[Villa's POV]

The scarf made the weather more bearable, but I was still freezing. We hid in a bush nearby the diner, and waited. The more time we spent waiting, the more I thought. "Ness, are you sure about this? I mean, what if everything goes fine and they don't need us at all?"

"Oh, something always goes wrong. It wouldn't hurt them to have a little backup on their side. Hey, shush! They're coming!"

We ducked down lower into the bushes as we saw Mario, Link, Kirby, Megaman and Toon Link walk out the building, carrying backpacks. "Were those really neccessary...?" I asked Ness.

"Probably not. But when journeying to Final Destination, it's better safe than sorry. They don't know what they're up against, either... More reason for us to follow. Hey, be quiet. They're saying something..."

"You okay, TL?" Link asked, lagging back to catch up to Toon Link. "You seem down."

He hesitated before answering, rubbing his arm, "I..." He sighed, "I haven't seen Villager at all today... I'm afraid the weather might be..." He didn't finish.

"I'm sure he's fine. The kid's smarter than he looks."

"I know, but..." He looked away, and I noticed a red tint on his face. "I... I'm really worried about him..." He shook his head, as if coming to his senses, "Whatever. I shouldn't be thinking about him anyway. Let's get going."

"That's the spirit! I'm sure your boyfriend'll be fine."

"He's NOT my boyfriend!" They caught up with the others, becoming out of earshot.

"C'mon, let's trail them from above," Ness said, "It'll be easier for us to see them and harder for them to see us. I believe they have jetpacks in-"

"No need." I said, my balloon hat already spawned, "I'll carry you."

"Carry? Me? I think I'll pass."

"Fine then. But I've heard those jetpacks run out of gas fast."

"Whatever," he turned and began walking towards a warehouse. I believe Mario said something about it being where they kept all the items. Not wanting to be alone, I soon followed.

In the warehouse, there were multiple small storage areas labeled with what franchise the items were from. Ness approached one labeled "Smash," then rummaged through a box in the area. Not wanting to wait in silence, I tried to start a conversation. "So, I'm guessing we can't warp to this 'Final Destination'?"

"Nope." Ness answered, "Final Destination is a special stage that only characters who prove they're 'worthy,'" he momentarily used his fingers for qoutation marks, then went back to rummaging, "can enter. That's why they had to gather a team of five to go. There most likely-" he paused, a striped tail sprouting from his backside, "-will be various challenges put in their path to prevent them from making it." He finally turned back around, a jetpack in his hands, a pair of brown ears -- matching the tail -- on his head. "That's why we're going to follow them. I fear that there could be another ambush."

I thought it better not to ask. "Let's get going, shall we?"

[authorknowsthatthetanookileafisnotasmashitembutjustletmehavefunplease]

[Toonie's POV]

"So, what do you think they're gonna throw at us?" I asked as we walked through Battlefield. It was the only known path that led to Final Destination.

"Who knows?" Link answered, "But it can't be anything we can't handle."

"Poy!" Kirby agreed. [or whatever that sound is that Kirby makes]

"As right as you are... I have my worries..."

"Are ya scared, Toonie?"

I instantly defended myself, "He's not my boyfriend!"

"I didn't even mention that. Got a guilty conscience?"

Sorta... "No! Just tired of you guys-" Megaman suddenly covered my mouth. "Hey! What're you-!" He put a finger over his mouth, indicating I should shut up.

We all waited in silence for a few moments.

[Villa's POV]

"What are they doing?" I asked Ness, "Why did they stop?"

"They must've heard something... Look!" He pointed in front of us. I looked to where he was pointing and saw three figures running towards the others. A slim blur of pink, a huge blur of orange, and a tiny blur of blue.

I looked to the opposite side, seeing another three blurs. One medium sized green blur, a white blur about the same size as the blue, and a larger blur of red.

"The Deadly Six..." Ness said, "Interesting. Let's sit back and watch the show, shall we?" He sat on a nearby cloud.

"What? How are you...?"

"These are Kid Icarus clouds. We can use them as platforms. Oh, and you probably know nothing about the Deadly Six, do you?" I sat down, shaking my head. "Well, I feel it better if you watch rather than I tell you..."

[Toonie's POV]

"What...are....those?" I muffled.[A/N: Don't you dare say a word.]

"Zeti..." Megaman answered, removing his hand from my mouth.

HE CAN TALK? I thought.

The six "Zeti" made a circle around us, the skinny pink one looking eager to fight. "Well well well, what have we here?" I turned to see a towering red one. He had "leader" read all over him.

"Which one can we attack first, boss?" A jittery voice asked. It had to be the spazzing pinkie.

"DO I GET SANDWICH IF I DEFEAT THEM?" A deeper, doofier voice yelled.

"Now now, we can't attack them all at once." The leader responded, "After all, they are outnumbered..."

"I'll back out of this one," the green one -- the only female -- said, "I can't risk breaking a nail from fighting these low-lifes."

I drew my sword and pointed it at her, "WHO YOU CALLIN' LOW-LIFE, SLUT?" The last word burst from my mouth unintentionally. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"You know what, I change my mind." They all began to growl and close in on us, "I'm gonna skin you alive..." [Meanwhile: "Good going, moron," Ness said, "Now you've angered them."]

"Oh, great," Link said, drawing his sword also, "And I was hoping we could work out a peace treaty."

"Oh yeah!" Spazz said, "You're going home in a box!"

"That dude's got problems..." I mumbled to myself.

"If it's a fight they want," Mario said, his fists engulfed with flames, "Then it's a fight they'll get. CHARGE!"

We all did so, the six Zeti doing the same. As soon as we made contact with our opponents, we were suddenly teleported away from the stage.

[Villa's POV]

"What happened?"

"The stage was divided into five parts, one for each of them." It surprised me how calm he was. "It seems that one of them has to face two at once..."

"I see Link battling Zazz in Green Hill," Ness had told me each of their names, "Kirby fighting Zomom in a desert-like zone, Megaman against Master Zef in some kind of beach zone, Mario against Zavok in a lava zone... Uh-oh..."

"I'm taking that 'uh-oh' as a 'Toon Link is the unlucky one who has to go up against two of them.'"

I nodded, "The remaining two, Zeena and Zor, and they're in some kind of snowy forest, type, zone, area...place."

"Something tells me they're gonna need us sooner rather than later."

[Toonie's POV]

I fell face first into a thick layer of snow. "Aw, c'mon, I thought we left the snow in the Hub," I stood and dusted off the snow. "And I could've sworn I was in the middle of fighting off those weird monsters."

"Monsters, huh?" I turned to see one of the shorter ones standing behind me, holding a purple rose. "We're far from 'monsters'. But what do you care, you're just as meddling as that hedgehog."

I pointed my sword at him, the tip just inches away from his nose, "I have no idea what you're going on about, and I really don't care. Just fight me and get it over with."

"Why fight when in the end, we're all doomed anyway?"

"Well aren't you a ray of sunshine? I would've chosen to fight the green one over listening to your emo monolouges."

"Aww, how adorable!" Before I could turn around, a massive ball of snow hit me, having enough impact to send me flying. "But if it was a date you were looking for, you really should've brought flowers!"

I struggled to get up, spitting out some blood, "Two against one? That's not very fair."

"Who said things had to be fair? We were just ordered to get rid of you."

"Ordered...? By who?"

"Enough talk! Let's get to the fun stuff, shall we?" Then it went dark. I could barely see anything.

"Hey! I don't have night vision! Two against one is one thing but turning out the lights is downright-" Before I could finish, another ball of snow hit me, sending me to the ground.

"What a push over. I knew you weren't worth my time."

I growled, getting up again, then started blindly swinging my sword, "I am no pushover!"

"You're so stubborn." The gloomy one said, just as I was hit with a cannon ball to the face. "Why don't you just give up? That's what I'd do."

I growled again, "I refuse to give up! Not until I win!"

************************************************************************

[Narrator's POV]

"You're fast, for an old man!" Zazz shouted at Link.

"Who you callin' old?" Link charged at the Zeti, swinging his sword, landing a hit on the beast.

Zazz simply flinched, spawning a meteor and throwing it at the swordsman, "Your measly blows feel like a fine breeze against my skin!"

"Weirdly described, but still insulting!" Link dodged the meteor, then charaged again.

**********************************************************************

"I'm not a big fan of pink," Zomom said, "But I'm still gonna gobble you up!" Kirby opened his mouth, inhaling viciously enough to engulf Zomom. The Zeti's taste not appealing to him, he spat him out. "Hey! I'm supposed to eat you, not the other way around!" Zomom fled into the sand. Kirby swallowed a Drill Whisp, soon following after the Zeti.

*************************************************************************

"You've impressed me," Master Zef said, dodging one of Megaman's sawblades, "But this ends now!" He shot multiple balls of energy at the cyborg. Megaman put up a leaf sheild, readying his counter.

********************************************************************

"A formidable bunch you are," Zavok said, blocking Mario's flame punches, "But we can't afford to lose."

"Why is that?" Mario asked, managing to break Zavok's sheild and get a hit, "Is there someone who ordered you to do this?"

Zavok stumbled backward from the hit, "The boss has informed us not to give you his name. Not that it'll matter. Your time ends now! Witness my true power!" He grew ten times his size, letting out a giant roar.

Mario scoffed. "I've fought larger."

***************************************************************

[Toonie's POV]

I groaned in defeat, falling to my knees. I couldn't beat them. Their powers combined were too much.

"And so the rose finally withers and dies," Gloomy said as the light slowly faded back, "In the end, the reaper is the only winner."

I felt a wire wrap around me, then it sent volts of electricity through my body. I yelled in pain. "Any last words before I fry you?" The Snow Queen[Zeena] asked, soon adding a cackle.

I could do nothing but scream in pain. I heard a snap! then the electricity stopped. "Huh? What's this? Random challengers from the sky?"

All energy being sapped from my body, I fell to the ground. "So my Toonie isn't as strong as I portrayed him to be..." That voice... "Fine. I'll accept that. But I'm not letting you kill him. No matter what it takes." I managed to open an eye, just enough to see the shoes of my savior. And the ax blade that rested beside them. "I've been meaning to try this on something other than trees..." The voice suddenly turned deep, and just as he started walking towards the two Zeti, dragging the ax across the ground, I blacked out.