Well, I do have another Final Fantasy Spirit made: Lightning Farron.

She's represented by pink Robin with a permanent Levin Sword, who also starts with a Super Scope and has drastically increased movement speed.

Will that Spirit be in this chapter? No.

"Wait, so the whole world is gone?"

Donkey Kong nodded, and Mario continued, "Yeah, and from-a what we've seen, every other world's been-a tagged as well. So there-a might be someone from-a your world here as a Spirit, one of-a those floating balls of light in here. See?" raising the Spirit Pouch for dramatic effect.

Matthew's face paled at the thought of seeing Tyrell and Karis, among others, being forced into those small orbs of light, not even in their own bodies. Sheathing the Sol Blade, he stood up and began to walk out of the village, despite Mario and Donkey Kong's warnings, and ended up getting blindsided by a Spirit Orb.

Faceplanting on the stained glass floor of the Kalos Pokémon League, Matthew sat up, and found himself face-to-face with a dragon that he identified as that big fire lizard he had met at the Newcomer Ceremony, Charizard. However, instead of being orange, this Charizard was deep red, much larger than usual, and had a constant stream of fire pouring out from its mouth. Charizard achieved liftoff, shooting towards the roof of the chamber, and used Sunny Day, creating a miniature globe of fire that dramatically increased the temperature in the room. Letting out a cry that sounded like a mix between a roar and a bell, Charizard launched a star of fire from its mouth, which was amplified by the miniature sun inside the room.

Matthew summoned Brick, and the Djinni frantically scrambled to create a wall as the Fire Blast came closer and closer. Once the barrier was deemed satisfactory by Matthew, the Djinni disappeared, and Matthew took cover behind the wall as the Fire Blast slammed into the wall, blew it apart, and released a scorching wave of heat. When the heat died down, Matthew was mostly unharmed, yet smothered in ash. Matthew used Stone Spire, and above the Charizard, rocks began to fall. After obliterating one with Dynamic Punch, Charizard batted another one back to its sender using Iron Tail. Using the Sol Blade like a bat, Matthew unleashed a Megiddo and smacked it in Charizard's general direction, before dodging the rock that Charizard had sent at him. Before he could follow up, Charizard's eyes flashed pink, and Matthew collapsed to the ground in agony, the Extrasensory causing a pain that felt like someone was trying to cut apart his brain.

Since the Charizard was smart enough that he couldn't blast it with rock, as well as being at such a high temperature that he couldn't freeze it out of the sky, Matthew switched to his last resort: lightning. Switching to the Master class, he snapped his fingers, and storm clouds appeared to blot out the glowing sun that was just powering up Charizard's Fire-type attacks. The rumble of thunder snapped it out of its thoughts, and it let out its cry once more before firing a Sacred Fire at Matthew, the electric blue stream of flames rushing towards the Adept. Matthew used Shell, and the Mercury Djinni came to his aid, creating a protective barrier around him.

The Sacred Fire hit its target, rising up in a spire of colorful flame. However, thanks to Shell, Matthew was mostly unharmed, and he fired a Thunder Mine at Charizard. The ball lightning began zipping around the chamber erratically, and Charizard started flying faster to try and dodge it, and while a lightning bolt from Matthew's Thunderhead managed to hit him, he managed to use Sunny Day, and the storm clouds Matthew summoned vanished, replaced by the sun Charizard had made earlier in the battle.

However, the Thunder Mine was still flying around, and it managed to hit the burly Fire-type right in the back, causing Charizard to fall straight down, crashing onto the floor with a resounding thud. Much to Matthew's amazement and frustration, Charizard stood up once more, its entire body glowing red and wrapped in a shroud of fire. Realizing that something bad was about to happen, Matthew used Chasm, and the Djinni opened up a black hole, ready to absorb the attack.

Charizard used Burn Up, and it exploded, resembling a miniature supernova. While Chasm absorbed most of the attack, Matthew smelled something burning, and saw that his pants were beginning to smolder, quickly stamping it out. When the attack was done, Matthew saw that Charizard was no longer breathing fire, with Burn Up having purged the Fire-typing from it. Matthew zapped him using Thunderclap, and then switched to the Slayer class, using Odyssey to finish the job. Five glowing swords struck Charizard, followed by a sixth and final sword being driven into it, causing the other five to explode. Charizard slumped over, its eyes vacant and glassy, before glowing with a bright multicolored light. Matthew shielded his eyes, and once the light stopped, all that remained was a large Spirit Orb that housed a large songbird that Matthew thought resembled the Phoenix in the stories that his parents used to tell him when he was a child. Touching it, the orb emitted a blinding white light that engulfed his vision.

Mario and Donkey Kong hauled up the disoriented teenager, who mumbled something along the lines of, "Sweet merciful Sol, what happened in there?" Mario and Donkey Kong silently agreed to tell the teenager later, and Donkey Kong hauled Matthew out of the wrecked village, Mario leading the two of them.

With night having fallen upon the World of Light, Mario and Donkey Kong decided to set up camp. Matthew, having woken up from his short nap, looked to see Mario cooking food inside a tent, as well as Donkey Kong sitting right next to him. Donkey Kong tapped him on the shoulder, and began communicating in sign language. Matthew, having been taught by his father, saw it as, "Look, if Mario starts asking questions about who you are and where you came from, don't be worried. Since he's the de facto leader of the Smashers, it's his job to gather information from all newcomers so that our library can be updated. He knows most of the newcomers this time: We met the Inklings and Isabelle at one of the Mario Kart competitions, Daisy he's known for a very long time, he fought Ridley in Subspace, that Kremling scumbag played at the last baseball event we held, the Piranha Plant is an everyday sight for him, Geno fought alongside him many years ago, and I introduced him to Banjo after the first Smash tournament. That leaves Dark Samus, Chrom, Ken, Incineroar, as well as you and your father as the fighters he doesn't know."

Matthew, dumbfounded at this sudden information dump, said, "Wow. He takes his job seriously, huh?"

Donkey Kong nodded, and at that moment, Mario walked out of the tent with three steaming bowls of food, saying, "Dinner's ready!" The three hungry Smashers dug in, cleaning the bowls in a manner of minutes.

While Matthew and Donkey Kong were sound asleep, Mario was tossing and turning in his sleeping bag, memories of the past haunting him in his sleep…

Mario looked around him to see that Toad Town was absolutely demolished, with there being almost no trace of life in the town. Walking around, he surveyed the destruction wrought upon the town, and began feeling worse and worse after passing by every house that appeared in a state of ruin. After a while, he bumped into a tree. Groaning in pain, when he did take a good look at it, he screamed in horror upon seeing a Toad strapped to the tree, looking almost dead.

"Where were you… Mario? You were supposed to protect… us…"

An energy blast appeared out of nowhere and struck the Toad, turning it into a squat purple mushroom, and Mario took that as a cue to run. Running out of Toad Town and towards Peach's Castle, he stopped when he heard someone yell out, "Bro!"

Slamming on the brakes, he turned around and saw Luigi running towards him, tears freely streaming down his face. Panting as he came to a stop, Luigi choked out, "Bro… it's horrible… remember those crazy aliens from a long time ago? Someone thawed them out of Bowser's Castle, and now they're attacking the entire Mushroom Land! Sarasaland is gone… as is Daisy… Stefano's clinic was burned to the ground, and now they're attacking Peach's Castle!"

Mario paled, as he realized which aliens Luigi was referring to. Putting on a mask of calm, he asked, "But what about-a Elvin? He helped us last time, maybe he-a…"

"I checked Evershade Valley too, Mario. He's gone."

"Baby tears?"

"They kidnapped all the babies in the Mushroom Land so that it couldn't happen again."

Mario, though his resolve was thoroughly shaken after hearing that, put up a brave face, and told Luigi, "We've-a gotta save Peach, let's-a go!"

"Um… Mario?"

Mario turned around, and almost fainted on the spot. A Shroob UFO had snuck up on them during their conversation, and now it was abducting Luigi, presumably for experimentation of some kind. Frantically jumping up and trying to grab his brother to pull him down, his attempts were fruitless, and Luigi was carried off into parts unknown, screaming, "MAAAAAAAAAARIIIIOOOOOOO!"

His will completely broken, Mario sunk to his knees, despairing to no one in particular, "Who could've done-a this?"

"I believe that if you look behind you, you will find the culprit, you stupid red rat-fink!"

Mario's jaw almost dropped upon hearing that voice. Turning around, he saw Fawful, free of the Dark Star's influence, standing on his hovercraft. Managing to find his voice once more, he spluttered out, "B-but how are-a you still alive?"

"Fawful will not answer the moron who continues to inhale stupidity sandwiches like the pink blob of hunger!"

At that, Fawful vanished, and Antasma materialized behind Mario, hissing out, "Vell, vell, vell, if it isn't Mario, scree!"

"Wha- you too?!"

"Yes, and now vat your pushover of a brother is as good as dead, I have vree reign over the Dream World!"

Antasma then turned into a swarm of bats, and flew straight at Mario...

Mario woke up in a cold sweat, and looked around frantically. There were no signs of whatever he had seen in his nightmares, but now, he was restless, despite it being the middle of the night. Crawling out of his sleeping bag, he sat down on a nearby log, and contemplated what he had seen in his dream. The Shroobs... unfrozen? He was also certain that Fawful and Antasma had died as well, Fawful's fate being more unambiguous. But with the presence of the King of Nightmares in his dream, now he was not so sure about if Antasma had really died.

Donkey Kong and Matthew both woke up the following morning refreshed, and the two of them stared in puzzlement at Mario, who was quietly muttering to himself. Clearing his throat, Matthew asked, "Mario? You there?" Mario turned around, and both Donkey Kong and Matthew jumped back in alarm.

Mario looked like a total mess. His hair was disheveled, eyes bloodshot, and mustache uncombed. Donkey Kong signed, "What the hell happened last night?"

"Crazy nightmare… couldn't sleep."

After another three hours, Mario had cleaned himself up, and the three of them continued north, before reaching a fork in the road, the left path leading to a place that resembled Palutena's Temple, and a snowy mountain to the right. After a bit of deliberation, they decided to head left, as they felt that they had a chance at finding Pit in the temple. Upon arriving at the front door of the temple, the doors flew open, and a vortex sucked the three of them in.

The door spit out the three Smashers, and once they got up, they looked around in amazement. Around them, the inside of the temple appeared to be situated up in the sky, since the clouds were below them, and there were numerous pillars and statues that looked like they had been scorched or mangled. Pressing on, they saw that the area was mostly empty, the most shocking thing being the total lack of Spirit Orbs in the area. Donkey Kong suddenly grabbed Mario and Matthew, having seen something that neither of them did, and flung them on top of a pillar. Behind a partially burned statue of Palutena, Simon Belmont, the wielder of the holy Vampire Killer whip, stepped out into the open and brandished his weapon at the ape. Simon, in a voice that was oddly robotic, uttered, "I am a member of the Belmont clan, sworn by blood to fight Count Dracula and the darkness of the night. What quarrel do you have with the Radiant One?"

Donkey Kong simply shrugged and began winding up his arm, charging up his Giant Punch. As Simon tried to take a crack at him using his whip, he stopped charging and rolled out of the way. Procuring a vial of Holy Water, he flung it at the ape, but DK caught it out of the air and chucked it into the clouds below. Throwing a Cross at him instead, DK rolled out of the way as the Cross reached him, but failed to account for the fact that it functioned like a boomerang, and he was knocked to the floor. The vampire hunter now stood over him, axe in hand. Tauntingly, he sneered, "I suppose it was a good effort. Wasted, though."

Just as he was about to bring an axe down on DK, he got smacked in the face by chunks of what was a pillar, and he whirled around, looking for the culprit. Matthew stepped out from behind a pillar, and Simon thoughtfully observed, "I sense the brightest of lights within you... but at the same time, I also sense the darkest of nights. Just what are you?" Matthew shrugged helplessly, not wanting to tell him about the Grave Eclipse and the Mourning Moon, and Mario stepped out of his hiding place as well. Turning to the plumber, Simon said, "You... you have had a glimpse of darkness, have you not?"

Mario wordlessly nodded, wondering how he had known about the Dark Star, before slipping his hand into his overalls to grab a power-up. Pulling out the Metal Cap, he transformed into Metal Mario, and he began walking towards Simon. Switching to the Paladin class, Matthew used Mad Blast to pressure Simon, and the vampire hunter cracked the whip in front of him, narrowly missing Matthew by about an inch.

Steadily, Mario was getting closer.

Donkey Kong had jumped back into the fight, and had performed a massive stomp on Simon, knocking him to the floor. Matthew switched to the Ronin class, and cast Epicenter, resulting in a massive dragon made of fire circling around the battlefield before striking Simon. Deciding to call upon a Summon, he summoned Atalanta, the huntress appearing in the sky above him, readying her bolts of wind. Looking up, Matthew gave her the thumbs-up to fire, and Atalanta giggled before letting her idea of justice rain from up above. Simon looked up to see something resembling arrows raining down all around him, and he threw up a shield to protect himself. The bolts of wind crashed down around Simon, and several more obliterated his shield, leaving him stunned. Mario had finally reached the vampire hunter, and he threw a punch, which, with a glove made of solid metal, blasted Simon across the floor. Getting up, he didn't notice Donkey Kong standing right behind him, and felt a crushing pain at the back of his head, being flung into a pillar.

Matthew ran towards the thoroughly knocked out Simon, switching to the Slayer class, and he used Potent Cure to bring the vampire hunter back up to full strength. After a bit, Simon woke up, clutching his head in pain. Disoriented, he groaned, "What in God's name...?"

Matthew cut him off, saying, "World ended. We're stuck in some crazy maze."

Mario, having taken off the Metal Cap, walked up, and asked, "We're-a looking for Pit. Have-a you seen an angel around-a here somewhere?"

Simon thought about what he had managed to see before encountering the three of them, and he replied, "I think there's one at the end of the temple?"

"Well, we should be going there now, don't you think?"

Simon nodded and beckoned for them to continue, and the four of them continued to explore the rubble that made up Palutena's temple.

Upon reaching the end of the temple, the four of them looked at what was in front of them. A humongous statue of Palutena, perfectly intact, unlike most of the statues in here. Mario went closer to investigate out of curiosity, but was stopped when a Light Arrow shot by him, barely grazing his fingertips. Donkey Kong pointed to the side, and there, Pit stood, holding Palutena's Bow in a position that indicated that he was ready to fire. Pit called out, "What's up, losers?"

Mario, Matthew, Donkey Kong, and Simon all turned to face Pit. Simon brandished his whip before pulling it taut, Matthew unsheathed the Sol Blade and slung it over his shoulder, Donkey Kong punched the ground in challenge, and Mario ignited his fists. Pit let the arrow fly, before yelling, "Come forth, Fortitudo, and unleash your wrath on these sorry fools!"

Behind the five of them, a shadow rose, gradually growing bigger and bigger. The four not-possessed Smashers turned around, and Matthew exclaimed, "What the fuck is that?!" Simon gave Matthew a disapproving glare, but the looks on Mario and Donkey Kong's faces echoed Matthew's words. Flying in front of them was a massive two-headed dragon, which, instead of having a proper body, had a head that resembled the head of a stone statue.

The dragon, which apparently went by Fortitudo, said, "Ah, good day to you... what is this? I sense great darkness from one of your number." Turning to Simon, he observed, "Yes... you have slain many creatures of darkness in the name of the light... I commend your efforts." As Simon glared at the dragon with a mutinous expression, Fortitudo looked at Donkey Kong, saying, "I sense... mostly light from you. Though your past is somewhat muddled, you still remain a Child of Light." Now looking at Mario, he said, "Another Child of Light, interesting... though you are aligned with the light, I sense that you have had an encounter with darkness before, is that right?"

Finally, looking at Matthew, the dragon's normally stoic demeanor changed to one of anger, booming out, "YOU! You are the one who has brought darkness to this realm! Yes, I sense it within you, but... you are also blessed by the light. What is the meaning of this?"

Matthew raised his sword, not saying a word. Fortitudo let out a low, rumbling laugh before both dragon heads spit out one fireball each. Donkey Kong leapt up onto the dragon in an attempt to fight it, and Mario pulled out his Cape, ready to play support, but Simon pulled out a Clock and pushed a little button, causing everything but themselves to be frozen in time. Mario, seeing an opportunity, visualized a plan for Matthew, who reacted with a knowing grin. Pulling out a Mix Flower, Mario started throwing fireballs into the air, all of which combined to make a single large fireball. Mario called for Simon to unfreeze time on his instructions, and for Donkey Kong to jump off the dragon on his signal. Both of them nodded in response, and Mario looked at Matthew, who nodded, indicating that he was ready. Signaling Simon and Donkey Kong, the former unfroze time, and the latter jumped off Fortitudo, with Simon also sneak attacking Pit for good measure.

Mario yelled out, "FIRE!" and Matthew unleashed Megiddo, hurling it into the gargantuan fireball that Mario had created, dramatically increasing the heat in the area. Mario ran underneath the fireball, jumped up, and spiked it right at Fortitudo.

And so it begins! I had a lot of fun writing Mario's nightmare, considering it's meant to act as foreshadowing and a love letter to the RPGs. The Spirit for this chapter is Ho-Oh, whose moveset is an amalgamation between Charizard's and Ho-Oh's. (Dynamic Punch can be taught to Charizard via TM in GSC, Iron Tail is a Tutor move, Sacred Fire is Ho-Oh's signature move, and it can learn Extrasensory and Burn Up in USUM)

If you've never played Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, then I'll have you know that Matthew's… a little bit of a pottymouth.

The "Palutena's Temple" is meant to be a mix of that and Paradiso.

Also yes, let's give Simon Witch Time (with the Clock) and see how that goes.

Lastly, "Child of Light" is meant to refer to the seven Star Children. Galeem and his minions only see a blinding light in them, hence why they are called that.