Galeem and Dharkon's sheer size were such that, even upon entering the void, the two brothers were visible fighting ferociously on the horizon of the dimension they had entered. Beams and magic, light and dark, were issuing from the two behemoths. It was their clear and intense hatred of each other that caused both Mario and Luigi to shudder.

As more entrapped spirits attacked, alongside light and shadow clones, Master Hand was true to his word, helping the fighters free the spirits and fight the clones. Master Hand was no longer holding back; as he and Crazy Hand unleashed everything at the clones (stopping just short of Master Hand's transformation to Master Core), Luigi had to wonder if all those times he and the other fighters had defeated Master Hand in the tournaments had been only because of him limiting the amount of power he used in order to level the playing field. Luigi glanced at Mario, and he could already read the wish to go against a fully-powered Master Hand in his brother's eyes. In fact, after Master Hand had confessed the truth, Luigi found himself with a new admiration for him; judging by the looks on the other fighters' faces as they watched him work, they felt the same way.

Of course, challenging Master Hand would have to wait for a while. There was still work to be done. And soon, they succeeded in temporarily clearing the way forward of trapped spirits and clones.

The new spirits also were quick to ally themselves alongside the fighters. In what was a true case of irony, given the state of Galeem and Dharkon's brotherhood, one of the newly-freed spirits ended up being that of Lucas's brother, Claus; Lucas, who had managed to hold it together all this time, in spite of all the horrors he had seen up until now, finally broke down in tears, not having seen him since his death. This was only compounded as the spirit their mother, Hinawa, was also freed, and in spite of the dire situation and the need to press forward, Mario instructed the crew to stop for a few moments, knowing all too well now how Lucas must be feeling. They understood, given Lucas's young age—he had already withstood so much alongside the adult fighters.

Mario looked from Lucas and Claus to his own brother, and then glanced at Galeem and Dharkon, still attacking each other with just as much fury as before.

"Did Galeem and Dharkon… Did they ever…?"

"Get along?" Master Hand finished for him. "…I doubt it. From what Galeem used to tell me, he saw Darkon as a threat ever since they were born, and resented and despised him from the start. That hatred only grew when Dharkon's dark powers began to manifest."

"Dharkon was the same way," Crazy Hand piped up. "Jealous and resentful—though he's made that clear all this time. He expected Galeem to turn on him, and when he did, he felt justified for hating him all along."

"From the moment they were born…" Mario mused, shaking his head. Though he remembered nothing of it, he had always been proud of his infant self's insistence on finding Luigi after Kamek had taken him. And all those other times Mario had felt the need to look after his little brother… How Galeem could have looked upon Dharkon and not be overcome with that same wish to protect him was beyond him as it was, but to look upon him with hatred?

And as for Luigi, well… Luigi had never failed to return the favor to Mario, even when gripped by fears so strong that they would have left most others unable to do a thing. Even their last battle at Dracula's Castle had proven that—in spite of how Death's appearance had caused Luigi to freeze up each time prior to that, his wish to protect Mario from Ridley had been enough to keep him going that time. And even if Luigi had reasons to resent Mario and his success, he never did; all he asked was that he not be left behind. That wasn't asking much at all.

Master Hand finally coughed for attention.

"We should move on," he said. "We may have freed the spirits Galeem and Dharkon used for their puppet fighters, but there are countless other spirits sealed away in a holding area, awaiting a similar fate—everyone else who perished when Galeem destroyed everything. Galeem rounded up all of the spirits he wasn't using and sealed them away behind a barrier until he decided they were going to be used, and it was here in this dimension. Look, all around us, you can see bits and pieces of the words we knew…"

They could see exactly what Master Hand was talking about as they continued walking—stained glass shards from Peach's castle, a broken piece of warp pipe, a turret from Hyrule Castle, the now-empty basin of the Fountain of Dreams, the jumbotron from Pokémon Stadium, columns and pillars from Palutena's temple, the face of the Umbra Clock Tower, the three pieces of the Dragoon…

Peach paused to gently run her hand over one of the glass shards. Her father had commissioned that stained-glass portrait of her for her eighteenth birthday. Recalling that her father had not been among the spirits they'd encountered as puppets made her realize that he was one of the spirits sealed away.

"Where is the barrier?" she asked; she was struggling to keep her voice calm, prompting Mario to gently place his hand on her arm.

"It has to be nearby; I remember being here, watching as Galeem sealed the spirits away. The only spirit he was unable to seal was the Lord of the Mountain."

"We saw the Lord of the Mountain," Luigi recalled. "He was the one who led us to where Dharkon was hiding."

"That doesn't surprise me," Master Hand said. "He is a spirit whose powers of creation are even stronger than mine, and he would certainly want to fix what Galeem broke, just as much as I do—perhaps even moreso. Arceus, as well, has strong feelings about this. But restoring all of the damage that has been done by Galeem is going to take more than just the three of us; we will need the strength of all of you, and all of the spirits—the power of your wishes and your memories will allow us to restore all that has been lost."

"And I get to help… by wrecking everything Galeem and Dharkon created!" Crazy Hand cackled. "I get to undo their rewrite!"

"Then there is a way…" Peach said, relieved that her hope had not been in vain. "Everyone—my subjects and my father—can be restored!"

"So all of the spirits can get their bodies back?" Mario asked.

"…Only the spirits who lost their bodies to Galeem and Dharkon," Master Hand said. "Anyone else who was already a spirit, unfortunately, will have to remain."

"But…" Luigi glanced at Urbosa.

Revali did not look pleased—nor did Lucas, who had only just gotten his brother and mother back.

"I wish there was another way—I really do," Master Hand said, gently. "But the best we can do is return things to the way they were before—but only if we can break the seal and defeat Galeem and Dharkon for good."

Mario sighed, but knew they had no other choice—even if it didn't seem fair that the four Champions, Hinawa, Claus, and the other dead spirits had no chance of getting their bodies back, despite them lending their aid.

He looked back to Master Hand and nodded, leading the way further towards Galeem and Dharkon. Along the way, they battled more light and shadow clones, and Luigi had to take a moment to wonder why, if Galeem and Dharkon had the power to create clones of them, why had they needed to take them prisoner and control them? Had it amused them to enact such a twisted scheme?

As they continued on, their pace slowed down. Mario seemed to be getting a bit tired or dizzy—perhaps both, as he kept trying to shake it off and press onward. Luigi glanced around at the others; they didn't seem to be quite at 100%, either. They had been walking and fighting for a while, though—perhaps that was why? Luigi frowned; he didn't feel tired or dizzy, and he'd been in the thick of the fray alongside his brother…

Master Hand, who had also seemed to have slowed down a bit, suddenly paused and motioned for them to stop, as well, as he hovered over a large, circular stone slab that was embedded in the ground. The slab was gigantic, nearly a quarter-mile in diameter, and looked as though it was made from multiple pieces of stone brought together. Carvings on the slab were glowing with an eerie light.

"This is the seal!" Master Hand exclaimed. He made a fist and slammed into it, and then grunted as he bounced off. Crazy Hand tried and met with the same results, and even when they tried to attack together, it still didn't accomplish anything. "We won't be able to break it on our own… I guess all of the fighting has worn us out a bit…"

"The seal is too big for any of us to try to break it alone," Mario observed, as he wiped sweat from his forehead. "We all need to attack it in the same place—right in the center, where those pieces of the stone come together!"

"Maybe you should take it easy and let the rest of us do this, Big Bro," Luigi said. "You look a bit tired."

"I think we're all a bit tired—and hot and bothered," Peach said, as she used a paper fan to cool herself down. Daisy was using one, as well. "But we're so near the end! As soon as we break the seal and defeat Galeem and Dharkon, we can rest all we want!"

Luigi wasn't so sure, but he nodded and began to attack at the stone seal along with the others. But even with their combined attacks, they did not make much of a dent in the seal, regardless of how they tried. Aside from Luigi, everyone else's strength seemed to be dwindling with every passing moment.

"What's happening to us…?" Samus asked, forced to take her helmet off to get some more fresh air.

"I… I don't know…" Master Hand said, also looking weaker. "But whatever it is, it's affecting me, too…"

Incineroar suddenly let out a shout, and the others turned to see him looking at Pichu, who had collapsed, his breathing labored. Samus's attention now turned to Pikachu, who, along with Pikachu Libre, were also on the verge of passing out.

"Papa…?" Junior mumbled. "Papa, I'm so tired…"

"You can't sleep now!" Bowser exclaimed, going into a panic as first Junior, and then the other Koopalings began to experience the same illness and exhaustion.

The other smaller and younger fighters were also beginning to succumb to whatever it was, and Luigi looked on in horror, he realized it was eerily reminiscent of his dream. He looked back to Mario, and sure enough, Mario looked far worse—he was still on his feet, but he, too, was finding it difficult to stay standing.

"No!" he exclaimed, rushing to his brother's side and helping him up.

"Is it some sort of curse on the seal…?" Zelda asked, nearly falling over before Link helped her up, though he, too, was weakening.

"Dharkon's doing something!" Luigi cried. "That dream I had, just before we came here—he's the one doing this! He's covered everything in darkness, and it's poisoning the light!"

"Then how do you explain Crazy Hand and myself getting affected?" Bayonetta asked. "Ganondorf as well."

"Galeem must have his own version of it, too—a light poison that affects those of darkness…" Master Hand groaned. "They've both unleased those poisons, trying to weaken each other… But we're getting affected, as well."

"How do we stop it?" Peach asked. "If they're poisons, there should be antidotes. Master Hand, please—you have to think of something! This can't be how it ends, so close to restoring everything…!"

She trailed off, needing to catch her breath as she sunk to her knees now.

"Peach…!" Mario exclaimed, prompting Luigi to help him to her side.

"We've got our healing powers in the meantime," Daisy said, also sinking to her knees beside Peach to conserve her strength. "But we won't be able to keep everyone on life support with just the two of us!"

"Help the children, at least!" Bowser begged, now carrying them over to the princesses. "Please…"

While the Koopalings were still managing to hold on, Junior, being the smallest, was already alarmingly listless in his father's arms. Peach glanced up at Bowser—the beast who was her captor on more than one occasion, now begging her to help him save the lives of his children. In spite of everything he had done, she knew she couldn't refuse the request.

She looked to Daisy and nodded, and the two used their healing powers to grant some protection to Junior, the Koopalings, and the other young and small fighters.

"This won't last too long, and using too much of our strength will worsen our condition," Peach said, as Junior began to breathe easier. "We need to find an antidote, and even that can only last for so long; what we really need is to find some sort of immunity—"

"Ask him!" Ganondorf snarled, glaring at Luigi as he continued to help Mario sit upright. "Ask him why he isn't affected by the poisons!"

"I don't know why!" Luigi exclaimed. "If I did, don't you think I'd use my powers to help my brother and my friends!?"

"Little Bro…" Mario said. "It's because you have both light and darkness—that's why you have your immunity… Before this whole thing started, we thought your darkness was a curse against your light, but…" He gave a weak chuckle. "It ended up being a blessing…"

Luigi just hugged his brother.

"If it's a blessing, why can't I use it to help you…?" he asked. "I don't want to lose you—or any of our friends! Not after we've come this far!"

"There may be a way you can help save him—save all of us," another voice said.

Luigi blinked; the voice sounded identical to his brother's. He turned to see Dr. Mario looking at him, and he realized that this was the first time since their fight with Galeem started at the cliffside that the doctor had addressed him—was it because Luigi reminded him too much of his timeline's Luigi, and how his spirit had been sealed away? Luigi couldn't blame him for that.

Luigi gently transferred Mario to Peach's arms and walked over to Dr. Mario, who, though weakening himself, was using an old cooking pot to mix the powder from inside his capsules into some water, stirring it with Link's cooking ladle.

"What do you need me to do?" Luigi asked.

"I have a hunch—a wild hunch, but it is worth trying," Dr. Mario said. "If you can combine your light and dark magic and infuse it in the medicine I'm brewing up, it may give us the antidote we need."

"Will it cure everyone?" Luigi asked.

"I doubt it—but, if it works, it would grant us the time we need to break the seal and defeat Galeem and Dharkon."

Luigi nodded and did as he was instructed, charging the concoction with a blend of light and dark magic. The solution bubbled and steamed, and as Luigi backed off, the doctor sampled the brew with the ladle.

"…Did it work?" Luigi asked.

"We'll know in a bit," Dr. Mario said. "I don't want to run any trials on the others, so I'll have to be the guinea pig. I will say that I'm feeling slightly better, but that's likely the placebo effect."

"Oh…" Luigi said, hoping that he had managed to get it to work.

He slowly retreated back to his brother's side. Mario, Peach, Daisy, and Yoshi were looking worse, but Mario seemed to be the one worst off.

"Big Bro…?"

"I'll be alright…" Mario promised, quietly. "I just need to rest a little bit…"

"No!" Luigi and Peach exclaimed.

"Big Bro, you can't sleep now!" Luigi pleaded.

"Just hang in there a little more!" Daisy said. "Your counterpart over there's got something cooking—just stay awake a little while longer!"

"Mario, you promised me!" Peach reminded him. "On the train, remember? You said you'd try your hardest to stay with me. And it's not just me this time; it's all of us—all of our friends, and your brother…!"

She gently touched the side of his face, and her hand soon glowed with her healing magic again.

"Peach, no…" Mario began, but she shushed him, quietly.

"Peach, be careful…!" Daisy fretted.

Peach had lost some of the color to her face, though Mario had gained back a little of his—and he clearly was not thrilled at that coming at the expense of Peach's well-being.

It was now Peach's turn to insist that she would be fine as Mario blinked back a few tears. Even Daisy, who usually was upbeat in the face of danger, seemed genuinely panicked and worried.

And Luigi, still keeping a hand on his brother's shoulder, was coming to the horrifying realization that, if Dr. Mario's plan didn't work, he would have to watch helplessly as his brother and his best friends died in front of him.

Slowly, he stood up, still keeping a hand on Mario's shoulder. The others looked up at him.

"Luigi…?" Mario asked.

"I… I need a moment," he choked out. "You… All of you, you need to hold on…!" A sob escaped him.

It pained Mario to know that, as much as he wanted to give his brother some comfort and reassurance, he couldn't. But he and Peach both managed a nod.

"Hurry back as soon as you can," Daisy said.

Luigi nodded and ran off, aiming to break away from the others and have a good cry.

Ganondorf, however, addressed him as he approached the edge of the group.

"So, does the self-proclaimed coward leave us all to die?" he snarled. "Because if that swill of the Doctor's doesn't work, that will be the fates of all of us. I know you would rather see me dead, but the others—"

"I don't."

Ganondorf blinked, taken aback.

"You don't?"

"I know your futures—what happens to you in all of them. If you don't change your ways, your fate is sealed—many times over." The many Links and Zeldas had told him and his brother and friends all about Ganondorf's many fates and many deaths—more than one of which would be as a mindless, raging beast. "Maybe you can change and break the cycle. Or maybe not. It's not up to me. And anyway, even if you were dead, it wouldn't change anything; my archnemesis is a Boo—you being dead would mean that I'd just have to deal with you as a spirit, too."

Ganodorf scowled at him.

"Go on, then," he snarled. "I could tell you that if you wished to ensure your brother's survival, taking down Galeem and Dharkon would be the way to guarantee it—stop them, and you stop the poisons. But you would never merge with me to unleash the power needed to defeat them—and I am too weak to force you. So, go—and know that I offered you the chance and the means to save them, and you turned me down."

"…How dare you!?"

Ganondorf had looked away, but had turned back to face him as Luigi snapped. Though intimidated and unable to stop the tears from falling down his face, Luigi glared right back at him.

"Don't you think I'd want to do anything to save them!?" Luigi said, trying to dry his eyes as he faced the Evil King. "But my brother and my friends… They wouldn't want their salvation to come at the price of me merging with you—becoming a part of you that they might not ever be able to get back, being used for something they and I would never want to be used for…!"

"Are you so certain that your brother and comrades feel the same way?" Ganondorf asked. "Self-preservation is the highest motivator."

"I know about Twinrova—Koume and Kotake, and how they raised you," Luigi countered. "And I know that in one of the timelines, when they fail sacrifice Zelda to resurrect you, they sacrifice themselves to try to bring you back, with not even a thought to self-preservation. You know what it's like to have a family. Mario would never want a way to save himself that would involve me merging with you! And this conversation is over!"

He turned his back on the Gerudo King and broke away further from the group, where he finally took a few minutes to break down and release his pent-up emotions. Knowing that he should return to his brother's side, he turned back, and blinked as he saw Raichu's spirit, along with those of Mr. L, Urbosa, and Prince Peasley.

"Chuu…?"

"I'll be alright," Luigi promised him. "What's happened to the others?"

"Nothing's happened," Peasley said, gently. "Dr. Mario is still waiting before he administers that brew to everyone—but, based on the results on him, he thinks it might very well work as a temporary antidote that will save everyone—but fighting again is out of the question."

"That's it…?" Luigi asked, his heart sinking.

"…It's the best we can hope for right now," Peasley added. "Maybe if he has more time to experiment, he can find a better solution."

Luigi groaned. Well, if it would keep everyone from getting worse, he supposed he should be grateful…

"And what did that…" Urbosa trailed off, deciding not to curse this time. "What did Ganondorf say to you?"

"The usual," Luigi sighed.

"Merge with him and use the power of the Void to stop Galeem and Dharkon and save everyone?" Mr. L finished.

Luigi nodded.

"But the thing is… He was right about one thing—if Galeem and Dharkon are stopped, the poisons will stop," he added.

"Well, you can't merge with him—that's out of the question," Urbosa insisted.

"I know…" Luigi said. "But what about defeating Galeem and Dharkon?"

"Well, obviously, that would work," Peasley said. "But you can't possibly face them on your own!"

There was an awkward silence.

"Buon Dio… You're actually considering it!" Mr. L exclaimed.

"What!?" Urbosa asked, dumbfounded.

"I know because… He's me, and if I was in his place, I'd consider it, too," Mr. L admitted. "The prophecy touted me… us… to have both dark and light powers and have the fate of all worlds depending on us… Maybe this was always our destiny."

Luigi nodded at his counterpart, and then summoned both types of magic in his hands—light in one and dark in the other.

"Galeem and Dharkon don't realize that light and dark both need to exist—one isn't better or worse than the other—it's what you do with it," he said. "It took me a while to realize that, but at least I know it—and Mario does, too. Ever since the Star Gate said that it sensed darkness in me, I wondered if I was cursed somehow. But I guess Mario was right—it was a blessing all along. Galeem and Dharkon caused all this by splitting light and darkness. Maybe I can end it by bringing them both together." He sighed, trying to gather his resolve. "But no more Negative Zones—that's all behind me. That was the problem—not that it was dark magic, but the motivation behind it. As long as I use my powers—light and dark—for the right reasons, everything should be okay." He shut his eyes now, trying to tap into his powers further. "And what I want now most of all is to save Mario and the others. And I'll do it—for everyone, and especially for my Big Bro!"

He brought his glowing hands together. The light blended with the darkness, creating a powerful wave of golden energy that pulsed away from him in a ripple, spreading out in all directions.

He glanced back at the others now.

"We're behind you," Urbosa said, with a nod. "Galeem and Dharkon can't do anything worse to us."

"After what happened with the Chaos Heart… I have to do this," Mr. L agreed.

"…I don't know how good your chances are, but I'll do what I can to improve them," Peasley said. "I, too, shall fight with you."

"Chu, Raichu!"

Luigi nodded.

"Okay…" he said. "We just need to get to Galeem and Dharkon quickly, before the others get any worse."

Mr L. glanced off in the direction the party had come from—where the three pieces of the Dragoon where laying.

"…I've got an idea," he said.

Dr. Mario was more than a bit disappointed with the results of his experiment. The brew had succeeded—to an extent. It would keep them from getting any worse, but it wouldn't be strong enough to help them regain their strength enough to fight Galeem and Dharkon.

Still, it was better than nothing if it would mean saving their lives. But to be forced to quit their quest so near the end… That would truly be the most bitter pill to swallow.

He had just begun to distribute the life-saving medicine when a golden ripple of energy washed over them. And the strangest sensation came over him as the noxious effects from the poison seemed to wither away… But… It couldn't be…!

His plumber counterpart now shook off the last vestiges of illness and leaped to his feet.

"What's happened!?" he wondered aloud, as he was once again able to jump as he used to.

Peach, no longer pale, also got to her feet alongside Daisy and Yoshi. And Bowser nearly cried in relief as zest and energy returned to Junior and the Koopalings.

The others were quickly marveling at their rapid recoveries—even Master Hand and Crazy Hand, as well.

"I don't understand what's happened," Peach said. "But this is exactly what we needed—we can break the seal and finally end this with Galeem and Dharkon!"

"Heck yeah, we can!" Daisy grinned.

"Mm-hmm!" Mario said. "Where's Luigi? We've gotta tell him the good news—"

He was cut off by a familiar sound—the telltale screech of the Dragoon flying at max speed.

"By the Goddesses!" Zelda exclaimed. "Look!"

They all stared as the Dragoon sped by overhead, closely followed by a small squad of spirits—and the man piloting the Dragoon was unmistakably clad in green.

"Luigi!?" Mario yelled.

His heart rose to his throat as he saw the direction where the Dragoon was heading—right towards where Galeem and Dharkon were fighting.

"Luigi did this," Palutena realized aloud. "I don't know how, but he was able to cure us!"

"Heh," Snake chuckled, and he turned to the Colonel's spirit. "What was that you said about him, Colonel? 'Once a kid brother, always a kid brother?'"

The Colonel just grunted in reply.

"And now he's gone off to face Galeem and Dharkon alone, huh?" Captain Falcon said, throwing a salute Luigi's way. "Never knew he had it in him."

"I did," Mario shot back. "But I can't let him do this alone!" He ran off in the direction of the Dragoon's trail and called over his shoulder. "Break the seal and free the spirits—then meet us at the battlefield!"

He didn't even wait for a response as Cappy and Daruk followed right behind him. And as Mario ran, he gasped as the Lord of Mountain now reappeared, running alongside him. The regal spirit glanced at him, and Mario understood; with a quiet thanks, he leaped upon the spirit's back, holding on as the Lord of the Mountain galloped towards the battlefield.

Just hold on, Luigi, he silently transmitted. Your Big Bro is on his way!