Harmony of Heroes: Ultimate Multiverse Explorers

Crazy Hand stared at his generals. Bowser, Past Ganondorf, Past Eggman, and Mewtwo were standing before him, the Pokémon clutching its stump where its paw had been cut off. Meanwhile, Eggman was sweating.

Even if he didn’t have lungs, Crazy Hand took a big aspiration, then expired.

“Ok. First of all, Eggman. Not a bad performance. Pretty good start. Conquered a whole continent, enslaved its whole population, forced into servitude all the dragons… Not bad at all… Could have done better, like, you know, conquering the whole world. And you lost all the dragons, which would have been fun to send to spread destruction into other worlds. Especially that black one you had at the end.”

“I was winning! They were at my mercy!” Eggman yelled. “But then, they arrived! Especially that filly! And that pesky hedgehog! Why?! Why were they there?!”

“That’s a good question. We will search for the answer right away. Anyway, I give you a four out of ten. Now… Mewtwo…”

Mewtwo glared at Crazy Hand without a word. The hand approached it and touched it on the forehead. The next instant, the Pokémon found itself paralyzed by intense pain, dropping on the ground.

“Absolute failure. The best you did is some property damage and blowing up an island that nobody will miss. You could have at least blown up Windfall Island even if they had all escaped. See how happy they would have been with no home to return to, but no. You failed to do any lasting damage that would have mattered, you failed to get the Triforce, and you even got yourself crippled. FAILURE! Now, go get yourself a prosthetic from Eggman. I don’t care that he is human, DO IT!”

Mewtwo shakily got up, then silently nodded.

“Eggman, I have a desert world with lots of resources for you to rebuild your army rapidly. I want it ready by the time this Alliance has their little military expo.”

“You want me to attack them directly?” Eggman guessed.

“Yes. I don’t know how they know which worlds I’m sending you, but they are starting to get me angry. It’s time to give them a little visit. It’s our turn to be the party poopers and make them understand that they should stop messing with me.”

Eggman grinned. “With pleasure.”

Sweetie Void, as a mare, sighed, moving her empty glass toward Phantom who immediately filled it with some strong alcohol thanks to her Phantom powers. Around them were all the other CMC, and they were inside the alicorn’s universe’s clubhouse.

“War sucks,” Sweetie Void said.

“We know,” the CMC from Phantom’s universe replied.

“I knew wars sucked. This isn’t the first war I have gone through, and I always felt sad that so many people died each time, but…”

“This is the first war where you lose people you became close to, with whom you spent time,” Phantom said. “And an actual friend with Ratzo. Clearly an eye-opener.”

Sweetie Void nodded. “And the worst past is that it was ‘just’ Past Eggman. The Subspace Army will be much worse. We WILL lose friends. But now, I fear how much we will lose… What will be the price of doing the right thing?”

“Costly… Very costly…” Apple Death said. “And contrary ta mah universe, Ah doubt we’ll be lucky enough ta have our friends remain as ghosts, at the very least. Just, remember, as long as Ah’m here, nobody’ll be really gone.” She suddenly became thoughtful. “Uh, actually, Ah wonder if Ratzo went ta the Pokémon World’s afterlife, or ta that universe’s afterlife. Ah may have ta give a look and see if Ah can… transport his soul from one universe ta another. Wow, mah work as the Spirit of Death just became much heavier if this is the case.”

Tears appeared in Sweetie Void’s eyes. “Take good care of him, please.”

Apple Death put a hoof on the alicorn’s foreleg reassuringly. “Ah will.”

“So…” Sweetie Ghoul then began after a few seconds. “That makes four villains working for Crazy Hand?”

Sweetie Void finished the alcohol and threw her glass before she turned back into a filly.

“That’s right. Bowser, Past Ganondorf, Past Eggman, and Giovanni’s Mewtwo. Bowser has his giga form, Past Eggman includes Crazy’s energy into his machines, and Mewtwo can take its XY form by itself. We still haven’t seen Ganondorf, but I’m ready to bet that Crazy will be able to give to him his Ganon form without needing the Triforce of Power. Hopefully, he won’t have his annoying near invincibility.”

“If Crazy could grant invincibility, he would have done it to his minions by now,” Phantom said. “I don’t think that we have to worry about that, as long as they don’t get their hands on a Triforce of Power or some similar artefact, but I have no doubt that DD will send us to the right universe to ensure that-”

She was interrupted by Sweetie Void receiving a call.

“Sorry,” the alicorn said before she answered the call. “Yes? Dedede? Uh? A surprise? Alright, I’m coming.”

She ended the call.

“So, Dedede apparently has a surprise for me and the Alliance and asked me to come. Wanna see what it is?”

“What do you think it is?” Shadow Speedster asked.

“Something tells me that it has something to do with him studying Kirby’s Abilities. I swear, if he somehow managed to make a perfect robotic copy of Kirby capable of using all his Abilities…”

“Eh. Having our own metal copy of a hero would be nice,” Phantom said.

“Especially one as powerful as Kirby,” Phantom Bloom said. “Metal Sonic’d stand no chance.”

Sweetie Void opened a rift. “Let’s not wait any longer. Dedede told me to find him at his castle’s Throne Room, so we can go there right away.”

One by one, the fillies went through the rift, arriving in Dedede’s Throne Room, before the king himself.

Beside his throne was some kind of barrel-shaped machine in Dedede’s colors. It had wheels, a chimney, a crank, and a triangle-shaped door in the middle.

Dedede looked absolutely proud of himself.

He wasn’t the only one present in the room. There were several members of his army, including Bandana Dee and Cape Knight. Also present were Kirby and his family, as well as Meta Knight. There were even some robots from Shiver Star.

“Good! Everyone is here!” Dedede exclaimed once the rift closed. “So it’s time for me to reveal my latest invention which will win the war against the Subspace Army!”

“That machine over there?” Scootabot asked, pointing at the machine beside the throne.

“Exactly! Behold! The last few weeks, I have been constantly studying Kirby and his Abilities, every minute details about them, and this is the result! I won’t say the name yet, I will let you discover what it is!” He looked at Bandana Dee. “Bandana! Crank it! I want a classic Sword!”

Bandana saluted. “Yes, my king!”

The Waddle Dee then ran to the crank and turned it as fast as he could. As soon as he began, the machine started to glow in multicolor. After a few seconds, the triangle door opened, and in a puff of stars, out came…

A blue Kirby with the Sword Ability.

Everyone’s jaws dropped. Yes, they could see that behind Meta Knight and Galacta Knight’s masks.

“Is… Is that a Kirby cloning machine…?” Sweetie Void eventually asked, not believing it.

“Hehehehehehe! I call it the Kirby Printer! Crank it up, and out of it comes a clone of Kirby with the Ability you want! Hammer?” Bandana cranked the machine, and out of it came a yellow Hammer Kirby. “Bomb?” Same, and out came a green Bomb Kirby. “Crash?” Again, with a red Crash Kirby. “Or even Ghost?” Yet another Kirby, a Ghost one, came out. The Ghost Ability made Kirby white, so it was impossible to tell what was this Kirby’s real color. “Ask it, you have it! The only downside is that they can’t shift Abilities contrary to the real Kirby, and they can’t use the Super Abilities. Also, they disappear if they are badly damaged. But good luck landing a hit on them! They are as strong as the original! Want proof?” He pointed at Meta Knight. “How about you fight the Sword Kirby and see for yourself?”

Meta Knight stared at the Kirby clones, then at Dedede, and nodded. “Very well.”

Dedede smirked. “Alright everyone! Make space!”

Everyone moved away from the center of the room. To give even more space, Phantom used her powers to make the room bigger. Then, Sweetie Void made a shield surrounding the arena, protecting the spectators from any stray projectiles.

Meta Knight and the Sword Kirby both prepared themselves.

Then, they both sprinted toward each other and clashed in the center of the room.

What followed was an exchange that not many in the room were able to follow. Both Meta Knight and Sword Kirby’s swords broke the sound barrier with each swing, causing countless small shockwaves as they attacked, parried, and counterattacked.

Meta Knight eventually flew away and planted his sword, sending tornadoes toward Sword Kirby, but the puffball easily dodged them by rolling left and right, sending sword beams between two rolls. Meta Knight then flew up before Sword Kirby could get too close and continuously sent waves, forcing Sword Kirby to run. After several seconds of that, Meta Knight stopped and charged toward Sword Kirby. At the last moment, he flew around the puffball, dodging his swing and attacking him in his blind spot.

“Woo! Yeah! You go, Meta Knight!” Shadow Speedster shouted. “He is so awesome!” She saw some of the other fillies looking at her knowingly, and she blushed. “Of course, not as awesome as Rainbow Dash.”

“Still, it’s really impressive ta see him fight right before us,” Black Apple said.

“It’s the first time many of us are seeing him fight,” Phantom Belle said before she looked at her undead counterpart. “Am I right?”

Sweetie Ghoul nodded.

Sweetie Void grinned. “Once upon a time, he was known as the most powerful warrior of Popstar. He always trains hard, and he constantly seeks new challenges to improve himself. He is so fast that untrained eyes can’t follow him. And he is very chivalrous, never doing any dirty moves. You can count on him to give a spectacular fight. Although…” She looked around. “There is nothing for him to use his telekinesis.”

Suddenly, Sword Kirby was able to disarm Meta Knight, stunning him. This allowed the puffball to slash him several times before he recovered and took out a more normal-looking sword.

And then, the Galaxia began to levitate, to everyone’s surprise, except Sweetie Void, Void, and Galacta Knight.

Sweetie Void smirked. “Ah. I wondered when he would learn to do that.”

Sword Kirby found himself having to defend against two swords at the same time, which revealed to be very difficult even for him. Meta Knight first attacked with the floating Galaxia, then used the opening as Sword Kirby parried to attack him with his normal sword. Sword Kirby was hit almost every time.

Sword Kirby eventually learned, parrying the first sword, then dodging the second sword, but then, Meta Knight flew up and sent waves while distracting Sword Kirby with the Galaxia. The poor puffball didn’t know what to do, running away from the waves, or parrying the floating sword. Again, Sword Kirby learned, dodging both the waves and the sword, but Meta Knight clearly wasn’t finished.

He revealed a third sword.

Now, Sword Kirby was always on the defensive, and it was only a matter of time before the fight ended. To end the fight, Meta Knight did his signature move. As Sword Kirby was dodging and parrying the two floating swords, Meta Knight swooped without warning and caught the puffball, sending him in the air. Meta Knight then repeatedly pierced Sword Kirby with his three swords. Mid-move, Meta Knight changed sword, exchanging his normal sword for the Galaxia. Then, he slammed Sword Kirby with a first sword, sending him slamming into the ground only to bounce into the air where the second sword was ready to do it again.

Meta Knight himself, with the Galaxia, then prepared himself to do it a third time. However, he was accumulating energy into his sword at the same time. So, when he smashed Sword Kirby, he created a large tornado that sent him flying and crashing into the ceiling.

Meta Knight landed and did some circles with the Galaxia while his normal swords floated at his left and right. Then, behind him, Sword Kirby crashed into the ground and exploded.

Silence followed.

Then Kirby applauded, followed by Sweetie Void, then by more and more people in the room. Sweetie Void removed the shield, and Phantom returned the room to normal.

Meta Knight huffed. “This Kirby wasn’t as strong as the original. Kirby would have known what to do against three swords, even with just the Sword Ability.”

Dedede sighed. “Alright, I admit, the clones’ strength is proportional to how fast the Printer is cranked.”

Bandana Dee bowed. “Sorry, my king, I did my best.”

Dedede waved at him dismissively. “I will just see if a Bonkers will work best.”

Void then advanced toward the Hammer Kirby and admired him. “I see,” he said after a few seconds. “They are constructs of Dream Matter. Not really alive, but enough to have some independence. Impressive.” He laughed. “Magolor and Susie will be green.”

Dedede grinned. “And you haven’t seen the best part yet. Bandana?”

Bandana saluted and cranked the Kirby Printer again. It took much longer however. Out of the Printer then came an orange Kirby with none other than the Morpho Sword. By the end, Bandana was breathing heavily.

Everyone gawked again.

Dedede was so smug…

“The Printer also does Kirbs with evolved Abilities. Everything that came out of Kirby’s imagination and that he allowed me to study is in there. And let me tell you, that puffball has a LOT of imagination. Hehehehe! Now, I have the most powerful army ever! Bwahahahahahahahaha!!!”

Sweetie Void flew to him, poking him on the side. “Well, look who found a way to beat almost everyone without moving from his throne. Just find a way to automatise the production of Kirbs, and you will be settled for life.”

“Eh, the problem is that if the cranking is done by some mindless machine, then the Kirb coming out will be random. Almost all of Kirby’s Abilities are good, but let’s admit, we would much prefer to have an army mostly made of Morpho Sword Kirbs.”

“Don’t forget that diversity is also good. Ninja and Ghost Kirbys will be very good for infiltration, for example.”

Dedede raised an eyebrow. “When will we need to infiltrate something?”

“You never know. Also, a machine would be very good to crank the Printer very rapidly and produce the most powerful Kirbys possible.”

“True.”

“Any other secret the Printer has?”

“Not the Printer itself, but I do have a trump card related to it, but I will keep it warm for when it will be needed.”

“However…” Void suddenly began, sounding serious. “the Kirby Printer has one serious weakness. As I stated, it needs Dream Matter to create the clones. Without Dream Matter, it won’t work. So outside of the Dream Universe, it will be useless. We won’t be able to bring it with us to the battlefield to produce Kirbys directly there.”

“Yeah, we have to wait for the egg to do his job and produce these Matter Generators he has been talking our ears off for months now. Unless we bring the Printer into the Lor Starcutter,” Dedede said.

“Lorry would have to remain landed so the Kirbys wouldn’t have to jump off from hundreds of meters in the sky, but it means that she wouldn’t be able to help us in the frontline,” Sweetie Void countered.

“She is very powerful. She will be needed in this war,” Meta Knight said.

“So I guess that the Printer will remain here for now,” Dedede said with a shrug.

“You should actually find a secret location to store it, so it won’t be destroyed if the castle is destroyed,” Galacta Knight said.

Black Apple nodded. “It happened in the past, it can happen again.”

“It will need to be somewhere not obvious like my castle in Floralia or Meta Knight’s HQ,” Sweetie Void said.

“Building a secret lair shouldn’t be a problem,” Dedede said. “It will need a portal so the Kirbs can jump from there to anywhere in the known Omniverse. I will talk with the egg about it.”

“And rub in that you made such an awesome invention?”

“Of course! Ahahah!”

“Well, since it seems that we are done here…” Sweetie Void looked toward where she spotted Broom Sunglasses in the crowd of Dedede’s minions in the room.

A bell with eyes materialized beside her.

“Time to have some fun, meow.”

Dedede paled.

That day, Dedede and every member of his army present in the Throne Room almost died.

Broom Sunglasses spent the next few days in a coma.

The Fatal Cutie struck again.

Sweetie Void, Phantom, and Apple Death were in Sweetie Void’s Canterlot Castle’s Throne Room, facing the three Celestias who were standing side by side. Thankfully, the Celestias had the colored bandanas with the same colors used previously. Red for Sweetie Void’s universe, yellow for Apple Death’s, and blue for Phantom’s. Respectively Solis, Boreas, and Phantom Celestia. Also present were the three Twilight Sparkles.

Solis, in the center, advanced.

“My fellow Celestias and I have discussed for a while and came to the conclusion that we should tell you about a legendary location of our world.”

“Where you will find very powerful potential allies,” Boreas continued.

“But that will be very difficult to convince to come to our help,” Phantom Celestia finished.

Now, the three fillies and Twilights were interested.

“What is it?” Sweetie Void asked excitedly.

A dramatic silence followed, making Sweetie Void roll her eyes in her mind.

Eventually, Solis answered: “Our birthplace, Skyros.”