On the route Marth was rescued, the Hero-King, alongside Mario and Joker, went traveling near the mushroom gorge while looking for more of their companions. Just then the Phantom Thief of Hearts stopped to take a look at the never-ending abyss. Mario and Marth stopped for a brief moment to notice Joker simply having his mind wander off as he kept looking in a fixed direction.
"What is it?" Marth asked, heading over to the Phantom Thief of Hearts.
"That one of your friends?" Joker answered in the form of a question, his red-gloved hand pointing at the middle of the mushroom gorge. Mario and Marth looked at where Joker was looking, surprised by what they saw. On the largest mushroom they had ever came across, the Olimar Primary was sitting, waiting patiently for challengers as his glowing-red eyes gleamed, with his Pikmin simply sitting there like voodoo dolls.
"Yep, that's-a one of them," Mario answered. The red plumber then noticed a line of smaller mushrooms lining up as some sort of pathway to the Olimar Primary.
"We would try hopping on those mushrooms," Mario continued, "but I'm afraid they're too little to properly walk across. Their stems aren't strong enough to support our weight…"
"That's a total bummer," Marth spoke.
"I know-a," Mario replied.
"Why don't we try finding some sort of Spirit that can help make those mushrooms bigger so we can hop to and fro with no sweat and no worry of falling to our deaths?" Joker asked.
"I suppose…" Mario responded. "But first we're going to have to look for one. Come on." The red plumber then walked off near the edge of the abyss, alongside the Hero-King and the Phantom Thief of Hearts.
"Besides, after the Forgotten Resistance had dropped us off back where we were, they gave us some more of the kinky devices," Mario continued, revealing the watch-like gadget on his wrist.
"Yeah, especially when that dragon-clothed woman looked at me like she had some sort of crush on me," Joker remarked. "Anyway, where do you think we should be looking for that Spirit to make those mushrooms larger?"
"…Maybe in that obviously creepy cave…?" Marth asked, pointing at an abandoned mineshaft right next to the three adventurers. There was some sort of echoing noise coming from the darkness, and cobwebs were decorated at the corners of the entrance. A lump in his throat, Mario swallowed and peered into the empty blackness.
"I guess…" Mario responded. Walking into the mineshaft, Marth and Joker followed the red plumber soon after. The three fighters looked around the darkness with only the light at the entrance to guide them. But even that light was short-lived as Mario, Joker, and Marth progressed.
"Damn," Joker said, his voice echoing through the shaft. "This place is dark as hell. Mario, you brought a light?"
"Uh… no," Mario answered. "That doesn't mean I can make one." With a flick of his wrists, Mario generated a fireball in his hands, and the glowing flames generated a light. The cavern walls glittered with jewels of all sorts, and there were rusted pickaxes and derailed minecarts lying on the rocky ground.
"These gemstones look gorgeous," Marth said. "Maybe if we were to mine them and sell them for equipment and upgrades, maybe we can patch up and buff our ship."
"Suppose," Mario replied.
"You boys hear something?" Joker asked, hearing voices growing louder as the trio went down the cave. The Phantom Thief of Hearts then ran off, grabbing Mario and Marth by the hands. Once Mario generated another fireball in his hands, the three warriors were shocked by what they saw: a Bayonetta Supporter in her Witch with No Memories red costume she bore when she woke from a hundred-year slumber cornering a Master Ace Spirit, who was Toadette in particular. In Toadette's hands, she carried a pickaxe, trying to swing it at the Bayonetta Supporter.
"It's Toadette!" Mario exclaimed. "We've gotta help her!" The Bayonetta Supporter quickly turned her head to see the three fighters, glaring at them with glowing-red eyes. With her sleeves magically unfurling, the puppet fighter whipped her long, black hair and grabbed the three warriors by their arms, generating some sort of portal. It transported the Bayonetta Supporter somewhere, and with her Joker, Marth, and Mario.
Once the three recruited fighters woke up, they each saw they were in some sort of cardboard setting, with the background clearly made out of construction paper and cotton balls as the dotted clouds glued on. There was a windmill and a green pipe at the right, dropping down into some sort of abyss. It was the Paper Mario stage, and at the edge of the platform was the Bayonetta Supporter with a Star Rod in her hand.
The Bayonetta Supporter jumped into the air, butterflies and roses trailing behind her as she used the Star Rod's power and launched little but strong stars. Joker was the first one to avoid the incoming fire, pulling out his pistol and shooting bullets. Marth then ran behind the puppet fighter, slashing at her back with his powerful tipper, and Mario slammed his fist in a downward punch, knocking the Bayonetta Supporter down into the cardboard ground. Just then, a giant electric fan appeared behind the land, and all the warriors could not see themselves. The wind from the fan was strong enough to blow everything to the abyss, and each one of the fighters were struggling to find out where they were.
"I'm going after Bayonetta," Marth told the team, climbing onto the green pipe as the Bayonetta Supporter held on tight. "You two stay where you are while I take care of this…" Noticing the warping area, the Hero-King figured out his own location and tried focusing on the Bayonetta Supporter, whose Star Rod was still visible in her hand. Using the wind as an advantage, Marth kept slashing at the invisible Bayonetta, sending her off the edge to the right. With precise timing, once everyone turned visible again, the Hero-King used a graceful downward slash, with the tip sending the Bayonetta Supporter into the blast zone. Once the windmill portion of the Paper Mario stage vanished, Mario and Joker saw themselves back in the cave, watching Marth point a Spirit Sniper at the Bayonetta Supporter. The puppet fighter then disintegrated into Shadow Bugs and retreated back into the darkness, leaving behind a glowing-blue Kammy Koopa of the Normal Novice type.
However, instead of simply flying off, Kammy Koopa merely just hovered there on her broomstick, knowing she had been freed from Galeem's clutches. The three warriors looked at Toadette, who was attacked before.
"It's okay…" Mario said, kneeling down close to the Master Ace Spirit. "You're alright. We took care of your rival for you."
"Thanks, kind travelers," Toadette replied. "I was simply walking through here to find some beautiful jewels for my collection of prized wonders, when I was suddenly attacked by a mean woman in the darkness. This is really what I get for taking a few stones?"
"Well, we're right now looking for some Sprits to aid us," Marth replied. "Do you think you can assist?" Toadette sat on the ground, thinking about an answer while Kammy Koopa floated above her.
"Where did you guys come from?" Toadette asked.
"From a ship in the sky," Joker answered. "It looks like it was built from a low budget and needs to be fixed as quickly as possible."
"Do we really want to do this?" Mario asked the Phantom Thief of Hearts. "I mean… we just saved her. We really don't want to push all the Spirits we saved from Galeem to keep working."
"Listen, tubby," Joker objected, "Galeem obviously knows what we're doing and plans to attack when we least expect it. The more Spirits we rescue from the Seraph of Order, the faster we can prepare for a full-on attack. First, we would have to mine and gather resources and sell them for upgrades, and then we would train the Spirits and us to become stronger. Supplies, loot, weapons – these guys gather it all. I'm just saying we build up their faith by freeing them from the puppet fighters, we create a resistance by working together."
"I suppose…" Toadette replied, holding onto the pickaxe she was wielding. "Maybe if you bring down at least four members of your crew we could get started."
"Sounds okay, I guess," Marth said. "Come on, guys. We need to get out of here…" Marth, Mario, and Joker all then walked out of the glittering cave with the Spirits they found, walking towards the light of the outside world. Once they were all outside the cave, the three warriors then departed from the mineshaft's entrance, leaving Toadette and Kammy Koopa behind. The trio then walked towards the abyss with the giant mushrooms, looking at the Olimar Primary at the center.
"How are we gonna save him?" Mario asked. "All we did was free another Spirit from Galeem, but what do we do?"
"Just leave it to me," Kammy Koopa spoke behind the three warriors. Flying from behind, the Normal Novice Spirit pulled out her wand, floating over the chasm.
"You sure you can help us?" Marth said.
"Of course I can," Kammy Koopa answered. "Just because we're Spirits doesn't mean we still have our powers. In gratitude of saving me, I want to do something for you three kind gentlemen in return." With a flick of her wand, Kammy Koopa cast her magic on the small mushrooms, making their caps and stems quickly expand in size. Now there were just as big as the larger fungi, creating a pathway for Mario, Joker, and Marth to cross.
"I suppose you're all welcome," Kammy Koopa said, putting away her wand. "If you ever need me, I'll be at the cave you boys were at a while ago." Flying off, the Normal Novice Spirit left the three fighters to take care of business they had.
"Are you sure this is-a safe…?" Mario asked, his foot touching the thin layer of mucus on the now-enlarged mushroom cap. Joker simply jumped on top of the mushroom in front of the other two, and the weight was perfectly supported as the mushroom itself wasn't even budging.
"It's perfectly fine," Joker answered, hopping to the next mushroom. The other two warriors then jumped from the ground to the mushroom cap, following the Phantom Thief of Hearts. Jumping from cap to cap, the three fighters kept going deeper into the center of the abyss, the bases of their shoes now coated in mucus from the fungi. After walking down the newly-created mushroom path, Joker, Mario, and Marth were now in front of the Olimar Primary. The Olimar Primary merely looked at them, his voodoo doll-like Pikmin surrounding him.
Instead of an introduction, the Olimar Primary instantly grabbed Marth by the neck, and golden cages spawned around Mario and Joker. Once the Phantom Thief of Hearts saw himself trapped, he tried bending the bars to escape.
"What is this?" Joker asked.
"This is what happens for any encounter with a Primary," Mario answered. "First the Primary picks a challenger at random, then he locks up the rest until the puppet fighter itself is defeated." A vortex swarmed around the Olimar Primary, transporting both the puppet fighter and Marth to another location.
Once Marth was slowly adjusting his eyesight, he looked around and saw he was in a different area: the Final Destination version of Distant Planet. Right in front of the Hero-King, the Olimar Primary laughed in a voice he never really had before. A white bandana tinted red on the inside appeared inside Olimar's helmet on his head, and two white boxing gloves appeared in front of him. An image of the Master Legendary Spirit taking control of Olimar's body flashed, showing it to be none other than Knuckle Joe, one of the Assist Trophies said to have been under Galeem's control earlier.
The Olimar Primary began throwing his team of three Pikmin at Marth, the little creatures clinging onto him and headbutting his body. The pain from the Pikmin was rather painful, but Marth slashed with his sword to get them off his back. Knuckle Joe inside Olimar's body then began using his Smash Punch projectile, launching a flaming blue orb at the Hero-King. Marth managed to hit the Pikmin off his body, watching them disintegrate into ghosts colored like their bodies. The Hero-King then began using his Dancing Blade technique, slashing rapidly at the Olimar Primary.
Just when Marth was about to land a powerful hit on his rival, Knuckle Joe began pulling out three more Pikmin, jabbing at the Hero-King with Vulcan Jab. However, Marth managed to counter-attack with his Exalted Falchion, blocking the Olimar Primary's Smash Punch move and reflecting most of the damage and knockback in return.
The captured fighter was now flying off the stage, with his Pikmin diving in after him. Purple winged Pikmin with red compound eyes spawned behind the Olimar Primary, carrying him into the air. As Marth looked at his rival attempting to recover, he noticed all those Pikmin was weighting him down. This was the Hero-King's chance for a comeuppance. Marth then gracefully jumped off the stage, slashing downward. Since he was above the captured fighter, Marth spiked the Olimar Primary, winning the fight as the blast zone echoed with a powerful confetti explosion. The stage darkened and the Final Destination version of Distant Planet collapsed into Shadow Bugs.
Marth found himself floating in the darkness, frozen in place and pointing a Spirit Sniper at the Knuckle Joe Spirit, who was shielding Olimar's body. The only hole in the barrier was blinking rapidly as the forcefield was constantly spinning around. With a careful aim, Marth hit the Hocotate alien's body, freeing both Olimar and the Master Legendary Spirit that possessed him. A white mist floated out of Olimar's rescued body, floating out of the darkness.
Back at the mushroom gorge, both Joker and Mario saw the golden cages that held them hostage suddenly vanished into dust as they saw Marth appear floating down to them, carrying Olimar in his arms. After the Hero-King laid Olimar down on the giant cap the group was standing on, a red Pikmin, yellow Pikmin, and blue Pikmin walked to the Hocotate alien's side. The three creatures then tapped his crystal-clear helmet, waking Olimar up. The glow of Galeem's possession was gone in the fighter, and Olimar quickly sat up to understand what was going on.
"Look who's back," Mario said. The three Pikmin hugged the Hocotate captain, glad that their leader has returned.
"So glad you've returned, Olimar," Marth replied. Joker merely stood there, confused.
"Uh… who's that short guy?" Joker asked. Marth and Mario turned around, noticing the Phantom Thief of Hearts had never seen the likes of the Hocotate alien before.
"Olimar, this is-a Joker," Mario told the planetary explorer. Olimar then stood up, bowing his head in thanks while not saying a word, eternally grateful.
"We better get going," Marth objected. "There are still a lot more of our friends in Galeem's clutches, and we need to save them as fast as we can while gathering resources, upgrades for the Undying Light, and training bases for raising an army of the Spirits we have managed to rescue."
"Let's get-a going then," Mario finished. The small group, now four, started walking down the mushroom cap pathway down to the edge of a forest.
Piranha Plant, Mii Swordfighter, and Sheik were simply walking from the red-roofed village to the plains, having no idea what surprises were awaiting them next. No matter where they were, the objective was simple: rescue every fighter on their team and defeat Galeem.
"I had never wanted this since the beginning," the ex-Swordfighter Ultimate Reborn sighed, looking down in sadness on his face.
"Well, we obviously know the connection between the Subspace Army and the Mii Fighters, but our worst enemies working together with the greatest race in Arcadia… this is just overkill…" Sheik placed a hand on the Mii Swordfighter, understanding his pain.
"We all pretty much know we've got a foe even worse than Tabuu, but not even the Construct God himself can help us now. It's up to us to return these Spirits and ourselves back to our homeworlds," Sheik continued. "We will save the other two Ultimates and your people. Don't fret about it." Just then, Piranha Plant noticed something in the distance. Running in that flower pot of his, the carnivorous flower dashed off.
"The plant must've found something," Sheik said. "Come on." The Sheikah and the Mii Swordfighter then ran off, following the Piranha Plant. The three fighters then noticed what the generic flower found: a canyon filled with light geysers with a stone bridge to cross over.
"Whatever's on the other side of that light chasm might help us," Mii Swordfighter explained. "Let's go." However, once Sheik set foot on the stone bridge, the ground underneath them started rumbling. The three warriors quickly looked around, and Balder appeared, his face coated in gold and peacock feathers trailing behind him. He was standing in the middle of the stone bridge, blocking the path.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Balder objected.
"Get out the way, old man," Mii Swordfighter snarled. "We'll win against Lord Galeem if it's the last thing we do!"
"Old man…?" Balder chuckled in question, adjusting his monocle. "You know it's rude to call elderly people such cruel names. And just for that…" The Norse god of light then pulled out a golden dagger shaped like a peacock feather, with the hollow shaft serving as the sharpened tip. With a powerful throw, the golden dagger zipped between Sheik and the Mii Swordfighter, hitting the Piranha Plant's stem. The weapon Balder threw vanished, and the carnivorous flower started jerking around in seizures, feeling the magic pulsing through his stem. Piranha Plant was eventually engulfed in a bright light, growing marvelously in size. For whatever reason, Sheik started getting bad memories from a decade ago.
"Hopefully you wouldn't have to fight against the internal reincarnation of a familiar foe," Balder snarled, floating into the air. After the Norse god vanished, the canyon of light erupted brightening geysers, blocking the stone bridge.
"What did Balder mean… internal reincarnation…?" the Mii Swordfighter asked.
"I think somehow related to a recognizable enemy in some way or form," Sheik answered, pulling out her daggers as the Piranha Plant finished transforming. Both Balder and Sheikah were right: for whatever reason, the generic enemy from Mario's world they had befriended is somehow the re-embodiment of a rival who played a major role in the Subspace Army - Petey Piranha. The towering monster stood before the two fighters, saliva dripping from his mouth and two empty cages being held by his two leaves at the areas where the arms should be. With a powerful roar from Petey Piranha, both the Mii Swordfighter and Sheik were ready to fight the abomination while rubbing off some of the spit that dripped onto their clothes.
The ex-Swordfighter Ultimate Reborn lunged at Petey Piranha, slashing rapidly while his weapon was set ablaze. Sheik pulled out her knife and needles, flinging them fast at the mutated flower. Petey Piranha then started swinging the cages around, jumping high into the air and landing with a powerful earthquake. Both Sheik and Mii Swordfighter quickly hopped out of the way, watching out for the powerful twirling of Petey Piranha's cages. His two legs kept the monster steady as he suddenly started spinning in place, the cages of his swinging harshly at the two fighters who were trying to save their friend. Sheik and Mii Swordfighter were instantly whacked around, flying off at an incredibly fast speed in opposite directions. Luckily, the spinning attack dazed Petey Piranha greatly, giving the two warriors a chance to attack. With powerful slashes, Sheik and Mii Swordfighter attacked individual cages, knowing that they served as Petey Piranha's health supply. Once the monster quickly stirred out from his daze, he was instantly knocked out as the two cages he carried bursted open, causing him to instantly collapse.
The ex-Swordfighter Ultimate Reborn and the illusive Sheikah ran towards the wounded Petey Piranha, watching the golden dagger that infected the plant fly out into the sky, engulfing the creature in golden light once more. Petey Piranha shrank down to a normal size, and he transformed back into the Piranha Plant from before. Both Sheik and Mii Swordfighter tried picking the carnivorous flower up, concerned about his health since he was instantly somehow revealed to have been the rebirth of the monster they had just attacked. The Piranha Plant quickly jerked up, unaware of what happened.
"You're okay," Sheik said, rubbing Piranha Plant's head. "We just had to take care of some personal business, that's all…" The Mii Swordfighter then just remembered the stone bridge they were just about to cross. However, he noticed the geysers of light emerging harder from the crack, engulfing the pathway and causing the stone bridge to become hot to the touch.
"Looks like we can't cross it for now," Mii Swordfighter addressed. Both Sheik and Piranha Plant walked towards the stone bridge, with the Sheikah and the Mii Fighter shielding their eyes a bit from the intense brightness.
"How about we head to that peculiar road over there and look for something that can help us?" Sheik asked, pointing to a race track. The other two fighters noticed where the Sheikah was pointing at, aware of what she was talking about. The group of three then ran towards the race track, unaware that they would meet up with some familiar faces again…