Samus held Pikachu out in front of her. "Please. Can you fix him?"

  Master Hand looked at her with pity. "I am sorry, Samus Aran. Truly, because I know that all of this happened because of me. But, though my power is great, I cannot return life to one who has already passed on."

  The other fighters looked down at the ground. No-one wanted to look at each other in the eye right now - it was still sinking in that this victory, however hard fought, had come with a cost.

  "And... none of you can?" she asked, looking around. She hadn't expected anyone to say that they could, but she had hoped.

  "What shall I do with him?" she asked.

  "Give him a burial," Master Hand said. "There is a place in this world, where the land meets the sky and the sea. It is a beautiful place, a good place for anyone to rest."

  Samus nodded. "Then I'll take him there," she said.

  Mario stepped forwards. "We'll come with you."

  "No," Samus said. "I... appreciate the offer, and I get this might be selfish. But I'll go alone for this one. Pichu can come with me, too."

  Pichu nodded. She used her tail to wipe a tear from her eye and tried to put on a brave face that everyone could see through.

  "I will repair your armour," Master Hand said.

  Samus shook her head. "I don't want it. Let it stay here, for all I care. I don't deserve it after I let this happen."

  "Then at least let me send you to your destination."

  "I'll go myself," she insisted. "All of you - I'll see you again, when this is done."

  Holding Pikachu's body in her arms, she began to walk away. They watched her go until she reached the edge of the mountaintop and paused, unsure of how to get down. Master Hand concentrated, and a set of stairs erupted from the mountainside. Samus looked back once more, nodded, and began her descent.

  Mewtwo approached the Master Hand next. "I will now accept my punishment," he said.

  "No!" Nana protested. She ran forwards, to stand between Mewtwo and Master Hand. "Handy, you can't hurt him. In the end, he helped us."

  "This is true," Master Hand said. "But this is not my decision, is it?"

  "No," Mewtwo said. "It is mine. Please, look at me Nana." She turned to face him. "You showed me that I could have an existence beyond that decided by another. But this will be my first choice, to make up for what I have done. Besides, there are consequences to my harm even besides Pikachu, correct?"

  "What does that mean?" Ness asked.

  Zelda stepped forwards. "I suppose Mewtwo must have felt it as well. Those of us in the machine... we felt that we were too late. Some of the energy that Crazy Hand was trying to protect, it escaped into those other universes."

  "This is correct," Master Hand said. "I think Mewtwo would agree, this has to be stopped. As we speak, the barriers between this world and others are fixing themselves. I have a single chance to send someone on the thread that chases that darkness. Mewtwo is volunteering for this task."

  "It's a fitting penance," Mewtwo said. "To fix the consequences of my own crimes."

  Nana shook her head. "I'll come with you!" she insisted. "You, me, and Popo. We said we'd go on adventures together."

  Mewtwo shook his head. "No. I am sorry, my First Friend, but I can't bring you with me. I believe this world needs you - and Popo as well. But, when I return, we can go on those adventures."

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  "I'll go," said a voice.

  They turned and saw that Roy was pushing his way through the crowd. "My world was one of those that Crazy Hand was trying to reach. I'll come along and protect it." He turned to Zelda and Peach. "And I'll protect your worlds as well, if you'll let me."

  Marth met his gaze. "You're sure?"

  "Of course."

  The Hero King nodded. "Then go and save the worlds."

  Roy turned to Master Hand. "Is that possible?"

  "I can send you both," Master Hand confirmed. "But it may be hard to return. Are you sure?"

  "I'm sure."

  "Very well." The Master Hand placed its first two fingers on the ground, creating an arch with its fingers. The air between those fingers crackled and distorted, and became a doorway that led to a nebulous space.

  Mewtwo floated towards the doorway. "I hope that by the time of my return, I can greet all of you without guilt." He vanished into the doorway.

  Roy paused right before stepping through. He turned, and saluted the others. "Take care of yourselves," he said. Then he, too, was gone.

  Master Hand closed its fingers. "I still have a little power left that you shared with me," it said. "Do you have any more wishes?"

  Young Link stepped forwards, holding the mask of the Fierce Deity cradled in his arms. "He's not really dead," he said. "Link, I mean. He's just like this. Please, can you do anything?"

  Master Hand observed him keenly for a second. "You were never meant to come to this world," it finally said. "The Link that I brought here was like a collection of every Link who has ever lived. Just as you are the Hero of Time, he is the Hero of Smash. And yet, you were able to form yourself from the small amount of essence that was within him." Master Hand made a sound that was like a sigh. "I keep seeing how I made mistakes - I thought I could control this. This control is the impure side of my essence, that essence of order and light. All of you keep surprising me. But, just as you shouldn't be here, you shouldn't have been able to make him into a mask. So, even if he is a mask, and he should not come back, there is no reason why he cannot."

  One giant finger stretched out and touched the Fierce Deity mask. Light gathered in the fingertip, but then paused. Young Link felt a voice in his mind, explaining something only to him. He nodded at the hand to go ahead.

  The mask glowed. It floated out of Young Link's hands and reached head height in front of him. Limbs emerged, and a body, which as the light faded took on the colouring of Link's tunic and hat.

  "Link!" Zelda ran forwards and threw her arms around Link.

  "Princess," he said. "We won, didn't we? We won."

  "We won, Link," Mario said. He strode forwards and clapped his friend on the back.

  Captain Falcon laughed. "You gave us a bit of a scare there, Link."

  "Well, I..."

  Link was suddenly hit by a wave of wooziness. He heard another pair of boots stumble at the same time that his did, and looked over to see that Young Link had fallen to his knees.

  He dove forwards and caught his younger self before the boy could fall fully to the ground. "Link," he said, concernedly. "What's wrong?"

  Young Link smiled up at him. "This world was only supposed to have one of us," he said. "Now that everything is fixing, and this world is like it should be, it's only allowing there to be one."

  Link shook his head. "No. No, if that's it, then you should be the one -"

  "No," Young Link insisted. "I'm not the Hero of Smash. You are... you're the one who is meant to be this world's hero. As for me, I'll go back to where I came from, and be that glimmer of memory that exists within you. It's a shame though..." his eyes started to fill with tears, "...because I was starting to enjoy having a brother of sorts."

  Link grasped Young Link's hand. "This isn't the end, I swear it. You're not just a piece of me anymore. I know that because your memories became more your own the longer that you were alive. So if you became someone of your own, or perhaps just reclaimed yourself, I know that you can do it again. Until then, you can wait in me."

  Young Link smiled. "Thank you. Princess Zelda?"

  Zelda stepped forwards and knelt beside him. "Yes, Link?"

  "I didn't see you much in this existence," Young Link said. "But I hope you know that I was always your knight. Every Link is always your knight."

  Zelda nodded. "I know," she said. "And you were very brave, Link."

  Young Link nodded. "And, that Mario guy... get over here!"

  Mario stepped forwards. "Yes?"

  "We haven't properly met," Young Link said. "But from what I can tell, you look after Princess Peach like we look after Princess Zelda. So don't slip up on that, because she's the second best princess I've ever met."

  "Understood," Mario said.

  Young Link looked back up at his older self. Funny - the longer he looked into that face, the more he could see the years of fighting that he hadn't had. It made them look less alike, somehow. "Tell her," he whispered.

  His body began to turn transparent. Link felt a strange sensation, like he was a balloon being filled all at once. Another existence, which wasn't simply just a piece of him anymore, was being pushed back into him. He almost expected a headache, but none came.

  "I'll find a way for you to come back," he promised, hoping that Young Link could hear him. "This definitely isn't goodbye."

  Zelda put her hand on his shoulder, and helped him get to his feet.

  Luigi looked over at the Master Hand. "What happens now?" he asked.