A Fracture of Madness

It happened so suddenly. How were they supposed to know? The villain was defeated; no longer was a threat looming over the world except an occasional residual piece of Subspace that would be quickly defeated. And the girls were still there in that world. A way home couldn't be made immediately and they were allowed to stay within the Mansion. Still, that didn't mean they weren't doing anything productive. Time had passed since the defeat of Sara, and the girls were off on a short adventure to defeat one of the pieces of Subspace. This time, however, something was bound to change.

Time has passed since that happy ending and all seemed fine. While the girls were still eager to get home, most of their time was dedicated to making as many memories with the Smashers before they returned home. None of the Smashers minded; in fact, they were very welcoming of the girls… even if their chaos was a bit too much at times. Plenty of things were left for the Mansion to deal with: Subspace remnants still have infected pieces of the land and had to be dealt with, training for the next tournament – which excited the Rescuers with more potential friends to make, and then catching the girls up with school. (Not that they'd ever admit to having to deal with school work but moving on…)

On one such occasion, Master Hand announced that he had to go somewhere and would leave the Mansion under the care of Crazy until he returned. The warning that if anything was left in disrepair or in ruin upon his return would result in a deadly punishment, in theory, should keep both the Smashers and Rescuers in line in Master Hand's mind. No details were given as to why he suddenly had to go; at most it was to "deal with an old friend." While barely having any information other than the hint, the Hand has left at top speed towards a place unknown.

The place itself turned out to a temple covered in ice and frost with flickers of light and darkness encompassing the strange land he went to. Everything seemed to go obey logic differently, as the plants were in full bloom of cherry blossom with flowers ever so beautiful despite constant winter of the area. Signs of the establishment could be seen, but now all life except for nature had become vacant. Why the Hand has come to this place must have been for something nearly forgotten as he made his way towards the temple itself. Decorated with many colors to complement the constant freezing surroundings, opening the doors only resulted in a harsh short burst of a blizzard being released and turning the flowers into petrified art pieces. Even Master Hand had to move to remove at least some of the chilled ice and snow from his form before entering, making sure to close the doors behind him. Going deeper into the temple, it was only a matter of time before the voice of the occupant could be heard.

"Master Hand, how kind of you to visit. Though I must say… Abandoning me for MANY Years wasn't part of our agreement," The bitterness towards the end was very apparent, evident by the ice freezing over across the temple.

"You know exactly why that choice was made," The Hand replied to the unknown female, "And you should be aware of why I've come, correct?"

"I have no need of you; this is my sanctuary and life like you shouldn't be allowed to exist with the impurities YOU left!" Another blast of the blizzard flew straight towards the floating hand, "Leave you stupid bloodhound!"

Master Hand formed a shield to block all but the force of the blizzard. Even with that power, he had to back up in order for the end to arrive. Vanishing the shield, he continues to venture towards a large flickering light, which seemed to be frightened.

"Are you deaf? I said… LEAVE!"

"I'm not leaving… not until you explain yourself…" He stopped in front of the shrine.

The female stilled with the Ice itself settling back to its non-threatening form instead of the spikes wanting to pierce the floating flesh captured by the trap. A pregnant silence filled the temple until the figure stirred from the shadows, the central shrine inside moving ever so slightly. It was a fairly simple shrine; almost like a memorial for something. Resting upon one of the few none frozen things – being a blue pillow was a strange eye-like gem of a pale orange color, contrasting everything around it.

"If you have come in search of why I haven't sent back those… impurities, the answer should be clear: I can't."

"I already knew how the girls are not back on Earth for quite some time… but that doesn't mean you are allowed to call them 'impurities'." Master Hand reminded the person he was speaking to.

"Are you going sentimental towards those puppeteers now? Have you lost your mind?!" The female's form was revealed, a Female Alola Ninetales with an aura around her and the object resting upon her shrine, "Impurities like them shouldn't even be granted a life in this world and yet you choose for them to be here?"

"There wasn't any other option at the time! Sara was growing way too powerful and-!"

"And what? Couldn't you call upon me to rid of the virus? Instead of asking me, the only one whose existence could defeat her without causing much damage to be beyond repair?" The Pokemon scoffed and trended back and front impatiently, "No wonder why I felt the lack of movements here… it is as what I feared."

"So you felt it as well? A shift from… do you know if that is why the girls are unable to return home?" The Hand inquired from the spirit, who paused before looking up to the ceiling, where a glowing dark orb resided, trapped within a crystal prison.

"Reality itself is falling apart Master Hand: that it is evident. Without any stable connection, it is impossible for them to return." Her response at first was swift before she paced while looking at the imprisoned dark orb, "Nobody will be spared by this change; this abandonment affects the impurities, Smashers, and beings like ourselves with no resistance on our end. A perfect place for this to brew and allow our greatest fear to be reborn. Bringing those impurities here to face the virus had influenced this greatly. While you have been able to the keep the impurities at bay… somewhat, the virus itself still remains a threat."

"…Are you claiming Sara is the virus? If you still believe that's the case, then I'm afraid you're wrong because the Smash Rescuers did indeed win. No longer does she exist; the creation had returned to being once it was. A fictional-"

"A fictional being? News flash Master Hand, but that toxic virus is still alive and well. If not, I wouldn't hear her pleas and bargaining towards the entrapped horror here." Her paw slammed the glazed floor as the icicles reformed on the ceiling, "And I fear with her newest ally, things will only return to a darker time. Without the balanced connection we once had, this world to return to what it once was. That being-!"

A noise from the entrance of the temple stopped the bickering duo. The Alola Ninetales looked very concern before retreating in front of her shrine. Frigid air and ice formed themselves around the shrine as a means of protection as a snarl was heard. The ice formed over the imprisoned orb while she continued to hiss and growl.

"Who followed us here? I thought you said you were alone!" She yelled before the ice doors were broken by a stream of Subspace energy.

The force of this new energy broke through the reinforced ice, heading towards both beings at fast speed. Both dodged out of the way, one protecting the shrine and the other destroying the stream of Subspace. Floating back down, they were alarmed to see more of Subspace crawling around, towards the shrine and to the imprisoned orb.

"No! It mustn't get the orb! Master Hand, stop them before they release it!" The Alola Ninetales took a stand before the shrine and unleashed a powerful Moon Blast. The Hand needn't reply verbally. Subspace couldn't keep a form other than streams of energy, but that didn't stop the force or tactics from being greatly dangerous. Powers combined together could topple a mighty figure. And when the Subspace realized this, all attention went to using the powers into a common cause: destroying the prison and defeating Master Hand in one swift and deadly piercing blow. The spirit had no time to react when the stream transformed into a spear and pierce through the Hand before her eyes. The sound of shattering ice made the weakened Hand and the spirit freeze in place. Now struck powerlessly, the Hand collapsed in front of the spirit while the orb of darkness itself was seized by Subspace and brought down to a figure, one who was clutching a terrible wounding one hand and now the orb in the other.

"Yes… finally, it is mine!" Her expression was crazed beyond belief while watching the dark powers flickering about, "This… the Fracture of Madness is real… and in my hands… I-I I did it!"

"The virus," the female voice from the spirit was lower than usual as she was still bracing for another battle. Sara looked up at the spirit as a twitching smile forced itself on her face.

"You… kept this contained? Why… when this… has so much power?!" She clenched the orb tighter as more dark energy was being released.

"…S-Sara…" Master Hand was trying to speak.

"Virus, you have no idea what the Fracture of Madness is capable of…" The Spirit warned the human before hearing a noise behind. Turning around, the Pokemon's eyes widen as the shrine's orb was glowing evermore.

"Oh, I know what this is capable of, otherwise I wouldn't have come to reclaim what is mine," Her twisted expression was overjoyed as the Subspace seemed to obey her every command, "But first, I must climate the restrictive bastard before taking out his pig of a brother and those… Atheists will see the truth power of mine! Now, how about you sleep forever… IN HELL!"

Time had gone and went and before anyone knew it, the night had ended and morning had arrived. As with the normal routine, waking times and breakfast were being made and done before the chores and events of the day were to begin. In the midst of the massive awakening in the Mansion, two stood out compared to the rest. And by standing out, it meant being outside on the roof. One looking out over the horizon and the other just coming up and seeing her friend blankly staring out into the distance.

"Warrior Kitty, is something wrong?" Mighty asked, seeing the Sylveon looking out from the roof of the Mansion, "Breakfast is ready and everyone got worried… I mean, it isn't like you to be out here at this hour…"

"Huh?" It was only just then was the Vulpix actually had the attention of her friend, "Mighty, did you ask me something?"

The Vulpix sighed. "I'm asking if you're okay. I've never seen you so… lost in thought before."

"…Is it wrong for me to-? No," Warrior Kitty looked to her friend, "Is it wrong… for me to think about our lives back home? I mean… we've been here for who knows how long and I never thought about it until last night. When… I was with Pichu and seeing the close bond with Pikachu, it just suddenly came back." A ribbon of her wiped a tear forming in her eye, "Are our families worried sick about us? How long have we been gone? Is it even still our time period? What if when we go back, it's like 2404? That would mean everything here has been-!" The Fairy-Type would have continued panicking if not for a shovel flying and whacking her in the face from afar.

"Light!"

The Absol quickly pointed to the Buneary between her and the Gabite. "It was Lilac."

"It was not!" Lilac responded as the other three girls walked over to the fallen Sylveon.

"Warrior Kitty, are you really worried about all that?" Frost asked as Light grabbed her shovel from the ground. "I mean, I understand completely… in fact, all of us do."

"I don't worry that much! After all, I have Mario and the others to mess around with!" Lilac stood proudly above the rest.

"To various degrees," Frost added on to her previous statement.

"But still, if we think about this like how it usually is, this next tournament should be the next game right? Then… that means we haven't missed much at all!" Light pointed out, "So don't you worry; we'll get home eventually! Just you see!"

"…Thank you," Warrior Kitty smiled, even though tears were forming in her eyes. Just then, she blinked a few times before realizing something, "Hey, have any of you seen Crazy Hand?"

"Crazy? No, not that I know of," Frost replied. Light and Lilac shook their heads as well.

"I don't think I've actually seen him since last night. All I know is that Fox and Mario went off to see if he was okay this morning," Mighty looked back to the stairway back into the Mansion, "I really do hope everything is ok."

"I'm sure everything is okay. Besides, what's the worst that can happen?" Light asked with a smile.

Just then, the ground started to tremble, shocking all the girls from where they were. It was very brief, but upon them looking for the cause, the Vulpix was the first to find the cause and it made her heart stop. Her scream alerted to the darkening forces of the sky being ripped and absorbed by Subspace. Caught off guard and without warning they screamed while running back down into the Mansion, allowing the chaotic force to tear more and more apart towards the Smash Mansion. Inside was no different as Primids and more creatures from the Subspace Emissary spawned in from the Mansion's torn portals attacking and destroying everything in sight. The Smash Rescuers had to work fast and find the others; this was an emergency without any source or reason for it to be attacking and destroying the world. Frost and Light lead the charge, katana, and shovel in hand to make way for the others. Mighty had her crossbow to flying foes and Warrior Kitty's bat helped whenever they were grabbed from somehow they didn't see and damage. Lilac's rocket launcher was used for more of the clustered foes and getting to the lower floors. The five were very worried, seeing no signs of the Smashers in sight as they were getting to the ground floor.

"We have to get out of here and find the others!" Lilac kept running with the others, being wary to not shoot her friends by accident.

"Just what is going on here?!" Light questioned after destroying another Primid in their path, "Subspace shouldn't be this organized or powerful right?"

"Did Tabuu return or something?" Mighty asked after reloading her crossbow.

"Can we talk about this another time?" Frost sliced through another row of enemies, "We can deal with this after we get out of here!"

Going down another hallway, the corner towards the main entrance was in their sights. Defeating more foes, they turned the corner as a shriek was heard after a force slammed into the upper floor to the ground floor. Warrior Kitty's eyes widen, seeing Pichu being held down by one of the new Subspace foes.

"Leave Pichu alone!" The Sylveon screamed as she swung the bat to destroy the enemy from pinning Pichu down, "Pichu! Are you ok?"

It seemed as her close friend was terrified and clung onto Warrior Kitty, but they didn't have time to act as escaping the Mansion and from Subspace were the main priority. The smaller Pokemon held tightly onto the ribbon as they were fleeing. So close were they to the doors, it was only fate when Subspace consumed the doors, prevent them from escaping. A laughter echoed around as the girls were forced into a circle, Pichu deadly terrified as the echoing continued.

"How long has it been since we last met? Not too long ago? No, that can't be right," The voice bounced around, their location unknown, "Ah yes… very long ago in this world of course!"

"W-Who goes there? Show yourself!" Light yelled out.

"Yeah, come show your face cowards!" Lilac added on.

"Lilac, I don't that was a good idea," Mighty whispered to the Buneary.

"No no, I don't mind that at all! Besides, I think we need to have our reunion with you seeing my new form I've taken!" The voice focused in and soon emerged from Subspace, being an Espeon with a purple scarf around her neck. Where the normal red orb was, a dark aura was surrounding it, which reflected the pure red glow of her eyes. "How do you like me now? I'm so much more perfect than any of you can ever be! After all, you were the ones who destroyed my original body."

"Wait a second… Sara?!" Mighty was first to recognize her and she was even shocked.

Sara laughed, the dark energy still surrounding her as she happily stood before them. "Well, I guess that was me… at least the old me who believed in the lies that once chained my true potential down. But look at me now!" Stomping the ground, Subspace seemed to obey whatever command she had, which destroyed more of the Mansion, "I have surpassed my original self in ways you would dream about! No longer am I human… I AM A GOD!"

The girls were scared about this new form of the Mary Sue, but they couldn't dare back down. If they could escape, then they could defeat Sara before anything more could be done under her new rule.

"Like a Mary-Sue like you is can defeat us! We'll beat you like last time! Take this!" Lilac aimed her Rocket Launcher and shot it at her.

"Do you believe that will harm me?" Suddenly, Sara's power reacted towards the rocket, "How about I enlighten you authors on just how powerful I've become!" Before their very eyes, the rocket was caught by the power she possessed and quickly turned around, turning right back towards the group. Warrior Kitty was quick to act, using her Mirror Move in hopes of blocking the shot. The next time it went around, Sara simply had it explode in the air, not impacting anything but her powers alone. The smoke settled as she approached the Smash Rescuers, Subspace enclosing on them as well. "Can't you see? Your struggle is fruitless and dear desirable entertainment to me!" Once again, her mind made a decision that quickly had Subspace separate each of the girls from each other, all left before her was the Sylveon.

"How must it feel now Warrior Kitty? Knowing that by killing the old me, I am what remains. Ready to feel so alive once I make you suffer how I did thanks to your efforts." Her twisted expression returned as the Fairy-Type was backing towards the doors. "And as payment for that, please… make me feel alive as a god!"

Meanwhile, each of the remaining Smash Rescuers was dealing with twisted copies of Sara, with Pichu somehow with Lilac. While not presently being quite like Sara's new self, the fakes were quite capable of making sure the girls weren't escaping so easily. Subspace was acting in favor of the current master as it made it even more impossible to win the copies. Lilac had to keep her agility up as did Pichu, trying their best to fight the speechless fake put up against them. Both of them knew time was running low as Subspace seemed to be absorbing more and more into itself. The Normal-Type looked around, hoping to find some sort of escape plan or anything of the sort. Then she saw it; a small enough crack in Subspace that if using enough force could at least allow the two of them to escape. Quickly, she grabbed Pichu and broke through the crack, barely scraping by as both of them tumbled onto the grass and dirt below.

Temporary stunned by the roughness, both of them couldn't look back as Subspace picked up upon their activity and went out to try and trap them. Adrenaline coursed through their bodies by the fear of what might happen to them if they were caught.

The Espeon stood over, watching her new domain in Subspace being built from the ruins of the Smash Mansion. It felt so elevating for this to be her victory. Finally, they were taken care of; no longer would they be blocking her path… or at least most of them. She scowled at the thought, startling some of her minions by her before pacing back and forth. The newly created throne fueled her with what she needed and soon, everything would return to how it should have been if those girls weren't a problem. However, the capture of all but one of them unleashed some of her rages. The Normal-Type escaped; Lilac had fled with Pichu… and that as only the start.

"Lady Sara!" The Espeon looked up, seeing a familiar face brought back to her. A person she could now trust so deeply.

"Lauren!" An Electric-Type Pikachu entered the throne room and embraced the Espeon. "Forgive me for being so late. Just had to make sure things were underway as you had planned."

"Well, of course, it will go my way. After all, Subspace heeds my every command…" Espeon walked away with pride before sitting upon her throne, "Now Lauren, care to remind me upon the fugitives who have escaped and are unaccounted for?"

"Of course, now, from what the data has collected," Lauren began, "Besides Lilac and Pichu, Dr. Mario, Mewtwo, Roy, Young Link, the Pokemon Trainer, and Lucario are the only ones we've confirmed to be at large."

"And is that all?"

"Possibly more, but since words of three newcomers are spreading around, it seems like the Hands made sure we would be unable to obtain them right away."

"Of course it was in their best interest to keep them away. Now they want to suffer even more after I tried to make this world a better place!" She stomped her paw to the ground, "…Yet now here we are. So close to completing this and what do we get for everything? This!"

Subspace reacted to Sara's anger by its trembling. Though it was for a little bit, the magnitude of it was still very, very high. Lauren even cowered at Sara's newfound power despite them both being friends still.

"…Perhaps we can go track them! I-It wouldn't be too hard, would it?" Lauren suggested, pushing herself up from the floor as Sara was still grumbling to herself.

"But I still haven't had enough time to open the eyes of the others! So how… how would that be Lauren?!" Just then, Sara cracked a smile, something she wished to do after all the misery, "You're right… there is a way for us to get them. And by using this," the Fracture of Madness began to glow, "I can get the support we need! Lauren please, follow me."

Leaping down from her throne, a portal from the Fracture was created and beckoning her friend, both of them entered into someplace different. The portal itself led into what looked to be rows of cells; a prison broken and decrepit. How it was this abandoned was unknown, but the sight of this made Lauren tremble. Sara happily went along, delicately avoiding the cobwebs, bones, and rubble lying around.

"This place… what is this?" Lauren asked as they continued to venture deeper and deeper down.

"A place I went to gain power from this Fracture. The Fracture of Madness itself manifests itself into this prison. The thing is, though, it definitely needs a makeover don't you agree?" Sara hummed a tune while moving stuff aside. "If I got the chance – if this Fracture of Madness will allow me – could I perhaps make this a castle beloved by all? Or maybe a beautiful field of flowers for us to enjoy camping together with our friends?"

"Yeah, that would be pleasant." Lauren wanted to speak more, but the sight of seeing a heavily guarded door made her stop, "Sara, what's behind that door?"

"Something that can aid us… if it recognizes me as the master here," With that, Sara opened the main lock and pushed the door open. The creaks of the door echoed through the silence and into a pitch black room. The Espeon entered first, the orb upon her head began to glow to light up the room as best she could. Lauren scampered up behind as they looked around the room.

"…Who dared to enter here? It's clearly apparent you're quite ignorant of everything around you," a voice echoed in the room, the door behind them shutting without warning.

"So it is true… you do exist," Sara smiled never faded. Her eyes searched around after clearly her throat, "Listen up! I've come to offer you something you cannot resist. A chance for you to be freed from this prison and-!" Sara stopped when she felt something odd beneath her paw. Raising it, the oddness was in fact blood. Fresh blood that made both shudders.

"Get what I deserve? Like you'd actually allow that. I've seen what you've done; you're far more capable of handling your problems and besides, the price you paid is enough to reward you with anything you desire." It was male and clearly not interested – a thing Lauren picked up upon.

"But what about you? I'm giving you a chance to be freed from the madness and you say no?" Sara's temper was getting through from his one response. Her paw stepped on the blood, more splattering as the dark aura returned around her, "I control the Fracture of Madness. Therefore, you have to heed whatever I ask or request from you. Now, I'm going to ask you one last time. I can give you your freedom from this prison and all the power you desire if you follow every command me or Lauren gives to you. And if you say no… I'll force you out of here and make you!"

"Sara! This isn't a good idea!" The Pikachu warned her friend.

"I got this Lauren," the sweetness of Sara's voice was anything but calming, "And besides, you were trapped her for many centuries weren't you, oh disembodied spirit whose name is lost to time~!" The darkness around them stilled at Sara's comment. "Oh? Did you not believe me? Well, how about I indulge you on what history remembers… or what little remains. You were once like them, beloved by all in the mind of her… until she rejected it. Was it because of the cruel hands of life, or that fate has to hastily drag you away and keep you trapped in a dungeon to rot? The reason? Being an 'impurity' to their precious child." Sara looked around the room, "And yet here you stand, still fighting to breathe not knowing that the world is collapsing upon itself. And if it gets there, well…" Her voice trailed off.

"…I'd cease to be… permanently…" The voice responded.

"Correct~! Now you're getting why I'm here. You see, after finding that out, I could dare stand to become forgotten and killed outright without a shred of my existence to be remembered in the history of any world! That's why I decided to take this back! The Fracture of Madness is key for my plans yet, I only possess this."

"And where's the other half? Surely you should have that piece. Without it, the Fracture has only a fragment of its true power."

"About that… you see, that blasted other spirit managed to Thief it away before I could claim it for myself. However, she didn't get out completely free. For I managed to slay an eye for an eye!" Sara happily pulled out the frozen eye and tossed it to the ground, "Now, of course, she froze it over before anything more could be done, but I knew you would need proof. Yes, of course she still is out there. But now that she's weaken, her half cannot be used to its fullest either and that means…"

"I can final break free! At last!"

"At last indeed. I just need one little contract from you. If you help me in my quest to save this world, I'll grant you whatever you desire… as long as if it not my demise nor my friends. So, what do you say?" Sara held out her paw to the darkness. A pregnant silence passed. "…I'm waiting for an answer~!"

Suddenly, the darkness began to take form, swallowing up the frozen eye and revealing the rest of the room. It began to morph, twist and budget, contract and expand until it took a form, with one glaring orange eye open as it snickered. The frozen eye in the other hand, it looked up as its form taken was a Zoroark.

"Now then, what is it you were saying earlier…? Master?"

Lilac finally stopped after running for so long. After everything that had happened, her body was started to ache, begging for food if she wanted to keep going. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she looked back to Pichu, who simply collapsed on the ground inside the forest. Worried for the young Smasher and muscles aching, the Buneary went down and helped her up.

"Pichu! Come on Pichu wake up!" The mouse didn't respond, a clear sign that she passed out, "…"

Lilac looked around, hoping to find someplace for them to hide. If Sara's power was that great, regrouping with whoever had escaped was their next best option besides hiding. Knowing that nothing would give them shelter, Lilac had to carry the other one her back in order to find someplace to rest. Forcing her body to continue moving, they went on and on until Lilac finally found a cave for them to rest.

"A cave…" A small smile made its way until she noticed a fire, "A fire? Who'd…?"

Her eyes squinted and only then did she realize the rain pouring down from above. Shaking her head, she quickly ran towards the fire. As soon as she finally gets out of the water's path, she rested Pichu carefully by the fire before shaking her fur to get the water mostly out of her fur. Everything began to sway and before she knew it, sleep overtook her.

The next thing she knew, the sounds of crackling fire awoke her senses from the drowsiness that clung onto her brain. Strangely, the feelings of something covering her body was the first sign something was off. Trying to wake up, her body still refused despite hearing bumbling, faint voices around her. Footsteps went off and her mind went back into a slumber. When she next woke up, her body was ready to get filled with food. So with energy to get herself up, she found a coat thrown over both Pichu and herself by the fire. It was very strange for her as she rose, only to find Pichu clutching her fur to keep them together.

"We're safe. We're safe…" Lilac mutter to herself as the events of yesterday reemerged in her mind, "We're… they're all…" She would have said more if not for something approaching, a sound louder than the still dripping water from the opening of the cave. Worried for their safety, she debated whether to go back and fake still being asleep or see who was coming. Then, a familiar shape appeared that made her heart skip a beat. "Huh? Mewtwo?!" Lilac was surprised to see the Genetic Pokemon appear with some Oran Berries in tow, "Mewtwo! You escaped!"

"I could say the same to you," Mewtwo responded as he gave her an Oran Berry, "I'm guessing you and Pichu escaped together?"

Lilac nodded. "Yeah… the others didn't make it. I-I didn't want to leave them but I-I had no choice. Mewtwo, has anyone else escape?"

"Roy, Young Link, Dr. Mario and I escaped before Sara invaded. Of course, more might have escaped but we can't tell at the moment. If you're wondering where they are now, they went out to find some food and water before we get moving."

"I see…" Lilac continued to chew the Oran Berry and finally got herself by the fire. Pichu was still out cold and Mewtwo had some of them as well. "But, what are we going to do? I mean, Sara's back and now with… whatever is controlling Subspace… there is no way we can win. Especially since everyone else is gone… I can't do this alone!" Lilac shook her head; no way could she cry right now. That wouldn't help anyone at the moment.

"I understand that you're upset about leaving the others back there. Anyone would be after what would happen. However, we still have a chance. As long as some of us are still free and out of her control, we have a chance."

"Right…" Lilac stildowncast, upset still about the current problem.

It happened out of nowhere. After what seemed to be nearly a month of hiding and looking for any more Smashers that had escaped from Sara's mind control – something Mewtwo commented on when they had a run-in with Princess Peach of all people. The battle to secure their lives had ended in a draw for both sides when the enemy had to retreat by the orders of Lauren. This clearly took a blow to Lilac most of all, seeing a former friend becoming what literally was an enemy one again. Yet after all of that, a glimmer of hope – or rather light – brought them a chance. A chance where a figure appeared, floating above the ground.

"Wait… you're Rosalina and Luma!" Lilac gasped seeing where they were all transported to.

"Yes, I am very grateful that I was able to bring you six her before those minions could attempt to capture you," The Lumas around were floating around, but their observations clearly could tell something was amiss.

"What's wrong with them?" Pichu asked, walking over to one of the Lumas.

"They are deeply troubled by Sara's actions. I fear that with her own corruption by whatever she possesses, it could destroy our world and in turn ourselves." Rosalina explained. "And as their mother, it is my duty to protect them. For that, I cannot do it alone."

"That's understandable," Roy looked around, "But, if I may ask, where are we exactly?"

"This is the Comet Observatory. It is where I reside with the Lumas and now, where you will reside as well. As long as Sara controls most of the ground below, my Observatory is the only place where any of you shall be safe from her minions."

"Thanks, Rosalina. We really owe you one," Dr. Mario laughed a little.

"And don't think that it was just you I managed to rescue. There are a few other who have made themselves quite comfortable here as well…" Her voice trailed off as some faces appeared.

"Wait a second… Red!" Pichu happily leaped into Red's arms as Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard happily hugged the small mouse.

"Pichu! You're okay!" Squirtle was thrilled to find their youngest member was still alive.

"Nana! Popo! Nice to see you two made it!" Young Link high fived both Ice Climbers, who were happy to see the young Hero of Time.

"Yeah! We were worried that you didn't make it!" Both said at the same time.

"After what happened at the Mansion, it's a miracle how this many of us got out safely," Zero Suit Samus and Sheik were the next to show up. "However, I'm afraid to even with this many of us out, we are at a severe disadvantage."

"Yeah… but what can we do? I doubt we can just plan an assault to battle Sara after an attack like that," Lilac made note of that problem, "And we already returned the items we used to defeat Sara last time."

"I know, but even Sara at this point wouldn't be thinking twice about taking them with whatever she's using for power: So they still a clear option." Rosalina explained to the remaining Smashers and Smash Rescuers, "The problem comes with even if we send out parties to locate and retrieve them, Sara's forces would quickly stop us before we got the chance."

"So… what do we do now?" Young Link asked, "We can't just stay here and wait until a miracle happens."

"Plus, we don't have the power to get help anywhere else because of Sara." Mewtwo looked at the Galaxy Princess, "Without the Hands or Smash Balls, we can't even get authors from Lilac's world to help us, even if they can be of use right about now."

Lilac had a nervous laugh. "R-Right, so that's out of the question…" Just then, a crazy idea came to mind. One that just might work. However, she would have to convince the others to play along. "Wait for a second! I got it!"

"Hm? What is it Lilac?" Shiek asked as the Buneary pulled out a stack of envelopes from her fur.

"Um… Lilac, I have many questions…" Roy didn't even want to start with a pen and stamps came out next.

"Guys, listen to me. We need help from others and we don't have Master or Crazy Hand to help pull people from any other Nintendo World or Earth right?" The Smashers agreed as she continued, trying to find something else, "So that got me thinking, how exactly did they get you here for others methods and guess what Master Hand was going to use? These!" She held up the postal supplies and a list before slamming it down on the ground, "I remember overhearing how they managed to seal some of their powers into the letters and once they were sent to the receiving party, they'd be brought into the Smash World. So in theory, if we can make the receiving parties from other worlds than this one… we'll have new Smashers and people from Earth in no time!"

"… And how will we know if it works?" Zero Suit Samus folded her arms, suspicious about this plan, "And how you managed to overhear and get this stuff?"

"Blame the other girls for a bet, but this is the only shot we got! And they already sent it out to three people already before this all went down." Lilac pointed to the three crossed out names on the list, "So, what do you say? We go and stalk some authors and potential Smashers on this list and bring them here so we can beat Sara again?"

Everyone looked at each other than to another. This process when on and on until everything looked to Rosalina. The Lumas around, though still depressed, had their eyes on their mother before holding her want gently in her heads. "Well, then we go down the list then Lilac. I believe I can get us a clear view on candidates before we make official decisions on which humans from your world we choose to bring."

"Alright! Let's get this Smash Party started! Smash 4 here we come!"

*Rises up from the Pit of Senior Trials* I'm alive and not dead. I've been battling a terrible 'illness' known as Senioritis but I managed to get this setup and ready to go. The reboot of this universe is mainly outlined, but it will still be long before I can begin the first major act. As you can tell already, this is a complete reboot with some revision and rewriting of events to give this more of a flare than before. Plus, the Core Restorers need a "mentor of sort's right?" So that role goes to Lilac and she'll "try" her very best to train them for the journey ahead.

A couple of Notes to explain the setting/time period of this piece.

· Not all of the Smash 4 New Characters aren't present as of yet. This takes place during the "Off Season" between Brawl and Smash 4. All the new Smashers both announced and DLC will be in the timeline at some point. As for example, Rosalina isn't considered a Smasher as of yet.

· I know that when the timeline was originally writing nothing of Alola was revealed or even announced, but I decided to why not throw this new character by using Alola Ninetales. That's all be saying about her, but she'll be very important.

· Yes, Sara has changed after obtaining powers from the Fracture of Madness! How I'd like to see this is making her a more powerful villain by giving her more than just insults. Since they have… connected in a sense, prepare to see this "new and improved" Sara for the story. And Espeon? I chose that Pokemon to show how more "new and improved" she has become.

· As a quick note, this doesn't happen directly after the original "Operation: Smash Rescue." How I see it, the girls have been in that world for… let's just say about one to two years in the Nintendo World Time. Our world's time is the same, but for the girls themselves, it's been longer than usually.

· Yes, the newcomers – minus Rosalina and a few others – will arrive because of the power of magical teleporting Smash letters courtesy of Master and Crazy Hand. (Master just sends them to the other worlds while Crazy used his magic to forcefully bring them to the Smash World.) Prepare to see many ways of how this goes terribly wrong because they lack the Hands helping them out.