I am a powerful Demon Lord. My name is Ghirahim, but I like to be addressed by Lord Ghirahim, but I'm not picky on such trivialties.", said the white skinned humanoid.
Dark Pit remained silent.
"You're not one to talk much. You won't need to, after all. The Master demanded that I take your soul and life force from you, hope you don't mind."
"What?!"
"Lord Nergal is very... enthusiastic about this little... experiment. So, let the ritual begin!", porclaimed the Demon Lord, who was clearly enjoying himself. "Unfortunately for you, you're chained by my magic and have to chance to escape."
The Demon Lord quickly started to dance and chanting while performing a spell on Dark Pit. The angel was feeling terrible pain, much to Ghirahim's pleasure. This took a few minutes, and after the strange ritual, Dark Pit's body was nothing more than empty husk, it breathed and the heart beat, but had no longer a will of his own.
"Now Lord Nergal, show me your art!", enthusiatically yelled Ghirahim.
"Heh heh heh... This powerful quintessence can be used to make a body bound to my magic... My dear Limstella, help me out, will you?", the Dark Druid said.
"Look at this beauty! I'm sure Pandora will be overjoyed with this!", Ghirahim stated.
Nergal continued his malevolent spell on the dark angel. And the body became pale and the once red eyes turned gold. He successfully turned Dark Pit in one of his morphs.
"That's it, now he will be... very loyal to us, as intended by the Goddess of Calamity and our Master.", declared the Dark Druid.
"You have done an excellent job. I can't justly reward you this time, Nergal.", said once again the deep voice that Dark Pit once heard before.
"I have no need for more rewards, Master. It's our collective reward that matters once our plans are fulfilled.", said the Dark Druid. "Once we've gone through this, everyone in the multiverse will kneel before you... Ganondorf, the King of Evil."
Ganondorf laughed maniacally, but suddenly stopped. He had to ponder what was the next step on his plan.[/COLLAPSE]
"Donkey, do you think that the K. Rool could be attacking us again?", questioned Diddy.
"I have no idea, I just think it's just some troublemaker, nothing more.", comforted DK.
And wrong he was, upon arriving to the banana stack, they found no trace of the Kremling and suddenly, two quick arrows striked the Kongs instantly knocking them unconscious.
"Ha ha ha ha ha... Lord Ganondorf will be pleased by having the Kongs in his side!", said Nergal with enthusiasm. "Dark Pit here proved to be a quite valuable... acquisition."
With the body being under Nergal's control, the dark angel's soul was trapped in a jar and stored in a room full of other such jars, without a body to live in, he was in constant pain, much like the other of Ganondorf's victims.
"But Lord Nergal, our job isn't done yet. We must find Mr. Game & Watch and Zelda as the Master demanded. Once we get in the possession of these two, we will gain tremendous power.", Ghirahim remembered.
"Of course, we will not fail our Master ever! With Shadow Bugs at our control and once our Master gets possession of the Triforce of Wisdom, we will witness history!"
"Indeed... and Peach, she possesses a soul so pure, it will be shameful if we don't use its power to its full potential. The Wind Mage Vaati has already started a ritual to extract her soul.", the Demon Lord noted.
They took the bodies of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong and returned to Ganon's Castle.
"Our recruitment is going quite well...", Ganondorf stated with a smile.
"It is my pleasure to serve you, Master.", Ghirahim expressed.
"Lord Ganondorf, it seems that me and our Wizzrobe forces have successfully extracted Peach's soul.", reported Vaati.
"Make sure it is well guarded. We'll need it for later.", the Dark Lord answered. "Pandora!"
"What is it, Master?", responded the Goddess of Calamity.
"Your task is to invade the Superflat World and take Mr. Game & Watch as prisoner! And don't forget, I want him alive!"
"Very well.", responded Pandora.
"I'll take care of Zelda myself!", declared Ganondorf. "Nergal, Ghirahim and Vaati, each of you will guard the castle along with your minions and await further orders."
"What about me?", questioned Bowser.
"You... try to contact Ridley and the Space Pirates. Make sure they come to the castle with Metroid specimens!"
With Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong out of their way, King K. Rool and the Kremlings made a surprise attack on the Kongs' domain. Dixie Kong and the other Kongs struggled against them and, as a trick, feigned retreat, causing the Kongs to lower their guard and be ambushed by seemingly Kremling-allied Tiki Goons and by a Kremling pirate ship as well, resulting in their defeat, leaving DK Island at the Kremlings and Tikis' mercy.
"They fallen right into our trap. The Master will be pleased with these news as well...", muttered evilly the Kremling King.[/COLLAPSE]
"I owe you all an explanation as you might be thinking right now... that is precisely what brings us here to my battleship and the answer is simple, actually.", Meta Knight started. "War is coming, and this conflict is going to be much bigger than the Subspace invasion from before."
"Bigger than the Subspace?", wondered King Dedede.
"Yes. As far as I know, this invasion is being led by none other than Ganondorf himself."
"And among those allied to his cause stand Bowser, the Underworld Army and the Kremlings.", Lucario continued.
"They seek total dominion over the World of Trophies and our homeworlds as well. If we don't act quickly, we may have no chance.", Meta Knight warned.
"Uh, do you have any idea of what might've happened to Pittoo?", Pit asked. "I've been feeling a strange surge inside my body a few days after his kidnapping."
"Dark Pit was kidnapped too?", asked Kirby.
"Yes, along with Peach and more recently Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong.", Meta Knight answered.
"What do you think they may be doing to them?", asked Mario.
"I have absolutely no idea. But, if my spies are right, Ganon has also enlisted a powerful sorcerer named Nergal has been performing strange magics on the kidnapped victims, involving soul manipulation.", ominously told Meta Knight.
"What?! Soul manipulation?! How do you know that?!", said Palutena in shock.
"Yes. I have a... double agent... working for them that confirms me such. And I warn the both of you, Mario and Pit. The next time you meet Peach and Dark Pit, they won't be themselves and will likely attack you... mercilessly."
"Then I will gladly join your cause!", said a familiar voice to Pit and Palutena.
"Viridi?", Pit and Palutena reacted.
"Yes, it's me. So, these fools have been manipulating souls. It's horrible and disgusting! My Forces of Nature will gladly help in this cause."
"Even with such an army, we're still no match for them.", warned Meta Knight.
"Exactly, with only the Mario Bros., some Yoshis, Palutena's Army, the Forces of Nature and the forces of Dream Land to help us, we have no chance against Ganondorf's hordes.", agreed Lucario.
"So we must recruit powerful warriors. We'll start by finding those who fought with us against Tabuu."[/COLLAPSE]
"It makes me wonder why would someone as powerful as you would be only tasked to guard the prison.", stated Ghirahim. "Makes me think that the Master doesn't fully trust you."
"It's quite simple, actually, Lord Ghirahim.", Mewtwo answered. "Lord Ganondorf wants no fugitives and thanks to my Psychic abilities, I can guard this prison efficiently. By the way, you shouldn't question our Master's superiority and you know well my loyalty to him."
"Whatever... anyway, once Zelda gets in our hands, we will extract her soul and the Triforce of Wisdom which will grant more power to the Master."
"Like Peach's, Zelda's soul is pure, this is what the Master wants: pure and powerful souls."
"Exactly, once we have a good supply of souls, the Master can proceed with the plan."
"Whatever the Master is planning, it's our duty to obey him."
"Indeed, it's my joy to be of service to him."
Meta Knight overheard this conversation on his head, thanks to Mewtwo's telepathic abilities. He took the Halberd to a continent named Tellius, where he found Ike and his mercenaries.
"So, I've known that you were part of a mercenary band since we've met in the war against the Subspace Army, four years ago."
"And you plan to hire us for what?", questioned Ike.
"Let's say, I am building myself an army. Oh, and your continent's fate depends on how I succeed in this task... so what it will be? I am willing to pay... a lot."
"Fine, it's settled."
"Good, get aboard my ship."
Meta Knight went to the ship's control room and set course to the World of Trophies, while on the way, he was told telepathically by Mewtwo that Mr. Game & Watch was imprisoned in Ganon's Castle. Before Mewtwo said anything else, he knew exactly why Ganondorf wanted Mr. Game & Watch: an endless supply of Shadow Bugs to help him expand his already big legion.[/COLLAPSE]
Arriving at the throne room, the Gerudo King faced Zelda in combat.
"So, we meet again, princess...", stated Ganondorf in a deep voice.
"You have made a big mistake in coming here, Ganondorf.", Zelda confidently warned.
"Pathetic. You face against the true holder of the power of the gods, and yet you seek to prevail? This is quite amusing... Let's see how will you fare against me!", answered Ganondorf, launching a powerful spell, easily blocked by Zelda.
"You underestimate me. I hope you didn't forget that I also possess the power of the gods.", Zelda responded with a powerful light spell.
Both continued to launch spells at one another, and the fight was already taking a long time, when Ganondorf finally unseathed his sword.
"I was going easy on you. But now, you're mine!", yelled a furious Ganondorf.
But Zelda didn't go easy on the Evil King either. Armed with the powerful Light Arrows, Zelda managed to hold her own and eventually incapacitated her enemy, who teleported back to his castle.
"Zelda... you might have won this time, but I won't go easy on you next time!"
"You seem worried, Master."
"Ah... Nergal. What brings you here?"
"Pandora successfully brought Mr. Game & Watch. Should we proceed with the plan?"
"Yes, start extracting Shadow Bugs. The more, the better. Don't forget that."
"Of course, Master."
"Hm... we may need a few Subspace Dark Cannons, as well... fortunately, we still have one that could be used as a reference to make new ones.", muttered Ganondorf to himself. "Yes, that will do, we will start to swiftly turn everyone who opposes us into allies... Heh heh ha ha ha ha ha!!"
"Ganondorf."
"Ah... Bowser. You must have some news."
"It seems that Ridley and the Space Pirates have begun another operation to hunt Samus Aran.", reported the Koopa King. "Once I communicated about your plan, they expressed desire to join forces with you."
"Good. Ridley could handle our outer space missions with ease. We must keep working from the shadows, only when we get enough power, we start invading."
"You said that souls are a good source of power, perhaps we could continue to do this?"
"Yes, but now I must focus on getting my hands on Zelda. She has the Triforce of Wisdom and I need it to outlast Link... once I get the three Triforce parts, the rest is easy."[/COLLAPSE]
"Ugh, not even during the Subspace invasion we found so many enemies.", Pit noted.
"Ganondorf must have been preparing this in the shadows, he already has a devastating force.", Kirby noticed.
"Maybe that's why Meta Knight asked us to explore this world, he wants us to try to reduce the enemy forces.", Mario concluded.
They kept advancing into some ruins, these were familiar to them.
"This is where Meta Knight, Marth and Ike fought against Galleom.", remembered Kirby.
"What could be the purpose of these ruins? I always wondered that.", questioned Pit.
They kept dodging the many traps and dangers that awaited them in the ruins. Even there, Ganondorf's forces were abundant.
"Ganondorf's forces guard this place as well, could this be one of his bases?", Yoshi wondered.
"I don't know, but an abandoned place like this is the perfect place for a hideout.", Mario answered.
They arrived to a room with a large dome above. There waited a shadowy figure.
"You have come far enough.", said the shadowy figure, whose voice echoed in the room.
"What the...?", Pit reacted.
"Your curiosity will be the end of you... heh heh heh...", said the man who turned to the heroes.
"Light blue hair, dark robes...", muttered Kirby. "It's Nergal!"
"So, you know who I am, eh? Saves time for introductions! Come, my morphs, show them Ganondorf's will!"
The heroes fought the seemingly endless hordes of Nergal's morphs. After a long battle, Nergal was by himself.
"You did quite well... I must congratulate you. It's time for me to show you what happens when you dare to oppose us!", Nergal commented. "Come! Peach and Dark Pit! Show them the meaning of loyalty! Ha ha ha ha ha!"
"It can't be!", Mario reacted as Mario saw his princess being nothing but a puppet.
"Impressed, aren't you? Perhaps you may consider in joining us and I may restore your precious friends to normal, what do you say, hmm? Which will you choose? Submission... or death?!"
"I'll make you pay for what you've done!", yelled Pit as he rushed to strike the Dark Druid.
"Hah! How naive! Die already!"
Peach and Dark Pit started to attack the heroes. Much like the other morphs, their former allies had golden eyes and pale skin, indicating the presence of Nergal's magic. It was useless attempting to communicate with them, they remained silent and wouldn't stop until defeated.
"Just how much longer must we survive?", asked a tired Kirby.
"I have no idea! It seems that Nergal's magic is keeping them in shape.", Mario answered.
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! If you destroy those bodies, they'll become unsuited for someone still alive! Would you like to have your friends suffer a fate worse than death?", mocked Nergal.
Nergal began summoning even more morphs and when all hope seemed lost, a giant dragon-like creature emerged from the ground, hitting Nergal hard.
"You fools dare to oppose me! Arrgh, I shall... have my... vengeance!", swore the Dark Druid before teleporting away.
Without Nergal's magic controlling them, the morphs began to wear out of energy, collapsing and vanishing. Peach and Dark Pit were saved, yet they didn't move nor react, but their bodies were alive anyway.
"What just happened? What was that dragon?", asked a more relieved Pit.
"It was me.", said a feminine voice.
A woman approached the heroes, she was dressed in black and had long blond hair.
"I am Cynthia, a Pokémon Trainer.", introduced herself.
"Oh, so that was a Pokémon!", realized Pit.
"Yes, it's my Garchomp. She's my strongest Pokémon and a very trusted partner."
"Why are you here exactly?", Kirby asked.
"For the same reasons as you. My homeland of Sinnoh was invaded by foul beasts. If it weren't for our Pokémon, our land would have been conquered.", Cynthia explained.
"Nergal got away, but at least we saved Peach and Dark Pit.", Mario stated.
"They're not completely safe yet. Their bodies are soulless.", noted Pit.
"So, Nergal extracted their souls to use the bodies as puppets.", Cynthia concluded. "We must carry them out of this place. Braviary and Togekiss! Carry these bodies!"
The Pokémon obeyed and took the bodies and the heroes back to the surface.
"We must look for the Halberd, we must let Meta Knight know what happened.", said Kirby.
While they waited for Meta Knight, in Ganon's Castle...
"What?! We lost Peach and Dark Pit's bodies?! You incompetent fool!", yelled an angry Ganondorf.
"But, Master...", replied Nergal.
"I want no excuses! You have failed me! At least we still have their souls. You'd better recover those bodies, you hear me?! Losing powerful tools like these certainly isn't part of the plan. Now go."
"Yes, I'll do as you wish."[/COLLAPSE]
The pirates resisted the attack and shoot a powerful laser at Samus's ship.
"Damn!", yelled Samus, as the ship took considerable damage.
Samus eventually retaliated with a super missile and the pirates retreated.
Arriving at a rebuilt Island of the Ancients in the World of Trophies, she was met with the remnants of the R.O.B. army, lead by R.O.B., the Ancient Minister himself. Among them, were Captains Falcon and Olimar, as well.
"Are you serious?", Samus questioned R.O.B.
"COULDN'T BE MORE. MASTER HAND HAS BEEN DEFEATED BY GANONDORF, BUT WE MANAGED TO HOLD HIM BACK. SOME R.O.B.S, HOWEVER, SUCCUMBED TO GANONDORF'S CONTROL.", said the robot in typical robotic voice.
"If Master Hand was easily defeated, it means Ganondorf is currently more powerful than Tabuu was.", concluded Captain Falcon.
"WE ASKED META KNIGHT TO REUINTE OUR FORCES FROM THE PREVIOUS CONFLICT AND GATHER NEW ALLIES."
"If Meta Knight is in this too, we might want to find his ship.", said Olimar.
"Obviously. Come on! We must unite with Meta Knight. Fortunately, we have easy ways of transport.", stated Falcon.
"WE WILL STAY HERE AND GUARD THIS PLACE. PLEASE BE SAFE.", R.O.B. bid his farewells.
The bounty hunters and Olimar each possessed their own ship, which could be used for their advantage in distracting possible enemies. Even so, the Space Pirates continued to follow them while also keeping a low profile.
"I've spotted the Halberd!", observed Falcon.
"Got it.", answered Olimar.
They landed near Meta Knight's ship and met with the rest of the heroes.
"Good, seems that R.O.B. did quite a good job.", complimented Meta Knight. "Now, we've got to go to a safe place."
"Not so fast!"
"Ridley?!", Samus reacted.
"Well, well... how are you, ladies and gentlemen?", mocked Ridley. "Your vaunted heroic quest is over!"
"I'll take care of him! FALCON PUNCH!", attacked Captain Falcon.
"Ugh! You fool! Take this!", Ridley charged at Falcon, who dodged the attack swiftly.
"Go Garchomp!", Cynthia called her Garchomp to aid Falcon.
Garchomp proved to be a good match against Ridley, the two were locked in fierce combat.
"Garchomp is doing her best to stall our enemy, Meta Knight! Prepare the Combo Cannon!", requested Cynthia.
"Good plan. The cannon takes a while to fire, but packs quite a punch.", responded Meta Knight.
Garchomp and Ridley were evenly matched and the fighting was fierce.
"Garchomp, Dragon Claw!", ordered Cynthia.
Garchomp attacked Ridley on his chest, knocking him off.
"How's this?!", yelled Ridley as he unleashed a massive fireball into Garchomp, severly damaging her, despite her natural resistance to fire.
"Garchomp, return! Now, Spiritomb! Hypnosis!", Cynthia ordered.
Spiritomb's attack was successful in buying time for the cannon to charge. As Ridley was waking up, he noticed his impending doom in the form of a powerful laser.
"Whoa! That was a close one!", said a relieved Pit.
After Ridley's defeat, everyone settled inside the Halberd, discussing future plans. Via telepathy, Lucario and Mewtwo kept their secret communication.
"Mewtwo, do you think you can retrieve what Meta Knight wants?", asked Lucario.
"Yes, that place may be heavily guarded, but I can manipulate them using my powers. I just have to keep a low profile.", responded Mewtwo.
"Good, we need these soul jars, but your cover must be kept at all costs."
"I am aware of that."
Mewtwo was easily unnoticed by Ganondorf's minions. Navigating through the maze-like soul jar storage, Mewtwo eventually found the two jars he needed, but it had to go unnoticed, if Ganondorf discovered this, Meta Knight's main source of information would be gone, so focus was extremely important. Mewtwo stumbled across a Moblin, who thought of Mewtwo as an enemy.
"Enemy of Ganon must be killed!", yelled the beast.
"Halt!", ordered Mewtwo, but the Moblin didn't listen.
Using his teleport ability, Mewtwo managed to dodge the Moblin's attack.
"Now, now... you should know that I am not the enemy you're looking for.", said Mewtwo as it used its psychic abilities to bend the Moblin to its will.
After dealing with the Moblin, Mewtwo continued its search, eventually finding two jars: one labeled "Princess Peach" and the other labeled "Dark Pit".
"I got them. I'll use my Teleport ability and you'll retrieve them quickly. Don't mention my name ever."
"Got it.", affirmed Lucario as it recieved both Peach's and Dark Pit's jars.
Leading to the control room, where Meta Knight was, Lucario reported the event.
"Very well, Lucario. It seems that everything is going according to our objectives.", congratulated Meta Knight.
"I'll go get the bodies."
"Now, we open these jars and..."
"It's working. I can feel the souls' auras entering their respective bodies."
Suddenly, the bodies started to move, as if awakened from a long sleep.
"Unnh... where am I? ...Meta Knight? Is that you?", Peach asked.
"Yes, you're both safe from Ganondorf's grasp."
"Ugh... that fool... Nergal... I swear I'll crush him!", vowed Dark Pit.
"You seem to be awake as well, angel. Good, I'll call the others.", Meta Knight stated.
Back into Ganon's Castle, the Evil King recieved news that Ridley was defeated.
"Damn it! Are you sure about that, Koopa King?!", yelled Ganondorf.
"Yes, it seems that Ridley was no match for Meta Knight's Combo Cannon. His body is completely burned, but he's still alive.", Bowser replied.
"Hmph, I do hope that the Space Pirates keep him alive! He shall feel my wrath for his failure!"
"Lord Ganondorf!"
"What do you want, Vaati?"
"We have bad news, it seems that there are two soul jars missing from our storage!", replied the sorcerer.
"This is madness! Are you telling me that we might have a traitor among us?!", the Evil King reacted with even more anger.
"Seems so. But we have no idea of who might be.", stated Bowser.
"They came far enough, we will attack the Halberd now. That Meta Knight fool should know the price of standing in my way. Vaati, send Fawful to take care of them."
"It shall be done, Master.", answered Vaati.[/COLLAPSE]
"You can thank my double agent for returning Peach and Dark Pit back to us.", Meta Knight started.
"So, what's the next plan?", questioned Ike.
"Hyrule was attacked by Ganondorf himself, but Zelda managed to hold him back. Now it's our turn to help them. Link and Zelda's abilities will sure help us to defeat the Evil King himself.", continued Lucario.
"I want the Greil Mercenaries to act as a decoy force, by retreating and attacking repeatedly.", Meta Knight proceeded.
"Not a bad idea. As we've seen, those beasts aren't very bright, so simple strategies will do it flawlessly.", agreed Soren, the strategist of the mercenaries.
"Glad to see we're in agreement. Good.", complimented Meta Knight. "Now, we have archers in our team, which combined with the Hylian Guard and the centurions will prove a dangerous threat to our enemies."
"Pah... as if working with filthy sub-humans was bad enough...", muttered Shinon.
"Watch your clever tongue, foolish human!", yelled Dark Pit.
"Silence! The both of you! Or do you want to be kicked out of my ship?!", ordered Meta Knight. "If we don't succeed at this, it will be the end of the world as we know it!"
"Our success depends on our performance. Ganondorf has almost god-like power and is ambitious enough to want even more.", Lucario warned.
"Hmph, as I expected, none here seem to have the brightest head too, cowering in their fears. I don't know how did you even convince Ike to help with this nonsense.", grumbled a seemingly drunk Shinon as he left the ship, tripping as he walked erratically.
"Where have we seen this scenario before?", asked Soren sarcastically.
"What a complete jerk...", stated an angered Dark Pit.
"I think some things just can't be helped...", observed Titania, deputy commander of the Greil Mercenaries.
"I'll not even try to get him back to our group, it was his decision to leave... and I'm sure he'll be back to us, anyway.", stated Ike.
"Fair enough.", replied Meta Knight. "His departure doesn't make much of a difference in our strategy. Once we take over Hyrule Castle, any with projectile weapons will stay on the walls to shoot down incoming enemy troops. That's simple enough, right?"
"Very good, I'll prepare the Greil Mercenaries for our attack.", confirmed Ike.
"Angels, you'll stay with Oscar, Boyd and Rolf and shoot whatever enemies who attempt to enter the castle. Call the centurions after securing the castle.", ordered Meta Knight.
"Okay.", affirmed Pit.
"Fine, I'll do whatever needed.", affirmed Dark Pit.
"Cynthia, your Pokémon possess useful abilities. Use them as you see fit."
"You can count on me.", responded the trainer.
"Lucario, you'll lead the Meta-Knights and protect the ship from enemy attacks. Is that clear?"
"Yes."
"The rest of you will come and fight alongside me. I hope everyone is ready for tomorrow's battle."[/COLLAPSE]
"Attention! The ship is under attack!", warned a Meta-Knight.
"What is going on?!", Meta Knight reacted.
"Seems that Ganondorf sent some Koopa and Underworld troops against us!"
"All right, we must defend the ship at all costs!"
"Soren, what's the best plan?", Ike asked to the strategist.
"It's better not to leave the ship. The ship's corridors are narrow, thus we can take those enemies one by one."
"I agree with him. Leaving the ship is a death trap.", agreed Titania.
"Very well.", Ike responded.
Mario and Kirby were busy fighting as well, by using the shells from defeated Koopas as weapons, they had an advantage against their enemies. In the ship's control room, Meta Knight was busy preparing the Combo Cannon.
"Is the Combo Cannon ready yet?", Lucario asked Meta Knight.
"It's still charging."
"Sir, we've spotted an enemy commander! He's heading into the ship's engine room! The angels are busy fighting there!", reported another Meta-Knight.
"Blast! I hope they don't get outnumbered! Anyway, keep charging the cannon.", Meta Knight ordered.
In ship's engine room, Pit noticed the presence of Underworld troops.
"Underworld troops?!"
"Seems that Ganondorf has been seeking for help there.", responded Palutena.
"These guys are tougher than before! Ganondorf surely is playing to win.", commented Pit. "But wait, if we defeated Hades and Medusa, who could be leading these Underworld monsters?"
"I know the answer.", Dark Pit responded. "Pandora has allied herself with Ganondorf."
"She's still alive, eh? It doesn't matter, we will defeat her like before.", Pit stated.
"But we never know, she might be stronger than before.", Palutena warned.
Suddenly, the angels notice a strange figure: it was green, small, had big glasses and was floating on a strange contraption.
"Enemies of Ganon will fear your doom!!", stated the little creature.
"Who's this guy?", wondered Pit.
"You fink-rat! I am the great Fawful! I serve doom to all of fools like you!", Fawful declared. "And this battle will be two fried chicken! I beat the winged fink-rats with powerful power of DOOM!!"
After moping the enemies in their room, Mario and Kirby quickly went to the angels' side.
"You fink-rat of red! Red is the color of my fury! So seeing red again makes my mind explode with rage!"
"Do you know this guy, Mario?", Kirby asked.
"Yes, and... he's dangerous."
The four engaged Fawful in battle and Fawful responded with a fire beam from his mech, which was shaped like him, with the head serving as the cockpit.
"I cook you like meat so fresh it will be enjoyed to eat!"
Mario retaliated with a Fireball, destroying the cockpit's glass. Kirby attempted to inhale him, without success.
"Pink fink-rat, you fool! I will not be dinner of you! I am feasting on you later night!"
Pit and Dark Pit kept shooting arrows at him, but Fawful seemed to resist.
"Your stings are futile against I, winged fink-rats! You are tasteless fools as a chicken who is raw!"
"This guy is starting to get on my nerves...", stated Dark Pit.
"Your nerves boil and cook you from inside!", Fawful responded.
"We need more drastic measures, guys.", Kirby said.
"What do you mean?", Pit asked.
"It's Hammer Time!", Kirby grabbed his hammer.
"Lady Palutena, do you have two hammers?", Pit asked.
"Well yes, here you go!", replied Palutena, summoning two hammers in the floor.
Pit jumped and threw one hammer at Fawful, knocking him out of his mech.
"I have fury!", Fawful yelled.
Mario charged a Fireball and shoot it against Fawful, who was barely holding on.
"I'll finish him!", Dark Pit yelled as he jumped and struck him with the other hammer.
"Ow! I not forget this!", Fawful yelled as he retreated.
Fawful might have been defeated, but there were still enemies aboard, Captain Falcon and Luigi struggled to finish the remaining enemies. And another powerful foe invaded the ship: Goomboss.
"How dare you oppose the Master? I am Goomboss, Goomba King, the great Goomba, the grand poo-bah Goomba! And you are insects to be crushed in Bowser's name!"
"Yeah, whatever you are, you don't seem very bright to me... Come on!", taunted Captain Falcon.
"You insult me! YOU ARE DEAD!!! GAH!!"
Captain Falcon jumped on his head, causing significant damage. Goomboss attempted to retaliate by stomping him, but Falcon dodged thanks to his speed.
"You can't even keep up with me! Take this! Falcooon PUNCH!!"
Goomboss took a lot of damage and fell to the ground, defeated.
"Is this the best Ganondorf could send?", mocked Captain Falcon.
With the enemies inside the ship defeated, the rest were easily defeated, thanks to the Combo Cannon's attack.
"Whew... that was pretty close.", sighed Luigi.
"Ganondorf must have sent these forces desperately. They were not very coordinated and had pathetic commanders.", concluded Soren.
"Anyway, we must prepare our next move.", Meta Knight remembered.
"Zelda is powerful, so she can hold on a little longer.", Captain Falcon commented.
"Yes, but she won't last forever, we must attack as soon as possible.", Meta Knight warned as he prepared the ship for departure.[/COLLAPSE]
"All right everyone, we know our mission: save Zelda. We'll split around the town and attack any of the beasts within. Our success depends on how we fight!", Meta Knigh proudly announced.
"We should try to save as many people as possible without taking unnecessary risks.", Lucario added.
"I have split us into several teams, each with a different purpose. Listen up!"
Meta Knight proceeded to announce the composition of each team which was as follows:
Team Meta: Meta Knight, Mario, Yoshi, Kirby and Cynthia.
Team Bounty: Luigi, King Dedede, Samus, Captain Falcon and Olimar.
Team Icarus: Pit, Dark Pit, Palutena and Oscar, Boyd and Rolf of the Greil Mercenaries.
Team Greil: The remainder of the mercenaries: Ike, Mist, Soren, Titania, Mia, Rhys and Gatrie.
Lucario, Viridi and Peach remained at the Halberd, guarding the ship with the Meta-Knights.
"Is everyone okay with this?", asked Meta Knight, to which everyone agreed.
"Teams Meta and Bounty will attack the eastern and western parts of the town, then advance to the castle itself.", continued Lucario.
"Team Icarus will be our sniping force, attacking enemies from one of the castle's towers. And finally, the Greil Team will act as a distraction force in the central area of the town.", finished Meta Knight.
"I will stay here with Peach and the Forces of Nature, defending the ship. Meta Knight entrusted his Meta-Knight forces to me. We'll only attack if you get outnumbered.", Lucario added.
"I hope everyone is ready. Zelda's life is at stake! Mario, Kirby, Yoshi and Cynthia! Come!", Meta Knight ordered.
The heroes split themselves as Meta Knight requested...
Team Meta headed to the eastern part of the town, as per the objective. They found Ganondorf's minions as expected, mostly Bokoblins and Moblins.
"Seems that these brutes aren't very bright. This should be easier than I expected.", Meta Knight commented.
"Sure is, but we mustn't lower our guard anyway, their blows pack quite a punch.", Kirby noted.
Cynthia remained in a low profile, commanding her powerful Garchomp, who proved to be quite a challenge for Ganondorf's minions.
Meanwhile, in the western part of the town...
"Ganondorf's minions are quite the brutes, even my hammer can't smack 'em to bits!", King Dedede noted, as his hammer swings proved to be less powerful than expected.
Thanks to Samus's powerful weaponry, Captain Falcon's moves, the combined work of Luigi and King Dedede and Olimar's Pikmin, the western part of the town was safe, or so they thought at first. As they were leaving, a corpse-like monster emerged from the ground and let a deafening scream, scaring the team and rendering them paralyzed. This beast was no less than a mighty ReDead, one of Ganondorf's more powerful minions.
"These screams...", said a frightened King Dedede.
"We must overcome our fears! Falcoon PUUNCH!", retaliated a still energetic Captain Falcon.
But his Falcon Punch barely damaged the monster.
"How did that not work?!", reacted Falcon.
"I have an idea.", Samus said. "I might use my Ice Missiles to freeze it and then we shatter it to bits."
"Good one! I don't think the Pikmin will damage it efficiently.", Olimar agreed.
"Ready your hammer, Dedede. I'll fire and then you strike with your hammer!", Samus requested.
"As you wish!", Dedede responded as he charged his mechanical hammer.
Samus fired the missile, freezing the ReDead solid. Dedede attacked just in time, shattering the ReDead into tiny bits of ice.
"That worked out fine! We must advance to the castle itself!", said Captain Falcon.
Team Greil defended the central area from enemy attacks. As they wielded staffs, Mist and Rhys kept the mercenaries' wounds to a minimum. Using the blessed sword, Ragnell, Ike ensured that no enemy would get out of that place alive.
Thanks to Palutena's Power of Flight and the Halberd itself, it was easy to position Pit and his companions above one of the castle's tower. Despite their objective being attacking enemies from above, they had to change plans as they were ambushed by Peahats.
"Seems that Ganondorf also has flying monsters, eh? But they seem weak anyway.", Pit commented.
"But they are a troublesome bunch! Just keep shooting anyway. They can't last forever.", Dark Pit responded.
On the other side of the tower, the siblings of the Greil Mercenaries discussed their strategy.
"Boyd and Rolf, you still remember our secret technique, yes?", said the older brother, Oscar.
"Yeah, the Triangle Attack. We aim at the same enemy and strike them with more power.", Rolf responded.
"Since we're all using bows, it would be a waste if we don't take advantage of this. So I hope you guys are ready!", responded Boyd.
As they kept shooting the Peahats one after another, when suddenly a shadowy figure appeared before them.
"Uh-oh... what's that thing?", reacted Pit.
"Heh heh ha ha ha!", laughed the shadow.
"It looks like Ganondorf himself!", observed Dark Pit.
"You're right, but fortunately for you, it isn't. That's just Phantom Ganon, a ghost created in his image.", Palutena informed. "Despite this, Phantom Ganon uses quite powerful magic, so watch out!"
Phantom Ganon seemed immune to their arrows and charged a powerful fire ball and shot it at the tower, knocking it down. Pit and Dark Pit quickly grabbed the mercenary brothers and, with Palutena's Power of Flight, the flew to the central square of the town, where the rest of the Greil Mercenaries were.
"What just happened?", Ike asked.
"If it weren't for the angels flight, we'd be dead!", Boyd responded.
"Yes, that was unexpected. We have to change our plans.", Dark Pit added.
Phantom Ganon approached the central square, just at the time Falcon's team arrived.
"Is that Ganondorf himself?!", reacted Falcon.
"Actually, no. It's just a phanton with his image. We tried to attack it, but with no results.", Palutena answered.
"So... how are we going to defeat that thing, Lady Palutena?", questioned Pit.
"I have no idea. Not even my light can weaken it.", Palutena responded.
The conversation was interrupted by Phantom Ganon himself as he shot another spell.
"Blast! We have to find a way to stall this thing!", King Dedede reacted.
"I'll go warn the others!", Captain Falcon prompted.
The eastern part of the town was already liberated from Ganondorf's grasp.
"Meta Knight! Come at the central area of the town!", Falcon asked.
"What's going on?", Meta Knight asked.
"There's no time to talk about it! Our plans were foiled!"
"Damn it! Everyone, come quickly!"
They rushed to the central square, and Meta Knight's army was reunited again, though it wasn't for the best of the reasons.
"No way...", Meta Knight reacted.
"Is that...?", Mario asked.
"Seems to be Phantom Ganon... he may be just a ghostly duplicate of Ganon, but he is very powerful.", Meta Knight noticed.
"The problem is that not even Palutena's power can hold it off!", said Dark Pit.
"This is bad... we need a strategy. Soren?", Ike said.
"I think it would be best if we save Zelda. We must keep avoiding Phantom Ganon's attacks.", responded Soren.
"Hmmm... that might not be bad. Zelda might help us defeating him.", Meta Knight agreed.
Avoiding Phantom Ganon's spells, they rushed to the castle to meet with Zelda herself...Meta Knight and the rest of the heroes arrived to Hyrule at last. Despite Ganondorf's surprise attack on the Halberd, the heroes were ready to face against his forces attacking Hyrule. Blessed with the Triforce of Wisdom, Zelda managed to create a barrier protecting her castle, however, most of the castle town was unprotected and only a few people could find safety inside the castle and the rest of the town was now in ruins. As the beasts attempted to shatter the barrier, Zelda prepared for the worst situation that could come...
"All right everyone, we know our mission: save Zelda. We'll split around the town and attack any of the beasts within. Our success depends on how we fight!", Meta Knigh proudly announced.
"We should try to save as many people as possible without taking unnecessary risks.", Lucario added.
"I have split us into several teams, each with a different purpose. Listen up!"
Meta Knight proceeded to announce the composition of each team which was as follows:
Team Meta: Meta Knight, Mario, Yoshi, Kirby and Cynthia.
Team Bounty: Luigi, King Dedede, Samus, Captain Falcon and Olimar.
Team Icarus: Pit, Dark Pit, Palutena and Oscar, Boyd and Rolf of the Greil Mercenaries.
Team Greil: The remainder of the mercenaries: Ike, Mist, Soren, Titania, Mia, Rhys and Gatrie.
Lucario, Viridi and Peach remained at the Halberd, guarding the ship with the Meta-Knights.
"Is everyone okay with this?", asked Meta Knight, to which everyone agreed.
"Teams Meta and Bounty will attack the eastern and western parts of the town, then advance to the castle itself.", continued Lucario.
"Team Icarus will be our sniping force, attacking enemies from one of the castle's towers. And finally, the Greil Team will act as a distraction force in the central area of the town.", finished Meta Knight.
"I will stay here with Peach and the Forces of Nature, defending the ship. Meta Knight entrusted his Meta-Knight forces to me. We'll only attack if you get outnumbered.", Lucario added.
"I hope everyone is ready. Zelda's life is at stake! Mario, Kirby, Yoshi and Cynthia! Come!", Meta Knight ordered.
The heroes split themselves as Meta Knight requested...
Team Meta headed to the eastern part of the town, as per the objective. They found Ganondorf's minions as expected, mostly Bokoblins and Moblins.
"Seems that these brutes aren't very bright. This should be easier than I expected.", Meta Knight commented.
"Sure is, but we mustn't lower our guard anyway, their blows pack quite a punch.", Kirby noted.
Cynthia remained in a low profile, commanding her powerful Garchomp, who proved to be quite a challenge for Ganondorf's minions.
Meanwhile, in the western part of the town...
"Ganondorf's minions are quite the brutes, even my hammer can't smack 'em to bits!", King Dedede noted, as his hammer swings proved to be less powerful than expected.
Thanks to Samus's powerful weaponry, Captain Falcon's moves, the combined work of Luigi and King Dedede and Olimar's Pikmin, the western part of the town was safe, or so they thought at first. As they were leaving, a corpse-like monster emerged from the ground and let a deafening scream, scaring the team and rendering them paralyzed. This beast was no less than a mighty ReDead, one of Ganondorf's more powerful minions.
"These screams...", said a frightened King Dedede.
"We must overcome our fears! Falcoon PUUNCH!", retaliated a still energetic Captain Falcon.
But his Falcon Punch barely damaged the monster.
"How did that not work?!", reacted Falcon.
"I have an idea.", Samus said. "I might use my Ice Missiles to freeze it and then we shatter it to bits."
"Good one! I don't think the Pikmin will damage it efficiently.", Olimar agreed.
"Ready your hammer, Dedede. I'll fire and then you strike with your hammer!", Samus requested.
"As you wish!", Dedede responded as he charged his mechanical hammer.
Samus fired the missile, freezing the ReDead solid. Dedede attacked just in time, shattering the ReDead into tiny bits of ice.
"That worked out fine! We must advance to the castle itself!", said Captain Falcon.
Team Greil defended the central area from enemy attacks. As they wielded staffs, Mist and Rhys kept the mercenaries' wounds to a minimum. Using the blessed sword, Ragnell, Ike ensured that no enemy would get out of that place alive.
Thanks to Palutena's Power of Flight and the Halberd itself, it was easy to position Pit and his companions above one of the castle's tower. Despite their objective being attacking enemies from above, they had to change plans as they were ambushed by Peahats.
"Seems that Ganondorf also has flying monsters, eh? But they seem weak anyway.", Pit commented.
"But they are a troublesome bunch! Just keep shooting anyway. They can't last forever.", Dark Pit responded.
On the other side of the tower, the siblings of the Greil Mercenaries discussed their strategy.
"Boyd and Rolf, you still remember our secret technique, yes?", said the older brother, Oscar.
"Yeah, the Triangle Attack. We aim at the same enemy and strike them with more power.", Rolf responded.
"Since we're all using bows, it would be a waste if we don't take advantage of this. So I hope you guys are ready!", responded Boyd.
As they kept shooting the Peahats one after another, when suddenly a shadowy figure appeared before them.
"Uh-oh... what's that thing?", reacted Pit.
"Heh heh ha ha ha!", laughed the shadow.
"It looks like Ganondorf himself!", observed Dark Pit.
"You're right, but fortunately for you, it isn't. That's just Phantom Ganon, a ghost created in his image.", Palutena informed. "Despite this, Phantom Ganon uses quite powerful magic, so watch out!"
Phantom Ganon seemed immune to their arrows and charged a powerful fire ball and shot it at the tower, knocking it down. Pit and Dark Pit quickly grabbed the mercenary brothers and, with Palutena's Power of Flight, the flew to the central square of the town, where the rest of the Greil Mercenaries were.
"What just happened?", Ike asked.
"If it weren't for the angels flight, we'd be dead!", Boyd responded.
"Yes, that was unexpected. We have to change our plans.", Dark Pit added.
Phantom Ganon approached the central square, just at the time Falcon's team arrived.
"Is that Ganondorf himself?!", reacted Falcon.
"Actually, no. It's just a phanton with his image. We tried to attack it, but with no results.", Palutena answered.
"So... how are we going to defeat that thing, Lady Palutena?", questioned Pit.
"I have no idea. Not even my light can weaken it.", Palutena responded.
The conversation was interrupted by Phantom Ganon himself as he shot another spell.
"Blast! We have to find a way to stall this thing!", King Dedede reacted.
"I'll go warn the others!", Captain Falcon prompted.
The eastern part of the town was already liberated from Ganondorf's grasp.
"Meta Knight! Come at the central area of the town!", Falcon asked.
"What's going on?", Meta Knight asked.
"There's no time to talk about it! Our plans were foiled!"
"Damn it! Everyone, come quickly!"
They rushed to the central square, and Meta Knight's army was reunited again, though it wasn't for the best of the reasons.
"No way...", Meta Knight reacted.
"Is that...?", Mario asked.
"Seems to be Phantom Ganon... he may be just a ghostly duplicate of Ganon, but he is very powerful.", Meta Knight noticed.
"The problem is that not even Palutena's power can hold it off!", said Dark Pit.
"This is bad... we need a strategy. Soren?", Ike said.
"I think it would be best if we save Zelda. We must keep avoiding Phantom Ganon's attacks.", responded Soren.
"Hmmm... that might not be bad. Zelda might help us defeating him.", Meta Knight agreed.
Avoiding Phantom Ganon's spells, they rushed to the castle to meet with Zelda herself...[/COLLAPSE]
"We must look for the throne room, in the upper part of the castle. Zelda must be there.", stated Meta Knight.
"I have an idea. Braviary could explore the castle first, then we follow him.", suggested Cynthia.
"Good plan.", agreed Meta Knight.
Braviary tracked the quickest path to the throne room, defeating as many enemies as possible. After some minutes, Braviary was back, and the heroes followed him.
"The throne room is just past these doors.", Cynthia observed.
"Yes, this is the highest part of the castle. Zelda must be inside.", said Meta Knight, as he opened the large doors.
Most of the room was covered in rabble. There were signs of fighting and, among the destruction, there were many dead soldiers on the floor. No doubt they had given their lives to protect their princess, yet it was in vain...
"No signs of Zelda, it seems... Anyway, we must keep looking. She must be here or all our efforts were wasted.", Meta Knight observed.
"Meta Knight! Kirby found a door behind the throne!", Captain Falcon announced.
"That's where Zelda may be hiding.", responed Meta Knight.
"Seems locked. We must use force.", noted Mario.
"I got this. Garchomp! Dragon Rush!", Cynthia ordered.
"Garchomp quickly tore apart said door with utmost ease. The door lead to a hiding place, where Zelda was found at last.
"Princess Zelda..."
"Meta Knight?", responded Zelda.
"You seem OK. What exactly happened here? What was that whole lot of corpses back there?", asked Meta Knight.
"Ganondorf himself attacked this castle and killed nearly everyone in the town. There are still beasts wandering around.", Zelda answered.
"We've wiped them out already, however, Ganondorf sent Phantom Ganon to attack us. We've tried to attack him, but we had no luck.", Samus reported.
"Not even Lady Palutena could do anything!", Pit warned.
"Hmm... I'll handle this.", Zelda said as she grabbed her Light Arrows.
"The Light Arrows...", Meta Knight observed.
"Only these and the Master Sword can defeat Ganon himself. However, any other light magic would've worked well.", said Zelda.
"Perhaps it means Ganondorf is more powerful than before?", questioned Palutena.
"It's very likely...", Zelda answered.
With Zelda on their side, Meta Knight and the others quickly returned to the town to deal with Phantom Ganon and finish him off once and for all.
"I will shoot the arrow to stun him, then you deliver the final blow!", Zelda declared.
And so it was as she said. The Light Arrow weakened the ghost and it quickly lost its power, allowing Meta Knight to finish him off.
"Very good. Hyrule is once again safe. But the cost was too great... the town was destroyed... my people and the king himself... they were all killed by Ganondorf. It's my duty to ensure that Ganondorf is defeated once and for all.", Zelda said.
"That's why we need your help. All of these events lead to Ganondorf himself. He's the cause of all this and must be stopped.", noted Meta Knight.
"Then let's see how much you're worth!", suddenly said a voice.
"Who's there?", Meta Knight reacted.
"Hm hm hm... threaten the Master all you want. You'll never stop him. And look who's here... Princess Zelda herself.", the voice responded.
"That voice...", Dark Pit recognized.
"Hm?! Do I hear a traitor?!", the voice revealing to be none other than Ghirahim.
"Lord Ghirahim! One of Ganondorf's top enforcers. Am I right?", Meta Knight responded.
"Yes, that's myself. I feel we're bound to a thread of fate. Bound to battle! Ganondorf's opposition ends now!", declared the Demon Lord.
"Hmph! Leave him to me, Meta Knight! I will punish him for what he's done to me and Peach!", Dark Pit rushed to attack the Demon Lord.
"The black winged angel... first class traitor... so you seek to defeat me? Let's dance then, the two of us... for I'll let none interfere! I'll paint your filthy wings crimson with your own blood!", said the angered Demon Lord as he created a circle barrier.
Ghirahim started by throwing some spikes and Dark Pit, but the angel quickly defended himself.
"Hah! Withstand my beauty!", shouted Ghirahim as he delivered a blow to the angel, knocking him.
Ghirahim and Dark Pit continued to exchange blows, sometimes attacking with ranged attacks. They were evenly matched.
"Hmph. You think I'd serve someone like you... it's laughable, but I swore to destroy you and Nergal, even if that costs my life!", Dark Pit shouted.
"Insolent fool! You were created to serve Pandora, and so you shall do as she wishes. Pawns like you need no free will! Ganondorf's minions are like swine. Better kept... and eaten.", Ghirahim responded.
"Insult me as you like, I won't obey to the likes of you!"
"Wretched idiot... if only you volunteered to kill Meta Knight and the rest of them, you wouldn't be in this place right now."
"I chose that myself and I choose to help Meta Knight and Pit! For the sake of my own freedom, I'll not lose to you this time!"
The duel continued, Ghirahim teleported and proceeded to attack from above. However, Dark Pit managed to avoid the attack and struck Ghirahim with a surprise attack, knocking the Demon Lord down.
"Urrgh... enough of this... I am Ghirahim, Demon Lord! I am the Master's second-in-command! I am not defeated by treacherous cowards! You were able to defeat me this time, but the next time we meet, I won't go easy on you!", swore the Demon Lord.
"Pittoo, are you OK?", asked Pit to his counterpart.
"I'm fine. Ghirahim is a fierce fighter. We'll likely cross paths with him again, I'm sure of it.", Dark Pit answered.
"You've shown quite the fighting prowess, I am impressed. Well... I must admit I'd like to cross swords with him in the next opportunity...", confessed Meta Knight.
"Well now, what's the next plan?", Cynthia asked.
"We shall return to the Halberd... we must hide ourselves and forge a new plan.", Meta Knight answered.[/COLLAPSE]
And that's it for the first story arc, featuring Meta Knight as the main character. The next batch of chapters will feature Team Star Fox and a new conflict in the Lylat System.
Last updated: October 26th, 2012
I appreciate all feedback and criticism, both positive and negative, but remember that this is my first fanfic and that English is not my native language so bear with me.
Now, let's get this started...
Prologue:
Evil Gambit
[COLLAPSE="Prologue"]It has been four years since Tabuu and his Subspace Army was defeated and the World of Trophies was at peace. Since then, the heroes of the battle returned to their homelands and many adventures were unfold. Separated, yet still remembering the bond they felt in working together against a common threat. Former enemies united, yet temporarily, eventually went back to their feuds, as usual.Evil Gambit
In their absence, the World of Trophies was quiet, only R.O.B. and a ressurrected Master Hand habitated the world, preparing for the next Super Smash Bros. event. They were busy, but they knew that such an important event required hard work. With his powers, and hearing R.O.B.'s plea, Master Hand eventually built new R.O.B.s to help the preparation of the fourth Super Smash Bros. event.
At they were renovating the Midair Stadium, Master Hand noticed a strange behavior in the R.O.B.s: they suddenly shaked their whole body and suddenly shut down. Master Hand felt a strange energy in him and wondered: "What could have been this?"[/COLLAPSE]
Chapter 1:
Your Princess is (not) in Another Castle
[COLLAPSE="Chapter 1"]Mario kept following his arch-enemy, Bowser into a treacherous path of rock and magma, with his desire to save Peach once again, he wouldn't stop until Bowser was defeated. Mario kept running until he arrived at a large arena-like room.Your Princess is (not) in Another Castle
"Bwa ha ha! You will never save your precious princess again!", yelled the Koopa King. "You have fallen right into my trap! Bwa ha ha ha ha!"
"We'll see about that!", Mario responded.
Dodging Bowser's fireballs and hammers, Mario noticed a slight crack on the arena's floor, and attempted to lure Bowser into it. Overconfident, Bowser rushed to the plumber and stepped on the crack, activating his very own trap, falling to a pit. While falling, Bowser accidentally threw a key leading to where Peach was imprisoned. Mario grabbed the key and opened a nearby door.
"Mario?", asked the distressed damsel.
"Peach, you're safe! I defeated Bowser and came to save you."
"Thanks Mario, let's return to my castle, I will prepare a nice meal for you.", said the princess happily.
The Toads were waiting for them to return and were once again overjoyed to see their beloved princess return safely home.
Later, at night, Peach, Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and some Toads were feasting at dinner, until Mailtoad arrives with a strange letter addressed to Mario, Peach, Luigi and Yoshi. It read as following:
"Congratulations! You've been invited to the fourth Super Smash Bros. Event!
Don't miss this opportunity, never before seen fights are bound to happen and only one will be crowned as the mighty victor! Come at the Midair Stadium as soon as possible!
I will await you all,
Master Hand"
"Mama mia! It's time for another Super Smash Bros.! Time surely flies!", said Mario in amazement, but then he suspected something about the letter, something was wrong about it, even though he didn't exactly know what.[/COLLAPSE]
Chapter 2:
Heaven Duels
[COLLAPSE="Chapter 2"]"Hmph! We can still win! Get that piece of the Daybreak! NOW!!!", said a Light Warrior, who saw his ally and a Dark Warrior rushing to the piece of the powerful weapon.Heaven Duels
The Light Warrior successfully claimed the remaining part. With the weapon assembled, the Warrior took no hesitation and aimed at his dark opponent.
"Oh snap! Dark Pit... now it's up to you!", said the Dark Warrior as he was replaced by the angel.
Palutena watched the arena in amusement. Ever since Hades was defeated at the hands of her captain, she entretained herself watching Pit's performance in Light vs. Dark fighting rounds.
The Dark Team was losing, but Dark Pit knew that he'd still have chance to defeat his counterpart. The fight went on and the Light Team eventually claimed victory.
After the fight, Palutena came to deliver news to Pit.
"What is it, Lady Palutena?", said the curious angel.
"Here, this seems to be a message... I'll read it.", answered a smiling Palutena.
The strange piece of paper said the following: "Two little angels with the aid of mighty Palutena and lovely Viridi defeated the big bad Lord of the Underworld? Seems that they will do well in the arena. Will you come to the Midair Stadium and show your worth?"
A suspected Palutena commented: "Strange, it has no signature..."
"Well, we'll just go anyway!", said Pit. "What do you think, Pittoo?"
Dark Pit responded with an unimpressed "Maybe", showing complete indifference.
Palutena granted the Power of Flight to the angels and off they went to the World of Trophies...[/COLLAPSE]
Chapter 3:
Meeting Again
[COLLAPSE="Chapter 3"]Also recieving a strange letter, Kirby rode his Warp Star to the Midair Stadium with a feeling that he wasn't alone. Despite this, he was cheerful as ever. Upon landing, he saw Mario, Pit and others, namely Peach, Zelda, Captain Falcon, Dark Pit, Ike, Yoshi, Luigi, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong.Meeting Again
"Hiii!", said the puffball, "Hope I'm not late or something..."
But he seemed the only one on a good mood, though. Besides them, the stadium was eerily empty, no people on the seats and the screen was turned off.
"It's strange, Pit... very strange...", said Mario to the angel.
"What exactly is going on here? Whenever a Super Smash Bros. event starts, this is usually full of people cheering and yet, it's empty. It's kind of creepy.", the angel commented.
"It sure is.", Kirby agreed.
"I believe this might be a trap.", said the observing Dark Pit.
"Hum... Who exactly are you? A newcomer?", asked a confused Kirby.
"Dark Pit. And I guess you could call me that.", answered the dark angel.
"A copy of him? You were invited just like Pit, right?", the pink ball observed.
"Yes, we recieved a letter inviting the both of us.", Pit confirmed.
"Save the introductions for later! We're under attack!", shouted Ike to his companions.
It was what was suspected: a trap. A small horde of R.O.B.s attacked the heroes, however they were easily defeated.
"It seems what most of us suspected, someone wanted to lure us here.", observed Captain Falcon.
"I don't know why, but I feel something terrible coming... a dark force, but it seems... familiar.", whispered Zelda.
"Where's Link, Princess Zelda?", asked Peach.
"I was ordered to go alone here, strangely. I don't know where he is.", answered Zelda.
"It doesn't make sense. Isn't Link supposed to have been invited, too?", questioned Captain Falcon.
"I don't know... wait, something is coming!", Zelda sensed.
"Halt, everyone!"
"Huh? Meta Knight?!", Kirby reacted.
"Leave this place if you value your lives! Kirby, hop aboard my ship, we are returning to Dream Land immediatly!", said the ever enigmatic masked knight.
"Why?", Kirby asked.
"It doesn't matter! This is an order not a request! Everyone, leave this place at once!"
Though Meta Knight didn't explain whatever reasons for leaving the stadium, the others wondered what were Meta Knight's reasons for such behavior. Zelda, upon returning to Hyrule Castle, noticed no trace of Link, who was supposed to wait for her in the castle. Zelda wondered what could've happened to him...[/COLLAPSE]
Chapter 4:
Trapped
[COLLAPSE="Chapter 4"]Back in Skyworld, Palutena wondered whatever was the meaning of such mysteries. Judging by Pit's early return and what her captain just told him, she knew something was about to happen, and whatever it might be, it was the kind of situation not to be taken lightly.Trapped
"Do you think the Underworld could be behind this?", wondered Pit.
"I have no idea, Pit, but it shouldn't be out of possibility.", Palutena responded.
"But how can it be possible? Didn't we defeat Hades not too long ago?", observed Dark Pit.
"You're right, but someone else might be pulling the strings. Whoever lured you into that trap wanted to know of his existance, so we must take caution. And you told me someone demanded you to leave. He might know something."
"Yes, Meta Knight. I've met him before... he's mysterious and it's hard to know his motives.", Pit noted.
"But he seemed trustworthy, anyway. He definitely knows something we don't.", Dark Pit defended.
"Anyway, we must prepare ourselves. Pit, you could help me organize the centurion army.", Palutena asked.
"Right, Lady Palutena!"
"Hmm... I think I might be looking for clues above ground. I may confirm whether or not the Underworld is involved in this.", prompted Dark Pit.
"Yes, it's a good idea.", Palutena agreed.
While Palutena and Pit were busy preparing the army, Dark Pit explored the surface. Everything seemed fine and he found nothing suspicious. As a precaution, Dark Pit brought with him his Silver Bow and kept vigilant on possible threats. Suddenly, a strange human figure appears before him, coming from nowhere.
"What the? Who are you?", asked the dark angel immediatly.
The figure remained in its place silent and immobile. The strange human was cloaked and only his eyes could be seen: they were golden and the little of visible skin could be described as pale, as if no blood ever circulated in that body.
Dark Pit, unwilling to waste time with that figure, turned his back on him, however, it was the worst mistake he could have made, the figure rushed to him and stabbed him with a sharp knife. Unable to move, the dark angel was in excruciating pain.
"Very good... he will serve very well for our plans! Heh heh heh...", evilly said a mysterious sorcerer donning long dark robes, light blue hair and a turban covering part of his face and walking toward the agonized angel, who had already fallen unconscious.
A few hours later, Dark Pit woke up in a dungeon, imprisioned in a tight prison cell. Wounded on his backside and no longer had his weapon, he was powerless to do anything. But he overheard a conversation.
"Very good, very good...", said a deep voice, "I knew I could count on you."
"It's my pleasure to serve you, Master.", said another voice, whom Dark Pit recognized as the sorcerer, "My morphs surely are quite useful, aren't they? They can perform tasks as efficiently as any human like me, except that they will never betray their master."
"It's genious. With powerful minions such as these, our plans will succeed.", said the deep voice, "You have shown much enthusiasm and a strong will to cooperate. I will reward your efforts once we our goals are accomplished... Nergal."
"I will not fail you ever, Master.", Nergal answered.
In pain, Dark Pit whispered to himself, "Nergal...", before collapsing again.[/COLLAPSE]
Chapter 5:
Bowser's Revenge
[COLLAPSE="Chapter 5"]Inside his castle, Bowser plotted his next attempt at kidnapping Princess Peach and take over the Mushroom Kingdom for himself. He was sitting on his throne, thinking on the best plan possible, when his advisor Kamek suddenly arrived.Bowser's Revenge
"What is it, Kamek? You have something to tell me?", Bowser asked.
"Well, my king, you seem to have a visitor.", responded the Magikoopa.
"Let him in.", the Koopa King demanded.
His visitor was none other than Nergal himself, with two of his bodyguard morphs, Ephidel and Limstella.
"You must be King Bowser.", said the Dark Druid.
"The one and only. Who are you and what brings you to my castle?", asked Bowser.
"It's a simple request actually. My Master has ordered me to recruit members to his order. He knows your desire to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom and is willing to help you achieve that goal.", Nergal answered.
"Hmm... who is that master you talk about?", the Koopa King wondered.
"I'm sure you know him already...", Nergal responded.
"Wait... you mean your master is...", Bowser quickly realized who was the one behind Nergal. "Very well, I will join his cause."
"Good, all you need to do for now is to take Peach to us. This is important.", Nergal ordered before leaving.
"Looks like our plans stay the same for now, my king.", Kamek stated.
"But we must hurry, then. Ready the airships!", ordered Bowser.
Mario, Luigi and Yoshi went to Yoshi's Island to get more Yoshis to help them search for any clues about the recent events, and so only Peach and her Toad retainers remained in Peach's Castle.
Peach was sitting in her throne, when Toadsworth quickly arrived to her room warning that Bowser had launched an attack against the castle. The Toads and Peach attempted to defend the castle by themselves, however, they were no match for Bowser's army, and Peach was once again kidnapped by the Koopa King.
Back in Bowser's Castle, Peach was locked in the dungeon and Bowser awaited orders from Nergal.
"Bwa ha ha! Peach is back into our hands and Mario was nowhere to be seen! We were quite lucky this time.", the Koopa King maniacally said.
"You did quite a good job, King of the Koopas.", suddenly said a man.
"Lord Nergal!", roared Bowser.
"Now, we shall take the princess to the Master's castle, where we already have a prisoner.", said the Dark Druid. "And you have the honor of going with me."
"Fine, if the princess is a tool in the Master's plan, then I'll be going.", stated Bowser.
"Limstella, my dear, please carry the princess with utmost careful.", Nergal ordered.
"As you wish, my Lord Nergal.", the morph responded.
"And what am I supposed to do now?", asked Bowser.
"Simple, actually. You will remain in your castle and await further orders, is that clear?", responded the Dark Druid.
"Fine."
Nergal's morphs carried an unconscious Peach across a portal opened by the Dark Druid himself and proceeded to lock Peach in another cell.
"Once again, you prove to be quite capable... such competence must be rewarded, indeed..."
"What is then my reward, Master?", the Dark Druid reacted.
"You get to turn one of the prisioners at your choice into a powerful minion of yours... do you have any objections?"
"Of course not, Master.", Nergal evilly responded.[/COLLAPSE]
Chapter 6:
Evil Incarnate
[COLLAPSE="Chapter 6"]The centurion army was assembled again and ordered to go to human towns on guard duty. But something was amiss: Dark Pit hasn't returned, thus Pit couldn't stop thinking on what could have happened to his twin and went to explore the surface as well.Evil Incarnate
"Lady Palutena?", called the angel.
"Yes, Pit?", Palutena responded.
"Would you mind sending a few centurions here? This is getting a little tedious. And I haven't found any clue of Pittoo's whereabouts."
"Very well.", the goddess agreed.
With the help of centurions, the search would be easier. They spent some time into searching for the dark angel until one centurion approached Pit with news.
"What?! Are you serious? Lady Palutena, please grant me flight.", asked Pit.
"All right, Pit, here you go!"
Pit followed the centurion and arrived to a more desolated area and he found near a tree, a very important clue: a Silver Bow.
"This is Pittoo's bow... could this mean... No!", Pit observed.
"This once again confirms what we thought, there's something evil coming. It's likely that Pittoo was kidnapped for some reason.", observed Palutena.
Mario, Luigi and some Yoshis returned to Peach's Castle after a long search for anything suspicious. Returning to the Mushroom Kingdom, a Toad retainer quickly informed them of Peach's kidnapping.
"What?! Not again!", Mario reacted.
"Please you must help the princess!", the Toad begged.
Before even entering the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario quickly went to Bowser's Castle, but he noticed something strange: he found no resistance from the Koopa forces, instead letting him into Bowser's Castle. Navigating through the maze-like castle halls and avoiding the treacherous paths of lava, Mario found his nemesis once again, sitting in his throne with the Koopalings, Bowser Jr. and his advisor Kamek.
"Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha! It seems that your precious princess is in another castle, Mario!", Bowser mockingly greeted Mario.
"What do you mean with that?", responded Mario.
"Search the castle as you like! You'll never find your princess here! She belongs to the Master now! Bwa ha ha ha ha!"
Despite Bowser's words, Mario explored the purposely unguarded castle, only to confirm what the Koopa King told him by finding no trace of Princess Peach. Mario eventually returned to the Mushroom Kingdom, pondering the next step to do.
Meanwhile in the dungeon, the dark angel woke up again, but thanks to the angels' quicker healing, he no longer felt the pain from the stabbing. Looking around, he could barely see a thing, save for a few faint lights from the dim torches. Observing carefully, he saw someone whom he met at the stadium in the cell right besides his.
"Pit? Is... that you?", wondered Peach, who was still dizzy.
"No, I'm not Pit. I'm Dark Pit. You're Princess Peach, right?"
"Yes... humm... where exactly are we? It's so dark..."
"Wish I knew. How did you end up here?"
"Bowser kidnapped me. Once he took me to his castle I saw a dark wizard, who launched a spell at me and put me to sleep. I remember... he had two bodyguards, they were pale and had golden eyes..."
"Doesn't seem different from me... I saw one of these as well who stabbed me and the next moment I awoke, I was here."
"Heh heh heh... so you've finally woken up, my pretties...", said a familiar voice to both.
"You must be Nergal!", Dark Pit reacted.
"How did you know my name, fool? Hah, doesn't matter! Ephidel, open the angel's cell!", Nergal ordered.
"As you wish.", responded Ephidel.
Ephidel and another morph quickly carried the angel to another room.
"You'll wait here patiently. Attempt to escape, and you're dead.", threatened Ephidel, the same man who stabbed the angel.
Dark Pit tried to look around, but it was too dark in that room to see anything. He overheard some steps approaching.
"Who's there?", asked Dark Pit.
None answered, but heard the door open, and a flame was lit in the room.
"So, it is you whom the Master wants, I can sense a powerful being inside that flesh.", said a mysterious humanoid.
"Who are you?!"
"You're quite the rebellious servant, but I will put you in your place. But allow me to introduce myself... I am a powerful Demon Lord. My name is Ghirahim, but I like to be addressed by Lord Ghirahim, but I'm not picky on such trivialties.", said the white skinned humanoid.
Dark Pit remained silent.
"You're not one to talk much. You won't need to, after all. The Master demanded that I take your soul and life force from you, hope you don't mind."
"What?!"
"Lord Nergal is very... enthusiastic about this little... experiment. So, let the ritual begin!", porclaimed the Demon Lord, who was clearly enjoying himself. "Unfortunately for you, you're chained by my magic and have to chance to escape."
The Demon Lord quickly started to dance and chanting while performing a spell on Dark Pit. The angel was feeling terrible pain, much to Ghirahim's pleasure. This took a few minutes, and after the strange ritual, Dark Pit's body was nothing more than empty husk, it breathed and the heart beat, but had no longer a will of his own.
"Now Lord Nergal, show me your art!", enthusiatically yelled Ghirahim.
"Heh heh heh... This powerful quintessence can be used to make a body bound to my magic... My dear Limstella, help me out, will you?", the Dark Druid said.
"Look at this beauty! I'm sure Pandora will be overjoyed with this!", Ghirahim stated.
Nergal continued his malevolent spell on the dark angel. And the body became pale and the once red eyes turned gold. He successfully turned Dark Pit in one of his morphs.
"That's it, now he will be... very loyal to us, as intended by the Goddess of Calamity and our Master.", declared the Dark Druid.
"You have done an excellent job. I can't justly reward you this time, Nergal.", said once again the deep voice that Dark Pit once heard before.
"I have no need for more rewards, Master. It's our collective reward that matters once our plans are fulfilled.", said the Dark Druid. "Once we've gone through this, everyone in the multiverse will kneel before you... Ganondorf, the King of Evil."
Ganondorf laughed maniacally, but suddenly stopped. He had to ponder what was the next step on his plan.[/COLLAPSE]
Chapter 7:
Monkey Peril
[COLLAPSE="Chapter 7"]Returning at DK Island from the stadium, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong arrived just in time to see their bananas stolen by a Kremling, quickly going after him.Monkey Peril
"Donkey, do you think that the K. Rool could be attacking us again?", questioned Diddy.
"I have no idea, I just think it's just some troublemaker, nothing more.", comforted DK.
And wrong he was, upon arriving to the banana stack, they found no trace of the Kremling and suddenly, two quick arrows striked the Kongs instantly knocking them unconscious.
"Ha ha ha ha ha... Lord Ganondorf will be pleased by having the Kongs in his side!", said Nergal with enthusiasm. "Dark Pit here proved to be a quite valuable... acquisition."
With the body being under Nergal's control, the dark angel's soul was trapped in a jar and stored in a room full of other such jars, without a body to live in, he was in constant pain, much like the other of Ganondorf's victims.
"But Lord Nergal, our job isn't done yet. We must find Mr. Game & Watch and Zelda as the Master demanded. Once we get in the possession of these two, we will gain tremendous power.", Ghirahim remembered.
"Of course, we will not fail our Master ever! With Shadow Bugs at our control and once our Master gets possession of the Triforce of Wisdom, we will witness history!"
"Indeed... and Peach, she possesses a soul so pure, it will be shameful if we don't use its power to its full potential. The Wind Mage Vaati has already started a ritual to extract her soul.", the Demon Lord noted.
They took the bodies of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong and returned to Ganon's Castle.
"Our recruitment is going quite well...", Ganondorf stated with a smile.
"It is my pleasure to serve you, Master.", Ghirahim expressed.
"Lord Ganondorf, it seems that me and our Wizzrobe forces have successfully extracted Peach's soul.", reported Vaati.
"Make sure it is well guarded. We'll need it for later.", the Dark Lord answered. "Pandora!"
"What is it, Master?", responded the Goddess of Calamity.
"Your task is to invade the Superflat World and take Mr. Game & Watch as prisoner! And don't forget, I want him alive!"
"Very well.", responded Pandora.
"I'll take care of Zelda myself!", declared Ganondorf. "Nergal, Ghirahim and Vaati, each of you will guard the castle along with your minions and await further orders."
"What about me?", questioned Bowser.
"You... try to contact Ridley and the Space Pirates. Make sure they come to the castle with Metroid specimens!"
With Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong out of their way, King K. Rool and the Kremlings made a surprise attack on the Kongs' domain. Dixie Kong and the other Kongs struggled against them and, as a trick, feigned retreat, causing the Kongs to lower their guard and be ambushed by seemingly Kremling-allied Tiki Goons and by a Kremling pirate ship as well, resulting in their defeat, leaving DK Island at the Kremlings and Tikis' mercy.
"They fallen right into our trap. The Master will be pleased with these news as well...", muttered evilly the Kremling King.[/COLLAPSE]
Chapter 8:
Preparing to Battle
[COLLAPSE="Chapter 8"]While Ganondorf and his minions already attacked and started to force others to serve them, Dream Land was still untouched by the conflict. While Mario and Pit have failed to find any clues related to these events, Meta Knight and his old ally Lucario had already an idea of what was coming and so, invited King Dedede, Kirby, Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Palutena and Pit into his ship and base of operations: the Halberd.Preparing to Battle
"I owe you all an explanation as you might be thinking right now... that is precisely what brings us here to my battleship and the answer is simple, actually.", Meta Knight started. "War is coming, and this conflict is going to be much bigger than the Subspace invasion from before."
"Bigger than the Subspace?", wondered King Dedede.
"Yes. As far as I know, this invasion is being led by none other than Ganondorf himself."
"And among those allied to his cause stand Bowser, the Underworld Army and the Kremlings.", Lucario continued.
"They seek total dominion over the World of Trophies and our homeworlds as well. If we don't act quickly, we may have no chance.", Meta Knight warned.
"Uh, do you have any idea of what might've happened to Pittoo?", Pit asked. "I've been feeling a strange surge inside my body a few days after his kidnapping."
"Dark Pit was kidnapped too?", asked Kirby.
"Yes, along with Peach and more recently Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong.", Meta Knight answered.
"What do you think they may be doing to them?", asked Mario.
"I have absolutely no idea. But, if my spies are right, Ganon has also enlisted a powerful sorcerer named Nergal has been performing strange magics on the kidnapped victims, involving soul manipulation.", ominously told Meta Knight.
"What?! Soul manipulation?! How do you know that?!", said Palutena in shock.
"Yes. I have a... double agent... working for them that confirms me such. And I warn the both of you, Mario and Pit. The next time you meet Peach and Dark Pit, they won't be themselves and will likely attack you... mercilessly."
"Then I will gladly join your cause!", said a familiar voice to Pit and Palutena.
"Viridi?", Pit and Palutena reacted.
"Yes, it's me. So, these fools have been manipulating souls. It's horrible and disgusting! My Forces of Nature will gladly help in this cause."
"Even with such an army, we're still no match for them.", warned Meta Knight.
"Exactly, with only the Mario Bros., some Yoshis, Palutena's Army, the Forces of Nature and the forces of Dream Land to help us, we have no chance against Ganondorf's hordes.", agreed Lucario.
"So we must recruit powerful warriors. We'll start by finding those who fought with us against Tabuu."[/COLLAPSE]
Chapter 9:
Recruitment
[COLLAPSE="Chapter 9"]In Ganon's Castle, Mewtwo closely observed Ganondorf's actions. Pretenting to be a member of his legion, it currently watches over the prison. The cover had to be protected at all costs, as such, if it was ordered to help in the dark rituals, it had no choice but to help, even if such actions went against its convictions.Recruitment
"It makes me wonder why would someone as powerful as you would be only tasked to guard the prison.", stated Ghirahim. "Makes me think that the Master doesn't fully trust you."
"It's quite simple, actually, Lord Ghirahim.", Mewtwo answered. "Lord Ganondorf wants no fugitives and thanks to my Psychic abilities, I can guard this prison efficiently. By the way, you shouldn't question our Master's superiority and you know well my loyalty to him."
"Whatever... anyway, once Zelda gets in our hands, we will extract her soul and the Triforce of Wisdom which will grant more power to the Master."
"Like Peach's, Zelda's soul is pure, this is what the Master wants: pure and powerful souls."
"Exactly, once we have a good supply of souls, the Master can proceed with the plan."
"Whatever the Master is planning, it's our duty to obey him."
"Indeed, it's my joy to be of service to him."
Meta Knight overheard this conversation on his head, thanks to Mewtwo's telepathic abilities. He took the Halberd to a continent named Tellius, where he found Ike and his mercenaries.
"So, I've known that you were part of a mercenary band since we've met in the war against the Subspace Army, four years ago."
"And you plan to hire us for what?", questioned Ike.
"Let's say, I am building myself an army. Oh, and your continent's fate depends on how I succeed in this task... so what it will be? I am willing to pay... a lot."
"Fine, it's settled."
"Good, get aboard my ship."
Meta Knight went to the ship's control room and set course to the World of Trophies, while on the way, he was told telepathically by Mewtwo that Mr. Game & Watch was imprisoned in Ganon's Castle. Before Mewtwo said anything else, he knew exactly why Ganondorf wanted Mr. Game & Watch: an endless supply of Shadow Bugs to help him expand his already big legion.[/COLLAPSE]
Chapter 10:
Duel
[COLLAPSE="Chapter 10"]Ganondorf mercilessly invaded Hyrule and razed the Castle Town. Focused on his goal, he believed that anyone in his path was just another obstacle to be taken down. The Hylian Castle Guard was no match for the Evil King and in a few minutes, what once were the majestic halls of the castle, now were nothing more than a path of rubble and corpses.Duel
Arriving at the throne room, the Gerudo King faced Zelda in combat.
"So, we meet again, princess...", stated Ganondorf in a deep voice.
"You have made a big mistake in coming here, Ganondorf.", Zelda confidently warned.
"Pathetic. You face against the true holder of the power of the gods, and yet you seek to prevail? This is quite amusing... Let's see how will you fare against me!", answered Ganondorf, launching a powerful spell, easily blocked by Zelda.
"You underestimate me. I hope you didn't forget that I also possess the power of the gods.", Zelda responded with a powerful light spell.
Both continued to launch spells at one another, and the fight was already taking a long time, when Ganondorf finally unseathed his sword.
"I was going easy on you. But now, you're mine!", yelled a furious Ganondorf.
But Zelda didn't go easy on the Evil King either. Armed with the powerful Light Arrows, Zelda managed to hold her own and eventually incapacitated her enemy, who teleported back to his castle.
"Zelda... you might have won this time, but I won't go easy on you next time!"
"You seem worried, Master."
"Ah... Nergal. What brings you here?"
"Pandora successfully brought Mr. Game & Watch. Should we proceed with the plan?"
"Yes, start extracting Shadow Bugs. The more, the better. Don't forget that."
"Of course, Master."
"Hm... we may need a few Subspace Dark Cannons, as well... fortunately, we still have one that could be used as a reference to make new ones.", muttered Ganondorf to himself. "Yes, that will do, we will start to swiftly turn everyone who opposes us into allies... Heh heh ha ha ha ha ha!!"
"Ganondorf."
"Ah... Bowser. You must have some news."
"It seems that Ridley and the Space Pirates have begun another operation to hunt Samus Aran.", reported the Koopa King. "Once I communicated about your plan, they expressed desire to join forces with you."
"Good. Ridley could handle our outer space missions with ease. We must keep working from the shadows, only when we get enough power, we start invading."
"You said that souls are a good source of power, perhaps we could continue to do this?"
"Yes, but now I must focus on getting my hands on Zelda. She has the Triforce of Wisdom and I need it to outlast Link... once I get the three Triforce parts, the rest is easy."[/COLLAPSE]
Chapter 11:
Attack of the Morphs
[COLLAPSE="Chapter 11"]While Meta Knight was busy exploring the many worlds to find both old and new allies, Mario, Pit, Kirby and Yoshi explored the World of Trophies and fought some of Ganondorf's forces along their path.Attack of the Morphs
"Ugh, not even during the Subspace invasion we found so many enemies.", Pit noted.
"Ganondorf must have been preparing this in the shadows, he already has a devastating force.", Kirby noticed.
"Maybe that's why Meta Knight asked us to explore this world, he wants us to try to reduce the enemy forces.", Mario concluded.
They kept advancing into some ruins, these were familiar to them.
"This is where Meta Knight, Marth and Ike fought against Galleom.", remembered Kirby.
"What could be the purpose of these ruins? I always wondered that.", questioned Pit.
They kept dodging the many traps and dangers that awaited them in the ruins. Even there, Ganondorf's forces were abundant.
"Ganondorf's forces guard this place as well, could this be one of his bases?", Yoshi wondered.
"I don't know, but an abandoned place like this is the perfect place for a hideout.", Mario answered.
They arrived to a room with a large dome above. There waited a shadowy figure.
"You have come far enough.", said the shadowy figure, whose voice echoed in the room.
"What the...?", Pit reacted.
"Your curiosity will be the end of you... heh heh heh...", said the man who turned to the heroes.
"Light blue hair, dark robes...", muttered Kirby. "It's Nergal!"
"So, you know who I am, eh? Saves time for introductions! Come, my morphs, show them Ganondorf's will!"
The heroes fought the seemingly endless hordes of Nergal's morphs. After a long battle, Nergal was by himself.
"You did quite well... I must congratulate you. It's time for me to show you what happens when you dare to oppose us!", Nergal commented. "Come! Peach and Dark Pit! Show them the meaning of loyalty! Ha ha ha ha ha!"
"It can't be!", Mario reacted as Mario saw his princess being nothing but a puppet.
"Impressed, aren't you? Perhaps you may consider in joining us and I may restore your precious friends to normal, what do you say, hmm? Which will you choose? Submission... or death?!"
"I'll make you pay for what you've done!", yelled Pit as he rushed to strike the Dark Druid.
"Hah! How naive! Die already!"
Peach and Dark Pit started to attack the heroes. Much like the other morphs, their former allies had golden eyes and pale skin, indicating the presence of Nergal's magic. It was useless attempting to communicate with them, they remained silent and wouldn't stop until defeated.
"Just how much longer must we survive?", asked a tired Kirby.
"I have no idea! It seems that Nergal's magic is keeping them in shape.", Mario answered.
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! If you destroy those bodies, they'll become unsuited for someone still alive! Would you like to have your friends suffer a fate worse than death?", mocked Nergal.
Nergal began summoning even more morphs and when all hope seemed lost, a giant dragon-like creature emerged from the ground, hitting Nergal hard.
"You fools dare to oppose me! Arrgh, I shall... have my... vengeance!", swore the Dark Druid before teleporting away.
Without Nergal's magic controlling them, the morphs began to wear out of energy, collapsing and vanishing. Peach and Dark Pit were saved, yet they didn't move nor react, but their bodies were alive anyway.
"What just happened? What was that dragon?", asked a more relieved Pit.
"It was me.", said a feminine voice.
A woman approached the heroes, she was dressed in black and had long blond hair.
"I am Cynthia, a Pokémon Trainer.", introduced herself.
"Oh, so that was a Pokémon!", realized Pit.
"Yes, it's my Garchomp. She's my strongest Pokémon and a very trusted partner."
"Why are you here exactly?", Kirby asked.
"For the same reasons as you. My homeland of Sinnoh was invaded by foul beasts. If it weren't for our Pokémon, our land would have been conquered.", Cynthia explained.
"Nergal got away, but at least we saved Peach and Dark Pit.", Mario stated.
"They're not completely safe yet. Their bodies are soulless.", noted Pit.
"So, Nergal extracted their souls to use the bodies as puppets.", Cynthia concluded. "We must carry them out of this place. Braviary and Togekiss! Carry these bodies!"
The Pokémon obeyed and took the bodies and the heroes back to the surface.
"We must look for the Halberd, we must let Meta Knight know what happened.", said Kirby.
While they waited for Meta Knight, in Ganon's Castle...
"What?! We lost Peach and Dark Pit's bodies?! You incompetent fool!", yelled an angry Ganondorf.
"But, Master...", replied Nergal.
"I want no excuses! You have failed me! At least we still have their souls. You'd better recover those bodies, you hear me?! Losing powerful tools like these certainly isn't part of the plan. Now go."
"Yes, I'll do as you wish."[/COLLAPSE]
Chapter 12:
Foiled Plans
[COLLAPSE="Chapter 12"]Samus recieved a distress signal seemingly sent by the ever powerful Master Hand. She knew exactly where was the wormhole leading to the World of Trophies. Just as she entered the wormhole, her ship was attacked by Space Pirates. She had to avoid taking much damage, thus she fired a missile on the Space Pirate ship.Foiled Plans
The pirates resisted the attack and shoot a powerful laser at Samus's ship.
"Damn!", yelled Samus, as the ship took considerable damage.
Samus eventually retaliated with a super missile and the pirates retreated.
Arriving at a rebuilt Island of the Ancients in the World of Trophies, she was met with the remnants of the R.O.B. army, lead by R.O.B., the Ancient Minister himself. Among them, were Captains Falcon and Olimar, as well.
"Are you serious?", Samus questioned R.O.B.
"COULDN'T BE MORE. MASTER HAND HAS BEEN DEFEATED BY GANONDORF, BUT WE MANAGED TO HOLD HIM BACK. SOME R.O.B.S, HOWEVER, SUCCUMBED TO GANONDORF'S CONTROL.", said the robot in typical robotic voice.
"If Master Hand was easily defeated, it means Ganondorf is currently more powerful than Tabuu was.", concluded Captain Falcon.
"WE ASKED META KNIGHT TO REUINTE OUR FORCES FROM THE PREVIOUS CONFLICT AND GATHER NEW ALLIES."
"If Meta Knight is in this too, we might want to find his ship.", said Olimar.
"Obviously. Come on! We must unite with Meta Knight. Fortunately, we have easy ways of transport.", stated Falcon.
"WE WILL STAY HERE AND GUARD THIS PLACE. PLEASE BE SAFE.", R.O.B. bid his farewells.
The bounty hunters and Olimar each possessed their own ship, which could be used for their advantage in distracting possible enemies. Even so, the Space Pirates continued to follow them while also keeping a low profile.
"I've spotted the Halberd!", observed Falcon.
"Got it.", answered Olimar.
They landed near Meta Knight's ship and met with the rest of the heroes.
"Good, seems that R.O.B. did quite a good job.", complimented Meta Knight. "Now, we've got to go to a safe place."
"Not so fast!"
"Ridley?!", Samus reacted.
"Well, well... how are you, ladies and gentlemen?", mocked Ridley. "Your vaunted heroic quest is over!"
"I'll take care of him! FALCON PUNCH!", attacked Captain Falcon.
"Ugh! You fool! Take this!", Ridley charged at Falcon, who dodged the attack swiftly.
"Go Garchomp!", Cynthia called her Garchomp to aid Falcon.
Garchomp proved to be a good match against Ridley, the two were locked in fierce combat.
"Garchomp is doing her best to stall our enemy, Meta Knight! Prepare the Combo Cannon!", requested Cynthia.
"Good plan. The cannon takes a while to fire, but packs quite a punch.", responded Meta Knight.
Garchomp and Ridley were evenly matched and the fighting was fierce.
"Garchomp, Dragon Claw!", ordered Cynthia.
Garchomp attacked Ridley on his chest, knocking him off.
"How's this?!", yelled Ridley as he unleashed a massive fireball into Garchomp, severly damaging her, despite her natural resistance to fire.
"Garchomp, return! Now, Spiritomb! Hypnosis!", Cynthia ordered.
Spiritomb's attack was successful in buying time for the cannon to charge. As Ridley was waking up, he noticed his impending doom in the form of a powerful laser.
"Whoa! That was a close one!", said a relieved Pit.
After Ridley's defeat, everyone settled inside the Halberd, discussing future plans. Via telepathy, Lucario and Mewtwo kept their secret communication.
"Mewtwo, do you think you can retrieve what Meta Knight wants?", asked Lucario.
"Yes, that place may be heavily guarded, but I can manipulate them using my powers. I just have to keep a low profile.", responded Mewtwo.
"Good, we need these soul jars, but your cover must be kept at all costs."
"I am aware of that."
Mewtwo was easily unnoticed by Ganondorf's minions. Navigating through the maze-like soul jar storage, Mewtwo eventually found the two jars he needed, but it had to go unnoticed, if Ganondorf discovered this, Meta Knight's main source of information would be gone, so focus was extremely important. Mewtwo stumbled across a Moblin, who thought of Mewtwo as an enemy.
"Enemy of Ganon must be killed!", yelled the beast.
"Halt!", ordered Mewtwo, but the Moblin didn't listen.
Using his teleport ability, Mewtwo managed to dodge the Moblin's attack.
"Now, now... you should know that I am not the enemy you're looking for.", said Mewtwo as it used its psychic abilities to bend the Moblin to its will.
After dealing with the Moblin, Mewtwo continued its search, eventually finding two jars: one labeled "Princess Peach" and the other labeled "Dark Pit".
"I got them. I'll use my Teleport ability and you'll retrieve them quickly. Don't mention my name ever."
"Got it.", affirmed Lucario as it recieved both Peach's and Dark Pit's jars.
Leading to the control room, where Meta Knight was, Lucario reported the event.
"Very well, Lucario. It seems that everything is going according to our objectives.", congratulated Meta Knight.
"I'll go get the bodies."
"Now, we open these jars and..."
"It's working. I can feel the souls' auras entering their respective bodies."
Suddenly, the bodies started to move, as if awakened from a long sleep.
"Unnh... where am I? ...Meta Knight? Is that you?", Peach asked.
"Yes, you're both safe from Ganondorf's grasp."
"Ugh... that fool... Nergal... I swear I'll crush him!", vowed Dark Pit.
"You seem to be awake as well, angel. Good, I'll call the others.", Meta Knight stated.
Back into Ganon's Castle, the Evil King recieved news that Ridley was defeated.
"Damn it! Are you sure about that, Koopa King?!", yelled Ganondorf.
"Yes, it seems that Ridley was no match for Meta Knight's Combo Cannon. His body is completely burned, but he's still alive.", Bowser replied.
"Hmph, I do hope that the Space Pirates keep him alive! He shall feel my wrath for his failure!"
"Lord Ganondorf!"
"What do you want, Vaati?"
"We have bad news, it seems that there are two soul jars missing from our storage!", replied the sorcerer.
"This is madness! Are you telling me that we might have a traitor among us?!", the Evil King reacted with even more anger.
"Seems so. But we have no idea of who might be.", stated Bowser.
"They came far enough, we will attack the Halberd now. That Meta Knight fool should know the price of standing in my way. Vaati, send Fawful to take care of them."
"It shall be done, Master.", answered Vaati.[/COLLAPSE]
Chapter 13:
Battle Reunion
[COLLAPSE="Chapter 13"]With Peach and Dark Pit back, Meta Knight wasted no time in reunite everyone for a meeting.Battle Reunion
"You can thank my double agent for returning Peach and Dark Pit back to us.", Meta Knight started.
"So, what's the next plan?", questioned Ike.
"Hyrule was attacked by Ganondorf himself, but Zelda managed to hold him back. Now it's our turn to help them. Link and Zelda's abilities will sure help us to defeat the Evil King himself.", continued Lucario.
"I want the Greil Mercenaries to act as a decoy force, by retreating and attacking repeatedly.", Meta Knight proceeded.
"Not a bad idea. As we've seen, those beasts aren't very bright, so simple strategies will do it flawlessly.", agreed Soren, the strategist of the mercenaries.
"Glad to see we're in agreement. Good.", complimented Meta Knight. "Now, we have archers in our team, which combined with the Hylian Guard and the centurions will prove a dangerous threat to our enemies."
"Pah... as if working with filthy sub-humans was bad enough...", muttered Shinon.
"Watch your clever tongue, foolish human!", yelled Dark Pit.
"Silence! The both of you! Or do you want to be kicked out of my ship?!", ordered Meta Knight. "If we don't succeed at this, it will be the end of the world as we know it!"
"Our success depends on our performance. Ganondorf has almost god-like power and is ambitious enough to want even more.", Lucario warned.
"Hmph, as I expected, none here seem to have the brightest head too, cowering in their fears. I don't know how did you even convince Ike to help with this nonsense.", grumbled a seemingly drunk Shinon as he left the ship, tripping as he walked erratically.
"Where have we seen this scenario before?", asked Soren sarcastically.
"What a complete jerk...", stated an angered Dark Pit.
"I think some things just can't be helped...", observed Titania, deputy commander of the Greil Mercenaries.
"I'll not even try to get him back to our group, it was his decision to leave... and I'm sure he'll be back to us, anyway.", stated Ike.
"Fair enough.", replied Meta Knight. "His departure doesn't make much of a difference in our strategy. Once we take over Hyrule Castle, any with projectile weapons will stay on the walls to shoot down incoming enemy troops. That's simple enough, right?"
"Very good, I'll prepare the Greil Mercenaries for our attack.", confirmed Ike.
"Angels, you'll stay with Oscar, Boyd and Rolf and shoot whatever enemies who attempt to enter the castle. Call the centurions after securing the castle.", ordered Meta Knight.
"Okay.", affirmed Pit.
"Fine, I'll do whatever needed.", affirmed Dark Pit.
"Cynthia, your Pokémon possess useful abilities. Use them as you see fit."
"You can count on me.", responded the trainer.
"Lucario, you'll lead the Meta-Knights and protect the ship from enemy attacks. Is that clear?"
"Yes."
"The rest of you will come and fight alongside me. I hope everyone is ready for tomorrow's battle."[/COLLAPSE]
Chapter 14:
With Fury
[COLLAPSE="Chapter 14"]The next day...With Fury
"Attention! The ship is under attack!", warned a Meta-Knight.
"What is going on?!", Meta Knight reacted.
"Seems that Ganondorf sent some Koopa and Underworld troops against us!"
"All right, we must defend the ship at all costs!"
"Soren, what's the best plan?", Ike asked to the strategist.
"It's better not to leave the ship. The ship's corridors are narrow, thus we can take those enemies one by one."
"I agree with him. Leaving the ship is a death trap.", agreed Titania.
"Very well.", Ike responded.
Mario and Kirby were busy fighting as well, by using the shells from defeated Koopas as weapons, they had an advantage against their enemies. In the ship's control room, Meta Knight was busy preparing the Combo Cannon.
"Is the Combo Cannon ready yet?", Lucario asked Meta Knight.
"It's still charging."
"Sir, we've spotted an enemy commander! He's heading into the ship's engine room! The angels are busy fighting there!", reported another Meta-Knight.
"Blast! I hope they don't get outnumbered! Anyway, keep charging the cannon.", Meta Knight ordered.
In ship's engine room, Pit noticed the presence of Underworld troops.
"Underworld troops?!"
"Seems that Ganondorf has been seeking for help there.", responded Palutena.
"These guys are tougher than before! Ganondorf surely is playing to win.", commented Pit. "But wait, if we defeated Hades and Medusa, who could be leading these Underworld monsters?"
"I know the answer.", Dark Pit responded. "Pandora has allied herself with Ganondorf."
"She's still alive, eh? It doesn't matter, we will defeat her like before.", Pit stated.
"But we never know, she might be stronger than before.", Palutena warned.
Suddenly, the angels notice a strange figure: it was green, small, had big glasses and was floating on a strange contraption.
"Enemies of Ganon will fear your doom!!", stated the little creature.
"Who's this guy?", wondered Pit.
"You fink-rat! I am the great Fawful! I serve doom to all of fools like you!", Fawful declared. "And this battle will be two fried chicken! I beat the winged fink-rats with powerful power of DOOM!!"
After moping the enemies in their room, Mario and Kirby quickly went to the angels' side.
"You fink-rat of red! Red is the color of my fury! So seeing red again makes my mind explode with rage!"
"Do you know this guy, Mario?", Kirby asked.
"Yes, and... he's dangerous."
The four engaged Fawful in battle and Fawful responded with a fire beam from his mech, which was shaped like him, with the head serving as the cockpit.
"I cook you like meat so fresh it will be enjoyed to eat!"
Mario retaliated with a Fireball, destroying the cockpit's glass. Kirby attempted to inhale him, without success.
"Pink fink-rat, you fool! I will not be dinner of you! I am feasting on you later night!"
Pit and Dark Pit kept shooting arrows at him, but Fawful seemed to resist.
"Your stings are futile against I, winged fink-rats! You are tasteless fools as a chicken who is raw!"
"This guy is starting to get on my nerves...", stated Dark Pit.
"Your nerves boil and cook you from inside!", Fawful responded.
"We need more drastic measures, guys.", Kirby said.
"What do you mean?", Pit asked.
"It's Hammer Time!", Kirby grabbed his hammer.
"Lady Palutena, do you have two hammers?", Pit asked.
"Well yes, here you go!", replied Palutena, summoning two hammers in the floor.
Pit jumped and threw one hammer at Fawful, knocking him out of his mech.
"I have fury!", Fawful yelled.
Mario charged a Fireball and shoot it against Fawful, who was barely holding on.
"I'll finish him!", Dark Pit yelled as he jumped and struck him with the other hammer.
"Ow! I not forget this!", Fawful yelled as he retreated.
Fawful might have been defeated, but there were still enemies aboard, Captain Falcon and Luigi struggled to finish the remaining enemies. And another powerful foe invaded the ship: Goomboss.
"How dare you oppose the Master? I am Goomboss, Goomba King, the great Goomba, the grand poo-bah Goomba! And you are insects to be crushed in Bowser's name!"
"Yeah, whatever you are, you don't seem very bright to me... Come on!", taunted Captain Falcon.
"You insult me! YOU ARE DEAD!!! GAH!!"
Captain Falcon jumped on his head, causing significant damage. Goomboss attempted to retaliate by stomping him, but Falcon dodged thanks to his speed.
"You can't even keep up with me! Take this! Falcooon PUNCH!!"
Goomboss took a lot of damage and fell to the ground, defeated.
"Is this the best Ganondorf could send?", mocked Captain Falcon.
With the enemies inside the ship defeated, the rest were easily defeated, thanks to the Combo Cannon's attack.
"Whew... that was pretty close.", sighed Luigi.
"Ganondorf must have sent these forces desperately. They were not very coordinated and had pathetic commanders.", concluded Soren.
"Anyway, we must prepare our next move.", Meta Knight remembered.
"Zelda is powerful, so she can hold on a little longer.", Captain Falcon commented.
"Yes, but she won't last forever, we must attack as soon as possible.", Meta Knight warned as he prepared the ship for departure.[/COLLAPSE]
Chapter 15:
Storming the Castle Town
[COLLAPSE="Chapter 15"]Meta Knight and the rest of the heroes arrived to Hyrule at last. Despite Ganondorf's surprise attack on the Halberd, the heroes were ready to face against his forces attacking Hyrule. Blessed with the Triforce of Wisdom, Zelda managed to create a barrier protecting her castle, however, most of the castle town was unprotected and only a few people could find safety inside the castle and the rest of the town was now in ruins. As the beasts attempted to shatter the barrier, Zelda prepared for the worst situation that could come...Storming the Castle Town
"All right everyone, we know our mission: save Zelda. We'll split around the town and attack any of the beasts within. Our success depends on how we fight!", Meta Knigh proudly announced.
"We should try to save as many people as possible without taking unnecessary risks.", Lucario added.
"I have split us into several teams, each with a different purpose. Listen up!"
Meta Knight proceeded to announce the composition of each team which was as follows:
Team Meta: Meta Knight, Mario, Yoshi, Kirby and Cynthia.
Team Bounty: Luigi, King Dedede, Samus, Captain Falcon and Olimar.
Team Icarus: Pit, Dark Pit, Palutena and Oscar, Boyd and Rolf of the Greil Mercenaries.
Team Greil: The remainder of the mercenaries: Ike, Mist, Soren, Titania, Mia, Rhys and Gatrie.
Lucario, Viridi and Peach remained at the Halberd, guarding the ship with the Meta-Knights.
"Is everyone okay with this?", asked Meta Knight, to which everyone agreed.
"Teams Meta and Bounty will attack the eastern and western parts of the town, then advance to the castle itself.", continued Lucario.
"Team Icarus will be our sniping force, attacking enemies from one of the castle's towers. And finally, the Greil Team will act as a distraction force in the central area of the town.", finished Meta Knight.
"I will stay here with Peach and the Forces of Nature, defending the ship. Meta Knight entrusted his Meta-Knight forces to me. We'll only attack if you get outnumbered.", Lucario added.
"I hope everyone is ready. Zelda's life is at stake! Mario, Kirby, Yoshi and Cynthia! Come!", Meta Knight ordered.
The heroes split themselves as Meta Knight requested...
Team Meta headed to the eastern part of the town, as per the objective. They found Ganondorf's minions as expected, mostly Bokoblins and Moblins.
"Seems that these brutes aren't very bright. This should be easier than I expected.", Meta Knight commented.
"Sure is, but we mustn't lower our guard anyway, their blows pack quite a punch.", Kirby noted.
Cynthia remained in a low profile, commanding her powerful Garchomp, who proved to be quite a challenge for Ganondorf's minions.
Meanwhile, in the western part of the town...
"Ganondorf's minions are quite the brutes, even my hammer can't smack 'em to bits!", King Dedede noted, as his hammer swings proved to be less powerful than expected.
Thanks to Samus's powerful weaponry, Captain Falcon's moves, the combined work of Luigi and King Dedede and Olimar's Pikmin, the western part of the town was safe, or so they thought at first. As they were leaving, a corpse-like monster emerged from the ground and let a deafening scream, scaring the team and rendering them paralyzed. This beast was no less than a mighty ReDead, one of Ganondorf's more powerful minions.
"These screams...", said a frightened King Dedede.
"We must overcome our fears! Falcoon PUUNCH!", retaliated a still energetic Captain Falcon.
But his Falcon Punch barely damaged the monster.
"How did that not work?!", reacted Falcon.
"I have an idea.", Samus said. "I might use my Ice Missiles to freeze it and then we shatter it to bits."
"Good one! I don't think the Pikmin will damage it efficiently.", Olimar agreed.
"Ready your hammer, Dedede. I'll fire and then you strike with your hammer!", Samus requested.
"As you wish!", Dedede responded as he charged his mechanical hammer.
Samus fired the missile, freezing the ReDead solid. Dedede attacked just in time, shattering the ReDead into tiny bits of ice.
"That worked out fine! We must advance to the castle itself!", said Captain Falcon.
Team Greil defended the central area from enemy attacks. As they wielded staffs, Mist and Rhys kept the mercenaries' wounds to a minimum. Using the blessed sword, Ragnell, Ike ensured that no enemy would get out of that place alive.
Thanks to Palutena's Power of Flight and the Halberd itself, it was easy to position Pit and his companions above one of the castle's tower. Despite their objective being attacking enemies from above, they had to change plans as they were ambushed by Peahats.
"Seems that Ganondorf also has flying monsters, eh? But they seem weak anyway.", Pit commented.
"But they are a troublesome bunch! Just keep shooting anyway. They can't last forever.", Dark Pit responded.
On the other side of the tower, the siblings of the Greil Mercenaries discussed their strategy.
"Boyd and Rolf, you still remember our secret technique, yes?", said the older brother, Oscar.
"Yeah, the Triangle Attack. We aim at the same enemy and strike them with more power.", Rolf responded.
"Since we're all using bows, it would be a waste if we don't take advantage of this. So I hope you guys are ready!", responded Boyd.
As they kept shooting the Peahats one after another, when suddenly a shadowy figure appeared before them.
"Uh-oh... what's that thing?", reacted Pit.
"Heh heh ha ha ha!", laughed the shadow.
"It looks like Ganondorf himself!", observed Dark Pit.
"You're right, but fortunately for you, it isn't. That's just Phantom Ganon, a ghost created in his image.", Palutena informed. "Despite this, Phantom Ganon uses quite powerful magic, so watch out!"
Phantom Ganon seemed immune to their arrows and charged a powerful fire ball and shot it at the tower, knocking it down. Pit and Dark Pit quickly grabbed the mercenary brothers and, with Palutena's Power of Flight, the flew to the central square of the town, where the rest of the Greil Mercenaries were.
"What just happened?", Ike asked.
"If it weren't for the angels flight, we'd be dead!", Boyd responded.
"Yes, that was unexpected. We have to change our plans.", Dark Pit added.
Phantom Ganon approached the central square, just at the time Falcon's team arrived.
"Is that Ganondorf himself?!", reacted Falcon.
"Actually, no. It's just a phanton with his image. We tried to attack it, but with no results.", Palutena answered.
"So... how are we going to defeat that thing, Lady Palutena?", questioned Pit.
"I have no idea. Not even my light can weaken it.", Palutena responded.
The conversation was interrupted by Phantom Ganon himself as he shot another spell.
"Blast! We have to find a way to stall this thing!", King Dedede reacted.
"I'll go warn the others!", Captain Falcon prompted.
The eastern part of the town was already liberated from Ganondorf's grasp.
"Meta Knight! Come at the central area of the town!", Falcon asked.
"What's going on?", Meta Knight asked.
"There's no time to talk about it! Our plans were foiled!"
"Damn it! Everyone, come quickly!"
They rushed to the central square, and Meta Knight's army was reunited again, though it wasn't for the best of the reasons.
"No way...", Meta Knight reacted.
"Is that...?", Mario asked.
"Seems to be Phantom Ganon... he may be just a ghostly duplicate of Ganon, but he is very powerful.", Meta Knight noticed.
"The problem is that not even Palutena's power can hold it off!", said Dark Pit.
"This is bad... we need a strategy. Soren?", Ike said.
"I think it would be best if we save Zelda. We must keep avoiding Phantom Ganon's attacks.", responded Soren.
"Hmmm... that might not be bad. Zelda might help us defeating him.", Meta Knight agreed.
Avoiding Phantom Ganon's spells, they rushed to the castle to meet with Zelda herself...Meta Knight and the rest of the heroes arrived to Hyrule at last. Despite Ganondorf's surprise attack on the Halberd, the heroes were ready to face against his forces attacking Hyrule. Blessed with the Triforce of Wisdom, Zelda managed to create a barrier protecting her castle, however, most of the castle town was unprotected and only a few people could find safety inside the castle and the rest of the town was now in ruins. As the beasts attempted to shatter the barrier, Zelda prepared for the worst situation that could come...
"All right everyone, we know our mission: save Zelda. We'll split around the town and attack any of the beasts within. Our success depends on how we fight!", Meta Knigh proudly announced.
"We should try to save as many people as possible without taking unnecessary risks.", Lucario added.
"I have split us into several teams, each with a different purpose. Listen up!"
Meta Knight proceeded to announce the composition of each team which was as follows:
Team Meta: Meta Knight, Mario, Yoshi, Kirby and Cynthia.
Team Bounty: Luigi, King Dedede, Samus, Captain Falcon and Olimar.
Team Icarus: Pit, Dark Pit, Palutena and Oscar, Boyd and Rolf of the Greil Mercenaries.
Team Greil: The remainder of the mercenaries: Ike, Mist, Soren, Titania, Mia, Rhys and Gatrie.
Lucario, Viridi and Peach remained at the Halberd, guarding the ship with the Meta-Knights.
"Is everyone okay with this?", asked Meta Knight, to which everyone agreed.
"Teams Meta and Bounty will attack the eastern and western parts of the town, then advance to the castle itself.", continued Lucario.
"Team Icarus will be our sniping force, attacking enemies from one of the castle's towers. And finally, the Greil Team will act as a distraction force in the central area of the town.", finished Meta Knight.
"I will stay here with Peach and the Forces of Nature, defending the ship. Meta Knight entrusted his Meta-Knight forces to me. We'll only attack if you get outnumbered.", Lucario added.
"I hope everyone is ready. Zelda's life is at stake! Mario, Kirby, Yoshi and Cynthia! Come!", Meta Knight ordered.
The heroes split themselves as Meta Knight requested...
Team Meta headed to the eastern part of the town, as per the objective. They found Ganondorf's minions as expected, mostly Bokoblins and Moblins.
"Seems that these brutes aren't very bright. This should be easier than I expected.", Meta Knight commented.
"Sure is, but we mustn't lower our guard anyway, their blows pack quite a punch.", Kirby noted.
Cynthia remained in a low profile, commanding her powerful Garchomp, who proved to be quite a challenge for Ganondorf's minions.
Meanwhile, in the western part of the town...
"Ganondorf's minions are quite the brutes, even my hammer can't smack 'em to bits!", King Dedede noted, as his hammer swings proved to be less powerful than expected.
Thanks to Samus's powerful weaponry, Captain Falcon's moves, the combined work of Luigi and King Dedede and Olimar's Pikmin, the western part of the town was safe, or so they thought at first. As they were leaving, a corpse-like monster emerged from the ground and let a deafening scream, scaring the team and rendering them paralyzed. This beast was no less than a mighty ReDead, one of Ganondorf's more powerful minions.
"These screams...", said a frightened King Dedede.
"We must overcome our fears! Falcoon PUUNCH!", retaliated a still energetic Captain Falcon.
But his Falcon Punch barely damaged the monster.
"How did that not work?!", reacted Falcon.
"I have an idea.", Samus said. "I might use my Ice Missiles to freeze it and then we shatter it to bits."
"Good one! I don't think the Pikmin will damage it efficiently.", Olimar agreed.
"Ready your hammer, Dedede. I'll fire and then you strike with your hammer!", Samus requested.
"As you wish!", Dedede responded as he charged his mechanical hammer.
Samus fired the missile, freezing the ReDead solid. Dedede attacked just in time, shattering the ReDead into tiny bits of ice.
"That worked out fine! We must advance to the castle itself!", said Captain Falcon.
Team Greil defended the central area from enemy attacks. As they wielded staffs, Mist and Rhys kept the mercenaries' wounds to a minimum. Using the blessed sword, Ragnell, Ike ensured that no enemy would get out of that place alive.
Thanks to Palutena's Power of Flight and the Halberd itself, it was easy to position Pit and his companions above one of the castle's tower. Despite their objective being attacking enemies from above, they had to change plans as they were ambushed by Peahats.
"Seems that Ganondorf also has flying monsters, eh? But they seem weak anyway.", Pit commented.
"But they are a troublesome bunch! Just keep shooting anyway. They can't last forever.", Dark Pit responded.
On the other side of the tower, the siblings of the Greil Mercenaries discussed their strategy.
"Boyd and Rolf, you still remember our secret technique, yes?", said the older brother, Oscar.
"Yeah, the Triangle Attack. We aim at the same enemy and strike them with more power.", Rolf responded.
"Since we're all using bows, it would be a waste if we don't take advantage of this. So I hope you guys are ready!", responded Boyd.
As they kept shooting the Peahats one after another, when suddenly a shadowy figure appeared before them.
"Uh-oh... what's that thing?", reacted Pit.
"Heh heh ha ha ha!", laughed the shadow.
"It looks like Ganondorf himself!", observed Dark Pit.
"You're right, but fortunately for you, it isn't. That's just Phantom Ganon, a ghost created in his image.", Palutena informed. "Despite this, Phantom Ganon uses quite powerful magic, so watch out!"
Phantom Ganon seemed immune to their arrows and charged a powerful fire ball and shot it at the tower, knocking it down. Pit and Dark Pit quickly grabbed the mercenary brothers and, with Palutena's Power of Flight, the flew to the central square of the town, where the rest of the Greil Mercenaries were.
"What just happened?", Ike asked.
"If it weren't for the angels flight, we'd be dead!", Boyd responded.
"Yes, that was unexpected. We have to change our plans.", Dark Pit added.
Phantom Ganon approached the central square, just at the time Falcon's team arrived.
"Is that Ganondorf himself?!", reacted Falcon.
"Actually, no. It's just a phanton with his image. We tried to attack it, but with no results.", Palutena answered.
"So... how are we going to defeat that thing, Lady Palutena?", questioned Pit.
"I have no idea. Not even my light can weaken it.", Palutena responded.
The conversation was interrupted by Phantom Ganon himself as he shot another spell.
"Blast! We have to find a way to stall this thing!", King Dedede reacted.
"I'll go warn the others!", Captain Falcon prompted.
The eastern part of the town was already liberated from Ganondorf's grasp.
"Meta Knight! Come at the central area of the town!", Falcon asked.
"What's going on?", Meta Knight asked.
"There's no time to talk about it! Our plans were foiled!"
"Damn it! Everyone, come quickly!"
They rushed to the central square, and Meta Knight's army was reunited again, though it wasn't for the best of the reasons.
"No way...", Meta Knight reacted.
"Is that...?", Mario asked.
"Seems to be Phantom Ganon... he may be just a ghostly duplicate of Ganon, but he is very powerful.", Meta Knight noticed.
"The problem is that not even Palutena's power can hold it off!", said Dark Pit.
"This is bad... we need a strategy. Soren?", Ike said.
"I think it would be best if we save Zelda. We must keep avoiding Phantom Ganon's attacks.", responded Soren.
"Hmmm... that might not be bad. Zelda might help us defeating him.", Meta Knight agreed.
Avoiding Phantom Ganon's spells, they rushed to the castle to meet with Zelda herself...[/COLLAPSE]
Chapter 16:
The Demon Lord's Retribution
[COLLAPSE="Chapter 16"]As the heroes entered Hyrule Castle, Phantom Ganon lost sight of them, leading him to continue his occupation in the town. Palutena's divine power proved insufficent against Phantom Ganon, who seemed nearly invincible: another proof of Ganondorf's rising power.The Demon Lord's Retribution
"We must look for the throne room, in the upper part of the castle. Zelda must be there.", stated Meta Knight.
"I have an idea. Braviary could explore the castle first, then we follow him.", suggested Cynthia.
"Good plan.", agreed Meta Knight.
Braviary tracked the quickest path to the throne room, defeating as many enemies as possible. After some minutes, Braviary was back, and the heroes followed him.
"The throne room is just past these doors.", Cynthia observed.
"Yes, this is the highest part of the castle. Zelda must be inside.", said Meta Knight, as he opened the large doors.
Most of the room was covered in rabble. There were signs of fighting and, among the destruction, there were many dead soldiers on the floor. No doubt they had given their lives to protect their princess, yet it was in vain...
"No signs of Zelda, it seems... Anyway, we must keep looking. She must be here or all our efforts were wasted.", Meta Knight observed.
"Meta Knight! Kirby found a door behind the throne!", Captain Falcon announced.
"That's where Zelda may be hiding.", responed Meta Knight.
"Seems locked. We must use force.", noted Mario.
"I got this. Garchomp! Dragon Rush!", Cynthia ordered.
"Garchomp quickly tore apart said door with utmost ease. The door lead to a hiding place, where Zelda was found at last.
"Princess Zelda..."
"Meta Knight?", responded Zelda.
"You seem OK. What exactly happened here? What was that whole lot of corpses back there?", asked Meta Knight.
"Ganondorf himself attacked this castle and killed nearly everyone in the town. There are still beasts wandering around.", Zelda answered.
"We've wiped them out already, however, Ganondorf sent Phantom Ganon to attack us. We've tried to attack him, but we had no luck.", Samus reported.
"Not even Lady Palutena could do anything!", Pit warned.
"Hmm... I'll handle this.", Zelda said as she grabbed her Light Arrows.
"The Light Arrows...", Meta Knight observed.
"Only these and the Master Sword can defeat Ganon himself. However, any other light magic would've worked well.", said Zelda.
"Perhaps it means Ganondorf is more powerful than before?", questioned Palutena.
"It's very likely...", Zelda answered.
With Zelda on their side, Meta Knight and the others quickly returned to the town to deal with Phantom Ganon and finish him off once and for all.
"I will shoot the arrow to stun him, then you deliver the final blow!", Zelda declared.
And so it was as she said. The Light Arrow weakened the ghost and it quickly lost its power, allowing Meta Knight to finish him off.
"Very good. Hyrule is once again safe. But the cost was too great... the town was destroyed... my people and the king himself... they were all killed by Ganondorf. It's my duty to ensure that Ganondorf is defeated once and for all.", Zelda said.
"That's why we need your help. All of these events lead to Ganondorf himself. He's the cause of all this and must be stopped.", noted Meta Knight.
"Then let's see how much you're worth!", suddenly said a voice.
"Who's there?", Meta Knight reacted.
"Hm hm hm... threaten the Master all you want. You'll never stop him. And look who's here... Princess Zelda herself.", the voice responded.
"That voice...", Dark Pit recognized.
"Hm?! Do I hear a traitor?!", the voice revealing to be none other than Ghirahim.
"Lord Ghirahim! One of Ganondorf's top enforcers. Am I right?", Meta Knight responded.
"Yes, that's myself. I feel we're bound to a thread of fate. Bound to battle! Ganondorf's opposition ends now!", declared the Demon Lord.
"Hmph! Leave him to me, Meta Knight! I will punish him for what he's done to me and Peach!", Dark Pit rushed to attack the Demon Lord.
"The black winged angel... first class traitor... so you seek to defeat me? Let's dance then, the two of us... for I'll let none interfere! I'll paint your filthy wings crimson with your own blood!", said the angered Demon Lord as he created a circle barrier.
Ghirahim started by throwing some spikes and Dark Pit, but the angel quickly defended himself.
"Hah! Withstand my beauty!", shouted Ghirahim as he delivered a blow to the angel, knocking him.
Ghirahim and Dark Pit continued to exchange blows, sometimes attacking with ranged attacks. They were evenly matched.
"Hmph. You think I'd serve someone like you... it's laughable, but I swore to destroy you and Nergal, even if that costs my life!", Dark Pit shouted.
"Insolent fool! You were created to serve Pandora, and so you shall do as she wishes. Pawns like you need no free will! Ganondorf's minions are like swine. Better kept... and eaten.", Ghirahim responded.
"Insult me as you like, I won't obey to the likes of you!"
"Wretched idiot... if only you volunteered to kill Meta Knight and the rest of them, you wouldn't be in this place right now."
"I chose that myself and I choose to help Meta Knight and Pit! For the sake of my own freedom, I'll not lose to you this time!"
The duel continued, Ghirahim teleported and proceeded to attack from above. However, Dark Pit managed to avoid the attack and struck Ghirahim with a surprise attack, knocking the Demon Lord down.
"Urrgh... enough of this... I am Ghirahim, Demon Lord! I am the Master's second-in-command! I am not defeated by treacherous cowards! You were able to defeat me this time, but the next time we meet, I won't go easy on you!", swore the Demon Lord.
"Pittoo, are you OK?", asked Pit to his counterpart.
"I'm fine. Ghirahim is a fierce fighter. We'll likely cross paths with him again, I'm sure of it.", Dark Pit answered.
"You've shown quite the fighting prowess, I am impressed. Well... I must admit I'd like to cross swords with him in the next opportunity...", confessed Meta Knight.
"Well now, what's the next plan?", Cynthia asked.
"We shall return to the Halberd... we must hide ourselves and forge a new plan.", Meta Knight answered.[/COLLAPSE]
And that's it for the first story arc, featuring Meta Knight as the main character. The next batch of chapters will feature Team Star Fox and a new conflict in the Lylat System.
Last updated: October 26th, 2012
