The Melee Machine held Peach tightly. There were no physical bindings as far as she could tell, but she couldn't even move her body an inch, like she was bound tightly. Nevertheless, she struggled as the clouds above her swirled into a spiralling vortex.

  Then the pain began - a tearing pain that seemed to fill her whole body at once, so that all she could do was scream. She was dimly aware that the two closest to her, the other princess and the knight, were screaming as well. In the pinky of the hand, Mr. Game and Watch wasn't making any noise, but his form kept glitching like it was barely holding itself in one shape.

  Below her, on the tip of the thumb, Pichu was curled into a tight ball as the Melee Machine used her like a battery. She was like a conduit - the energy from Smash flowed into her and then out into the machine. And Pichu had never been able to release energy in a way that didn't hurt her. So she was yelling in pain as well.

  Samus and Pikachu ran up to the machine. Samus tried to reach out and touch it, but a barrier of energy repelled her hand like it was lashing out at her. Pikachu tried next, slamming his tail into the barrier, but it held form before pushing him backwards with a burst of force. He landed on all fours and glared at the machine, small bolts of electricity sparking in his cheeks.

  "There has to be a way to break it," Samus muttered. She charged a shot of energy from her arm cannon and fired it at the machine. She hadn't actually expected it to work, but she was surprised at how the barrier reacted. Instead of reflecting the energy, it disappeared into the barrier, which shimmered.

  "Wait," Samus said. "That thing is just a conduit for energy, right? Maybe if it can take in energy, then that energy can be taken back as well."

  Pikachu gave her a questioning glance. "Pika?"

  "I'm working on something, Pikachu," she said.

  The machine shook suddenly. Samus looked up at the clouds, which were now shaped like a grand funnel, with the outstretched fingers of the machine reaching up at the empty space beneath. Samus could see glimmers in the darkness which were growing rapidly closer even as she looked at them. Could those be the universes of the fighters trapped in the machine?

  Based on how fast they were approaching, she thought she had maybe a couple of minutes to shut down this machine. But before she could formulate a plan, she heard a giant stomping behind her. Giga Bowser raised his arms and brought them down in the space where she and Pikachu had been standing only moments before.

  "I guess we have to beat this guy first," she said. Pikachu nodded and jumped onto her arm. As they had done in the fight against Master Hand, he unloaded electricity into her suit, and she pointed all of it at the monster in one huge blast of energy.

  The dust from the explosion enveloped Giga Bowser, and for a moment she thought she'd got him. Then the arm emerged from the smoke again and grabbed her around the chest. It slammed her into the ground and threw her against the Melee Machine. The machine pushed her away onto the ground. Her suit warned her that it had taken a lot of damage, which she could tell just by how half of her helmet had been blown away. Half of her visor and the area around her chin still remained, but the rest had been taken.

  "Damn it," she muttered. She rose to her feet and dodged another swipe. She really didn't have time for this.

  Young Link managed to get to his feet. He could see that Samus was fighting Giga Bowser and wanted to help her, but knew that he wouldn't have the strength to aid her on his own. He looked at himself. Maybe, just maybe...

  He ran to Link, who was coughing and trying to sit up.

  "I have an idea," he said.

  Link looked at him. There was no hesitation in his eyes. "Do it."

  Young Link hesitated. "I think I can turn you into one of my masks."

  Link frowned at that. "What do you mean?"

  "I know a song," Young Link said. "A song that will turn you into one of my transformation masks. I don't know if it will be permanent, if I can undo it. Everyone I've done it on before has been dead. Maybe this will be it, but -"

  The older Link grabbed his hand. "If it will help save them," Link said. "Then do it."

  Young Link nodded. "Is there anything you want me to say to her? Once we stop them, that is?"

  Link shook his head. "You know what to say. You're one of me, after all."

  He pulled out his ocarina. It took a moment for him to compose himself enough to find the notes, but then he played the song of healing. It was only a few seconds long, but he felt the magic take effect.

  "That's a beautiful song," Link said. "Once I come back, you should teach it to me." His body was enveloped in light that quickly faded to reveal a mask. It looked a lot like Link's own face, though it had markings on the cheeks and forehead that seemed to radiate power even as Link ran his fingers over them.

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  "I thought it would be you," he said. "Thank you, Link."

  And he pressed the mask against his face.

  Samus dodged another swipe from Giga Bowser. Pikachu used a Thunderbolt that struck him in the chest, but like everything else it seemed to do nothing. Samus knew they couldn't keep this up for long. Not only did they have less than a minute left, but she and Pikachu both wouldn't be able to go on much longer. The Power Suit had taken heavy damage, and she had lost most of the covering on one of her legs and across much of her chest. Pikachu was breathing heavily and slowing with every jump, and still neither one of them had been able to land a hit that seemed to do anything.

  They all felt it at the same time. It was like a wave of power that swept across the mountaintop. Samus felt like a warm wind had suddenly appeared and smacked her gently in the face. She turned towards its source, and Giga Bowser did the same.

  The person standing there was Link, but different to how she had seen him before. He was at least seven feet tall, with his usual green tunic and hat having turned a bluish silver. His face was painted with markings that she didn't recognise, and he carried a giant sword almost as large as him in one hand. Most shocking, however, were the eyes. They glowed white with a rage that Samus didn't recognise at all.

  Giga Bowser roared and stomped over to this new Link. He drew back a giant fist as swung at at Link, who simply raised one hand and caught the punch. Then he raised his sword, and a beam of light burst out of the end and struck Giga Bowser in the chest. It lifted him off his feet and, with a roar of pain, he fell in a heap on the ground.

  "What happened?" Samus asked.

  Link turned to look at her. "Do you have a way to stop that machine?" he asked. His voice was deep, far deeper than Samus had ever heard from him.

  She nodded. "I think I have an idea."

  "Then do it. Save my Zelda, and the others." He turned back to Giga Bowser, who was getting back up. "I'll take care of this one."

  Samus nodded. "Come on, Pikachu," she said.

  They ran back to the machine. The barrier was still there, and when she looked up she could still see the approaching universes. She didn't have much time at all now.

  "I think I figured it out," she said. "Pichu is in that machine, and she's the power source. I know that Pichu's energy is similar to yours." She looked at Pikachu. "I've been able to absorb your electricity into my suit before, to use in attacks. So, it should be possible for me to do the same to this machine."

  She gritted her teeth. "Of course, that's a lot of energy. It'll destroy what's left of this suit for good. But that's okay." Of course, she knew it would do more than that. If the Power Suit was at full strength, she might have a chance at surviving this.

  "I just need to bypass the barrier," she said. She pressed her hands slowly against the wall. It hurt, but she kept pushing. Maybe she could force her way through.

  Peach saw this from inside the machine. She was in pain, but she could also feel her connection to the Melee Machine now. She knew that she shared a thought with Marth and Zelda for a moment. "Let's let her through," they said in unison.

  The barrier split open. Instantly energy arced off the machine, striking Samus in the chest. She stood her ground even as she felt the energy that would destroy a multiverse enter her body and try and do the same.

  It was as though she was being pulled apart from the inside. She was going to die, she realised. But...

  She gritted her teeth. "It's fine," she grunted. "This is fine." Her suit was taking in the energy. Syphoning it away from the portal in the sky. This would stop it. She was as sure of that as anything.

  "No!" Crazy Hand tried to fly down towards Samus, to stop her, but Master Hand grabbed it and wouldn't let go.

  "Your plan is failing."

  Her armour was almost all gone now. All that remained was the canon on her arm, and at the last possible second she would fire it back into the Melee Machine.

  "Pikachu?"

  Oh, right. That was the friend she had made here. She wasn't sure that they had ever truly understood one another, but their friendship had been a true one nevertheless.

  Oh, her time was up. She aimed her cannon at the machine, and fired. All of Smash's energy in one strike, in one beam that would shatter the machine to pieces.

  And it deflected harmlessly off the barrier. It wasn't enough.

  "No," she whimpered. That couldn't be it. There was no way she could have fought that hard to have it be for nothing.

  The cannon disintegrated, and left her in just the Zero Suit. She couldn't try again. She had failed.

  "Pi...ka...." Pikachu's lightning shaped tail jerked upright. Samus felt the air change, and knew suddenly that the direction of the energy flow had changed. Pikachu was sparking from his cheeks as the power that she had failed to contain began to flow into him.

  "No," she muttered. "You can't... Pikachu..."

  She started to crawl towards him - her legs didn't work anymore. Pikachu looked at her, and she understood. She had said it herself, the energy that the Melee Machine gave off was Pichu's energy. Energy that was so similar to Pikachu's. Of course this wasn't for her to do. It had been him all along.

  "No," she shouted. "Pikachu, don't!"

  She could see his body starting to break down. Fur and flesh gave way to pure electricity that held his small, mouse-like form.

  "Pi... kaaa....."

  She reached out for him. She was so close to touching him.

  "Chuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" And then he ran forwards. His body became lighting itself, striking the Melee Machine through the centre of the palm and emerging from the other side.

  The swirling of the clouds stopped, and the other universes that they framed disappeared from view. The five sacrifices dropped to the ground, no longer held in place by whatever magic had imprisoned them.

  Samus didn't care. She was crawling towards the space behind the machine, where Pikachu was on all fours. He turned and began to limp towards her.

  She didn't know how long it took, but they reached one another. She pulled her friend into her arms and felt her eyes fill with tears. "You shouldn't have done that," she said. "Pikachu, why?"

  "Pi, Pikachu." She didn't understand the way Pikachu spoke. And yet, even as he spoke, she knew what he meant. He was saying "For you." The tip of his tail lifted up and wiped a tear from beneath her eye.

  Then he was gone.

  Samus tried to speak, but the words caught in her throat. All that came out was a strangled yelp sound, which turned into a sob, then a cry, then a wail. Pikachu had saved them all, and countless others.

  But he had paid for it with his life. And so she cried.