Wrath of the Underworld

[The Melee Master]

The struggle between Nintendo’s heroes and villains had long passed, with the victory belonging to the heroes. Along with them, Samus and Samantha had reunited, as with Peach and her group. Lucas and Claus were reunited after so long, and Roy, who had been absent from Smash to pursue other opportunities, had also decided to stick around a while longer, though his official decision to rejoin Smash has yet to be decided. Unfortunately, with victories and heartfelt reunions comes a sacrifice. Though the new part of Hyrule has been restored from the cursed Dark World, half of the Eldin Bridge remains in the deep waters of Lake Hylia, where a hero is said to have lost his life in the hands of the King of Evil, Ganondorf. All but two Smashers are unaware of the hero’s fate.

Little did everyone know, outside the world of Nintendo, another battle was taking place at the same time the battle of evil was going on in their own world.

***

"Regulus, catch!" a woman dressed in armor shouted. A sword had been thrown and a prince managed to catch it by its hilt rather than its blade; a lucky move on Regulus's part.

Regulus was a young prince of the land called Rowan. He had been sent by one of his advisers to deal with a dragon that's been terrorizing his home. Along with him, was a warrior named Allina, from a land named Anastis, also sent to destroy the creature. Though both warriors were from different homelands, their families were allies and all shared the same goals. When one was in danger, the other had their backs.

A dragon charged in and swiped its claws at the prince, making him block with the weapon. A struggle ensured, and both tried to push each other back, until the dragon was slashed by the woman, letting Regulus attack now that he got the chance. The dragon's arm was cut, making it roar out, and grabbed the armored woman, throwing her across the ground.

"Allina!" Regulus shouted with concern.

"I'm all right!" she replied, standing up shakily.

The dragon spat fire onto the ground as it roared out with a deep voice, "Is that all you humans are capable of?"

Regulus spat on the ground as well and said, "I've battled many monsters like you back in my homeland, so I'm pretty confident I can take you on."

"Then allow me to show you what overconfidence can do to you in this kind of situation.” The dragon charged with all it’s might, swiping it’s claws at the prince, making him lose his footing. As he fell straight on his back, the dragon then pinned his arms down to the ground, growling at him as he inched his muzzle to his face.

“As I said,” growled the beast, then rose it’s head and breathed out fire onto the prince, making him scream out.



The dragon was then struck from behind, leaving a nasty wound on it’s wing, thanks to the prince’s partner. Regulus was then able to make his escape, standing back up and taking in a breath, before charging at the dragon, preparing to hack into it’s side.

Unfortunately, the dragon was quicker, striking it’s tail at Regulus very hard. He slid across the ground, gasping for breath as the wind was knocked right out of him. The scaly beast stomped it’s way toward the swordsman, stepping down on his armor-plated chest.

“It’s over,” it said, looming over the swordsman, and preparing the final blow, fire leaking from its mouth.

“I don’t think so!” shouted Allina, jumping in front of the creature and letting out a magic attack, making it roar out in pain.




The dragon itself was even angrier than before, spouting flames from both its mouth and tail, and its eyes becoming pure white. A booming roar sent Allina to her knees with her hands over her sensitive elfish ears.

“Over here, scale bag!” shouted the prince, shaking off the roar himself.

The dragon turned, and received a nasty cut over it’s eye. The tip of Regulus’s sword was coated with blood as the wound on the dragon also dripped with the same substance. Now the dragon finally lost it, its body bursting with flames, and made a direct charge at the prince.

The attack hit home, sending Regulus flying and smashing into the ground. As the prince struggled to keep conscious, he noticed Allina fighting off the dragon to protect him. The last thing he saw, before his world went dark, was a massive burst of magic that concealed his own vision.

***

"Regulus!" a voice entered his head, "Regulus, wake up."

Slowly regaining consciousness, Regulus forced himself to slowly open his eyes. After his vision cleared, he saw his fighting partner, Allina, kneeled by his side, her face filled with concern.

"Are you all right?" she asked in a gentle tone.

"My head hurts a little, but I’ll be fine," he groaned, sitting up and looking around, "where'd that retched lizard go?"

"I tried to fend it off as long as I could, but it later disappeared into some kind of portal that came out of nowhere.”

That news astonished the prince, “So that’s what the light was.”

Allina nodded, standing up and helping Regulus back on his feet, and the female warrior said, "I have a feeling he's not through yet, though. If he really...did escape, then...we...we need to go warn Her Majesty about all this."

Regulus clinched his fists, sword in hand, and spat, "I outta give my advisers a piece of my mind for sending me without informing me of the situation first-hand.”

“Princess Irene was the one who told your advisers to go after the dragon,” said Allina, “don’t you remember? The ones who went before you fell, one by one, until you and a select few were left. You didn’t have a choice but to go in the dead ones’ stead.”

Nothing was said, implying that he really did forget. Allina walked ahead, then turned around.

"And if I heard right, prince,” the emphases on the word implied that Allina was making fun of Regulus now, “you volunteered to protect Princess Irene, and fight off any threats that come her way. I only came to your rescue because SHE ordered me to, not of my own free will. Regulus, stop complaining and finish the job.”



The swordsman sighed to that, "Even I get mad sometimes, Allina."

"Well, save your anger for when we battle that dragon again. It was after Her Majesty, and we’ve yet to know why. There's no doubt that giant lizard can sniff her out, so we need to go warn her, right away.”

Allina took off, but Regulus remained, pondering why he took up such a job in the first place. It couldn’t be because he was born of royal blood, and carry on ‘tradition’, was it? And just what made Irene so special? He then followed after Allina without further questioning.

***

Of course, warning her would come too late, as the princess was already fending off threats of her own. The lands were nothing but a battleground; a wasteland of destruction. A brown/blond haired woman was running down the path as she tried to escape her pursuer, but she was caught anyway.

"Hmm, no wonder our lord is after you," he said as he held a firm grip of her arm, "you’re pretty and feisty."

"Release me at once!" she said, not even attempting to put up a struggle, "Honestly, is this how you really treat a woman, let alone a princess??"



"Hostile or not, I'm under very strict orders by my lord to capture you, and that's exactly what I'm going to do. Why he wants you, I'm not sure, but regardless, I never disobey an order!"

“I said unhand me!” she spoke, a spark of magic flowing through her hand, zapping her opponent and letting her go. That’s when the princess made her escape.

After he regained his senses, he looked over his shoulder to see the other monsters who had been tailing the creature. He shouted over to them, “After her! Don’t let the princess out of your sight!!”



They complied, and charged without a second thought.

As delicate as she looked, the red-dressed princess was a fighter, gifted with powers that could save, maim, or kill a person, whatever fit the situation she gets herself into. Right now, her choice was to flee, knowing that her enemies wouldn’t attempt to harm her, if they wanted to capture her to give to their lord.

“I won’t let them take me, regardless of what they will or won’t do!” she thought as she continued running.

She looked behind her to see her pursuers giving chase. The princess wasn’t fast on her feet, but at least she could still think clearly, and quickly. An orb of fire was crafted with one hand, and, like a baseball, she threw it at the evil group. All were set ablaze from the attack, and were blinded at the same time, giving the princess time to escape.

“That should slow them down,” she thought as she continued running, failing to see an ox-like creature right in front of her path. It slammed down in front of her and rammed it’s head, striking the princess and sending her to the ground. The creature’s horn had cut into her cheek, but other than that, she was all right. She quickly stood herself up, using her powers to stop the bull and throw it away from her. It came back, charging, and struck her with it’s hoof this time.

The princess let out a cry of pain as she was sent to the ground. With her too stunned to move, and the human-like beast advancing toward her, all she could do was shut her eyes.

“Stop!” a voice called out.

Regulus and Allina both charged after the beast, the prince’s sword cutting into it’s hide and Allina’s fireball burning it. A painful but loud moan escaped the beast’s throat, but was then silenced as Regulus sunk his blade deep into it. Once he took it back, it toppled over, dead, and bleeding out on the ground. The prince rose his sword with victory.



Irene didn’t comment on the rather gruesome attack. It wasn’t like her attacks were any better when she uses them.

“That’s that!” said the prince, storing his sword away.

Allina turned to Irene, “Are you all right, princess?” she got a good look at her, “You’re hurt,” she reached out to Irene’s face, but the princess slowly backed off.

“It’ll heal, but thanks for your concern.”



“I wonder why those monsters were after you,” questioned Regulus, looking down at the beast’s body, “is it because you’re of royalty?”

“That’s not a very specific reason, if you ask me,” said Allina.

“Well usually, when people come after a royal member, it’s to overthrow them of their position, and take it for themselves. I know because it’s happened to me, plenty of times.”

“I don’t believe that’s what Diablo was after, really.” The masked warrior turned her head away, crossing her arms, “He doesn’t seem like the...royal type.”

The prince and warrior had a common enemy. A demon from the fiery pits of the underworld had been terrorizing everything and everyone in hope to gain control of the world. Each of their home villages were caught in the crossfire, having their homes nearly destroyed.

Irene had heard such news from a friend, and she was praying that her kingdom, and her people, wouldn’t suffer the same fate, but nothing would be accomplished if she didn’t do anything to help out. Instead of being waited on hand and foot like most royal members, she would rather make use of her powers and further protect her home and the residents.

Irene and Regulus, though royalty from the same lands, are in no relation of any kind, family or otherwise.

“I don’t care what Diablo is after and why,” said Regulus, “but if he holds the power to destroy our homes, then that’s enough for me to try and stop him.”

“Don’t get so c0cky,” said Allina, “we have no idea what the demon is capable of just yet.”

“Thank you both,” said Irene, “I am sorry for being hasty, but I still worry about the well-being of my residence. Would you mind if we head there now?”

“What were you doing all the way out here, anyway?” asked Regulus to the princess, “I’m aware of your powers, and I’m aware that you can take care of yourself, but you were almost captured.”

“I’m sorry, but I was looking for you two.”

“Princess-“

“Please, let me be of assistance.”

“Might as well, m'lady!” said the prince.

"I suppose," she answered.

"Thank you," the princess said with a bow. Both women walked ahead, with Regulus following along.

((The title is temporary...maybe, and it's been a while since I've written a proper story, so I have to get back in the groove, so to speak. I'm sorry if this seems...boring, cliche, yada yada, but I've had this idea in my head for months, and like I said, I got to get back into things here! Oh, and Irene's texture is purely MY creation!))

[ganondorf2]

Nice! I like the looks too.

[The Melee Master]

Thank you!

Chapter 2

With the princess of Rowan tagging along with them, her, Regulus, and Allina, made their way to a chapel for cover. Unfortunately, they were unaware that an ambush was waiting for them, as two monsters leaped out in front of them.

“Well well, who do we have here?” one of them asked.

“Ah, so you must be the fair maiden our lord is after,” said the other.



“And you would be...?” asked Allina.

“Our identities are best kept secret,” one said, “now hand over the princess!”

“Get behind me, your majesty!” said Regulus, stepping in front of Irene, who wasn’t amused by this at all.



“Excuse me,” she said, stepping out from behind the prince and crafting a fireball between her hands. She throws it at one of the monsters, who took the hit and was sent flying.

“Don’t you ever treat me like a maiden in distress,” she said calmly but firmly, turning to Regulus.

Regulus blinked, “...My apologize.”

Allina focused her attention on the two, throwing magic after magic, and hitting them with every blow. That only made them angry, however. Irene crafted another fireball and threw it at one of the demons.



The attack strikes it, but it managed to shake it off as quickly as it came. Both leaped at Regulus and began slashing their swords onto the prince, but Allina and Irene both threw their magic attacks at the two, sending them flying. Thanks to Regulus’ thick wardrobe, he didn’t suffer any scratches to his body. His vision began to waiver, which caused him to rub his eyes with his hand.

“What was that?” he asked.

The fight seemed to have lasted for quite a while. With the twin’s swift movements, it was almost impossible for the three to keep up with them. Regulus looked like he was about to collapse. Allina was doing the same; both she and Regulus had their backs together as they fought off their respective sides, while Irene was on the side trying to help.

“Please, hang in there a while longer,” said Allina to the prince, “just a little more to go!”

“I’m trying,” he panted.

The air around them wavered once more, but this time, someone appeared out of thin air. He landed on a tower, looking below him to see the fight between the two warriors, princess, and the monsters that pursued them. After jumping down to the ground, he caught the attention of the two twins, and they lost their focus on the ones who they were fighting.

“Who the hell are you?” one asked.

“Get out of our way!” the other said.

Regulus and Allina watched with uncertainty. The female warrior looked to see that princess Irene was just as calm as ever.

“You both plan to swipe the princess and take her to your boss,” he said, “I’m afraid I cannot allow that to happen.”

“Well, then we’ll just have to MAKE you get out of the way!”

“You two are looking for a reward in money if you do your job correctly,” he sighed, sounding unimpressed, “and I can tell you’re not above harming the princess just so the two of you can fulfill your greed.”



“And that giant blade...clock...whatever, tell us you’re an eccentric son of a b!tch, so get out of our way!” they both responded, looking up and down at the weapon. The man said nothing after the comment from them.

“You won’t move?” asked one, “Fine!” he then rushed toward the man, “I’ll cut you down, then!!”

The man made no movement, except with a raise of his hand. The blade glowed a yellow light, and then...

“ENOUGH!”

Suddenly, the monsters froze, and everything came to a stand-still. Not a spark of life, or movement rather, was evident. Slowly, the man walked through the two monsters, looking around as he did.

“Hm, so I was right,” he said to himself, “these creatures came from a place that’s nonexistent in this world.”

He came face to face with a woman in a red dress, who was also frozen.

“Ah, the new princess of Rowan; just who I needed to speak to,” Then, with a snap of his finger, the princess fell to the ground with a plop.

“Ow,” she opened her eyes to see a man standing before her, and shot up, “As princess of Rowan, I will see to it that you are-” she began to prepare a blast of magic.

“Princess Irene,” he spoke quickly, “do you not remember who I am?!”



“If you take one more step toward me, I’ll-“ she stopped as she took a good look at the man, “oh...it’s you!”

She halted her magic attack, giving the man the chance to look back at the ones who were still frozen, and said, “Oh, perhaps I should set them free as well.” Another quick snap of his finger, and Regulus and Allina were set free.

"Huh?" Allina blinked, looking around frantically, "How?" She fell to her knees, as she was a bit shaken from the ordeal.

“I apologize to have put you all in such a state,” the man spoke as he approached the woman, holding his hand out, "are you all right?"

She looked up at the man and questioned, “Who are you?”

As soon as Regulus snapped out of it himself, he spoke with an urgent tone in his voice, “Princess Irene, are you all right?”

"Yes, I'm fine," Irene said. She turned around, and proceeded to blast the frozen monsters away.

She turned back around and faced her savior.

"Thank you," she spoke, in which he gave a nod of gratitude, “And...I apologize. I didn’t recognize you for a second, Aeon.”

Allina didn’t say anything as she took Aeon’s hand and he helped her up.

“Glad to see that everyone is alive and well,” he said.

“Did she say your name was Aeon?” asked Regulus.

“Indeed,” said Aeon with a nod, “I am a member of a group who preserves the flow of time, a time traveler, if you will. And you might be...?”

“I’m Regulus, prince of the land of Rowan.” said the prince.



“My name’s Allina, warrior from Anastis.” said the masked woman, still weary.

“Wait...time flow? What??” Regulus was confused, “And you two...know each other?”

Irene turned to Regulus and Allina, “Many suns and moons ago, a dragon was attacking the lands, and we had no way of stopping the creature. Most of our best defender knights had perished from the attacks, and I prayed for a miracle...then Aeon came out of nowhere and thwarted the dragon.”

“With all due respect, your highness, that dragon was not supposed to be there. I had to intervene to correct the mess.” said Aeon.



“Ok...” said Regulus, not buying a word of it, “then why are you here?”

“It seems destiny has called you to come and fix things around here, right?” asked the princess.

“Destiny?” the time traveler shook his head, “No. More like a choice of my own, once again. I was issued some time away from my job, but as you can see, I’m going against my group’s orders.”

“What’s going to happen to you if you were caught?” asked Allina.

“A possible punishment is not of my concern at this time. My concern goes more to the state of everything once the creatures of hell gain control of them.”

“Then perhaps...it is the rest of us who are bound together.” she said.

“I beg to differ,” mumbled the prince.

“What did you say?” asked Allina.

“Destiny or fate has nothing to do with what’s been going on lately,” he explained, “our homes were invaded, and we just happened to be caught in the middle. So now, we got to work together to save and protect our residence. It’s not hard.”

Allina threw her hand out and slapped Regulus straight across the face, much to Irene’s surprise, and making him yelp. Aeon, remained calm despite, as he saw it coming.

“We speak the truth, prince,” a hint of annoyance was heard in Allina’s voice.

Aeon shook his head and said, “Two people of pure royalty, yet one seems more like a spoiled commoner than a person of higher position.”

“Spoiled commoner?” snapped Regulus, rubbing his cheek and glaring at Aeon, “Is that what you call a ‘realist’ these days??”

He lets out a small smile, as he found the prince’s attitude humoring, and said, “You’re quick to jump to conclusions.”

“What do you mean?”

But he was ignored.

“Now, if you all are finished arguing, then we should get back to business.” Aeon said, “I’ll stay with you and be of help anyway I know how.”

“I agree,” spoke Irene, “and you don’t really have to do this.”

“Ah, but princess, I fully insist on helping you all. It’s no trouble for me at all.”

“Thank you.”



“More than likely, we’ll need all the help we can get.” said Allina, “And realist or not,” she directed to Regulus as she walked ahead, “a 25 year old prince should know better!”

Regulus glared at Allina, and Irene didn’t bother to comment on that as she walked past the prince, with Aeon silently following her. Regulus just trailed behind, grumbling as he continued rubbing the area of his face where he had been slapped.

((Aeon is the only one out of the four who’s official. To me, he doesn’t have much of a personality to begin with, so that gives me more to work with on him, I guess.))

[ganondorf2]

Nice job on Aeon! I use him too, and you did him the same way I do! Good job!

[The Melee Master]

Oh good, I was worried there for a while. Honestly, I'm doing things my own way with him, but I guess we seem to think alike when it comes to specific characters, huh? ...Almost...?

Not the end, but this is the last chapter for quite while, and sorry for the lack of fighting pictures here.

Chapter 3

“So where are we headed?” asked Regulus after a while of walking.

“I believe this is a short-cut to my home town,” said the princess as she carefully walked over a log, “we’ll be safe there as long as no one else follows us from here.”

“How much longer is it going to be?” asked Allina as she stepped over a dead log. A thin branch smacked her right in the face, making her cry out. She sighed and glared at the tree branch before ducking out of it’s way and continued onward, readjusting her mask.

“Not much longer; I can recognize the underbush just ahead.”

“Wait, what??” asked Regulus, stopping in his tracks, “Every scene of greenery looks the same to me. Are you sure you don’t need to take a rest, princess?”

“I’m fine, prince,” said Irene in a snarky tone.

“Being around an area as long as she has, you start to recognize various things that help find your way home,” said Aeon in a casual tone himself, walking past Regulus, who sighed in defeat as he began following. While they were going to their destination, he couldn’t help but feel that something was wrong, and that something was waiting for them just up ahead. He remained quiet, however, as to not worry the others. Yet at the same time, he really felt like he should speak up, but what if he was wrong and worried everyone for nothing? That was enough for him to keep his mouth shut.

Finally, after what seemed like an hour of walking through the forest, everyone heard Irene call out.

“I can see it. We’re almost there!”

After a while of getting through underbrush and other things, they finally made it to Irene’s hometown, but they weren’t prepared for the sight that was in front of them.

The town was left in complete smoky ruins. Irene just stood in shock, but it wasn’t evident by her face, which still held a calm emotion. Inside her, though, sadness was dwelling, sending her to the ground with her hand over her heart.

“Princess?” asked Allina.

“I...I don’t believe this,” she said softly, “I was only...gone for a short while. How could this happen so quickly?”

“Princess...” Allina walked over to her, bending down. Though no amount of words could comfort her at a time like this, the least she could do was be there for her.

“Not to worry,” said Aeon, “the town was evacuated just moments ago.”

“Well, just in case, I’m going to go check for any stragglers,” said Regulus, walking off.

“And ladies, I believe it would be wise for you to keep your guard up,” Aeon looked around, “we’re not as alone as you may think.”

“What do you mean by that?” asked Allina, though she was afraid of the answer.

Regulus was busy searching for anyone who may have survived the wreckage. He climbed over the wrecked buildings, cutting up his hands in the process, and looked around.

“Is there anyone out here?!” he called out, his fingers twitching from the stinging of the cuts. Suddenly, his eyes caught movement from beneath the rubble. Surprised by this, Regulus rushed over and bent down, “Hey, are you all right?!”

No answer.

“Don’t worry; I’ll get you out of there!”

Despite injured hands, Regulus took his sword out and began to hack and slash his way through the wreckage, hoping to free the captive before it was too late. As the sound of metal clashed with the rubble, Aeon turned to him and watched for a while, but realized that something was very wrong.

“No, hold on a minute!” he shouted.

But it was too late. A figure burst out of the rubble, grabbing Regulus by the throat and slamming him down to the ground, hard.

“Hasn’t anyone ever told you not to go to suspicious looking places?” it said, “You’re a rather ignorant prince, aren’t you?”

Regulus managed to kick his attacker away from him, making the guy do a back-flip and land on his feet. It unsheathed it’s claws, glaring at the prince.

“Who are you?” he coughed, standing up.

“I am Mang,” he growled.

“You’re not one of Diablo’s followers, are you?” Regulus readied his sword.

A chuckle came from the wolf, “Indeed.”

“Why is he doing this?”

“We wish for a world to be ruled by our own kind. A world, with our lord as it’s leader! Anyone who stands in our way will be vanquished!”



The prince rolled his eyes, “Big talk, but very simple thinking. What good would you get out of taking over the world, anyway? Not to mention, that’s an overused idea that many of your kind had failed to do. Don’t you realize that?”

“Pointless taunting!” Mang charged after both Regulus and Aeon. Both broke apart from one another and took off, making the demon wolf look around, trying to decide who to go after. A flick of his tail, and he charged after Aeon, but as Mang managed to get close, it looked as though he disappeared. Mang had reached out to try to grab the time traveler, but grabbed thin-air instead.

“Is that all?” he taunted as he appeared on the other side, waving his hand at the demon.

A snarl came from the wolf, but then he was struck by Regulus’s sword, making him howl out in pain. Aeon had used himself as a diversion for the prince to make an attack on Mang. Irene and Allina soon grew tired of sitting on the sidelines. Both ladies rushed in, getting themselves between Mang and the two men.

“Out of the way!” said the wolf.

“This one’s all talk,” thought the female warrior.

Allina moved to the back of Mang, and Irene remained where she was at. Both women summoned a ball of fire from their hands, and threw them at the wolf, which was trapped in the middle. The flames burned the animal, making it howl in pain before Regulus slashed it away, sending it sliding across the field. With Mang down for the count, Regulus walked over to the defeated wolf and grabbed him by the neck, then threw him away with all his might.

“That...was a little TOO easy,” said the prince, dusting his arm off, knowing that an easy achievement with an animal like Mang was a cause for concern, than celebration.

Allina had the same worried look on her face, as she too, sensed that something wasn’t right. A demonic laugh was heard in the air, making everyone look around, completely on guard. Mang was smiling as he stood up.

That’s when bolts of red colored lightning shot from the sky, striking Regulus and Aeon, both shouting in pain. The demon landed on his feet, his hands stretched out, revealing that he was the one controlling the light. In turn, the two men were lifted off the ground, their teeth gritting together as fought back more sounds of pain.

"No!" the princess shouted.

“Simple...minded fools,” groaned the wolf, “you don’t have...what it takes to overthrow us!”

A roar was heard. Regulus and Aeon were thrown across the field, both afterwards, shakily stood from the ground. A large figure slowly moved it’s way down from the sky, and landed on solid ground, chuckling evilly.



“Do you really believe you can take on the overlord of hell?” it asked.

“Over...lord?” questioned Regulus, panting.

“Diablo!” shouted Irene.

Aeon managed to pull himself together, eyeing the demon.

"It doesn’t matter how much you try, you lot are no match for me! You will pay for interfering with my plans!!"

“Blah blah blah...” the prince panted, having enough mocking from the monsters, “seems your might isn’t as fast as your mouth! I don’t care if you are the overlord. We’ll still vanquish you!”

Diablo lets out a chuckle, "Do you realize I know everything about you and what moves you are about to make?”

“Do YOU realize your gloating overshadows your chances of fulfilling your goals?” asked Aeon, not even flinching.

“Fool! All of you are no match against the ruler of hell. Weapons like yours aren’t enough to stop me. I can easily snap them like twigs, and earth related abilities such as time control is only a minor annoyance that can easily be overthrown!"

“I was right, this guy likes to hear himself talk,” thought the prince.

The demon turned to the princess in red, placing his claw on his chin, "Ahh...but you please even the evilest of eyes.”

“Huh?” Irene stepped back.



“If I wasn’t so hell bent on taking over the world, you would indeed make a fine partner.”

“Here we go again,” said Regulus about evil wanting to take the princess.

"Ugh, you've GOT to be kidding me," Allina said, her hand over her face, "what princess would ever stoop to the likes of you?"

"An ignorant and desperate one," Aeon said, not moved at the slightest, “he’s wasting his own time attempting to charm her.”

The warrior snapped at Aeon, “You call THAT charming?”

But the time traveler didn’t flinch.

"Thanks, but no thanks," the princess said, agreeing with Allina and Aeon.

"You won't accept my offer, not even to protect the ones you cherish most?" the demon asked, trying to scare the princess into submitting, “Submit to me or your friends shall die!”

"That's enough!!" Regulus snapped, charging at the demon with his weapon in hand, but Diablo slammed the back of his clawed hand at Regulus, shoving him back, and hitting Allina in the process. She got up from the ground, focusing on the demon.

"You’re not going to get your wish!" she shouted.

"We shall see!" the demon's voice boomed, and threw his fist at the female warrior, who took the hit and slid across the ground.

"Lady Allina!" Regulus shouted.

Diablo grabbed Regulus by the back of the neck and lifted him off the ground, giving off a maniacal smile as he did. Regulus felt the demon put pressure on his neck, as if he was ready to snap it. But that wasn't the case. Instead, Diablo threw Regulus aside, making him slam into Aeon in the process. Both slammed into the ground, and as both quickly got off one another, swirls of black escaped from the demon's body.

“How about this?!” the demon growled with anger. With a mighty roar, he slammed his fists into the ground, causing geysers of lava to shoot out. All three managed to get out of the way, but Diablo wasn’t finished yet.

Red lightning crackled in the sky, and he was able to bring it down. Said lightning began to strike the ground, causing sparks to kick up. Allina lets out a cry as a bolt managed to miss her by just a hair.

“Everyone follow me!” shouted Regulus, “We need to-“

CRACK!

Allina lets out a scream of horror as she witnessed a bolt of lightning strike the prince. His body tensed up from being hit, just before he collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

“No...NO!” shouted the elf warrior, rushing toward her battle partner. Regulus wasn’t moving, and Diablo could be heard laughing at the situation.

“Are you really that proud of fighting humans more inferior than a demon?” asked Aeon, his voice starting to rise from anger.

Diablo could detect a hint of mockery in the time keeper’s voice, making him snarl. He threw out his clawed hand at Aeon, but missed as his hand seemed to have gone through him.

“Not quick enough,” taunted Aeon as he appeared in a different location, “got to try harder than that.”

That’s when he released a cry of pain. Mang had pounced on his back, sinking his claws into Aeon’s shoulders. He thrashed around and managed to throw the wolf off, making the animal slide across the ground on his feet, his claws bloodied.

The wounds burned, and was evident by the pained look on Aeon’s face. Irene stepped in; her hands sparkling as she gently touched his shoulders. A glowing light appeared and vanished. The wounds had healed, bringing him more at ease.

“Thank me later,” she said.

“Aw, how touching,” mocked Diablo, “too bad it has to end. If you do not submit, you will join your friends in death!”

Allina has had enough herself. She raced over to the demon and attacked with every ounce of her strength. The magic she had used was able to send him to the ground, but he sat back up afterwards.

“Woman...what are you?” he asked, his voice sounding the same despite being attacked.



Allina didn’t speak. She only glared at Diablo.

“Never have I seen a woman of your kind, who isn’t a priestess, capable of such magic,” he said, “where did you learn such ability?”

“Following years of teaching,” she said with an attitude.

“Just like the fair princess, I see,” he said with a smirk, looking over at Irene, “ah...so her powers aren’t one of a kind after all.”

No response was made as Allina summoned a fireball from her hands.

“Childs play,” muttered the red devil, standing up, then he extended his hand out toward the warrior, grasping her by the throat. Allina lets out a sharp cry as she was raised off the ground. Darkness surged through her body, making her scream out in pain.

“Stop this!” shouted Irene.

Allina was thrown across the ground, her head striking it, knocking her out. That’s when Diablo’s body began to glow an evil red, summoning every ounce of his own power.



“I grow tired of this nonsense!” he roared, “Be gone!!!”

A burst of red demonic energy escaped his body and covered the fields, with everyone caught within the blast. Aeon and Irene weren’t fast enough to escape it. Their visions grew dark as the attack struck them, along with Regulus and Allina, who were still defeated from earlier.

***

The dead area was too quiet. The danger there had long come to a pass, but that didn’t mean it was over. Not by a long shot. A voice from within the damage could be heard.

“I...can’t move.” Allina opened her eyes, “Someone...”

No answer.

“Please...we can’t do this on our own.” She looked around the area to see her comrades, bloodied and lay defeated on the ground. It was unclear if they were still alive, “If Diablo gains control of our world...he'll move onto...others. No...we need...we need...”

“M’lady...” whispered Regulus weakly, opening his eyes.



“Regulus!” she said, “you’re alive!”

“...Please... I still...have some energy left in me... I will...find help.”

“Regulus, I-“

“Usually, I...would oppose...as well...” Aeon weakly breathed out, opening one eye, “but it seems we...have no options left.”



“But-“

“Let...him go, Allina.”

Princess Irene lifted her head, and a faint red light shined on her hands as she crafted a ball out of said energy. The ball shot toward the prince, and it struck him dead-on. With that done, he disappeared.

“That...is all the help I am able to provide...for the time being,” she said, slowly lowering her head back down and closing her eyes.

“Princess...” said Allina, “where did...you send him?”

She didn’t answer the warrior, but spoke to herself, “May your journey...be a safe one...prince of Rowan...”

It turns out that not even the four most capable fighters of their worlds, were capable of taking on a great demon. Though rather cliché, the only thing now they had to rely on was the prince...

...And a bit of hope.

[ganondorf2]

Wow.

[The Melee Master]

...What? No one's getting any special treatment in my story. But if that's not what you meant, then what?

[ganondorf2]

No. I mean in I'm impressed!

[The Melee Master]

Ohh! Cool!! I'm going to have to post the next chapter this Sunday, because I want to wait for an in-game event on Saturday night. I'll bet you know what it is. ^^ I'll try and work on the other chapters in the meantime, but once again, I'll be quite slow at it.

[ganondorf2]

OK. I didn't expect Aeon to get hit like that either

[The Melee Master]

I thought you'd say something about him. As I said, regardless of who they are and their abilities, everyone will be treated equally. Besides, as Diablo stated, time-related abilities have no effect on him due to being the ruler of the underworld, so what exactly could Aeon do to prevent the lighting strike? ...Well, it makes sense in my head, at least, but I think it makes things more interesting that way, too. Could be just me, though.

[ganondorf2]

Actually, that's a good idea anyway.

[The Melee Master]

I know there aren't many pictures in this, but I just wanted to get it out of the way.

Chapter 4

The sounds of small cheering filled the atmosphere, followed by gentle strumming of the guitar. It was KK Slider’s concert night at The Roost, and he was putting on quite a performance. In the background, however, two people were busy putting on their own performance. Smash battles were a favorite of KK’s, and he would watch the fights while playing his tunes for the audience. Occasionally, it would help inspire new music for him, another reason why he liked them so much.

Sheik and Zelda were the contestants of this particular fight. Only one day had passed after the throwdown with Ganondorf, and the two guardians were quick to move on from it, taking their minds off it by sparring.



In the background, a small group of villagers were too into KK Slider to pay attention to the battle. KK, on the other hand, enjoyed a bit of both.

“Just the sight of the battles in the background gets my blood pumping for a more upbeat tune,” he said as he finished his current song, “so, how about it? Care to request a snazzy song for them to battle to?”

Cheers were heard, catching Zelda and Sheik’s attention. They turned to the musician dog in response. Zelda waved her hand.

“Yes, I got a request!” she said.

“So the lovely fighting vixen wishes to slam with my jams,” said KK with a smile, “belt out your request, princess.”

“Um...I believe you called one of your songs KK Adventure?”

Sheik turned to the princess, panting as he said, “I don’t think KK Adventure is fit to battle to,”

“All right, then...how about...KK Condor?”

“That’s been done to death.”

As KK tuned his guitar, he listened in on the conversation, then calmly spoke out, “Sheik...music never dies, no matter how often you play it, no matter how old, ya dig? Someone with your kind of talent with the Lyre should know that.”



Sheik didn’t say anything back, knowing what KK said was true. Then again, it had been a long time since he picked up said instrument and played it.

“I mean, many songs that are several centuries old are still being played in this day and age,” said KK with a smile, “So, you groovy cats have anything? Or would you mind if I make a suggestion instead?”

“Uh, sure,” said Zelda, but Sheik turned away.

KK began strumming his guitar to a tune that was unfamiliar to everyone’s ears, but it held an upbeat tone fit to fight to.

“All right, now we’re talking!” Sheik said, getting into position.

KK just smiled as he watched the battle play out, while focusing on his music at the same time. This went on for almost 30 minutes, before the two were finally tired out. Both sat down on the ground, panting. KK notices this, but continued the song, regardless.



“All right...I think that’s enough for today,” said Zelda.

“Yeah, I agree,” Sheik said as KK finished his song. He overheard the two, but didn’t speak.

Suddenly, voices rose from the villagers, those who were watching the fight, and watching KK, announcing ENCORE, ENCORE, ENCORE!

“Ugh, seriously?!” Sheik groaned, “I’ve had enough for tonight!” he then shouted at the audience, “Don’t you people ever sleep?!

“ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE!” the crowd cheered even louder. KK lets out a chuckle.

“Speaking of sleep,” he finally said, “it’s time for this grooved out dog to turn it for the night.”

A disappointed groan from the audience was heard.

“I appreciate you all coming out tonight, and you two,” he directed to Zelda and Sheik, “you hip for next Saturday night, or are you taking the time to wind down for the weekend?”

“I think that’ll be all for us for the next couple weeks,” said Zelda.

“Oh, well then, it’s all cool with me.” KK stood off the stump he was sitting on as the crowd began to disperse.

“Good night, KK,”

KK waved as he walked away.

***

Zelda and Sheik had made it back to Hyrule Temple, where Link was waiting on them. Of course, night time had taken over the temple, as well as every other place in the Smash world.

“I was wondering when the two of you would get back,” he said as he saw them walk in.

Battles at the temple were still forbidden, so Zelda and her protector obviously took it to Smashville instead.

“That took longer than I hoped,” Sheik said, “and it was a stock match, no less.”

“So who won?” Link asked.

“We were so tired, we decided to end it with a draw,” Zelda answered, “Sheik and I lost one life each.”

“KK Slider really enjoyed our battle, too,” Sheik said, “but...half the animal audience was more into KK’s music than our fight.”

“Aren’t they always?” asked Link with a chuckle. He looked over at Zelda, “Hey, are you OK, princess?”

“I...” Zelda said tiredly, sitting down with her back against the broken pillar. She shut her eyes for just a moment.

“Zelda?” asked Sheik.

No answer.

“She really must be tired,” said Link, but then he saw the princess shake her head.

“No,” she said, getting off the ground and walking toward the edge of the floating land. She stared quietly into the clouds, her face filled with concern, “do you not sense this?”



“Sense what, exactly?”

“I can’t pick up anything, either,” Sheik said.

“I sense...an evil omen, somewhere in the distance.” she said.

“With all due respect, Zelda, what’s that got to do with us?” asked Link.

“Because I sense it here, in this world!”

They were caught off guard as a blinding light entered the area. A lone figure stepped out and took a look around, chuckling.

“Wow, my lord was right,” she said, wielding a southern drawl in her voice, “this world does look...a bit rusty! Ugh! Whoever was in charge of building this place should really come back and clean up. How very disgusting!”

As soon as their vision recovered from the light, Link, Sheik, and Zelda, looked ahead to see a woman walking around the temple.

“Oh well,” she sighed, “nothing a little sprucing up won’t fix.”



“Excuse me!” called Link.

The woman turned around to notice the Hylain. Gently, she placed her hand on her cheek and said, “Oh my. Well, aren’t you a little sight for sore eyes!”

“Who are you?”

Sheik took notice of the lady’s outfit and overall appearance. Usually, a person who looks the way she does was a major cause for concern. Because of that, he didn’t let his guard down, not even for a split second.

“My name is Jezebel, darling,” she said in a happy tone, “and just who are you, handsome devil?”

“The name is Link, defender of Hyrule,” he said, unimpressed of Jezebel’s flirty attempt.

“Defender of what?”

“Hyrule.”

“Link,” Sheik warned.

Jezebel then took notice of Zelda, who was carefully watching the woman from behind the other two.

“Oh, so you already have a girlfriend, I see,”

“Try acquaintance,” said Zelda, also sensing something off, “I’m sorry, but why are you here?”

“Really? Well, ‘acquaintances’ become more than such as time goes on, you know,” Jezebel starts walking around, “but enough talk about love, darlings. I have business to attend to.”

“What?” asked Link.

“I arrived in this dinky place, because my lord has a big wish that I simply must help accomplish for him.” She lets out a chuckle, “This place is very roomy, no doubt. It’s perfect for his new throne room!”

“Now you stop right there!”



“Of course, there’s just one little problem to take care of,” she stops walking, “this place...it’s oh-so filthy and full of such nasty little vermin. I can’t expect my lord to make a throne room out of this disgusting place.”

The three fighters didn’t speak.

“Good thing I’m also...an exterminator,” she eyes them, “and pests must be exterminated, wouldn’t ya’ll agree...?”

Link gripped his sword, and that’s when she summoned a fireball and threw it straight at the hero, who was unable to react fast enough and was struck.

“Link!” shouted Zelda.

Sheik took out the knife from it’s holster and said, “I knew it!”

“I may be charming, to an extent, but I’m no pushover,” said Jezebel to Sheik as bat wings appeared out of her back, “when I said I was going to exterminate vermin, especially those who aren’t followers of my master, I meant every word.”



“And who is your master?” Link asked as he was helped to his feet by Zelda.

“No sense in trying to explain, now git out of my way!”

Sheik didn’t hesitate this time. He charged after Jezebel, throwing a couple jabs with his hand and striking her in the stomach. Then, with his other fist, he punches her away, sending her sliding across the ground.

“Ugh, how dare you!” she growled, slowly standing up, “Punching a woman like that, you filthy pig?! Not only that,” she dusted off her dress, “but you’ve ruined my beautiful outfit I’ve slaved months over making!”

“Your point?” asked Sheik, not even caring at the slightest as he stashed the knife away, and got into a fighting position.

“You’re not a very proper gentleman for doing such terrible things to a lovely lady,” she squealed.

“And you’re not a proper lady for tricking us like that.”

Jezebel chuckled, “Seems we have a lot more in common than I thought. Well then, how about you surrender now and I’ll ask my lord to make your suffering a little less painful?”

“Not happening,”

“Then I must simply ask you to move, or die!”

That’s when Sheik unleashed needles at Jezebel, who lets out a cry as she was struck on the arms and legs. That gave Link the chance to take out his bow, and he shot an arrow at the woman. The arrow struck it’s target, spearing her right in the chest.

“Yes!” said Sheik.

Jezebel gasped and stumbled back, looking down at the arrow protruding out of her chest. She gripped it firmly with one hand, and pulled it out with a shriek of pain.

“Ugh, you...YOU!” she said, then using what strength she had left, snapped the arrow in two with just one hand, and fell on one knee.

“As I said,” Sheik walked over to her, lashing out his hand and gripping her throat now, “you’re not a proper lady for tricking us like that. Normally, we would let you go, considering that we retain our own sense of honor.” He released her.

Jezebel just growled as she fell to the ground.



“Oh, but we’re not proper gentlemen, are we?”

“I’ll get you for this...” she growled.

That’s when Link took out a bomb and threw it. Sheik managed to get out of the way just in time, and the she-devil took the hit, sending her falling from the floating land.

“You know, in a sense, I almost feel sorry for her,” said Link, dusting his palms off.

“You’re kidding, right?” asked Sheik, turning to him.

“I mean, she didn’t put up much of a fight.”

“Yeah, there was something off about that...”

***

Jezebel managed to straighten her wings and took off into the air, then teleports herself into the underworld. After landing, she threw her arms down in frustration.

“So I see you lost,” a voice said, “well, that’s what you get for dragging on the ‘nice lady’ act,” Jezebel could see a being walking out of the shadows, and it slashed a sword in the air, “I’m glad it’s over. I was getting nauseous just listening to you with that...retched accent of yours.”



“You? Nauseous?” the tone of her voice changed from a southern accent, to a more serious and evil tone, “Do you really believe I enjoy being miss sweet little cupcake? I swear, if I have to talk like that again... Well, this woman’s through being ‘nice’!” she threw her arm out, then drew it back in as she spoke, “I should’ve known that saying was true: nice people finish last. Of all the nerve!”

“I told you, you wouldn’t accomplish a thing if you-”

“Don’t stop flirting,” they both said, then Jezebel said, “save it! I’ve heard it before. And where were you all this time?!”

“Oh, you know, enjoying the show, which turned out to be a flop. You let yourself go so easily. Why? Did you get distracted by a man again?”

“Never you mind!" the wound closed up with no issue, "Let’s report back to Lord Diablo! I think he’ll be rather...pleased of this new world we have found.”



The swordsman nodded in agreement, “Yes, indeed.”

***

“This is great,” said Link as he rested against a broken pillar of the temple, panting, “first we had to deal with Ganondorf and his lackies, and now we have people like Jezebel to worry about. Who in Din’s name IS she, anyway?”

“I wish I knew,” said Sheik, sitting down on a patch of dirt.

“I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you before, Sheik.”

“Don’t worry about it. It wasn’t-“

“Guys...” Zelda interrupted, “there’s that voice again.”

“What?” asked Link as he sat back up.

It was even fainter than before, but Zelda knew it was still a cry for help. A bright light flashed, causing her to shield her eyes. Link and Sheik caught sight of the lights, too, and were on the defensive. The light intensified, making them shield their eyes, too. A figure dropped from said light, and the energy vanished without a trace. As Link opened his eyes, he looked forward, to see a young man lying in the middle of the broken temple, appearing to be unconscious.



“Hey!” he shouted, getting up and rushing toward him.

Zelda and Sheik shook it off, and after regaining their vision, they too noticed the young man. Concerned, they walked toward him.

“Is he alive?” asked Zelda.

“Careful, it could be another one of those fiends.”

“Link, you’re kidding me,” said Sheik flatly, “does he really look like a monster?”

“Sheik, after seeing and fighting that woman, I wouldn’t let your guard down just yet.”

Link then stopped in his tracks when he saw the man’s eyes crack open slightly, but his vision was blurred. He could see three shadows hovering above him, and not knowing if it was a friend or foe, he didn’t dare make a move.

“Are you all right?” Sheik asked.

The voice sounded distant to the young man’s ears, but eventually, his hearing returned to him, as did his sight. Finally, everything was clear, and he could see three people with looks of concern.

“Who...are you?” he asked weakly.

“That’s what we want to know about you,” said Link.

Sheik watched as the prince tried to sit up. He walked over and assisted him with it, placing his arm across his back and pushing him up. He was still dizzy, the blood rushed to his head.

“I’ll ask again,” he said, “does he look like a monster...?”

“Please, give me a moment,” he said, wanting some time to shake off the dizziness. Afterward, he was able to get a grip on what had just happened, and he looked around, “I’ve made it after all.”

“Who gave you permission to come to this temple?” asked Sheik.

“...I was sent here.” He replied, “...This is...a temple?”

“Or what’s left of it, anyway,” Link said.

Regulus managed to stand, and he walked around to get a good look at the place. As he walked toward the edge, he was astonished to find that he was in an old ruined temple, sitting on a floating piece of land.

“How is this possible?” he asked, looking down in amazement. Then, with the weight crashing back down on him, Regulus fell to the ground with a hard plop, “I don’t understand a thing of this. Princess Irene...why have you sent me here, of all places?”



“What are you saying?” asked Link, now getting even more worried as he calmly walked to the disoriented prince, who turned around and looked up at Link.

“If you can...would you tell us what happened so that we could provide you with help?” Sheik asked.

Regulus was about to answer, until he caught sight of Zelda. He suddenly found the strength to stand, and shakily walked over to her.

“Wait, what are you doing?” asked Sheik, getting defensive.

“Unbelievable,” Regulus used his sword for support, as he inched his way toward the princess of Hyrule, reaching his hand out and touching her face, “you...you have the striking image of the princess I was sent to protect.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Link.

“There’s another who looks identical to me?” Zelda asked.

“Would you mind telling us just what in Din’s name is going on?? And start from the beginning.”

Regulus took a breath and backed away, “All right. You see, I am a prince of the land named Rowan, sent to protect a princess from the same land. Her name is Irene, and she was previously wanted by a demon creature that had attacked us.”

“Oh dear,” said Zelda.

“So you were being sent here...” Link started.

“That was from Princess Irene herself. She sent me here to look for help.”

It was pure confusion and uncertainty that was causing Regulus to be more civil than what his partner had first described him as. He didn’t seem to take any notice himself, as his worries were on the situation itself.

“I’m sorry we’re not much help right now,” Sheik admitted, “but we don’t know what’s really going on, so we don’t know how to help you.”

“How do we know you’re not lying and trying to trick us?” asked Link.

“Would you mind telling the story from the beginning?” asked Zelda politely.

“Certainly...” Regulus said, then he began to explain.

***

“I’m sorry,” Zelda said after a few moments passed, as the prince finished his story.

“Sounds like Diablo is more troublesome than my enemies,” Link said as he believed Regulus now.

“He’s a powerful demon, and he gave us quite a fight,” Regulus said, “the others...I had to leave them behind, but they’re just as injured as I am.”

“Well, we wouldn’t know what to do if we were to help you out,” said Sheik.

“And why not?”

“Because this temple isn’t the only structure in the Smash world,” Zelda explained, “We have different places based on the homelands of other members here.”

“Smash...what?”

“We’ll explain later.”

“Wait a minute, if you guys never knew about the Smash world, then how did your princess send you here?”

Regulus had no answer to the question, so he didn’t speak.

“Well, regardless, we’re going to get you and your friends out of this crisis. Do you understand? You need to keep your spirits up, no matter what.”

“I...can’t bring myself to believe that...you insist on helping a total stranger.”

“If you’ve been beaten to near death by a monster, then maybe you can’t be all bad.”

The prince, despite how he was feeling at the moment, couldn’t help but smile at Link’s somewhat reassuring words, “Thank you.”

“Now then, we need to get to work on locating those who were with you at the time,” he turned to Zelda, “but what area should we start at?”

“I don’t know how to get back to the area, I’m afraid,” said the prince, “but...I’ll do whatever it takes. And who do I have to thank for helping me?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. My name’s Link.”

“Link, huh? Well then Link...Sheik...Princess Zelda, you have my gratitude,” he bowed to them.

[ganondorf2]

Nicely done.

[The Melee Master]

Overdue update, and it's horribly rushed, I kid you not, so I'm sorry for that. Still tried to make it good, though.

Chapter 5

The morning sun rose at the start of a new day. Princess Zelda had sent Link and Regulus to look for a way to locate the prince’s acquaintances.

“So what all can you tell me about the people we’re looking for?” asked Link.

“Not much, I fear,” he admitted, “you’ll have to meet them yourself, but...” he stopped and looked around the area, “I don’t know where to start looking.”

“Can’t you just retrace your steps?”

“I was sent here from Princess Irene’s magic, Link. I don’t believe it’s retractable.”

“Irene?” Now Link was confused, “Is that the name of your princess?”

Regulus stopped walking and nods, “I wonder if the princess of your world has the same magic ours does. If so, then perhaps she can teleport us to where we need to go, and rescue them that way.”

Link sighed, “Why didn’t you say something before we set out?”

He looked at Link, eyes widened, “You mean she does possess such ability?”

“She can teleport anyone anywhere,” said the hero, “all you have to do is tell her where you need to go.”

“Rowan, is where I was at the time, and that’s also the land I and the princess hail from,” he said, “surely, you have heard of it?”

“I’m...sorry, but this is the first.” Link sighed, “Hold on, you’re a prince...and Irene is a princess, correct? So then, are you two siblings, or...?”

“I get asked that a lot, and the answer will always be no. We are not related, and we are not in that kind of relationship.”

This was going to be harder than the hero had once thought. Then he remembered a particular woman he had fought, and decided to question Regulus, “Hey, may I ask another question?”



“You have my attention,” answered Regulus.

“Have you heard of a woman named Jezebel?”

“Jezebel?” he stopped to ponder for a moment, “No, I don’t believe so.”

“Well, I don’t know where she came from, but Zelda, Sheik, and I, had fought her after she climbed out of a portal of some kind.”

That put Regulus in a state of shock, “No... If that’s possible, then...”

“What?”

“I...I don’t know this Jezebel, but I have a feeling she’s one of Diablo’s henchmen.”

“Huh??”

Regulus panicked a little, “If what you said is true, then Diablo must know about this world of yours by now.” he placed his hand on his forehead, “This is perfect! Most likely, he’ll try to gain dominance of this world, too!”

“I won’t allow that!” said Link, placing his hand on the prince’s shoulder, “Regulus, I’ve battled many foes in my lifetime, most of which tried to do the same as Diablo did. I’m not turning tail on this! We’ll stop him, no matter what it takes!”

He looked up at Link, “Your courage astounds me, and your words are motivational.” He backed away, “Very well, but first, we need to locate my acquaintances.”

“We’ll need to start somewhere.”

This was going to be harder than they thought. Link quietly thought to himself of how he got in this situation in the first place.

***

Meanwhile, back in the other world, the three who were left behind, were still lying out in the field, injured. Allina’s sensitive hearing picked up faint sounds, the sound of footsteps, approaching them.

“Do you hear that?” she asked.

“It’s Mang,” whispered Irene.

Indeed, the wolf from hell was scouting the area, along with the two swordsmen they had previously fought.

“...and don’t screw it up this time, or lord Diablo will have our heads. Understand?” asked the wolf.



“Yes sir,” both said at the same time.

A red portal appeared on the ground, in which Mang jumped into, and it closed back up with no evidence that the hole was ever there.

“Heh, master did a good job with this place,” one said, eyeing the destruction everywhere.



One of the monsters came across Allina, who was still weakened from the earlier attack.

“Well well, who do we have here?”

“I found another!” said the twin, who had stumbled upon Aeon, also weakened, but unresponsive, “Hey, this is the same man who attacked us earlier!”



“Hence why Lord Diablo sent us back here, to finish the job, remember?”

“Well it’s no fun to kill them if they don’t put up a fight.”

“Just do it!”

The twin paid no heed, “What’s this?” he took a look at the clock blade, “It looks pretty valuable. Think we could sell it to a black market?”

“Focus on our objective, then we grab the valuables,” said the other, taking Allina’s wrist in his hand.

“But Grim-“ then he took a look at Princess Irene, “oh...this must be the one our lord was after.” He walked over to her.



“Just hurry up and grab her before they gain consciousness!!”

“You mean she’s not dead??”

“Do you not see her breathing, moron?”

“I can fix that!” he grabbed Irene’s throat and squeezed, causing her to groan out. The twin rushes toward him and slashes him with the sword, making him release the princess.

“Cut it out, Star, we need her alive. Now let’s hurry and bring princess back to the master!”

“What about the blonde woman?” asked Star.

“Her?!” he asked, looking at Allina, “Nah, master said he’s interested in the pretty one with the red dress.”

That made Allina’s brows twitch in anger, but she kept quiet.

“I don’t know, brother, this one seems kinda cute, too.”

"Hmm..." Grim Knight turned to her.



"Well?"

“Then you take the blonde, I got the red dress.”

“Hold on, does it really matter who gets who?”

“It matters to me, so get the blonde one now!” said Grimknight. Starknight just grumbled.

“No...please don’t...” groaned Allina, slowly standing up as she gained some of her strength back.

The two brothers turned to her.

“Rowan...needs it’s princess. Take...me instead...but please leave Princess Irene alone.”

“Allina...don’t.” said Irene, slowly standing.

“Well, since you’re so courteous about it,” said Star, “we’ll just have to take the both of you!”

“If that’s the case...then I won’t allow it!” Allina said, crafting a fireball and throwing it at the twins, who dodged with ease.

“We’re not falling for that again, missy.” said Grim, “And above all, you’re too weak to even put up a fight, we can tell, so don’t try anything funny, or you WILL regret it!”

“We’re not scared of you,”

“No, but you will be when we’re through with you!”

“If I may object,” a voice said from behind Allina. Aeon was seen standing, but putting some weight on his weapon which he held upright.

“Well well, look who’s awake and decided to join the party,” said Star.

“Are you OK?” Allina asked him.

“Quite,” Aeon replied.

“Well, you won’t be when we’re through with you!!” shouted Grim Knight.

Aeon sighed and replied, “Well then, if history wishes to repeat itself that much, then I suppose I can let it slide just this one time.” He got into position, weapon in hand.

Allina and Irene stood beside each other, ready to fend off the two demon twins, too.

“Wait, Irene,” said the warrior, “are you sure you’re fit to fight? You’re the one the two monsters are after.”

“I said this before...” she said, “do not treat me like a damsel in distress. I may be a princess, but I am not as tender hearted as those before me. I will do everything in my power to help and protect, and you won’t stop me!”

“Clearly, you are not in distress,” said Aeon, placing his finger on his chin as he scanned Irene, then lowered his hand, “but from what I can see, you ARE rather injured despite being cleaned up.”

“If memory serves, so are the two of you, and yet you still wish to fend them off.” said the princess, “if you can still fight, then so can I!”

“Princess Irene,” Allina was about to object, but Irene stopped her.

“I mean it,” she said, “allow me to fight with you both!”

Aeon dropped his arm, not saying another word to her as he turned to the twins.

“The two kitties have claws,” said Starknight about Irene and Allina, “interesting indeed.”

“All the more reason to capture you for Lord Diablo.” said Grimknight.

Allina’s hands sparkled as she threatened, “If I hear that name come out of your mouths one more time...”

Starknight charged at Allina, who managed to evade his incoming attack by dodging. Aeon remained still and calm. He raised his hand to eye level, attempting to stop the creatures of hell with a simple yet powerful move.

“Heed me, time,” he said, “and...STOP!”

BAM!!

The time traveler was struck, sent flying backwards, and later rolling across the ground. After coming to a stop, he slowly sat up, his vision in his right eye blurrier than usual due to his spectacle flying off after being hit.

Allina lets out a cry of surprise at that, then looked out the corner of her eye as she saw the other demon fly in right at her.

“Your powers have no effect on us demons!” said Starknight, readying his blade. Allina quickly created a barrier, and Star clashed into it with his blade. He was pushed back afterward, and used his wings to stop himself mid-flight.



“But it worked once before...didn’t it?” asked Allina.

“We are also masters of deceit, you know,” said Grimknight, “when you pulled that move on us before, we decided to humor you.”

“But now playtime’s over!” said Star, landing on solid ground.

Allina quickly rushed over and blasted the demons with her magic. Aeon managed to swipe his spectacle and quickly positioned it back over his eye, his sight clearing up afterwards. Luckily, it wasn’t scuffed or broken. The demon charged in and slashed his sword, but Allina managed to counter by using her own magic, sending it backwards. And with that, Aeon begins to charge up his hyper move, the Requiem of the 13th Hour. The twins catch him doing such, and began to charge straight at him.

“Did you not hear what we had said?!” said one of them.

The twins did say they were masters of deceit, so maybe they were lying about not being affected by time. Aeon hoped that was the case. He closed his eyes, and the life around him became still. He felt two items touch his throat, and when he opened his eyes, he saw that the two demons had the points of their swords right on his throat.

“Oh dear,” he said, stepping away from the weapons, rubbing his neck, “had I have been just one second too late...”

Taking several steps back, Allina observed the twin demons out of curiosity, then turned to Irene, “Excuse me your highness, but you never told me where you’ve sent the prince of Rowan. Where is Regulus?”

“I’m afraid I cannot trace his location,” she replied with slight disappointment.



“But you’re the one who-“

Allina was interrupted when she was struck in the side by one of the demons, making her cry out and slide across the ground. Aeon quickly rushed over to help her, and his weapon clashed against a blade.

“Haven’t your mother ever taught you to never turn your back on your foe?” one spat.

“That, I cannot recall at this time,” teased Aeon as he tries to push the demon back.

“I wasn’t talking to you, fool!!”

The other charged in, but Irene rushed in front and took the hit, sending her tumbling across the ground, and after coming to a complete stop, she slowly sat up, letting out a groan.

“It appears I’ve gotten a little too confident,” Aeon muttered to himself, now having it in his head that his powers don’t apply to underworld creatures.

Allina stood up slowly, the bruise in her hip begining to agitate her. She and Irene were also trying not to show any signs of weakness. If they did, they would be at a greater risk of being overpowered, and possibly captured.

“This won’t work,” said the princess, “we must escape now!”

That’s when the sound of an aircraft filled their ears. Two jet-looking crafts were seen coming in toward them. They began firing at the two demons, making a direct hit. After shaking it off, Grimknight looked up at the craft that attacked him and his brother, and jumped onto one of it’s wings, raising his sword, but the jet-like craft tumbled in the air, making the demon fall off and land on solid ground.

“This isn’t over,” said Starknight, “I swear, the next time we meet, those women will be ours, dead or alive.”

"They BETTER be alive, you idiot!! And count yourselves lucky,” said Grimknight.

The two made a break for it, disappearing into a dark hole that appeared out of nowhere. The two aircrafts then made a landing, making Allina cautious of the new arrivals.

“Hello!” she said, “Um...are you here...to help us?”



The c0ckpits open up, slowly revealing the pilots. Both jump down from their crafts at the same time, and looked at the group.

“I knew the distress signal was coming from here,” one said.

“Which one of you sent for us?” asked the other.

Allina figured the two had heard her distress plea from earlier, “Uh...that was me. You-ugh-came to help us?”

“We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t, now would we, young lady?”

“I, uh...”

“Stop right there,” one said, walking over to Allina, “you look injured.”



“I’m...aware!” she strained.

“There’s no need to be afraid of us,” said the other.

“I’m not afraid! I’m just...concerned.”

Irene stepped in and spoke, “Forgive us for putting you in this situation, but-“

“Right now, this young woman needs help,” said one of the strangers.

The princess walked over to Allina, placing her hands on the warrior’s back, and making her wince. Her hands released a faint aura, healing her with no issue.

“Thank you,” said Allina, standing up now, “thank you so much, princess!”

Irene nodded with a smile, then turned her attention to the two strangers, “And as for you two-“

“Again, it’s no trouble.” One said, “We were sent here by our general anyway.”

The two women looked at each other.

“Allina, weren’t you the one who claimed we’ll need all the help we’re able to achieve?” asked Aeon, having a good feeling about this, “Giving them a chance would be most beneficial for us, and for them as well.”

“Well, I-“ she spoke.

“We’re not expecting you to trust us right away, but we DO want to help.” One said.

“In fact, our general wishes to meet with you all, if you wish to come with us.” said the other, holding his hand out.

Now Allina was in the defensive, “Give us one good reason why...”

That caused the fox to take a step backward, drawing his hand back, “Perhaps...we’re taking all this a little too fast.”

“You’re known to rush into things head-on, Jordan,” he said with a smile.

“Jordan?” asked Allina.

“Oh, please forgive our haste,” said the darker colored fox, “we’ve been sent here by our chief. We picked up some weird transmission calls on our Arwings, and he told us to investigate.”

“My name’s James McCloud,”

“And I am Jordan; my last name will not be spoken,"

Allina and Irene looked at each other, not sure what to make of this. Aeon showed no signs of nervousness, however. He was more curious than anything, as he took a step toward the two pilots.

“You two don’t seem like the type to pose a threat upon us. Very well, I accept any help you’re able to give.”

“I would advise you to slow it down,” said Irene to Aeon, "and by that, I mean your hasty decision, 'time keeper'."

“Forgive me, your majesty, but if they were of any threat, they would’ve attacked us already.”

“If he’s OK with this, then I guess I am, too,” said Allina.

Irene sighed in defeat.

“Now, would you like to have an insight on everything that has happened to this point?” asked Aeon.

“That can be saved for later,” said Jordan, “we need to find the source of those transmission-“

“It was me,” said the warrior of Anastis, stepping forward, “I was the one who sent the distress call. We fought with a great demon prior to this point, and...we lost.”

“Demon?”

“A great demon had been planning a hostile takeover of our world,” said Irene, though she still didn’t like the current situation.

“Two of the same demons we’ve fought before have arrived in this world; the same ones you fought,” said Allina.

“Which means they’re now aware of this world, so it’s quite possible the demon will try and take it as well,” said Aeon.

Jordan sighed to this, "Well James, looks like we got an insight of our mission,” he turned to look at his partner, "what do you say?”



“Hmm...” the ex-leader pondered this for a bit, “I think we should contact General Pepper about this, give him the insight before we proceed.” He then bent down on one knee and attempted to contact him through his radio headset, while Jordan waited patiently.

Moments later...

“That’s strange...” he said, “there’s no communication.”

“What do you mean?” asked Jordan, turning to him.

“I mean I can’t get through to him, Jordan.”

“What?! That’s impossible. He’s ALWAYS at his post during these missions!” Jordan calmed himself, “Maybe the signal’s not so good here. We’ll try another area.”

“No Jordan, if the maps in our Arwings work well in this place, then our communicators should, too.”

“Um, is something the matter?” asked Allina.

James didn’t hide anything in his words, “We seem to be having some problems right now,”

“Anything that requires our assistance?” asked Aeon.

“At this moment, we’re the ones who are going to assist you, so no need.”

“Let’s head back to Corneria, James,” said his partner.

“Yes,” he nods, then he looked back at the Arwings, “...Jordan, wait.”

“What is it?”

“We don’t have enough room on either Arwing to hold two people, let alone one.”

“Oh no,” Jordan placed his palm over his face, “you’re right.”

“Then perhaps, you should let Aeon and the princess go,” said Allina, “I’ll remain here and wait.”

Jordan shook his head, “No way, miss. Considering the situation, we’re not going to risk leaving anyone behind.”

“Then what do you suggest?”

“Until we figure something out, we’ll stay here with you and go on foot,” said James, “it’s not a problem for us.”

“We’ll stay to make sure you’re safe and away from those...whatever they are.” said Jordan.

“I’ll have you know that we’re quite able to defend ourselves in time of need,” said Allina.

“Says the Anastis warrior who was almost captured, twice, in fact,” said Aeon.

“Hey, who are you to poke fun at me?!”

“You misunderstood my words. I mean, you are strong, but your powers fail in comparison to Diablo’s, as proven when we first battled him, do you not recall?”

Now she was annoyed, “Your one to talk. Your powers don’t even work against him.”

Aeon knew that was true, so he didn’t have any comebacks.



“This situation seems to have gotten them nervous,” whispered Jordan.

“Seriously you all, we really need to go someplace safer other than here,” James spoke up.

Jordan crossed his arms, “Methinks the former leader did not think his plan through when he decided to follow the distress call.”

Unfortunately, Jordan was right, and James was embarrassed for it, but he managed to hide it well.

“Former leader?” asked Aeon, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s a long story,” answered James, then to Jordan, “all right, then what do you suppose we do?”

“Try and get in contact with General Pepper again, or at least one of the servicemen, or servicewomen,” said Jordan, “and if that fails...then I guess we’re on our own this time.” The tone of his voice suggested that he didn’t like it one single bit.

***

Meanwhile, in the underworld, two portals appeared and out came the two demonic twins.

“Did you accomplish the task you were given?” asked Maang as he approached them.

“Uh...well, you see-“

The hesitation alone was more than enough of an answer for Maang.

“You fools!” he lashed out his claws, striking one of them and sending him flying.



“Brother!” shouted the other.

“What’s going on here?!” spoke a deep voice.

Mang turned around to see Diablo standing before him.

“Ah, my lord,” he said, bowing.

“Well?”

“I-I regret to inform you, that these two-“ he held out his hand at the twins, “PARASITES...have failed with their mission of retrieval!"

“WHAT?!” roared the mighty red demon, causing the two twins to cower, holding onto each other.

“W-w-well, my lord, we had a b-b-bit of interference along the way!”

“Yeah, two foxes came out of nowhere and-“

“I don’t have time to listen to your ridiculous excuses and fables!” he turned around and walked away.

“IT’S NO FABLE!” both shouted at the same time.

“OVERLORD!!!” shouted Diablo, making the two cower once again.

The creature, known as Overlord, walked over to Diablo, bent down one knee, and bowed his head, “Yes, my lord?”



“Bring fourth Rathian and have him sniff the three out!”

“Rathian, sir?”

“Rathian, the mighty dragon, had battled the prince and warrior just the other day, and now that he has had a taste of their blood, he shall be very hungry, I’m sure.” He chuckled, “Oh, and perhaps the bloody swordsmen as well. He hasn’t had any strife in a while. If what they said about the extra help is true, then do not hesitate on destroying them!”

“I’ll see to it that they are notified,” said Overlord with a bow, then rushed out of the room. Diablo growled and turned to the twins, “you two get out of my sight! Do as you wish. Fail me again, and you will be fed to Rathian!”

“Y-y-yes, sir!” they both said at the same time, scampering off.

“I had a feeling they would try to interfere with my plans,” he said, clinching his clawed fist, “well, they have yet to feel the true wrath of my true power!”

[ganondorf2]

Nicely done.

[The Melee Master]

Thanks, though that chapter may be a bit rushed at the end, but it was all I could think of at the time. And so is this one, I'm afraid. No, really, it is. ...I've lost the texture I had for Roy, so I had to download another.

Chapter 6

The very start of the afternoon sun shined down on Hyrule’s floating temple. With tournaments no longer allowed in the area and no expected companies to look forward to, Zelda and Sheik had managed to swipe some alone time with each other.

“I feel a bit bad letting Link and the prince leave by themselves like that,” said Sheik.

“Have faith in him, Sheik,” said Zelda.

“But...how do you think he’ll fair without the Triforce of Courage to help him?”

“The Triforce of Courage will return to him when he needs it most, and the same goes for me with the Triforce of Wisdom. Again, have faith.”



“Triforce of Wisdom,” Sheik said softly, then directed to Zelda, who was walking toward the open part of the temple. Sheik followed and asked, “you’re wise without that Triforce piece, so why does the Goddess bestow it to you?”

“My personal wisdom alone will not accomplish the tasks given to me, nor will Link’s internal courage help him throughout his adventures,” explained Zelda, “the Triforce is given to us only when we need it most, once again. Because we haven’t been given a task, we have no need for it, and the Smash tournaments don’t count toward tasks.”

“Ok, ok, I’m sorry for questioning you, princess,” he said with a smile.

Zelda turned around, “Sheik, are you smiling?”

“Why yes, how can you tell?”

“I can’t,” she walked close to Sheik, “Just...let me...”

Sheik backed away and fell to the ground. Zelda grabbed Sheik’s collar and pulled it down. Sheik wasn’t amused, however.

“Is seeing me smile really worth giving away my privacy and personal space?” he asked.



“Well...sometimes, I just can’t help myself,” she said softly, then leaned back against Sheik and laid down, “I understand why you hide your face. It’s part of your tribe’s tradition, but please, Sheik, you don’t have to hide from me.”

He could help but smile, “All right...all right.”

She sat up, “Otherwise, how would I be able to...” she stopped.

“Be able to...what?” Sheik asked, slowly placing his hand on Zelda’s cheek, and whispered, “...do this?”

He leaned in close and kissed her. Then they slowly parted away.

“Sheik...I...” she said.

Sheik now had a worried look on his face, “What is it?”

Before Zelda could answer, she caught sight of two people in the temple, looking around.

“Zelda?” said Sheik.

“Look down there,” she replied, pointing to where the young man was.

When said people caught sight of the princess, they waved them down and headed to where they were. Sheik quickly pulled his collar back over his face.

“Fancy seeing you two here,” one said.

“Roy, is that you?!!” asked Sheik in astonishment, “When and HOW did you get here?!”

Roy wasn’t impressed as evident by the tone in his voice, “...Nearly seven years of absence, and that’s all you have to say to me?”

Zelda smiled, “It’s nice to finally see you again, Roy.”

“You too, princess.”



Roy had decided to retire his old clothing for now, and had changed into something new.

“Roy and I met up at the Bridge of Eldin,” said Marth, the tone of his voice was tired.

“Well, if you’ve come for the Brawl tournaments, then I’m afraid you’re too late,” said Sheik, “registration is long over, and the tournaments themselves are all complete.”

“Thanks for the info, but that’s not why I’m here. Actually, it was King Harkinian who made me come back,”

“...My father?” Zelda asked.

“What??” said Sheik.

“After I left the Melee team behind, I went off to further rebuild my homeland. It’s still in progress, and I was in need of a job to help further, so...I traveled to Hyrule to see if they had anything for me. That’s when your father, Zelda, came to me and offered the job of me being a guardian, a guardian of a chapel that seems to be very important to him.”

“I wonder why that is,” she pondered.

“I don’t know, but I want to find out, so I want to try to find him. He said he’d meet me at the battlefield, and...that’s when I ran into you and...whoever that guy was, from before. I wonder what became of him.”

“If you’re talking about the assassin, Link got rid of him,” said Sheik.

“He killed him?”

“I’m afraid so,” said Zelda.

“Well, Link’s certainly not the type to show mercy on his enemies, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”

Marth didn’t say anything.

“I never did meet up with the king, though.”

“But not long after that, we’re now faced with another possible crisis.” said Sheik.

“What?!” both swordsmen said at the same time.

Zelda began to explain what had happened earlier and told Marth and Roy the same thing Regulus told her and the other two.

“Are you kidding me?” asked the young lion.

“I’m afraid not.”

“So where are they now?” asked Marth.

“We’re not sure ourselves,” said Sheik.

Roy sighed, “...Well...I’d love to help out and everything, but I don’t know where to start. The king relieved me of Chapel Guardian just yesterday and sent me to the Battlefield, but then he never showed up like he said he would.”

“That doesn’t sound good,”

“I’m sure he just got caught up in something of his own,” said Zelda, being hopeful, “Um, did you happen to run into anyone else since you’ve come here?”

“No, just Marth at the bridge.”

“Bridge of Eldin...” said Sheik.

“Eldin?”

“It’s part of Hyrule, and we got word that it had been consumed into the Dark World at one point before,” said Zelda, stepping away, “it’s been restored now, however.”

“That’s a relief,”

Marth didn't want to bring up what happened earlier at the bridge, for everyone's sake, although they'd find out eventually. Roy purposely didn't mention it, either. The ex-prince quickly changed the subject.

“Are you going to find the king?” asked Marth.

“Yes, I’ve planned to set out to look for him, give him my report.”



Zelda stepped up, and a hint of shyness could be seen in her eyes, making Roy worry, “Hm?”

“Um...Roy?” she started.

Roy smiled, “Yes?”

“...Would it...be OK if I come with you? It’s been SO long since I’ve seen my father,”

“Oh!” that surprised him, “well, uh...I’m sure the ki...your father would love to see you again. He’s told me a lot about you since the Melee tournaments...even what Hyrule had faced a few years ago with the Twilight incident. He praised you and Link for your efforts to dispel it.”

Zelda smiled.

“But if you go, then who’s going to watch the temple?” asked Marth to Zelda, “I...I have things I need to do myself.”

Sheik jumped and attached himself to one of the broken pillars, showing off again.

“I’ll stay and keep an eye on things while you guys are away,” he said with a smile.

“Are you sure you can handle it on your own?”

“Zelda, you know my race is known as guardians for a reason. If I could protect you, then surely this temple won’t be a problem on my own.”

“Thank you, Sheik,” said Zelda, “and thank you, Roy.”

“So, shall we get going?” asked the fire swordsman.

“Yes, please lead the way,”

“Good luck, you guys,” said Marth, turning around and leaving himself.

Zelda and Roy teleported away from the temple and left Sheik on his own. He jumped down to the bottom portion of the temple and took out a lyre he had hidden.

“This’ll give me time to polish my musical skills,” he said to himself. After jumping back onto the main land, Sheik began playing an unfamiliar tune that seems to carry away with the gentle breeze that blew.

[ganondorf2]

Nice.

[The Melee Master]

Yes, I am a stern male Sheik believer who ships him with Zelda! So? Anyway, thank you!

Short and rushed. Still working on the next chapter, but it's not going so well...

Chapter 7

“NESS!” a voice shouted.

Ness, Lucas, and Claus were still in Onett, walking around.

“Ness, we’ve combed through every street and building in this place!” said Claus, “How long until we get to your mother’s house?”

“Not much farther,” said Ness, “it’s just up that hill over there!”

“Hill?” panted Lucas, “I’m too tired to climb hills. Can’t we stop somewhere nearby?”

“But it’s just a little ways away,” Ness jumped onto the roof of a house.

“Can we at least stop and get something to eat?” asked Claus.

“Yeah, I haven’t eaten since morning!” agreed Lucas.

“I’m sure my mom will make us some lunch when we get there,” said Ness, “she makes the best steak I’ve ever tasted. You’ll love it too, I’m sure!”

“It’s been SO long since I’ve had steak, I’ve forgotten what it tastes like,” admitted Claus.

Lucas chuckled at his brother, who shoveled his feet, “So how safe is this place compared to New Pork?”

“Only thing you have to watch out for here, at least in the Smash part of Onett, are cars.” said Ness.



“Cars?”

“They tend to speed past the houses, and they don’t stop for anything. When the Smash tournaments are going on, they count as ‘stage hazards’ and cause damage, but not enough to seriously injure you.”

“What happens if your hit and the tournaments are over?” asked Claus.

“...Then it’s no longer a ‘stage hazard’, and you’ve...”

“So let’s see if I understand: during these tournaments, you get hit by a car and you’re OK in the end, but if the tournaments are done and you’re hit by one, then you’re-?”

Ness and Lucas both nodded, which made Claus shudder.

“The Brawl tournaments are all done, but we still have some cleaning up to do,” said Ness, “so Master Hand said we’re to remain in the Smash World until he says otherwise.”

“Who?”

“Long story,”

“Guys, c’mon!” said Claus, “I won’t be able to understand anything here if you don’t tell me anything! I’ve been gone for several years, remember?”



“Brother, you still haven’t told us how you...well,” Lucas shuffled his feet into the ground, “how you’re...here.”

“I can’t tell you, Lucas,”

“Why not?”

“I just can’t, OK? I can’t tell you how I’ve been brought back from the dead, how I’ve been pulled away from MOM!” Claus was getting upset, as evident by his tone of voice, “All I remember was being hit by that lightning bolt, my mind going dark, seeing our mother, and then...pulled away from her arms...and waking up in a space-like place.”

“Final Destination?” asked Ness.

“What?!”

“Never mind.”

“Anyway, I can’t tell you, because I can’t remember anything beyond those, OK?!!” Claus was about to run off, “So just leave me alone about it!!”

“Brother!” Lucas rushed toward Claus and grabbed his arm. The elder one turned to him, and Lucas had a sad look in his eyes.

“I need to be alone!” he said, shoving Lucas to the ground.



The twin walked away. Ness slowly walked toward Lucas and stopped beside him.

“Ness, do you think Claus will be OK?” asked the blonde, standing up.

“Maybe...we should give him some space for a while,” replied Ness, “if my sister acted that way, I know I’d do the same.”

Lucas lets out a whimper.

“He’ll come back when he’s ready,” Ness tried to cheer Lucas up, “let’s get something to eat, in the meantime,”

“Oh...ok,”

As the two made their way into a burger shop, Claus was huddled against the wall of a house, shaking.

“Why?” he asked himself, “Why can’t I remember?”

"It’s not your time to leave yet, young one..."

“And why do I keep hearing that voice?!”

With a heavy sigh, Claus shakily stood up and walked to the burger shop to join Lucas and Ness.

[ganondorf2]

Nice!

[The Melee Master]

The story continues from a 3 year hiatus! Sorry for the wait. I had massive writers block with the story, AND my Brawl disc stopped working long after, about a month ago, I found that out! Just rented another copy for the sake of this story, so here's the long-awaited update! I hope it was worth the wait.

Chapter 8

Jordan stopped in the middle of the path as he tried to grasp the scenery around him. The area he and the others wound up in was unfamiliar territory, definitely far from where their destination was.

"Well, so much for relying on instinct," he said with a sigh, bending down to the ground.



James walked up from behind Jordan as he was seen fiddling around with his communicator. He sighed as he finally dropped his hand, "Well, Jordan, I hate to admit it, but I can't get into contact with General Pepper or anyone else at the base,"

"Wonderful..." Jordan said bitterly, "my communicator's dead, too. I wonder if it has anything to do with this world we're in."

"That was my guess, too. After all, they worked very well in the Smash World, but something about this place feels...different."

"Not in a good way, I'm assuming,"

"Not at all."

Meanwhile, Allina was far behind, struggling to keep up, while Aeon and Irene didn’t seem to have any trouble, or so it seemed. If they did, then they were hiding it rather well.

“How long have we been walking??” panted the warrior.

“An hour and 25 minutes,” said Aeon.

"Whatever that means..." Of course, Allina was from an era where the concept of 'time' had not been invented yet.

Jordan sighed at that, “It’s any wonder how I’m not tired."

James looked around a bit to determine just how quiet everything was, to see if it was safe to rest. After a bit, he concluded, "All right, then we’ll rest here for a while.”

With that being said, after Allina caught up with everyone else, she was the first to sit. She wiped the sweat from her face with her arm.

“Allina, perhaps you should take off that heavy looking armor,” said Irene, sitting beside her, “it’s no wonder you’re so tired.”

“I’m fine, your highness,” she replied, still panting.



“We got to at least find some water somewhere,” said Jordan as he fiddled with his communicator, “but where to start looking?”

“I don’t hear any brooks or streams nearby,” said James with disappointment.

“And what about your wounds?” the darker colored fox asked everyone else, “Don’t they need tending to?”

“Yes,” said Allina, “but...how can we without water?”

“Allina and I have the ability to heal wounds, but,” Irene started, “it can only help so much, I fear. It seems her powers and my own aren’t that much different.”

“Meaning that if your abilities can only do so much, then Allina’s is the same?” asked Jordan.

Both women nodded, giving Jordan his answer.

“Maybe we can try asking for directions?” asked Allina, “Where ever we’re going to?”

James shook his head, “Too risky.”

“Why is that?”

“Jordan and I are under strict orders at the moment. The more who know about us, the more danger our jobs are put under.”

“Huh?”

James began to explain what the job was and why it had to be kept secret, confusing Allina.

“Why does a service like that exist anyway?” she asked, “I mean, what’s the point in keeping it a secret?"

“Sometimes, military employees exceed and outrank everyone else, and it wouldn’t be fair to keep them with the lower rankings,” said Jordan, “General Pepper, and several other officials, formed the Cornerian Secret Service Unit, to help keep an equal balance of military teams.”

“The service is exclusive to top ranking units, and must never be revealed to the other squadrons,” said James.

“I still don’t understand the point, but I won’t argue with it,” Allina said with a sigh.

“I’m sorry that we can’t reveal any more than that,”

“If it’s a secret, then there is no need,” said Aeon as he remained standing, fiddling with the chains on his clock.

“Thank you for understanding,”

“Now then,” said Jordan, “I don't know about you, McCloud, but I don't know what to do or where to go from here."

"I recommend we locate Douglass Jay Falcon and David to help us with this," replied James, "though I have a feeling they're in the Smash World somewhere, still training. We were suppose to meet up with them anyway, don't you remember?"

"Yeah, back when Ganondorf and his cronies were a threat not too long ago. You think they could be resting in Hyrule Temple?"

"Perhaps, but again, we'll have to find someway to get to that world. I’d hate to go all the way back to our Arwings just to get a map, so I guess we’re on our own.”

“James, we’ve been on our own since the moment we couldn’t get in contact with General Pepper, and I want to know what’s going on with that.”

“In due time, I suppose. Maybe the princess of Hyrule can help us further with our mission once we locate her. Now, what’s her name again?”

That caught Allina's attention, “Princess? You have a princess, too?”

“Based on what our general told us, there’s a land called Hyrule, and it’s governed by a princess, but she's not our princess,” said James, “We’ve met her before, too. Much like some of the other worlds, part of Hyrule is in what is known as the Smash World, and the fighters who complete in the Smash tournaments fight in that area from time to time. We're trying to find a way to get back there.”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand,”

Irene stood up and stretched before relaxing, “Are the two of you part of this...'tournament'?”



“No ma’am,” said James, “Jordan and I were sent to the Smash world to take care of a mission that happened not so long ago, and judging by how quiet things have gotten, I’d say it’s been taken care of.”

“And then General Pepper sends us for this mission right after,” said Jordan, sounding unhappy about it.

“It’s not like you to complain, Jordan,”

“Hey, who’s complaining?” he smiled, “At least we’re getting paid for each mission we’re assigned to,”

“Yeah, but right now,” he stood and turned his back to Jordan, “money’s the least of my concerns,”

“Usually, I’d say the same thing, but that won’t help repair the damage done to your real Arwing during its weekly field test the other day,”

James let out a gentle sigh in defeat.

“You’re lucky Sargent Sparks let you borrow a spare Arwing. Anyway,” Jordan now sounded annoyed as he crossed his arms, “how do we go to Hyrule without our Arwings, Mr ‘let’s go on foot’?”

“Going on foot will lessen the chance of us being spotted by the wrong people, Jordan,” countered James in a calm tone, “I thought you knew that.”

Jordan sighed and slightly rose his voice, "James, Fox and Falco are in the Smash World, or at least they should be!"



“Arguing over the matter will not solve anything,” said Irene, trying to keep the peace.

“I’m sorry,” said the ex-leader to the other three, “I wish we had some ideas. I’m usually on top of this kind of thing.”

“There's something holding you back, then,” said Aeon.

“Yes sir. General Pepper rushed us into taking this mission, and we didn’t have much time to prepare for it,” explained Jordan.

“And as we said, until we’re able to reach him, we’ll have to take this on ourselves,” said James.

“So James, think you could put those leadership skills of yours to good use?”

James turned to Jordan. “I told you, Jordan, I’m not a leader anymore,”

“I realize that. I’m saying that you have the right instincts for these situations. Right now, anything could help. I honestly believe it would be a good idea for you to return to your position as leader, just until the mess is fixed.”

James then was silent.

“If I may ask,” Allina chimed in, “of what country or army are you a leader of?”



"Country or army?" Jordan then chuckled, "you might want to go a little smaller, ms."

James smiled at that, "As we said, I’m not a leader anymore, but I use to be a leader of a small mercenary team called Star Fox. I gave up my leadership many years ago, passing it to my son, Fox, and took the job I’m working in now, in it’s place.”

"Oh,"

“C’mon James, we really could use someone with your kind of experience,” said Jordan, “after this, you’ll never have to take on being a leader again.”

James’s tail twitched as he didn’t know what to think.

“Your friend seems to have good intentions,” said Aeon to James, then to Jordan, “but pressuring one into doing something he isn’t comfortable with will only receive a bad outcome for both parties."

Jordan sighed to that, knowing that Aeon was right.

Aeon directed himself back to James "The choice is entirely yours to make, James.”

James was silent for a few seconds before he replied, “My answer is no, and I stand my ground on my decision.”

Jordan didn’t say anything out loud, but thought to himself, “He’ll change his mind. If a situation becomes dire enough, his instinct as leader will definitely kick in. I have faith in that.” His ears perked up and he looked around, “Oh no...”

“What’s a group without a leader?” asked Allina.

“A group who works together to avoid any obstacle,” James replied, “I’m sure we’ll get through this if we-“

“James, I’m sorry to interrupt your rather cheesy team motivation speech, but we really need to get moving,” said Jordan as he stood up and walked ahead of his service partner, who made no comment at Jordan’s rather seriousness of the situation. Of course, James was serious, too, but still...

“Eager to move along?” asked Allina as she stood and followed.

Jordan sighed, “No ma’am, I just have reason to believe that we have unwanted company trailing behind us.”

“Are you able to tell who it is?” she asked, but the fox shook his head as he turned back around.

“Let’s press onward before we’re found, then,” said Irene.

All of a sudden, a shadow of a dragon was seen on the ground, before the creature landed in front of the group, roaring, “You’re not going anywhere!” It shot a blast of fire, which the five had dodged fairly easily.

“Ah ha, I thought so!” said Jordan, looking around.

It was then that the dragon, Rathian, smashed into the ground on his feet.



Allina was astonished at the dragon’s appearance, “You again?!”

“Wait, you know this tyrant??” asked Jordan, but he didn’t receive an answer.

Smoke snorted out Rathian’s nose as he slowly proceeded toward the group, “I gave my word...to my lord...that I would capture the princess for his own.”

“Not this again...” Allina said, “that red creep doesn’t give up, does he?!”

Rathian snorted at Allina’s remark, then his eye caught the sight of the two foxes, “Aww, you brought me a snack? How disgustingly sweet of you.”

“Sorry buddy,” flames appeared around Jordan, “but the only thing you’ll be snacking on is my Fire Fox!”



Jordan propelled toward Rathian, looking like a flaming bullet. The dragon didn’t have time to process what was happening, and the fox managed to strike him dead on. As Rathian crashed to the ground, he felt dizzy.

Jordan got to his feet, dusting his hands off as he mocked, “What’s the matter? Am I too spicy for a fire breathing lizard? How ironic.”

Rathian stood, his hand on his head, “Ugh...”

Both foxes got back into position, ready to attack the dragon again, although James quietly muttered to himself, probably about Jordan’s hasty move. Where James was the more careful and strategic type, Jordan was the opposite: taking challenges head-on, or shoot first ask questions later, just like Fox. Whether or not that was the reason Pepper and the other officials paired them up, was unknown.

After Rathian got himself together, flames seeped through his mouth, “Where’s your little prince at? Too scared to face me?!”

Since the group was completely unaware that Regulus had been sent to the very location James and Jordan were looking for, they didn’t say anything about it. In response to the silence he received, Rathian shot out a blast of fire, making them dodge. The fire had exploded in on itself, throwing Allina and making her tumble across the ground.

“No!” Jordan rushed over to her and helped her up.

Sparkles appeared from Irene’s hands and she rushed over to Rathian. Unfortunately, the dragon was quicker, striking the princess with his flaming tail and sending her skidding across the ground. He snorted black smoke from his nostrils.

“Princess!!” shouted Allina.

"Sorry, 'your highness'," Rathian mocked, "but you were about to attack me, right?! NOW I have you right where I want you!" He proceeded to walk over to the princess while she was stunned.

However, Aeon jumped in front of Irene and began powering up the Requiem of the 13th Hour.

“Heed me-” he called out before he was interrupted.

“Uh, what are you doing?” asked a confused Rathian, c0cking his head.

Irene and Allina knew what to do from there. They shot out a blast of magic at the dragon, striking it and making it fall on it’s back.

As the dragon got back on it’s feet, Aeon shouted, “STOP!”

Everything came to a standstill. Aeon turned around and noticed that he had accidentally froze his companions, including James and Jordan.

“Forgive me everyone, but this will just take a minute,” he said, then he turned his attention to Rathian, and walked over to the frozen dragon, "You look like an ordinary dragon yet you take orders from a supernatural being of the underworld. What do you wish to gain by throwing away your freedom for a devil like Diablo?”

He came face-to-face to Rathian, looking at the dragon directly in the eyes. Suddenly, he jumped to the other side as the dragon lunged, and failed, to bite into his throat, as flames seeped from the dragon's mouth. The unexpected move caused Aeon to drop his weapon.



Aeon let out a small laugh as he wagged an index finger, “Ah ahh... After fighting the twin demons, did you honestly believe I would fall for such a trick a second time?”

Fire sprouted from the dragon’s mouth out of annoyance as Aeon snapped his fingers, releasing everyone else from time's hold. They managed to catch their balance before looking around.

“What was that?” asked Jordan.

“Apologizes everyone,” said Aeon.

"You did that, Aeon?" asked James.

"Quite so. I was aiming for the dragon to be frozen in time. How odd..."

"I didn't 'throw away my freedom'," growled the dragon, "I simply chose to serve lord Diablo in exchange for power!"

“So that's why Rathian wasn't affected by Aeon's ability?!" asked Allina.

Rathian inched closer to the group, anger burning in his eyes.

“James,” said Jordan, “I hate to ask, but what do your instincts say? Make or break?!”

Aeon quickly rushed over and helped Irene to her feet. James didn’t hesitate on his answer.

“Break!” he said, surprising Jordan of his answer, “And quickly!”

Jordan rushed over and snatched Allina, while Aeon had Irene’s arm draped over his shoulder as he followed, snagging his clock weapon upon passing. James took out his blaster and shot it off at Rathian’s eyes, in an attempt to distract him. It worked, as the dragon shook his head in irritation. As soon as he opened his eyes, the group was gone.

“Curses!!” he roared.

"For crying out out," Rathian heard a voice mumble, "we can't leave you for two seconds to get the job done on your own, can we?"

The dragon growled as he watched a being walk over to him from behind a large tree: the Bloody Swordsman.



"Where in seven hells have you been?!" growled Rathian.

"I WAS waiting to ambush those fools," he said lazily, "but you ruined my trap!"

"Trap shmap!" the dragon was about to charge at the swordsman, but stopped as he picked up a scent, "hm?" He lifted his head and sniffed the air.

"Cat got your tongue?" asked the bloody swordsman.

"I smell humans,"

"Of course," he said with a huff, "we just saw them...!"

"No, I mean...this is different..." Rathian growled, "there are others around."

"Oh that's just wonderful," he rolled his eyes, "well, we can't get the job done if there are witnesses, so let's dispose of them quickly, and get back to our mission."

***

The group tried to get as far away from the dragon as they possibly could. Once they were in a clearing, they stopped to catch their breaths. Jordan looked around for any possible surprises, before letting Allina go.

“All right,” he panted, “I think we’ll be safe here.”

The masked warrior took one step forward, but then fell forward with a cry, catching Jordan’s attention.

“Ma’am, are you all right?” he asked, bending down at her.

“My knee,” she said in pain.

"I figured one of us was injured," said James.

"I guess that explains your hasty answer there, then," said Jordan, in which James nodded to.

Irene got off Aeon and walked over to Allina. Her hand sparkled as she inched it toward the injury, but then with a flinch of her hand, she backed off.

“It’s just a sprain,” the princess said, relief was heard in her voice, “though it might be best if you get it treated by one of the locals around here.”

“I’m sure one of the Smash members can help after we find a way into that world,” said Jordan, then to James, “what do you say?”

James lowered his head, showing off the seriousness in his eyes, “Jordan...”

“I know, James, but what other choice do we have? We won’t have to ask around and risk getting caught by...'certain others', if we know who to ask, and who to avoid, at least until we find the temple.”

James sighed in defeat. Irene carefully hosted Allina over her shoulders.

"You really don't have to, your Majesty," said Allina, "I'll be all right." But once Allina took one step after letting Irene go, she let out a cry and stumbled, and the princess caught her.

"Don't be silly," said the princess in a gentle tone, grabbing Allina.

"But-"

"You and Regulus risked your lives to make sure I was safe from those demons, right?" she hosted Allina over her once again, with her arms supporting the warrior's legs, "Well it's my turn to return the favor."

"But your highness-"

"I told you, I can hold my own, and therefore, I relieve you AND Regulus of your duty of protecting me for now. That's an order!"

Allina sighed, then turned to Aeon with pleading eyes, as if saying 'please make sure Irene remains unharmed'. Aeon was about to oblige, until he heard Irene say, as if she knew, "That goes double for you, Aeon!"

Aeon didn't say a word to that, but Allina spoke to Irene, "You know it's not official until you say it to Prince Regulus's face, too, right?"

Irene didn't comment toward that, figuring that it wasn't worth fighting over. Jordan looked at James, who shrugged his shoulders in response, then Jordan turned to the other three, "That dragon...so that thing is who you're dealing with, then?"

"One of them," said Allina.

"Is this 'Diablo' the demon you mentioned earlier?" asked James.

"I'm afraid it is," said Irene, "but now's not the time to explain."

"I agree," said the Anastis warrior.

"All right, then we'll wait until we get to the Smash World," said Jordan, then he looked into the sky, "providing we can find a way there anytime soon..."

[ganondorf2]

Pretty good.