Well...if I ever get sued, it's going to be for this. Just a fair warning. Also, if you see a star (*), that means from then on nothing is real, I just added it in for your enjoyment. If you see a second star, that means that after that, everything is real again.

+===+

2009.
Somewhere in an alternate universe.
The worst villains in the history of video games had gathered in a single building for the first time ever...except in crossover games like Brawl.
Bowser, King of the Koopas and eternal rival to all inhabitants of the Mushroom Kingdom, growled, “What are we all doing here? Which one of you interrupted my scheming just to bring us here and stand around?”
Ganondorf, bearer of the Triforce of Power and constant threat to the kingdom of Hyrule, grunted menacingly, “We’ve already found that none of us are the one that called us here. Our host is late to his own party.”
King Dedede, king of Dreamland and glutton, looked around nervously, “I’m not sure what I’m even doing here. I’m not evil, I just hate Kirby. I’ve never actually done anything evil...except maybe deny my citizens food...”
The door suddenly swung open. A man in his early twenties, smiling forebodingly, strode into the room and stopped behind the podium at the front of the room.
“Gentlemen,” he said calmly, “I am your host. It appears we are one short, but that does not matter. Our final member will be briefed when he arrives. Now, you may be wondering why I have gathered you all here today. The answer is simple: we all want something that we cannot obtain. Bowser wants to rule the Mushroom Kingdom. Ganondorf wishes to rule Hyrule. And Dedede...well, I’m not so sure.
“Whenever you try to obtain your unobtainable prize, there’s always something that stands in your way, no? Actually, someone. One very specific person that prevents you from getting what you want.”
There was an assessment of outbursts:
“Mario!”
“Link!”
“Kirby!”
The man called for attention and his guests quieted down. “Now then, you all know what I mean. I suggest this: to join forces. A one-time thing, I assure you. Together, we can defeat our foes, and rule!”
Bowser raised a clawed hand. The man pointed to him, “Yes, Bowser? Do you have something to say?”
“Why do you want to do this? What do you have to gain from this?”
The man smiled, “Yes, you want to know what it is going to cost you. No, I do not want anything. Except I have enemies of my own. Two enemies, unlike you three. Two very annoying enemies that never seem to die. Like cockroaches.
“So what do you say? Will you join me, to benefit yourself?”
The three kings looked at each other. Ganondorf cleared his throat, “I think we all agree...but we have to know your name, first.”
The man grinned, “Yes, I almost forgot. My name is Rain Storm.”

+===+

Nick and Scott materialized in an open field. Scott looked around, “Okay, where are we? What is this all about?”
Nick grinned, “I already told you; I made a game.”
Scott scowled, “You have to stop doing that, Nick. Nintendo and all the other major franchises get ticked off every time you do.”
Nick folded his arms, “This time is different. Remember that research you started two years ago?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ve used it to make this game.”
“So why is it a DVG?”
Nick sighed, “You might not like this, but I got DVG to merge with NSK.”
Scott shrugged, “I’m fine with getting sucked into games, just when I want to. Wait, when was this? Only a couple of months ago-”
“We were caught in a DVG of Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, yes, I remember. This was really recent.”
Scott shrugged again, “Okay, so back to this game...”
Nick pulled a diagram from his pocket, “See, with your research, combined with DVG’s technology, we were able to replicate an entire universe.”
“Replicate meaning...”
“None of this is real. Everything is computer-generated.”
Scott sighed and then laughed, “Good. Computer-generated is just the way I like it.”
Nick cracked his knuckles, “And you’re going to enjoy this game. In this world, universes are interlocked together, and can be traveled through by use of portals that randomly pop up when it’s really inconvenient.”
Scott gestured into the distance, “So I could just start walking, and a portal would come out of no where and whisk me away, just like that?”
Nick grinned, “Yeah, exactly like that.”
Scott thought for a moment and then grinned, “So tell me of these five universes.”
“Of course,” Nick said, stroking his chin, “I have replicated five well-known universes and put the most important places here: The Mushroom Kingdom, Hyrule, Dreamland, Mobius, and our very own Earth.”
Scott’s face practically glowed, “Mobius? Does that mean Sonic is in here?”
“Yes.”
Scott hugged him tightly, “Oh, thank you! If I had known you were going to create a video game with alternate dimensions, I would never have guessed you were going to include Sonic in it!”
Nick coughed, “Well, it was mostly a fan service.”
Scott abruptly dropped Nick, “Oh. Well, in that case...”
Rain Storm noisily materialized in front of them. He smiled evilly, “Hello, victims.”
Scott frowned. He turned to Nick, “Who is this guy?”
Nick shrugged, “A human I knew once. Hates me. I didn’t want the game to be impossible for humans, so I thought a human villain would be easiest.”
Rain Storm growled, “Hey! I’m talking to you!” He extended his arm and shot a blast of wind that flew down Scott’s throat.
Scott began to gag and his eyes bulged. Nick observed this and said, “Yeah, he was in a coma and struck by lightning, so now he has these powers over the weather. Other than that, he’s one hundred percent human.”
Scott continued to choke, and Nick shrugged, “What he’s doing is sending air into your body, where it will expand and ultimately blow you up. Very lethal. Eh, I should help you. So I will.”
Nick made four gestures in thin air and a plate of pure energy appeared in his hands. He looked at it absentmindedly while Scott continued to suffocate behind him. He suddenly shoved the plate in front of Scott’s face and Rain Storm blew up. At least, that’s what it looked like to a human. What actually happened, and could be picked up by an elf’s eyes, was that the column of air abruptly stopped at the plate of energy, rebounding back to Rain. After Rain had been thrown back by the force of the air, Nick flicked his wrist and the plate of energy spun towards Rain, exploding on contact.
Rain Storm hesitantly got to his feet, “Okay, then. You couldn’t come quietly, so I regret to show you this.” He gestured and a bolt of electricity shot from his hand. The bolt formed a circle and spun wildly, showing a blurry picture. The picture cleared, and Nick and Scott saw the throne room of a castle.
In the throne room, they saw Bowser hungrily holding up Mario and Luigi by their feet. Ganondorf stood triumphantly, arms crossed, in front of two magical cages holding Link and Zelda. King Dedede held a tiny cage with Kirby inside.
Nick and Scott gasped in horror.
Rain Storm shrugged, a smile forming on his lips, “Now...will you come with me to join your friends?”
Scott angrily shouted, “No!”
Nick sighed, “Okay.”
Rain Storm grinned, “Well then.” He raised his arm and shot a blast of energy to the ground. Where it struck a portal opened, sucking the three of them in. They suddenly found themselves in the throne room itself.
“Rain!” Bowser shouted when he saw them, “We’re almost done here. We just have one more! Where’s that last one you were talking about?”
Rain Storm laughed, “In due time, my friend. In due time.”
There was a ringing from Rain Storm’s pocket and he fished out a cell phone. He looked at it for a time and then shut it, returning the phone to his pocket. “Speak of the devil; that was him. Ganondorf, would you mind holding these two?” he gestured to Nick and Scott.
Ganondorf nodded and grabbed them both by the neck.
Rain Storm opened another portal beneath their feet and everyone was sucked in. They were now in a tropical forest.
Rain Storm grinned as he looked up into the sky. Hovering above them was a giant spherical ship with a mustached face inscribed on the side.
“The Death Egg!” Scott shouted knowingly.
Rain Storm frowned, “Shut him up. No wait, don’t. I’ll do it later.”
There came a steady humming from one direction and Rain Storm turned towards it, raising a hand. An orb of electricity combined with wind formed in his hand as they saw a blue blur come over the horizon. The blur sped towards them faster than the speed of sound. Rain Storm clenched his teeth.
Right before the blur ran right into Rain Storm, it jumped and cleared. It was Sonic the Hedgehog. The blue hedgehog was now directly in front of Rain Storm’s face. His eyes grew wide as Sonic kicked his head, sending him toppling.
Nick elbowed Ganondorf in the stomach, completely unexpectedly. He kicked Ganondorf in the stomach, loosing the hand holding his neck. Seizing the opportunity, Nick turned in his grasp, punching Ganondorf in the neck.
Ganondorf released them both and fell to the ground, in doing so also losing control of the barrier surrounding Link.
Nick landed on his feet and took off in a run, heading for King Dedede. Dedede raised his hammer, but that was exactly what Nick had wanted. He leaped and kicked King Dedede in the stomach. The glutton dropped Kirby’s cage and fell, clutching his stomach. Nick scooped up the cage and freed Kirby.
By now Scott was on his feet and ran towards Bowser, the only villain still standing. Bowser frowned, anticipating the attack, and smashed Luigi’s body into Scott’s face. Meanwhile Nick leapt onto his back and pointed to Rain Storm, who was coming to, “Scott, take him! I’ve got Bowser!”
Scott turned and received a massive jolt of electricity to the face. He collapsed and Rain Storm, who had been standing in front of him, leaped above Bowser, fist raised to punch Nick.
Nick let go of Bowser and was bucked off instantly. Rain Storm’s fist smashed into Bowser’s head, causing him to collapse. Rain Storm frowned as Mario jumped out of Bowser’s limp hand and punched him in the gut.
Rain Storm retrieved the cell phone from his pocket and flipped it open, “Hey! Eggman! I need you to-”
He was interrupted by a laser that had come from the Death Egg, striking the ground a few feet away from where he was standing. The laser opened up a powerful portal that began to suck everything into it.
Rain Storm clenched his teeth and shouted into the phone over the gale, “That’s not what I wanted you to do! I – Nevermind.”
Ganondorf had gotten to his feet and, at a word from Rain Storm, teleported Bowser, Luigi, King Dedede, and Zelda up to the Death Egg. Rain Storm scowled, “Change of plans: we kill them all, one by one.” Without explaining further, he teleported away to the Death Egg.
The rescued heroes, Scott, Nick, and Sonic were left to the pull of the portal. Kirby was the first to be lifted into the air, followed by Mario. Nick grabbed them both and found himself lifted off the ground. Scott came to his aid, grabbing Nick’s leg. Nick shouted to Link, “Hey, Link! Put on the Iron Boots!”
The swordsman nodded and put on two bronze boots that weighed him down. He grabbed Sonic, who had started to rise into the air, and Scott, who now was lifted off the ground. They formed an odd chain, Link connected to the ground, holding Sonic and Scott, the latter holding Nick, who was holding Mario and Kirby.
They were like this for a time before they noticed Ganondorf, who was still there and watching them, seemingly immune to the massive gale. In one hand he held a dark chunk of wood. He smiled as he raised the clenched fist, “Here’s a present from my latest apprentice. Hope you like it!” He threw the splinter and it stuck in Link’s forehead. Link opened his mouth to scream, but the splinter magically sank into his head. Once it had entirely disappeared, Link fell to his knees and transformed into a black wolf with blue eyes. Having no opposable thumbs and losing his Iron Boots, he and the other heroes flew into the portal. Ganondorf laughed as they flew in, and warped to join his allies on the Death Egg.

+===+

Nick, Scott, Mario, Link, Kirby, and Sonic appeared in the air over World 1 in the Mushroom Kingdom. They fell to the ground and collapsed in separate bushes.
Nick, Scott and Kirby got to their feet. Nick looked out to the west, where Mario and Link stood on a beach as the sun rose. Link was now in the form of a wolf, meaning he would be of little help. Nick walked over to them as Scott turned and grinned maliciously at Kirby.
Nick sighed, “I’m sorry, you two. I’m sorry we couldn’t save your special ones. But I know something that might make you feel better.”
Behind them, Scott was chasing Kirby around with a fully automatic machine gun and laughing like a psychotic maniac. Mario and Link looked at Nick expectantly.
“They’re not going to kill them. But they are going to use them against us. The best thing we can do is save them as soon as possible.”
Scott had abandoned his machine gun and was now chasing Kirby with an old fashioned chain saw and was wearing a hockey mask. He was, however, still laughing like a psychotic maniac. He paused momentarily to spread ketchup on the blades of the saw before continuing to laugh and pursue Kirby.
Nick sighed and closed his eyes. He turned his head to the rising sun and opened his eyes, “I will see to it.”
Scott ran past, brandishing a flamethrower and shouting: “I am the Fury!”
Nick turned and kicked Scott in the shin, “Will you shut up! I’m trying to have a sentimental moment!”
Scott growled and clutched his bruised leg. He suddenly noticed something and looked to the east, “Hey, where’s Sonic?”
The wind picked up and blew towards the east. The five of them turned to see a castle on the far side of the World rise from the ground.
Scott began to walk towards it, but Nick stopped him with a firm hand that grasped his shoulder, “Thank you, Scott,” he said adamantly, “but Princess Luigi is in another castle.”
He let go of Scott’s shoulder and walked to the north, without waiting for anyone else.
The others stared after him for a moment and then Scott ran to him, “Wait, what are we going to do about Sonic? We can’t just leave him behind.”
Nick shrugged, “I don’t know where he is. Plus, wouldn’t you like to be the one to defeat Eggman?”
Scott rubbed his chin thoughtfully, “While that is tempting, I cannot agree to that. Sonic is going with no matter what.”
Nick sighed and then smiled, “And the fan service continues.”

+===+

Farther into World 1, they found Sonic stuck in a tree. After burning the tree down, Sonic was rescued and joined them once more. As they avoided the Koopas and Goombas that regularly patrolled the World, they found themselves staring at a giant pipe blocking their path.
Scott turned to the others, “Hey, it doesn’t matter. We can just go around.” He shrugged and started to walk past the pipe. Halfway through, however, the ground began to shake and a giant piranha plant drew its body out of the pipe, roaring as it reached down and ate Scott whole.
The piranha plant turned to the other five and roared. It lunged to take another bite out of one of them.
Nick, Sonic, Mario, and Kirby lunged to the side, leaving Wolf Link to be devoured by the carnivorous plant.
The plant chewed noisily as Nick turned to his three remaining allies, “Okay, Mario, you’re familiar with Piranha Plants; how do we kill them?”
Mario said something in Italian and Nick groaned, “Oh, so they can only be defeated by fireballs...too bad we don’t have a fire flower on hand...” He looked at each of them in turn, his eyes resting on Kirby. His face slowly grew into a grin.
He grabbed Kirby by the face and turned and chucked him into the gaping maw of the beast.
The Piranha Plant continued to chew as Nick frowned, “Well, that didn’t work.”
Mario pointed behind the Piranha Plant at an item block. He turned to Nick and spoke something else in Italian. Nick nodded, “Oh, I understand. You want us to distract the plant while you check that item block for a fire flower.”
Mario cocked his head and spoke something else in Italian. Nick exasperatedly threw up his hands, “What do you mean? I’m not just repeating everything you say!”
Mario sighed and held his forehead in his hand.
Nick and Sonic waved their hands at the revolting plant. The Piranha Plant roared and lunged for them, but they ran out of the way just in time.
The Piranha Plant turned it head as it looked from Nick to Sonic, sizing them up, deciding which to eat first. It reared up, mouth wide, drawing in a breath of air. As it was about to attack, Mario shouted at the plant.
Everyone turned to the portly plumber as he held out a shining star. He grinned as he absorbed its power. As Mario glowed with a rainbow of light, he reached out his arm and clenched it into a fist. He extended his other fist and spun the two fists around each other.
Sonic frowned, “What’s he doing?”
Nick groaned, “He’s dancing.”
Sonic and Nick looked at each other and then at the plant, who was distracted by Mario’s old-fashioned dance moves. They looked at each other once more and came to a simultaneous plan.
Nick drew his sword and Sonic leaped into the air. Nick slashed at the Piranha Plant’s stalk as Sonic curled into a ball, homing in on the back of the plant’s head.
The plant convulsed and threw up Scott, Wolf Link, and Kirby before the head rolled off of its support, crashing to the ground.
Nick chuckled lightly, “That was enjoyable.”
“Oh, I would say that was a little frightening, if I were asked.”
The six heroes turned to see a short man in a lab coat with a single strand of hair sticking straight up.
Nick crossed his arms, “Dr. Elvin Gadd. Or, rather, ‘Egad’.”
E. Gadd chuckled once more, “Yes, hello, Nick, Mario, and company. I see you’re on an adventure to save the world as usual.”
Scott frowned, “It’s not an adventure per se, as Luigi and Princess Zelda were kidnapped, and the villains teamed up to be an almost unstoppable force-”
“Business as usual, it is.” E. Gadd said, nodding. “Well, I can aid you in your quest. You see, I modified this pipe here into a cannon that can shoot you all the way to World 5. However, a piranha plant invaded the pipe soon afterwards, rendering it useless. But now that you’ve cleared away that monster...”
“We can shoot Kirby out of a cannon!” Scott shouted, grabbing the pink puffball and chucking him into the pipe. He then jumped in after Kirby, grabbing Sonic as he went.
Nick climbed up onto the pipe, helping Wolf Link up, “Hey, thanks, Professor, we all appreciate your help.”
As Mario jumped in, the last one to do so, E. Gadd chuckled to himself, “Oh, your thanks isn’t necessary, since this is the invention’s first test. I should warn you that it has a large possibility of exploding with all of you inside of it.”
Nick’s exasperated shouting was lost on the scientist as he pressed a button that would activate the cannon, “Wait, what’s that supposed to-”
The cannon fired, cutting him off. The six heroes flew threw the air, flying over the Worlds below, at last coming crashing down into a field of white, although each of them saw an odd flash of black and red.

+===+

The heroes shook the snow off of their bodies. They examined their surroundings in interest, as World 5 was indeed a snow world, but this was not the Mushroom Kingdom.
They stood on the peak of a mountain at sunset. The snow was light, and a barren tree hung to the side of the cliff they were standing on.
Nick frowned and looked to the bottom of the mountain. He pointed out something of interest, “Hey, is that a...mansion? What’s it doing way out here?”
Scott shrugged, “It looks abandoned. And slightly demolished. I wonder who lives there...”
There was a flash and four spirits of light appeared around them. The first, in the form of a goat, spoke, “Hero chosen by the gods, you find yourself once more cursed with the form of a wolf...”
The second, a monkey, spoke, “There is a way to restore you to your true form...”
The third, a hawk, continued, “You must go to the princess of the Twilight Realm. We have recovered the shards of the Mirror that will open the portal. However...”
The final spirit, a serpent, finished, “You must find the light giving the Mirror its power. You know where they are; they are in the same place that you first found the Mirror fragments. We wish you luck on your journey...”
They faded away, as if nothing had ever happened. Scott was the first to regain his voice, “So we’re in Hyrule now.”
Nick nodded, “It would appear so. Those portals certainly are random. So the first piece is down in that house. Don’t ask how I know, I just do. Trust me. We have to get down there, but we lack anything to jump across the major breaks in the path with.”
Scott thoughtfully hummed and stroked his chin. He looked from Wolf Link to Kirby and back several times, each time he turned his head his smile steadily grew.
“I know how we can get down the mountain.”

+===+

“Mush!”
Mario, Scott, and Nick stood at the reins of a sled, which was being pulled by Wolf Link, Sonic, and Kirby. Scott held a whip, using it every five seconds to ‘encourage’ Kirby to run faster.
The things Scott would say as he whipped gave some insight as to what was happening as they went along: “Run! Run! Run! Jump! Jump! Land! Land! Run! Run! Rest! Rest! Rest! Run!”
As they neared the bottom of the slope, Nick turned to Scott in a slight panic, “How do you propose we slow down? We can’t slow down in time to avoid crashing.”
Scott grinned as he strapped two lit sticks of dynamite to the sides of the sled, “Abandon craft. What else?”
He leaped in front of the sled and released Link and Sonic, slinging them under his arms to avoid the hurtling sled. Nick and Mario leaped from the sled, joining him.
Kirby was seemingly oblivious to the fact that he was dragging an empty sled loaded with explosives behind him, probably supported by the fact that he was now alone in pulling. He stopped in front of the mansion and tried to open the door, but it was locked. He turned back to get help from the others, but was instead met with a face full of fire.
The explosion knocked the double doors off their hinges, rocking the foundation of the flimsy building. The heroes, save Kirby, walked through the opening. Scott grabbed Kirby by the head as he walked past.

+===+

In the center of the courtyard of the mansion, called the Snowpeak Ruins, there was a single cannon, the traditional kind, not Dr. Gadd’s extreme version. Scott walked up to it and frowned, “Now what kind of idiot would put one of these in their own house? Honestly.”
Nick chuckled to himself, “I think you would know, Scott. Don’t you have a rail gun hanging over your bed?”
Scott spun around and yelled, “That’s for safety precautions!”
Nick chuckled again and walked to the far side of the courtyard, “Okay, whatever you say. Now, the light should be through this door. Brace yourselves...”
He opened the door and the heroes walked in. They were in an armory, an odd room for someone’s house. Sonic and Kirby examined a suit of armor as Nick frowned, “This isn’t right. Where’s the light?”
The suit of armor Kirby and Sonic were admiring sprang to life, brandishing a ball and chain, which it used to knock them away. Three cage doors fell from the ceiling, two trapping Sonic and Kirby, the final locking the door. Nick, Scott, Mario, and Wolf Link found themselves in a narrow hallway with a ball-and-chain-wielding possessed suit of armor.
Scott scowled and clenched his teeth, “This is why we don’t take directions from you, Nick.” He leaped over the suit of armor’s head, drawing two pistols as he did so. He shot two holes through the chain mail on its chest, smiling menacingly.
The possessed armor turned and smashed the spiked ball into Scott’s chest, hurtling him into the far wall. Scott crumpled to the ground.
The armor turned back to the foes at hand, finding its vision blurred with a sword through its face. Nick pulled the Fli Sword out of the armor, switching it to the ice setting with a flick of his thumb. He stabbed the sword through the chest of the armor. Once the sword was all the way through, he switched the sword to the fire setting, ripping it out of the armor. The armor began to melt, but continued its assault. It dropped its ball and chain as its hand melted away, but lurched for them.
Mario sprang forward, punching the armor in the gut, smashing what was left of it to pieces.
The cage doors fell away, freeing Sonic and Kirby, and allowed a way for escape. Scott stood up as if nothing had happened, picking up the ball and chain that had been discarded, “I think this will make a nice centerpiece. Don’t you?”
Nick frowned, “That doesn’t make sense; a heavy weapon like that makes an awful centerpiece.”
Scott yelled in Nick’s face, “Well, you make an awful GPS!”

+===+

Back in the courtyard, this time outside the only room on the third floor, the heroes readied themselves to take their first light.
Scott turned to Wolf Link, “You sure this is it? I can’t trust Nick with directions.”
As Nick began to protest, Link nodded. Scott grinned momentarily before swinging the doors wide open.
They walked in, finding themselves in a comfortable heated bedroom. They took in every part of their surroundings as a voice spoke from behind them, “Enjoying yourselves?”
They spun around to see a women wrapped in blankets standing in the doorway. She shut the doors behind her as she walked to the center of the room, head slightly turned to one side, “Why are you here?”
Scott cleared his throat, “We’re just looking for a light. Seen one?”
The woman nodded and looked to the ceiling, “Yes. See the light?”
They looked up and saw a magnificent chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The chandelier glowed with an odd light, pulsating steadily.
The woman swayed slightly as she looked upon it, “Is it not pretty? So...shiny...so...pretty...” She twitched as she spoke, her face growing darker.
She abruptly turned to them, her face contorted into an odd one, like that of a demon, “Not take light!” she screamed.
The windows shattered and the cold air streamed in, freezing the room solid. The woman rose off the ground until her head touched the chandelier. It shattered on contact, wrapping her in its light.
She screamed again and ice enveloped her body, forming a protective shield around her. The crystalline ice crashed to the floor, spinning wildly.
Nick drew the Fli Sword, switching it to the fire setting. Flames danced along the blade for a second before blinking out in the intense cold. He frowned and instead switched it to the electricity setting.
Wolf Link growled and lunged for the ice mass, sending it spinning into the wall, rebounding straight back at them.
Nick’s eyes grew as he slashed at the ice mass, effectively chipping a good sized chuck off as it rebounded back to the wall. The mass just ricocheted back towards them.
They lunged out of the way as the ice mass hurtled around the room. Nick turned to Scott, “It’s no use; we have nothing that can put a huge dent in that thing!”
Scott pulled the ball and chain from his pocket, “Have we?” He grinned as he swung the chain and spiked ball towards the ice mass.
The ball struck, shattering the ice on contact. Now that there was a hole in the side of the ice, the mass rose unnaturally off the ground, hovering above them. Eight smaller chucks of ice formed around it and smashed into the ground, forming a ring around them.
Scott spun the ball and chain over his head, “Just try it, woman! I’m here, and I’m waiting!”
The ice mass rose higher off the ground, preparing to fall into them. Nick stepped back a few paces, while Mario, Sonic, and Kirby banged on the miniature ice chunks, attempting to free themselves.
The ice mass slammed to the ground, intercepted in midair by the spiked mace ball, which Scott had thrown straight up. The ball smashed all the way through the ice mass, blasting the ice apart.
The woman eerily hovered and swayed in midair, exasperatedly gasping for breath. She collapsed to the floor in a heap. Light rose from her body, encompassing the entire room before settling on Link. The light enveloped the wolf’s body, and then faded away.
Scott cracked his knuckles, “One down. Now where’s the next one?”

+===+

After the sun had set, the heroes found themselves walking through a forest where one patch of trees looked exactly like every other one.
Scott stretched his back, “Are you sure this is the right way?”
The wolf leading them nodded.
Nick grunted and picked something off the ground. He showed it to the others: a clump of pine needles, out of place in this leafy forest.
“We’re close,” he said, turning forwards.
An oversized passageway barred their path. The passageway’s doors were missing, so there wasn’t any trouble there. The concrete was covered in moss, nearly invisible to their eyes.
The heroes walked through the passageway, the chattering of animals abruptly ceasing, rather ominously.
They came out of the passageway into a clearing, the clearing the remains of an old building. The door stood intact, uselessly blocking their path with no walls to support it. Past it, two statues stood intact, their surfaces unscathed. They were standing in front of a staircase that led on through the forest until their eyes could not see the end.
Nick walked up to the door and knocked on it absentmindedly, “So...as you can see, things are a little...rundown.”
“A little understated, too,” Scott mumbled as the doors surprisingly opened, revealing a building that replicated the building whose ruins now stood here.
Link growled and leaped through the open doorway. Nick turned to the others and shrugged, following after the wolf.
Scott grabbed Mario and Sonic and pushed them in, following quickly and slamming the door behind him. Kirby was left outside, desperately banging on the door to be let in.
Nick, Scott, Mario, and Sonic followed Wolf Link through the almost seamless building, at last coming to a sword stuck in the ground. The wolf nodded towards the sword and Nick claimed it, causing a wall in front of them to disappear, revealing a hidden passage.
Scott and Sonic cried out in surprise. Mario took a step back. Nick dropped the sword. Link barked and ran through the passage, leaving the rest of them behind once more.
Nick turned to the others and shrugged, following after the wolf, along with the others.
The passage stretched on for an indefinite time, at last coming to a dark hallway with numerous traps, spinning blades in the ground, and deadly hanging pendulums.
Scott gaped at the sight, “This is still Hyrule...right?”
Nick nodded and pulled a small cylinder of metal from his pocket. The rod extended to match his own height and he swung it, lodging it into the maws of a blade. “Quickly, go through!”
They jumped past, and Nick vaulted over the saw as it resumed moving. They repeated this process several times before coming to a deathly pendulum, swinging back and forth tauntingly with its sharp blade.
Nick frowned and the rod shrank back to its original size. He handed it to Sonic and unlatched a staff made of charred wood hanging on his back. Its surface flared up at his touch, and he pointed it at the top of the pendulum. A beam of fire sprayed from the tip of the staff, melting the pendulum at the point where it connected to the ceiling. The pendulum crashed to the ground, narrowly avoiding slicing Scott’s toes off.
Scott sighed in a mix of relief and awe. “Nice staff.”
Nick grinned slightly, “Thanks. I don’t remember where I got it, though. You would think I would remember...I even remember where I got my pants. How can I not remember where I got my staff?”
Scott frowned at this odd statement, “Where’d you get your pants?”
Nick shrugged, “I got them from the fourth dimension. That’s how I remember where I got them; my pants are magic!”
Scott narrowed one eye, “You have...magic pants?”
Nick nodded, “Yeah, the pockets are infinitely large. I can fit anything in the pockets.” To prove this, he pulled an anchor out of his pocket.
“Why would you need an anchor?” Scott asked incredulously.
Nick placed his left hand on his chin and looked to the ceiling, slowly saying, “Flashback...”

+===+

Nick walked down the street, anchor in hand. He swung the anchor over his shoulder, seemingly immune to its weight. He whistled as he walked, stopping outside a donut shop and tapping his foot.
A police officer came out of the donut shop and stared wide-eyed at the man with an anchor. He walked up behind Nick, tapping his shoulder and saying: “Excuse me, sir-”
Nick turned around, the sharp end of the anchor impaling the officer in the chest. Nick gasped in surprise and hesitantly inched away from the corpse, looking around to make sure no one had seen.

+===+

Nick looked back at his companions, his hand still on his chin, “End Flashback. Uh...no reason...”
Scott shrugged and walked up to the door that ended the long hallway. He turned to Wolf Link, “Now, Link. I want to know if the next light is behind this door. Bark once for yes, and twice for no. Is the light behind this door?”
Link growled in annoyance and barked three times.
Nick pocketed the anchor and whacked Scott with his staff. He turned to Mario and Sonic, “Stick close, you two. We’re about to take the next light, and I can’t stand the thought of anything happening to this one. So we take it as soon as possible before anything bad happens. Got it?”
They nodded and Nick opened the door. They walked into an octagonal room with six holes punctured in the ceiling to allow air and light into the room. In the very center of the room, the orb of light glowed and pulsated steadily, untouched yet.
Link ran to the orb, but it flew out of his reach and enveloped something on the center of the ceiling. It grew into a gargantuan spider with a single eye on its back, orange and piercing as it stared at them. It crawled over one of the holes in the ceiling, its eye glowing unnaturally.
Nick gestured to Sonic and the rod that he still held grew into a perfect circular shield. Sonic raised the shield as a blast of lava spewed from the spider’s eye and met the shield head-on. Mario, who was behind him, held him steady as the force of the lava started to push Sonic back into the wall.
Nick spun his staff and shot a blast of fire at the shield, the blast rebounding into the spider’s eye and knocking it off the ceiling onto its back.
Nick ran towards the spider, spinning his flaming staff before leaping above the spider and smashing it into the arachnid’s abdomen. Nick released a blast of fire through the staff to envelop it, and turned to Scott and Link, “Quickly! Tear off the limbs!”
The wolf was the first to reach the flailing legs of the spider, tearing his teeth into one of the legs. Scott grabbed another leg, pulling back while Nick pinned it to the ground. After a moment of struggle, the satisfying sound of ripping tendons was heard and the limb fell away.
Nick leaped to the ceiling, holding onto the root of a plant that was hanging there, and pointed his staff at the eye of the spider. By now, the spider, with blood dripping from its missing leg and its scorched flesh, could have given up, but instead shot one last shot of lava at Nick.
Nick clenched his teeth and a blast of fire erupted from the tip of his staff, meeting the blast from the spider and incinerating it, flaring straight through to the doomed spider, which released one last horrifying scream as it finally died.
As Nick dropped from the ceiling, the spider exploded and reformed into the orb of light, which, like the one before it, spread throughout the room and finally settled on Link, enveloping him before fading away.
Nick suddenly frowned and looked around, “Wait...where’s Kirby?”
Scott nervously chuckled and started for the exit.

+===+

Nick, Scott, Mario, Wolf Link, and Sonic were joined once again with Kirby as they now walked along the edge of Lake Hylia, searching for a pier to the center of the lake.
Scott spoke up, voicing what he and three others were thinking; “Why are we looking for a pier to the center of the lake?”
Nick explained calmly, though he was clearly irritated, “Because at the center of the lake is a cannon that will send us to-”
“Oh, boy, another cannon,” Scott said, interrupting, “I can’t wait. Where will we end up this time?”
Nick sighed, “I was just about to tell you, but I think I’ll wait.”
Scott groaned audibly as they came at last to a pier, turning onto it resolutely. They follow the pier to the center of the lake, where they found a patch of land marked only by the giant bird-like cannon in the center.
As Scott groaned again, Nick grabbed him by the back of his shirt. Scott yelped in surprise as he was lifted off the ground and hefted into the back end of the bird-cannon, accompanied by Sonic, Link, Mario, and Kirby shortly afterwards.
Nick climbed into the muzzle of the cannon, turning to the ground and pointing to it with his staff. The staff released a burst of fire that bounced off the ground and back into the back end of the cannon, igniting it and also incinerating the cannon’s occupants in the process.
The cannon got to its feet, its movements puppet-like. The cannon aimed at the sky and fired.

+===+

The heroes landed in a pool of water, though it was a much shorter fall than they had expected. They swam ashore, Scott and Link shaking like dogs to dislodge the water that had caught in their hair/fur.
Mario ran to a nearby ledge and pointed down from it, making a noise of surprise as he did so. Scott ran to where he was standing. He released another noise of surprise.
“Okay...we’re not it Hyrule anymore.”
Nick dragged an unconscious Sonic from the water and sighed, “No, we’re still in Hyrule, we’re just above it. We are currently in the City in the Sky.”
“What city...” Scott mumbled as the clouds around them cleared and they saw the city for the first time.
The city, or what was left of it, looked as if it had been taken right up off of the ground. Propellers held the buildings aloft, though even by Hyrulian standards these buildings looked odd. They were almost all round, egg shapes, most of them several stories tall. Most peculiar was that several sites and buildings were not connected by roads, but empty air.
The platform they were standing on held the pool of water they had landed in, but was connected to a massive egg-shaped skyscraper, propellers dotted all over it.
Nick looked around, “You see, this land...or what’s left after someone or something ravaged it...is the land of the Oocca, bird-like people that lived in Hyrule many centuries ago. Now they live here.”
As he spoke, they saw several Oocca swimming in the pool next to a buoyant Kirby, laughing and playing in the water.
Nick turned to the massive building, “That’s where the next light is.”
Scott frowned, “Please tell me...”
“It’s at the top.”
“I was afraid you were going to say that,” Scott said mournfully.

+===+

Halfway up the spire, they came to a dead end. Using two Clawshots, items that could pull the user to other places using grappling technology, the six of them had worked their way up through the inside of the tower. But now they had reached a ceiling that had no openings to go through.
Scott sighed, “What are we supposed to do now?”
Nick looked about the room, “I’m working on that.” His gaze rested on a window in the far corner of the room, “Hey, do you think that window is sturdy enough withstand puffball beatings?”
Scott contemplated this, the edges of his mouth slowly curling into a grin as he caught Nick’s meaning, “Only one way to find out, isn’t there?”
He grabbed onto Kirby’s face and heaved him at the window, shattering it. Kirby flew out the opening, causing worried gasps to resonate around the chamber.
“That’s not what I meant!” Nick shouted angrily.
“What?” Scott yelled, “How can that not be want you meant?”
Nick ran to the window and saw Kirby hovering right outside the window, an umbrella keeping him aloft. Nick sighed in relief.
“Wait,” he said, head cocked as he looked at Kirby, “That gives me an idea.”
He raised one of the Clawshots and shot it at the umbrella, pulling himself to stand on top of the umbrella. He maneuvered over to the window, pulling Mario and Sonic onto the umbrella. He positioned them to stand on his shoulders as he helped Scott out to join them. Finally, Scott grabbed the wolf, hefting him over his shoulders.
Nick raised a Clawshot, aiming above them to a patch of vines. He, along with Mario and Sonic, rocketed off towards the vines, hanging there. Nick turned and shot the second Clawshot at the umbrella. Scott grabbed the chain and they were joining the other three.
They hung there, Kirby holding onto the umbrella, Scott standing on the umbrella, holding Wolf Link, being suspended by a chain held by Nick, who had Mario and Sonic balancing on his shoulders.
“Well,” Scott said, desperately trying to make the mood lighter, “What now?”
The Clawshot grasping the vines loosened slightly. Nick looked at it, slightly panicked, “Uh, I guess this plan wasn’t as thought through as I thought.”
The Clawshot loosened, and Scott sighed, “It’s okay, Nick. I don’t blame you.”
Nick frowned as the Clawshot loosened once more, “You don’t?”
Scott closed his eyes and nodded his head, “I don’t. I blame Kirby!”
In the middle of the word ‘Kirby,’ the Clawshot released its hold, sending them plummeting to the ground.
Seconds later, they zoomed upwards, held aloft by Kirby’s umbrella. A blast of wind had caught the umbrella and had lifted them high into the sky. Nick was gesturing to the sky, him being the one responsible for the gale.
He turned to Scott, “I don’t know why we didn’t just think of this in the first place.”
Scott shrugged, “Yeah, it would have saved us a lot of time.”
They came to a halt at the top of the building, Kirby letting go of the umbrella to drop them all to the roof. Nick handed Scott the Clawshots, “Here, you take them. I don’t want them anymore.”
The platform they were standing on was overgrown with grass, coming up to Nick and Scott’s waists and blinding Kirby and Link. Four pillars stood on the corners of the roof, triangularly faced with one side facing inward towards the platform. At this height, the wind was powerful, nearly sending them off with every chronic blast. At the center of the roof, hovering over the grass was the third orb of light, pulsating steadily.
Nick ran towards it, shouting, “Quickly! Before something bad happens!” He grabbed at the light, shouting, “Yes!” before the light enveloped him.
“Oh, no...” he said as his body glowed brighter, growing unnaturally large. Wings ripped out of his back and his face contorted greatly out of shape, to that of a fearsome beast. His skin darkened and formed black scales. His clothes ripped away as the transformation completed, revealing an oval-shaped plate on his back that glowed with an unnatural rainbow color.
Link growled as the dragon that was once Nick stood up. Scott turned to him, “What’s that boy? You say you’ve met this dragon before? You say his name is Arkorog?”
Sonic turned to him, “Whoa! You actually understand him?”
Scott frowned, “No. I’m just going to call the dragon Arkorog. What I am not going to do is call it Nick, because I want Nick to look like Nick if and when I beat him within an inch of his life. Understand?”
Sonic frowned, “Uh, yeah...”
Scott nodded, “Okay. Now that we’ve got that covered-”
Arkorog roared at Scott, cutting him off. Scott yelled at the beast, “Hey! I’m trying to decide how to defeat you! So shut up!”
Arkorog flapped its wings and took off, sending massive currents of air at the hapless heroes. Everyone but Scott screamed in terror as they began to be pushed towards the edge of the roof and towards their certain doom.
Scott grabbed each one of them in turn, even Kirby, and clenched his teeth. They looked down and saw that he was wearing the same Iron Boots Link had worn seemingly ages ago.
Scott frowned, “These things are smashing my feet in tighter than a bizarre Chinese beauty ritual. But I shall wear them...in the name of justice!”
Arkorog roared in his face once more and flew up, seeking to wreck havoc elsewhere. Scott clenched his teeth and dropped the heroes, firing one of the Clawshots at one of the pillars, latching on about halfway up. He grabbed the heroes, except Link, and shot to where the Clawshot was stuck in the pillar.
Scott maneuvered Mario and Sonic to his shoulders and Kirby in between his feet. He fired the second Clawshot at the oval plate on Arkorog. They immediately jerked towards the dragon, stopping halfway in between Arkorog and the pillar.
Arkorog struggled as the chains binding the Clawshots reached their limit. Scott turned to the two on his shoulders, “Mario, take the Clawshot connected to the pillar, and hang on to my back! Sonic, pull Link’s sword from my belt, along with his bow attached to my back!”
They maneuvered themselves to accommodate these changes, and Scott held the bow in one hand, the Clawshot attached to Arkorog in the other. Sonic held the string, pulling it back. Instead of an arrow, the sword was held in the bow.
Scott grinned and turned to Sonic, “Now remember, hold on tight or this won’t work.”
Sonic scrunched up his face, “Wait, then how is the sword going to-”
Scott let go of the Clawshot, sending a screaming hedgehog whizzing towards the dragon. The sword Sonic was holding stabbed through Arkorog’s back, sending him plummeting to the ground below. Scott, Mario, and Kirby fell after him.
Wolf Link took four steps back, and the dragon collapsed on the ground where he had previously been standing. Scott, Mario and Kirby landed at the wolf’s side.
Sonic rose, pulling the sword from Arkorog’s back triumphantly. Arkorog shrank back to the form of Nick, thankfully with clothes on.
Nick apologetically scratched the back of his head as the light left his body and enveloped Link, “Uh, yeah...listen, I’m really-”
“Say no more, Nick,” Scott said forgivingly, “It wasn’t your fault. We all could have been drawn in by that light’s maddening powers. So...where to now?”
Nick shrugged, “I don’t know. Ask Link.”
Scott turned, but Link was gone. Mario, Sonic and Kirby shrugged, justifying that they had no idea where he was.
They heard a bark and turned to see Link running for the edge, jumping off to his genuine doom.
The five of them screamed in horror and ran off the edge of the building after him.

+===+

They landed softly on the top of a building in the middle of the Gerudo Desert, a long-forgotten jail that had rotted away from existence. Wolf Link immediately began to frantically run in circles, digging in various areas for no apparent reason.
Scott stared at Link as Nick checked his watch, “Okay, we’re right above the Arbiter’s Grounds, the place where the Mirror is held. The problem is that we still don’t have that last-”
There was a loud crashing sound as a crack formed in the circle Link had been running in.
“Light?” Nick said hesitantly.
There was a pause as everyone was unsure of what to do next.
Scott was the first to find his voice: “No...one...move.” he said, his voice dripping with unspoken threats.
Kirby gasped slightly at a passing butterfly, but Scott silenced him with a deadly glance. The butterfly floated around them for a time, finally stopping in front of Scott’s face. Fearing it would land on him and disrupt the structure, he blew it away like a flame on a candle.
...Right into Nick’s face, who smacked at it as he was momentarily blinded, backing up as he did so, tripping over Wolf Link in the process. As he landed, the roof collapsed, sending them all plummeting below.
As they fell, Scott frowned and surveyed the situation. After a while, he said to no one in particular, “Yeah, this time it was my fault.”
They landed on a large circular pillar in the center of a dusty room. Also on the pillar was a beastly skull larger than all of them put together. Where the pillar ended, there was a crevice that stretched to the far wall, on which there were tracks in a circular pattern. They looked down and saw similar tracks on their pillar, but spiraled around the pillar instead.
Something caught Nick’s eye and he went to the center of the pillar, grabbing something stuck in the ground, “Hey, it’s the sucky spinner thing that had no purpose whatsoever, but I still found awesome anyway!” He pulled the Spinner from the ground, turning to the others while holding up his prize, “Hey, guys! Look what I found! It’s the sucky spinner thing...”
They zoned out as the skull behind him flashed with red markings and levitated off the ground. A sword stabbed into the skull’s forehead pulsated with dark red light.
“...I still found awesome anyway! Hey, are you listening!”
They just stared at the growling skull for a while. Nick slowly turned around, and then turned his head up to stare at the beastly skull. The skull roared in his face and then head butted them all off of the pillar.
The landed hard on the bottom of the crevice, and Nick grinned as he held up the Spinner, “Hey, it didn’t break! Thank goodn-”
“GIVE ME THAT!” Scott shouted as he snatched the Spinner away from him, “I’ve had it with Hyrule’s insane inventions! It’s supposed to be a fantasy game! Why can’t it just be sensible and use magic, like the older games!”
He threw the Spinner on the ground, where it suddenly began to spin, shooting itself into the far wall, where it stuck to the tracks and zoomed away.
Scott turned to the others, and then at the spiral tracks on the pillar. He looked at Nick, “Oh. Well, that could work.”
Nick scoffed and back flipped, landing on the Spinner that spun past. He stomped on a button on the Spinner and it detached from the far wall, spinning onto the pillar’s tracks.
Scott grabbed Sonic by his hair, pulling him up to his eye level, “You help out too. You haven’t done a single thing, and I’m not going to allow that!” He threw Sonic to the ground, and he took off running. He ran up the far wall, ignoring the tracks and running in a spiral pattern.
Nick and Sonic ran up separate walls, closing in on the beastly skull. The skull realized it was being chased and opened its mouth, sucking in energy to breathe fire and incinerate them both.
At this point, Nick and Sonic were on opposite sides of the skull. Nick gave Sonic a thumbs-up, and then pressed the button on the Spinner. The Spinner detached from the pillar, slamming into the side of the skull’s face. Sonic jumped as the skull smashed into the far wall, where he had previously been running. Still in midair, Sonic rolled up into a ball and homed in on the sword stuck in the beast’s forehead, knocking it askew.
As Nick and Sonic dropped to the ground, the beastly skull screamed one last time and fell to the crevice, shattering. Light spread from its shattered remains, enveloping Wolf Link. This time, however, the light did not fade, instead causing him to hover slightly above the ground.
Link barked and they found themselves at the top of the pillar, watching as a bridge extended from a wall and a large door rose, beckoning to them eerily.

+===+

They ran out of the Arbiter’s Grounds, coming to a ledge that spiraled around the structure. The sun was setting once more, a full twenty-four hours passing since they first arrived in Hyrule. The light burst from Link’s body as the dieing rays of the sun were cast upon him. The light surged together in one mass, and then shot along the path going up.
The heroes frantically followed, leaping over fallen statues and other rubble that had crumbled along the former prison. They came to the roof, where an enormous black stone stood chained upright, across from it a lone mirror stood. The light gathered into the mirror, returning it to its former state.
Five spirit-like sages formed around them, each of them bowing. They spoke in hushed tones, each only speaking a single sentence:
“Hero chosen by the gods, you will travel to the Twilight Realm...”
“You will return to your heroic true form...”
“You will conquer the shadow that threatens this land...”
“We have foreseen it...”
“But what we have not foreseen...is if you will succeed in your quest...”
They moaned in anticipation and fear, and chanted as one: “You will conquer the shadow that threatens this land...we know not...”
They faded away, and a slight breeze took up around them. Wolf Link stood on a platform in front of the Mirror, turning to look at his comrades.
Nick clenched his fist, “Very well. We shall delay no longer...right...so, as soon as we finish transforming Link, we can save the world. Agreed?”
The heroes silently nodded at this statement, joining Link on the platform. Their particles separated and flew into the portal that had formed on the black stone, only to reform on the other side.
The Twilight Realm.

+===+

They appeared in the Twilight Realm, an alternate world with floating islands that held up buildings. The world was cast into eternal twilight, the time of day never changing, as it always has been.
Above them was a castle-like building that towered over the rest of the realm, at the top of which dark, ominous clouds swirled around it forebodingly.
Nick gestured around them, and they were lifted off the ground by an unseen current of wind. Mario and Kirby cried out in surprise, but Nick quickly hushed them into silence, “It’s okay; remember, I can control the air around us. Same as the City in the Sky.”
Scott scoffed, “Yeah, and that worked out so well.”
Nick gestured upwards, and they skyrocketed up to the top of the building, landing in front of a door marked with a symbol surrounded by a circle. Wolf Link walked up to it, sniffing lightly, and jumped back in surprise as the symbol lit up, opening the door.
They looked at each other for a moment, and then showed themselves into the throne room.
A hunched figure sat on the throne, looking exhausted. At the new presences, the figure straightened, revealing itself to be Midna, the Twilight Princess, and friend of Link.
She warped in front of the wolf and crouched before him, “Oh, Link. How has this come about? I was sure that I had...that we had destroyed any connection...”
She ran a hand over Link’s forehead, and he transformed back into his normal form with a flash of light. Midna continued, “I guess the opposite sides of a coin must return to each other again someday, am I right?”
Link grinned and nodded.
“Touching,” Scott yawned, “Now...I was promised that I could kick some-”
A loud crash interrupted him. They turned to the door, which had exploded inwards. A lone figure strode into the room: Zant, the impeached King of Twilight and apprentice to Ganondorf himself.
“Go!” Midna shouted abruptly, gesturing behind her, “It’s no longer safe for you here! Not at your current strength...”
She turned to the advancing figure in the door, “I will see to it that you get out alive. Now go!”
The heroes followed the Twilight Princess’ advice down to the letter, save for Link. He drew his sword and turned to her, not willing to give up.
Midna shook her head at him. She smiled impishly, tears forming in her eyes, “See you later.”
She gestured to the far end of the room, where the others had gathered. A portal opened, sucking them in. Midna turned and punched Link in the stomach, sending him toppling into the portal.
She turned to Zant, who was now standing directly in front of her.
Half of the mask concealing his face opened up, revealing a snickering smile, “So, Twilight Princess. Surprised to see me once more, alive and healthy?”
She scowled defiantly, “No. But I am surprised that you chose the path of evil...again.”
Zant released a bark of laughter and looked to the sky, “To me, my princess,” he turned back to her, the rest of his helmet detaching, “You are the evil one here.”

+===+

Hovering now over Dreamland, the Death Egg’s occupants held an emergency meeting.
“How could you?” Rain Storm demanded, pointing an accusing finger at Doctor Robotnik Eggman, “We had them in our grasp, almost finished...for all eternity!” He slammed his fist through his desk, shattering it apart, “But then you fired that portal, and now they’re running around, growing more powerful by the second!”
Ganondorf, feeling uncharacteristically sympathetic, spoke up, “Rain, he didn’t know-”
“And you!” Rain Storm screamed, pointing now at the bearer of the Triforce of Power, “You’re no better!”
“W-what? Me?” Ganondorf stammered.
“Yes! If it weren’t for your monsters, they would all be as they started: weak, naïve, innocent in the face of death! And also for your fool of an apprentice’s intervening!”
His tone abruptly softened, and he placed a hand on his chin. He closed his eyes and turned away, “Oh, and by the way: he’s dead now. Not that he killed any of our enemies in the process.”
Ganondorf, flabbergasted, collapsed back into his chair, defeated by words that had stung his very pride. Bowser and King Dedede didn’t say anything, fearing to also being included in Rain Storm’s ranting accusations.
Eggman stood, acknowledging Rain Storm a little too formally, “If you really feel that way, then I have one thing to say: Get out.”
Rain Storm furiously turned on him, “What did you just say to me?”
Eggman crossed his arms, “This alliance thing?” he pointed around at each of them, “It’s obviously not working out. I disband. I don’t need any of you to help me defeat Sonic the Hedgehog.”
King Dedede also stood, “Me too. Kirby and I are more like...rivals than full-fledged nemeses. But my plan still stands; by the end of today, I will defeat Kirby once and for all, and I don’t need any of you to help.”
“B-but...we are supposed to do this together,” Rain Storm sputtered, “We’ve never defeated our enemies alone before! By joining together-”
“I disband too,” Bowser said, rising, “I find it fun to try and defeat Mario, and killing him off seems so...trivial.”
Rain Storm gaped at him for a time, and then swallowed, turning to Ganondorf, “What about you?”
Ganondorf, collected, leaned back in his chair, “I merely want to rule Hyrule as its King. Working with others really defeats the whole purpose. I,” he rose from his seat, “disband.”
Rain Storm’s shoulders dropped, and he collapsed back into his chair, bewilderedly defeated. He sighed and cast his eyes upon each one of them, “Fine then. Have it your way.”
He made a gesture and portals appeared unexpectedly below Bowser’s, Ganondorf’s, and King Dedede’s feet. They were sucked into their own respective worlds. Rain Storm saluted Eggman before opening his own portal and backing into it, never to be seen by any of the villains ever again.

+===+

Nick, Scott, Mario, Sonic, Link, and Kirby appeared in a grassy field. As they looked around, Nick frowned and rubbed his knuckles against his forehead, “I think we’re back in the Mushroom Kingdom.”
Scott crossed his arms, “Well, we haven’t been to Dreamland yet, and since we’re back here again...”
“The portals are truly random,” Nick said, staring off into the distance, “Do you hear that?”
They stared off to where Nick was looking. At first, there was silence, but then they heard the low drone of a crowd cheering.
Mario jumped, shouting a realization. Nick narrowed his eyes, “Right, the 24th Annual Mario Kart Grand Prix is going on now. Anyone interested in joining?”

+===+

Continued in part two: https://blogs.neoseeker.com/ShadowNc/5423-cracker-chronicle-7-super-nick-bros-brawl-unofficial-part-two/

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